Let's Play Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness!

Pokemon XD is the fourth and final Pokemon game for the Nintendo GameCube, released in 2005 and billed as a sequel to the 2003 RPG, Pokemon Colosseum. Building on the Shadow Pokemon and purification mechanics that Colosseum introduced with a greatly expanded roster of available Pokemon and new moves, XD was also the competitive platform of choice for hosting tournaments through its VS mode, until the release of Pokemon games for the Nintendo DS in 2006. Worldwide it has sold 1.25 million units, which is depressing because Colosseum sold more than twice that number, so somewhere along the line XD failed to attract the attention of more than a million fans of the original game.

I'm pretty sure that XD is the lowest selling first party GameCube game of all time. It is my favorite GameCube game, and I, Touya, will be playing through it this summer with the goal of viewing it analytically while also providing a cursory examination of competitive battling.

(The XD in the title stands for eXtra Dimension and so the full title of the game is Pokemon eXtra Dimension: Gale of Darkness. Nobody calls it this.)

Audience Participation.

Because I am so adamantly going through XD with creating an unstoppable superteam in mind, I will not be relying heavily on the comments section to drive my decisions in-game. I have my key Pokemon-of-choice lined out ahead of time and will probably not ask for input on my team. However, as this is a Let's Play, should I find a strong following I will be asking for audience input on nicknames, hopefully generate some discussion on the particulars of each Pokemon, and I will be open to showing off how my developing in-game team matches up to actual teams through Pokemon Showdown et al. at specific points. (This will end badly for me.)

A word of forewarning.

I've been playing Pokemon since I was eight years old and I've never quite stopped, but I fell out of interest in competitive play during the fourth generation and only recently began to look back into it. While I'm intimately familiar with the game mechanics, my familiarity is not all-encompassing and I'm learning new things all the time. By my own admission, I just did not have the head for competitive Pokemon and this is a very experimental LP because it will be my first serious foray into that world in many years. This is also why I chose XD to play, as the narrower selection of Pokemon limits my in-game options while still having a healthy pool of mid-to-high tier Pokemon available.

Regarding video.

This is primarily a screenshot playthrough, and I cannot actually record sound at the moment due to technical problems have solved my Pinnacle Studio problems and every boss fight following the first will have sound.

Zero commitment policy.
Because of the effort involved in maintaining Cardfight Pro, I do not adhere to a consistent update schedule. I write when I can.

Let's Play Pokemon XD!

Part 1: Pokemon HQ Lab through Kaminko Manor
Part 2: Gateon Port 
Intermission 1: SIM Battles
Part 3: Agate Village
Part 4: Mount Battle