Platform guide
All Pokémon GameCube games
Four Pokémon discs came out for the GameCube — and only two of them are games you play through. One is a television simulator with a Pikachu on the sofa, and one was never sold in a shop at all. The two that are real role-playing games share something no handheld Pokémon has: a region with no wild Pokémon in it.
The short answer
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness (2005) is the one to buy, with Pokémon Colosseum (2004) second. Pokémon Channel is a virtual pet, and Pokémon Box is a storage tool that came through Nintendo’s loyalty scheme rather than a shop. All four play on an original Wii too, with a GameCube controller and memory card.
Every Pokémon GameCube disc, in release order
| Game | Year (EU) | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Channel | 2004 | Virtual pet — not a game as such |
| Colosseum | 2004 | RPG — Orre region |
| Box: Ruby & Sapphire | 2004 | Storage tool — never sold in shops |
| XD: Gale of Darkness | 2005 | RPG — Orre region, sequel |
Game by game — the buying notes
Pokémon Channel (2004)
You watch television with a Pikachu. That is genuinely the premise: channels, programmes, a shopping network, and a Pikachu on the sofa reacting to it. Made by Ambrella rather than Game Freak. Buy it as a curiosity or for a young child; do not buy it expecting a Pokémon adventure.
Pokémon Colosseum (2004)
A proper Pokémon RPG on a home console, and darker than anything before it: a desert region with no wild Pokémon at all, where you build a team by snatching Shadow Pokémon from other trainers. Double battles throughout. Connects to Ruby and Sapphire with a GameCube–Game Boy Advance link cable, which is how you move Pokémon between them.
Pokémon Box: Ruby & Sapphire (2004)
Not a game and never a normal retail product in Europe: it came through Nintendo’s loyalty scheme or bundled in the Colosseum Mega Pack. It is a storage system for the Game Boy Advance games — you park Pokémon on the memory card instead of filling the boxes on the cartridge — and it shipped with a GameCube–Game Boy Advance link cable and a memory card. Those two are most of what a complete copy is worth; a disc on its own does very little.
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness (2005)
The sequel to Colosseum, five years later in the same desert region, with a purification system that is far less punishing and a Shadow Lugia on the cover. Better paced than Colosseum and the one to buy if you buy one. Also the last Pokémon game on the console — after this the series moved to the Wii for Battle Revolution.
The cable that makes these games work
Colosseum, XD and Box all talk to the Game Boy Advance games, and they all need the same thing: a GameCube–Game Boy Advance link cable. It is not the same cable that joins two Game Boy Advances, and it is not included with the discs — Pokémon Box was the exception, because it shipped with one in the box along with a memory card.
With that cable you can move Pokémon between Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, LeafGreen and Emerald and the GameCube discs. Without it, Colosseum and XD are still complete games, but Box does essentially nothing. That is the single most useful thing to check on a listing for any of the three.
Or buy one that has already been checked
Every disc we sell is play-tested on real hardware and listed exactly as it is, with the case, manual and any cable or card described honestly. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries.
Browse tested Pokémon gamesQuestions we get asked
How many Pokémon games are there on the GameCube?
Four discs: Pokémon Channel and Pokémon Colosseum (both 2004), Pokémon Box: Ruby & Sapphire (2004, never a normal shop product in Europe) and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness (2005). Only Colosseum and XD are role-playing games; Channel is a virtual-pet television simulator and Box is a storage tool for the Game Boy Advance games.
Which Pokémon GameCube game should I buy first?
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness. It is the better paced of the two RPGs, its purification system is far less tedious than Colosseum’s, and it stands on its own without the first game. Colosseum after it, if you want the harder, bleaker one.
Can you catch wild Pokémon in Colosseum and XD?
No, and that is the defining feature of both. The Orre region is a desert with no wild Pokémon in it. You build your team by snatching Shadow Pokémon — Pokémon that have been artificially corrupted — from other trainers mid-battle, and then purifying them. It makes both games play unlike any handheld Pokémon.
What do I need to connect these to a Game Boy Advance?
A GameCube–Game Boy Advance link cable, which is a specific cable and not the same as the GBA link cable that connects two handhelds. With it you can move Pokémon between Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, LeafGreen or Emerald and Colosseum, XD or Box. Pokémon Box originally shipped with the cable and a memory card in the package.
Do GameCube games play on a Wii?
On the original Wii models, yes — they have the four controller ports and two memory card slots under a flap on top. The later Wii Family Edition and the Wii Mini dropped that hardware, and the Wii U cannot play GameCube discs at all. You also need a GameCube controller and a GameCube memory card; these games save to the card, not to the disc.
Are GameCube discs region-locked?
Yes. A European disc plays on a European GameCube or Wii, not on an American or Japanese one. Everything we sell is the European version unless the product page says otherwise — and with Pokémon that also determines the language the game runs in.
Do you ship Pokémon GameCube games across the EU?
Yes — tracked shipping from the Netherlands to all 27 EU countries, no customs charges inside the EU, and 30 days to return an order. Your country’s exact rate appears at checkout before you pay.
The handheld generations these connect to: Game Boy Advance, DS, 3DS and Game Boy — or the whole series in order. Same console, different franchise: all Mario GameCube games.
Dutch reader? GameCube-games — het hele aanbod in het Nederlands.