When I last did a write-up on my grand Pokémon ambition, I laid out the concept and discussed briefly my experience with the game I chose to play first, LeafGreen for the Game Boy Advance. In an effort to keep the experience fresh, I decided to play Colosseum next. This was an astute decision as Colosseum is different from the traditional handheld Pokémon games. In fact, that very reason was why I disliked the game when it played it 2004, but enjoyed it in 2013 – it was different.

Unlike the traditional handheld games, Colosseum featured a predetermined set of Pokémon to capture. Following along with a guide found on serebii.net, I made sure to snag each of the 48 Shadow Pokémon. After all, if I did so and purified them, and completed the 100-trainer Mt. Battle, I’d receive a Ho-oh. Well worth 50 or 60 hours, eh? Currently, I’ve snagged every available Pokémon and have purified all but 4. It’ll take me a few more hours to get that done. Then I can begin the Mt. Battle challenge, which I estimate will, again, take a few more hours, hopefully no more than 10. At that point, I’ll have clocked about 55 hours with game (definitely more when factoring in all the times I failed to snag tougher Pokémon).

I also have the preorder bonus disc for this game. This is notable as I’ll be able to transfer a Jirachi into my Game Boy Advance games. There was also a Japanese bonus disc that included Celebi and Pikachu. I’ve seen some of these discs on eBay and I would be able to get the disc to work despite the region coding, but they’re expensive. The cheapest I’ve found was $70, which is too much for only two Pokémon. At least, it’s too much at this point. Maybe I’ll change my mind once I’ve captured everyone else. The Japanese version also had three e-Reader exclusive Pokémon – Togepi, Mareep, and Scizor. Scizor would be cool, but then I’d have to import the actual game, as well as the set of e-Reader cards. I find that possibility more unlikely than me purchasing the Japanese bonus disc.

The ultimate goal for this idea of mine is to have a slew of Pokémon (perhaps all???) contained in a single game. They’ll have come from my many different avatars, as well as other trainers, of the NPC and IRL kind. Due to this fact, I’ll be able to level them much faster (Pokémon from other trainers earn bonus experience). Having them come from multiple trainers will also be a boon when breeding. Also, I’ll have quite the stable of legendary Pokémon; duplicates of many. Anyways, that’s where I’m at currently – just about finished with Colosseum. My next step is to return to the GBA to play Emerald for the first time.