Introduction
Pokemon. Gen 3 needed some help.
With Ruby and Sapphire being released in late 2002/early 2003, only 200 of the then 384 Pokemon could be obtained in some way, as well as zero compatibility with previous Pokemon games. This was somewhat rectified with FireRed and LeafGreen in 2004, but some Pokemon, especially those from Johto, were still missing.
Enter Pokemon Colosseum for the Gamecube, released in late 2003/early 2004 and developed by Genius Sonority, most known for these games, but also for the Trozei series, as well as the Denpa Men series. Slated as a successor to the Pokemon Stadium series, it evolved into its own game with a story mode and, most crucially, a host of Pokemon that would be unavailable until 2005 with Pokemon Emerald and even then, not as easily as these games. The allure of playing a fully fledged game in 3D and featuring Pokemon from all 3 generations is just too good to ignore.
On top of that, the story takes a different direction to the main series, with Orre as a tonally different region to others and featuring very few Pokemon to obtain as Shadow Pokemon, evil Pokemon that must be Snagged from trainers. It's also, with very few exceptions, completely filled with Double Battles and has a higher difficulty curve to go with that.
Following the lull between Emerald in 2005 and Diamond and Pearl in 2007, another Gamecube game was released in 2006: Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. Edgy name aside, it follows on from Colosseum's plot 5 years after, where Shadow Pokemon are again on the rise, including an inpurifiable Lugia. Not only were both these games able to trade with the main series and be battle simulators in themselves, I think the story is something every Pokemon fan should play at one point. Up until recently, though, I hadn't.
See, I only had Nintendo handhelds when I was younger, so I completely missed all these wonderful games, but no more, they should be shown off in all their wonderful glory! Sure, they're not perfect games and sure, they're a bit awkward to SSLP (you'll see soon enough), but I reckon there's a fair chunk of you who've never played this game. So with that said:
NO SPOILERS AT ALL! This is definitely meant to be a sequel to my Emerald LP and help fill in some gaps. But you don't have to read it, it's only Pokemon after all.
These games are a treat, so let me welcome you to the desert region of Orre, we've got some Shadows to Snag.
Colosseum
Part 1: Welcome to the World of the Wanderer
Part 2: From Oasis to Hive
Part 3: Catch-a-thon 2003
Part 4: Caving in Pyrite Building
Part 5: SALSA!
Part 6: Finally Some Gosh Darn Purification
Part 7: Duking With Dakim
Part 8: Down Under
Part 9: Sub Under
Part 10: Shadows of a Finished Plan
Part 11: Started from the Bottom
Part 12: Middling Intermission
Part 13: A Towering Finale
Part 14: Snag 'Em Holdouts
Part 15: Up and Down Battling
Part 16: Last Leftovers
Part 17: The Ridiculous Rabbit Hole of the e-Reader (Part 3: Of Course There's More) (By Admiral H. Curtiss)
Side Courses
01: Everything To Do With Shadow Pokemon (Colosseum) (From Part 7)
Mini Dishes
01: Mt. Battle Prizes (From Part 7)