Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness (Japanese: ポケモンＸＤ のダーク・ルギア Pokémon XD: Whirlwind of Darkness, Dark Lugia) is Genius Sonority's second and final Pokémon game for the Nintendo GameCube as well as the second RPG in the Pokémon series for a home console. It is a sequel to Pokémon Colosseum.
The game features a Quick Battle mode akin to the mode of its predecessor, as well as a Story Mode featuring a brand new plot set in the Orre region.
==Plot==
The game once again takes place in the Orre region, about five years after the events of . In their second attempt at world domination, the criminal organization Cipher has created a Shadow Lugia, codenamed XD001, claimed to be immune to purification. A young , Michael, aims to defeat Cipher and prevent their plans.
The game opens with a shot of the S.S. Libra cruising through the sea, when suddenly some helicopters appear overhead with Shadow Lugia, which picks up the ship. The sailors fall out and watch in awe as it flies away, carrying the ship with it.
The protagonist, Michael, finds himself using a to battle a . No matter what the outcome is, when the battle is over the player will then find himself in the Pokémon HQ Lab, where it is revealed that the battle was merely a simulation. Michael then speaks with Professor Krane and . Prof. Krane comments on Michael's battle skills, and Lily remembers that she hasn't seen Jovi, Michael's younger sister, since lunch.
Lily asks Michael to look for her. Michael finds a P★DA that Professor Krane left him in his room and gets an e-mail telling him to ask Adon, who was playing hide-and-seek with Jovi. Adon tells Michael to look in Dr. Kaminko's house. After watching a report about the missing cargo ship that was carrying loads of Pokémon (the S.S. Libra), Michael goes to Kaminko's house, where he battles by Chobin, who mistakes him for a burglar. After fending him off, Jovi shows up and Michael takes Jovi home.
Back at the HQ Lab, Michael talks to Prof. Krane and obtains the Snag Machine, a machine that allows its owner to snag Shadow Pokémon from other Trainers. To complement the machine, Aidan adds a Shadow Monitor to the P★DA. When Professor Krane goes to ready the battle simulator for a test, some men come in and kidnap Professor Krane. Michael follows them outside and battles the leader, Naps, who is using a , which Michael snags. However, Prof. Krane is taken away by his captors. Aidan mentions that Prof. Krane is crucial to the Purification Chamber project (a device that allows Shadow Pokémon to be purified), and that there is nothing they can do without him. Lily then says they can complete it themselves, and sends Michael to Gateon Port to retrieve a crucial part, with Jovi tagging along.
At Gateon Port, Jovi literally runs into Zook, who sends out his Shadow in anger. Before he can do anything else, however, a mysterious wealthy man, Mr. Verich, steps in and has one of his bodyguards defeat Zook. Michael and Jovi retrieve the machine part from the mechanic Perr (snagging a few Shadow Pokémon on the way) and return to the HQ Lab.
Lily mentions that there is a place in Agate Village that can purify Shadow Pokémon, and Michael heads there. While there, he meets Eagun, the elder of Agate Village, who shows Michael the Relic Stone, a stone that has the power to purify Shadow Pokémon. Eagun allows Michael to purify one Pokémon at the Stone, and Michael returns to the HQ Lab.
Michael then travels to the Cipher Lab to rescue Prof. Krane, and successfully does so while defeating Cipher Admin Lovrina. While at the lab, he finds a Data ROM, and heads to Pyrite Town to speak with Secc and Nett at ONBS, to see if they can decode it. After receiving some tips from Duking about Poké Spots, Michael receives a text from Nett saying to come back to Pyrite Town. Cipher has taken over ONBS, and it's up to Michael to defeat them on his way up to see Nett.
Michael's next stop is Phenac City. After his arrival, he finds that the city has been taken over by Cipher. After defeating the Cipher Peons, he heads into the Phenac Stadium and defeats Cipher Admin Snattle, freeing Phenac City.
