Games
XD Gale of Darkness: Shadow Lugia, Orre and Switch 2
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness is the 2005 GameCube sequel to Colosseum, released in Japan on 4 August 2005, North America on 3 October 2005 and Europe on 18 November 2005. Set again in Orre, it has you snag and purify the Shadow Pokémon of the Cipher organisation and uncover the mystery of Shadow Lugia, starting with an Eevee. It adds wild Pokémon at Poké Spots, Battle CDs and Battle Bingo. Since March 2026 it is also part of GameCube Nintendo Classics on Switch 2 with an Expansion Pack membership, where its Pokémon cannot move to or from other games.
Editorial record, read 8 Nov 2026.
Orre is the map again, and Cipher is the opponent again
pokemon.com describes XD as a return to Orre, with familiar places such as Pyrite Town and Phenac City and new locations to find. The Cipher organisation is closing the hearts of Pokémon and turning them into fighting machines called Shadow Pokémon, and the hero must defeat its members, snag and purify every Shadow Pokémon, and learn the truth about Shadow Lugia. The official Japanese page fills in the hero: a skilled young Trainer who lives with his mother and younger sister at a Pokémon research laboratory after losing his father, a Pokémon researcher, and who crosses the desert on a scooter rebuilt to hover. An incident at the laboratory starts the story.
XD trades with the GBA games on disc and with nothing on Switch 2
XD is a single game with no version exclusives. On the original disc, the official Japanese page lists the GBA cable as its accessory, and the FireRed and LeafGreen page confirms trades with Orre once the One Island network machine is finished. On Switch 2, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company state that Pokémon raised in XD cannot move to other titles and Pokémon from other games cannot move into XD; Nintendo's Australian news page adds that Game Boy Advance titles cannot send Pokémon to it. Battles for two and four players run on one console, as Nintendo's product page notes. Anyone who wants an XD Pokémon in Pokémon HOME needs the disc, a Game Boy Advance cartridge and the long Generation III transfer chain.
Eevee is the partner and the Snag Machine does the work
The hero's partner is an Eevee, and the official Japanese page notes that it can evolve into five different Pokémon. Nintendo's product page puts it plainly: you begin with just Eevee. Saving Shadow Pokémon needs two tools that only the hero carries: the Aura Reader, which spots a Shadow Pokémon's dark aura, and the Snag Machine, which takes a Pokémon from the Trainer using it. Snagging is how Shadow Pokémon join the team, and purification is how they recover. Poké Spots, wild locations where the Japanese page shows a Sandshrew, supply the rest of the team, so the roster grows from both snags and wild catches.
Battle CDs, Battle Bingo and Mt. Battle round out the game
Alongside the main story, XD offers side activities that the official pages list. Battle CDs, Battle Discs in the Japanese version, are items found around Orre that unlock battle challenges, some of them using legendary Pokémon. Battle Bingo plays the familiar game through Pokémon battles, turning panels to complete a line. Poké Spots let you catch wild Pokémon between story steps. pokemon.com adds that 100 Trainers wait along Mt. Battle, and that the game offers battles against tough in-game Trainers or head to head with a friend in 3D. Finishing every snag and purification, Shadow Lugia included, is the story's own completion goal.
Purification is half of the game
Purification is the second half of every Shadow Pokémon's story. pokemon.com describes the hero's task as to snag and purify all of the Shadow Pokémon, and the official Japanese page calls the two steps snatch and relive. The PokéAPI version group for XD records a learn method of its own for this, xd-purification, beside level-up, tutor and machine, so the move data in the cache lists moves that a species learns when it is purified. Shadow Lugia is the largest case, the mystery at the centre of the story. The move finder on this site lists XD moves by method, purification included, so a team plan can count on those moves.
Generation III rules apply, with move tutors added
XD uses the Generation III rules of Ruby and Sapphire, with abilities, natures and double battles. It adds a move tutor, which the PokéAPI version group records: XD lists level-up, tutor, machine and purification, where Colosseum lists only level-up and machine. In the move data in the cache, XD tutor moves include Body Slam, Double-Edge, Dream Eater, Fake Out, Feint Attack, Hypnosis, Night Shade, Nightmare, Sky Attack, Self-Destruct, Thunder Wave and Zap Cannon. The version group records no breeding method. Poké Spots, where the official Japanese page shows a wild Sandshrew, are the wild encounters, and they are the place to fill gaps in a team.
XD joined GameCube Nintendo Classics in March 2026
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced XD for the GameCube Nintendo Classics app at the Pokémon Day 2026 presentation, for March 2026, and Nintendo's Australian news page dated 19 March 2026 says the game is here. The app is exclusive to Switch 2 and needs a paid Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. Nintendo's Americas support page says an update released on 14 April 2026 fixed an issue where the software closed while playing XD. The Switch 2 version drops the link to Game Boy Advance games, so it plays as a closed single game. Colosseum has no Switch 2 release, so a player who starts in Orre today on Switch 2 starts with the sequel.
In 2026 the choice is Switch 2 for play or the disc for transfers
Switch 2 with the Expansion Pack is the simple way to play XD today. The disc is the way to move its Pokémon anywhere. It runs on a GameCube; Nintendo's support page says the later Wii models, RVL-101 and the Wii mini, cannot use GameCube discs or accessories, which leaves the original Wii model. Trades need the GBA cable and a FireRed or LeafGreen cartridge with the One Island network machine finished. From the cartridge, Pal Park in Diamond and Pearl starts the chain through Poké Transfer and Poké Transporter that ends at Pokémon Bank and then HOME, and Bank ends on 25 February 2027.
| Feature | GameCube disc | Switch 2 Nintendo Classics |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | GameCube or the original Wii model | Nintendo Switch 2 only |
| Membership | None | Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack |
| Trade to GBA games | Yes, with the GBA cable | No |
| Pokémon to HOME | Through the Generation III chain, before Bank ends 25 Feb 2027 | No |
| Availability | Disc only, from 2005 | Included with the membership |
Sourced: Nintendo and pokemon.com pages, the Japanese XD and FireRed and LeafGreen pages, and Nintendo support pages, read 8 Nov 2026.
5 checks before you act
- Decide first whether you want transfers (disc) or simple play (Switch 2).
- Learn to use the Aura Reader and Snag Machine before the first Cipher battle.
- Stock Poké Balls before each new area.
- Visit Poké Spots for wild Pokémon when you pass one.
- On Switch 2, install the latest GameCube Nintendo Classics update before a long run.
Read next
Sources read for this page
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darknessread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.co.jp, ポケモンXD 闇の旋風ダーク・ルギア product pageread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.co.jp, ファイアレッド・リーフグリーン stage pageread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, News and Updates from the Pokémon Day 2026 Pokémon Presentsread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Australia news, "Ready Orre not" (19 Mar 2026)read 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo UK, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness product pageread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI version groups, repository cache (repos/dexvoyage/data/version-groups.json)read 8 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI Pokémon move lists by version group, repository cache (repos/dexvoyage/data/cache/pokemon-<id>.json, 292 records)read 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon Ruby Version and Pokémon Sapphire Versionread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo UK, Nintendo GameCube: Nintendo Classics pageread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Support, error message in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness (Nintendo GameCube - Nintendo Classics)read 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Support, What Is the Difference between the Models of Wii Consoles?read 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.co.jp, ダイヤモンド・パール new features pageread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.co.jp, ブラック２・ホワイト２ bringing Pokémon pageread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.co.jp, Pokémon Bank: how to depositread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon Bankread 8 Nov 2026