After 20 years, Pokemon finally allowed me to overcome the Gen 3 blind spots

Since the year is 2026 Pokemon The 30th anniversary of the series, there's never been a better time for me to finally fill in the missing gaps of my childhood by playing the Gen 3 games I missed out on 20 years ago. Fortunately, the recent releases of the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 celebrating this anniversary have helped me immensely with this goal. Between FireRed and LeafGreen Switch ports and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness When I got onto Nintendo Switch Online, I was able to reconnect with my inner child and make them proud by completing a long-term goal.

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With the Switch 2, I can finally access the Gen 3 Pokemon games I missed as a kid

Like many kids, I had some pretty stupid or downright wrong ideas about video games. While I understood it Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen were remakes of the original Red and blue games I hadn't played at the time these remakes were released, so it was a clear chance to experience the Kanto region for the first time in my eyes. I finally chose FireRed purely because I thought Charizard was the strongest Pokemon, which I think was a pretty common belief held by a lot of kids back then.

When it came to Pokemon XD: Gale of DarknessI was less informed about what the game actually entailed because I believed it was just a remake Pokemon Colosseumwhich I've already played, just with a few new features. Because I didn't realize Pokémon XD was a full-fledged sequel ColosseumI never paid attention to it. As I grew up, I learned what I was missing out on, I heard about how Pokémon XD solved a lot of problems Colosseum had and I was kicking myself for missing out when GameCube games were readily available.

I recently played LeafGreen for the first time after growing up with FireRed

Because I never had the chance to play LeafGreen as a kid I decided this would be the version I picked up when the Switch ports were released. After playing Pokemon FireRed I became jealous as a child LeafGreen players as soon as I realized it LeafGreen it has a better version exclusive and I always missed not being able to get them whenever I played them FireRed. Now that I had the chance to lose LeafGreenI'm not sure if I can go back FireRed because I prefer the version exclusive to this version of the game.

Exclusive versions of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen

Besides LeafGreen technically with one more exclusive Pokemon than FireRedI think it has an excellent list of exclusives due to the presence of some of my favorite Pokemon. I love Slowpoke and was devastated that it was never available to me FireRedinstead he left me with Psyduck and Golduck, which always disappointed me when I remembered that they weren't Water/Psychic like they should have been. Plus, I prefer Sandshrew and Sandslash to Ekans and Arbok, so I was happy to finally have access to those as well. While I like both Arcanine and Ninetales equally, I made it a point to use Ninetales in my team because I never had the chance to use them in any of my FireRed playthroughs.

The first time I play through Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, I wish I hadn't slept on it as a kid

After finishing my playing LeafGreen with my exclusive Slowbro and Ninetales as part of my Hall of Fame team I moved on to play Pokémon XD first. I struggled with it at the time Pokemon ColosseumA dramatic jump in difficulty compared to the main series, largely due to how it limits Pokemon catching to Shadow Pokemon only. After the final beating Pokemon Colosseum as a kid I wasn't too eager to jump in Pokémon XD when I saw it announced because I believed it was basically the same thing and I wasn't ready to go through the challenge again.

How Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness differs from Colosseum

• An all-new story set five years later Colosseum

• Improved cleaning mechanics for Shadow Pokemon

• Expanded list of available Pokemon

• Shadow Lugia

If I had paid more attention to game publishing as a kid, I would have realized this Pokémon XD it solves almost all my problems Colosseum. The story of Pokemon Colosseum I was never really into it as a kid, but now I feel more engaged Pokémon XD's story is through it now for the first time. I also found it really tedious to clear Shadow Pokemon and make them usable on my team and Storm of Darkness Purify Chamber makes this process much faster.

These improvements alone would have gotten me a lot more interested in the game as a kid, but I'm also just finding out how it's expanded Pokémon XDThe roster is too. Having an Eevee from the start and being able to choose which Eevelution evolves into makes it much easier to build a team around instead of being locked into Espeon and Umbreon initially like Colosseum. Shadow Lugia is also such a cool Legendary box art for the game that I can't believe I was sleeping on the game when it originally came out. Fortunately, I'm starting to appreciate it Pokémon XD a lot more than I probably would have as a kid, and it made me want to revisit some of the other games I picked up when I was younger.

Systems

Released

September 7, 2004

ESRB

All 10+ / mild fantasy violence, simulated gambling

Multiplayer

Online multiplayer

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