Later, Michael is tipped off by Phenac's mayor about Cipher sticking around a strange building, and is also requested by a young girl in Pyrite Town to go save her Pokémon aboard the S.S. Libra; but both the strange building and the S.S. Libra are inaccessible due to the heavy sands that Michael's scooter can't pass. After another misunderstanding with Chobin, Michael is able to get advanced wheels that can take him through the heavy sands. Although Michael can find the , it flees when startled by the PDA, and all the other Pokémon supposedly aboard the ship have also disappeared. After encountering and dueling some more Cipher members, Team Snagem goons ambush Michael; by using , they knock him out and steal his Snag Machine from him.
Michael then re-encounters Zook from Gateon Port at the Cipher Key Lair, the strange building Justy told him about, but he cannot even attempt to snag his Shadow . Also, two bulky guards make the key lair inaccessible to Michael, leaving him trapped out.
Fortunately, Secc at ONBS directs Michael to Hordel at the Outskirt Stand; he directs Michael to the Snagem Hideout. After battling through the swarm of Snagem members, Michael defeats the leader Gonzap and reclaims his Snag Machine; but when they both realize that they are both trying to defeat Cipher, Gonzap agrees to help Michael through the guards. The same that put Michael to sleep puts the two bulky guards to sleep, letting Michael enter the Cipher Key Lair; after intensely battling through the many -enabled peons in it, and then after shutting down the factory thus ceasing the production of all Shadow Pokémon, Michael confronts and battles the third —Gorigan.
After defeating the large, ape-like man, Mr. Verich appears on video and reveals that he is actually Greevil, the true master of Cipher, and that he is hiding on Citadark Island, but the island is in a very stormy area of sea and almost always has terrible weather, making it almost impossible to breach. With the help of Makan, Michael—after getting the Master Ball from Professor Krane—enables the Robo Kyogre, and journeys to Cipher's last stronghold.
There, he battles through Lovrina, Snattle and Gorigan a second time and an entire horde of Pokémon, and even battles Ardos and Eldes, who are two more and Greevil's bodyguards. After going through everyone, Michael battles Greevil after snagging or defeating Shadow Lugia. He defeats him, and it is then revealed that Ardos and Eldes are his sons. Ardos wishes to blow up Citadark Island, sacrificing Michael and all the Cipher members and Pokémon on the island so Cipher can live on, but he is ultimately spurned by Eldes, who convinces Greevil that Cipher is finished after being defeated a second time. Ardos storms off, and Eldes and Greevil decide to surrender to the police, thus ensuring Orre's safety.
Michael can complete the Orre Colosseum after this. The five Cipher Admins appear in competitions there, along with Gonzap and his Team Snagem followers as well as Chobin piloting Robo Groudon. Notably, when challenged, Ardos hints of his plans to resurrect Cipher, and upon being defeated, he labels Michael as Cipher's biggest threat.
==Blurb==
Experience The Extra Dimension!Using Shadow Pokémon, an evil organization has unleashed a sinister plot of world domination. With as your companion, and with the help of numerous friends along the way, you must fight against terrible foes and race against time to snag a purify the Shadow Pokémon and save the world!
Engage in fantastic battles with your friends! By connecting with a Game Boy Advance—using a Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance cable—you can import and battle with your Game Boy Advance Pokémon from Pokémon Emerald, FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby and Sapphire!
==Gameplay==
Much like , Pokémon XD features a similar 3D gameplay to the core series of Pokémon games. Mechanics in Pokémon battles are directly adapted. Also, similar to its predecessor, Pokémon XD features mostly Double Battles instead of Single Battles. Unlike in Colosseum however, wild Pokémon can be found, albeit only in specific places called Poké Spots.
===Changes from Pokémon Colosseum===
Some changes have been made to the region and gameplay from Pokémon Colosseum:
*The , Wes, is replaced by Michael. Michael's first Pokémon is a L10 instead of a L25 and L26 .
*Saving is now done with the menu, instead of having to use a PC.
*PCs now have 8 Boxes, and access to the Purify Chamber.
*Hyper Mode is replaced with Reverse Mode.
