The sinister CIPHER organisation from Pokemon Colosseum is back! But this time they are determined that these super powered Shadow Pokemon will be unpurifiable. These Pokemon, have been captured by evil Trainers and had their hearts closed... they are only able to do the bidding of their evil masters. And with all new and even more fearsome Shadow Moves, these Pokemon are swift and effective in battle. These unique moves, including Shadow Mist and Shadow Half aren't available to standard Pokemon and are devastating to all Pokemon types . You will need to have your best battle-honed skills on you when you come across those Trainers who send two Shadow Pokemon into battle.
But that's not all, CIPHER have created the Ultimate Shadow Pokemon (eXtra Dark Pokemon), Shadow Lugia, who is specialised in fighting and has exclusive moves. CIPHER believe that Shadow Lugia can never be purified...
As the game's hero, you set out on an epic journey, along with your Pokemon companion Eevee, to "Snag " and "Purify" these Shadow Pokémon. Shadow Pokemon are unlike any others and are not catchable using normal Poke Balls. However, your character's mother works at the high-tech "Pokemon HQ Lab" supporting the brilliant Dr. Krane, who has developed equipment specifically to combat the Shadow Pokemon menace.
Once snagged, a Shadow Pokemon will still remain under the dark influence of CIPHER, so to truly set it free the player must purify it. There are several ways to do this. Thanks to Professor Krane who has been developing the Purify Chamber there is a new and faster way to release these Pokemon from their Shadow state. The Shadow Pokemon is placed inside the chamber along with up to four regular Pokemon to help open its heart again. The more compatible the type of Pokemon that you place in the chamber around the Shadow Pokemon, the faster the purification process takes place. After purification the Pokemon forget their Shadow moves, but special moves, which they wouldn't ordinarily have, become available to them.
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness is a full RPG game in Story Mode, allowing players to experience the excitement of hunting for Pokemon in a vivid and colourful 3D world as well as snagging and purifying Shadow Pokemon. And not only Shadow Pokemon...! It was thought that wild Pokemon didn't exist in the barren wasteland of Orre; but at Poke Spots players can capture wild Pokemon by leaving special food to entice them. In addition, there is the Battle Mode where players can also enjoy multiplayer fun in 2 and 4 way battles.
Along with the two main modes, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness features exciting new mini-games not seen on Nintendo GameCube since Pokemon Stadium. One of these is a battle based mini game called Battle CD, which lets you experience virtual battles in various different situations. But there's a twist! To clear these battles you have to fulfil certain conditions like defeating an opponent within a certain number of turns. You even get to fight Legendary Pokemon!
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness is also fully compatible with Game Boy Advance Pokemon titles like Pokemon FireRed, Pokemon LeafGreen, Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire, as well as the forthcoming Pokemon Emerald. Using the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable (sold separately) human characters from these games can be imported to Pokemon XD . After finishing the game players will also be able to trade Pokemon between Pokemon XD and the Game Boy Advance versions.
