Pokemon Stadium 2

Introduction: Pokémon Stadium 2 is an official Nintendo 64 title released in 2000 in Japan and 2001 internationally. It serves as a companion and battle simulator for the Game Boy Color games Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. The game does not have a traditional region or story; its primary setting is the Stadium itself, where battles are rendered in full 3D. The visual style is a direct upgrade from the first Pokémon Stadium, featuring more detailed and animated models for all 251 Pokémon from the first two generations.

Gameplay & Mechanics: The core gameplay revolves around structured tournaments and free battle modes. Players do not choose starter Pokémon or embark on a journey; instead, they rent pre-built teams or use Pokémon transferred from the Game Boy games via the Transfer Pak. The difficulty is entirely player-driven, based on tournament selection and opponent AI, making traditional Nuzlocke rules inapplicable. Mechanically, it faithfully replicates the Generation II battle system, including the Dark and Steel types and the special/physical split being tied to move types (e.g., all Fire moves are special). It does not add later mechanics like the Physical/Special split from Generation IV or Fairy types.

Key Features:

• Full Pokédex Integration: The game includes every Pokémon from Generations I and II, with fully animated 3D models and cries, which was a major technical achievement at the time.
• Expanded Mini-Games: Features nine mini-games, such as Clefairy Says and Ekans Hoop Hurl, which support up to four players and are more polished than those in the original Stadium.
• Gym Leader Castle and Round 2: Includes a mode to battle all 16 Gym Leaders from Kanto and Johto, followed by a significantly more challenging "Round 2" with rematches against teams of higher-level, fully-evolved Pokémon.

The game is best experienced with a Transfer Pak to use a player's own teams from the Game Boy titles.