*Shadow Pokémon can no longer be put in the Day Care.
*Shadow Pokémon now learn exclusive Moves via purification.
*Shadow Rush's power has dropped to 55 and no longer causes recoil damage.
*Multiple Shadow moves have been added alongside Shadow Rush.
*Shadow Moves are now super effective against non-Shadow Pokémon but not very effective against Shadow Pokémon.
*There is now a '+' next to an opponent's Shadow Pokémon's level.
*Battle Mode has been removed, though the Orre Colosseum has been incorporated into the post-game Story Mode.
*Calling a non-Shadow Pokémon now raises its accuracy if it's not asleep.
*The Orre Region map got a makeover, and is now viewed from a 3D rather than a top-down look.
*Pyrite Cave and The Under are no longer accessible.
*Pyrite Building has been turned into ONBS.
*The Purify Chamber — a new way to purify shadow Pokémon — has been added.
*Trest is the mayor of Phenac City.
*Wild Pokémon, in-game trades, a Move Relearner, Battle Bingo and Battle Sims have been added.
*Strategy Memo is automatically updated.
*In Mt. Battle, the player is no longer asked if the player wants to advance to the next zone.
*Areas 1-3 of Mt. Battle are available from the start.
*Mt. Battle trainer levels now go up to Level 70 and trainers now use Legendary Pokémon.
*TMs 07 (Hail), 46 (Thief) and 37 (Sandstorm) are gone.
*The books in the basement of the Phenac Pokémon Center are now described as a Hoenn/Kanto region research.
*Time Flutes are gone.
*Poké Balls can now be bought at most Poké Marts.
*Trading with the Hoenn-based games now requires Ruby, Sapphire or Emerald to have entered the Hall of Fame.
*If a Shadow Pokémon is snagged, it will not appear in the party or PC until the battle is won.
**If the battle is lost after snagging a Pokémon, it will either return to its original owner, or flee.
===Characters===
The protagonist of Pokémon XD is a young boy named Michael, Trainer of an Eevee. Michael lives with his mother, , and his younger sister Jovi. Professor Krane, a scientist researching Pokémon purification and a family friend, often assists him. A handful of other characters also appear, some returning from and some new.
The crime organization Cipher returns in the game with renewed plans. The syndicate includes five new admins: Lovrina, Snattle, Gorigan, Ardos and Eldes hired by the team's boss. Miror B. also appears in the game with new scopes in mind.
===Locations===
The game's setting is in the Orre region, which has been altered after the five years that have passed. More wild Pokémon have started appearing, but Orre's land is still much less inhabited than other regions. Pokémon XD features locations not present in Colosseum, as well as landmarks such as Mt. Battle returning.
==Pokémon==
===Starting===
First Pokémon
{| border="1" style="margin:auto; border: 1px solid #; border-collapse: collapse; background: white; margin: auto" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"
===Snaggable===
Shadow Pokémon
{| border="1" style="margin:auto; border: 1px solid #; border-collapse: collapse; background: white; margin: auto" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"
====Legendary Pokémon====
=====Lugia=====
=====Articuno=====
=====Zapdos=====
=====Moltres=====
===Given===
Shadow Pokémon
{| border="1" style="margin:auto; border: 1px solid #; border-collapse: collapse; background: white; margin: auto" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"
===Poké Spot Pokémon===
Pokémon	Pokémon	Pokémon	 	Levels
0187 	 	 	Oasis	10-20
0231 	 	 	Oasis	10-20
0283 	 	 	Oasis	10-20
0041 	 	 	Cave 	10-21
0304 	 	 	Cave 	10-21
0194 	 	 	Cave 	10-21
0027 	 	 	Rock 	10-23
0207 	 	 	Rock 	10-20
0328 	 	 	Rock 	10-20
===Johto first partner Pokémon===
After completing a new challenge in Mt. Battle by defeating 100 opponents with the same party, the player can receive one of the Johto first partner Pokémon. The player can obtain the remaining Pokémon by redoing the challenge all over again. Each of the Johto first partner Pokémon has its corresponding variation of Hyper Beam.
====Chikorita====
====Cyndaquil====
====Totodile====
===In-game trades===
====Elekid====
Hordel will only trade this Elekid for a purified Shadow or .
====Duking====
Duking will trade these Pokémon if the player provides him with rare Pokémon from the Poké Spots.
=====Meditite=====
Give 
=====Shuckle=====
Give 
=====Larvitar=====
Give 
===Generation IV===
* 
* 
These Pokémon are not catchable, but they have special roles in the game. The Herbalist's Munchlax will often appear at a Poké Spot and make the player receive a false alarm that a wild Pokémon has appeared to eat his Poké Snacks. When the player finds Munchlax, the Herbalist will appear to take it back to her store, and she will give the player ten Poké Snacks and a random herbal medicine from her shop in compensation each time.
A girl's Bonsly can be found inside the S.S. Libra after it appears in the desert. This Bonsly is apparently a Pokémon that Cipher forgot to take to Cipher Key Lair. It will then randomly appear at any Poké Spot until the player captures it. After doing so and taking it to the girl in Pyrite Town, she will allow the player to use a special bingo card at Realgam Tower, which features Bonsly as a playable Pokémon.
==Connectivity==
Players can transfer snagged Pokémon from Pokémon XD to any of the portable Generation III games: Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, LeafGreen and . This transference functions identically to the trading function in the core series games, but can only happen in Phenac City.
* In order to do the above, one needs to have entered the Hall of Fame. In FireRed and LeafGreen, they also need to have completed the sidequest to unlock trading with Hoenn-based games.
* Through exploitation of differences in linkup requirements, players can send Pokémon from XD to one of the handheld Hoenn games without having entered the Hall of Fame, trading first to a game that has done so then trading to Ruby and Sapphire, or in the case of trading a non-Hoenn Dex Pokémon to Emerald, trading to , and then trading from Colosseum to Emerald.
==Development Cycle==
==Staff==
==Gallery==
File:Pokémon XD logo English.png|English logo
File:Pokémon XD logo Japanese.png|Japanese logo
==Trivia==
* "XD" stands for "eXtra Dimension" (Japanese: エクストラデイメンジョン Extra Dimension).Pokemon-Games.com (archive)
* This is the last Pokémon game to be released for the Nintendo GameCube.
* Though is the main focus of the game, it has only the second-highest level of snaggable Shadow Pokémon (tied with , , , and ), at level 50. The Shadow Pokémon of the highest level in this game is a at level 55.
* Before the release of Pokémon XD, stated that Pokémon XD would not be a sequel to , but rather a whole new game, having a similar style to . This was proven false once the game came out as it was explicitly a sequel.
* If a Pokémon captured in is traded to this game, the caught location will most likely be displayed as a distant land, regardless of where it was actually caught in Orre, even if it was caught in an area accessible in the game, because both games use exactly the same internal index list for locations. Doing the reverse also produces a status screen oddity.
* If a player pre-ordered this game, they could receive a limited edition GameCube skin featuring Shadow Lugia, , , , , and Michael.
* Like in Pokémon Colosseum, Shadow Pokémon are banned from VS mode. However, there are no restrictions on non-Shadow Pokémon that are given Shadow moves through cheating. is similarly unrestricted.
* This game and are the only RPG Pokémon games released after that do not allow the player to choose their gender.
* The box art for Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness was designed by James Turner.Tweet about designing Shadow Lugia and the box art for Pokémon XD
==In other languages==
==References==
==Related articles==
Category:Games
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Category:Nintendo GameCube games
de:Pokémon XD: Der Dunkle Sturm
es:Pokémon XD: Tempestad oscura
fr:Pokémon XD : Le Souffle des Ténèbres
it:Pokémon XD: Tempesta Oscura
ja:ポケモンXD 闇の旋風ダーク・ルギア
zh:宝可梦ＸＤ 暗之旋风 黑暗洛奇亚