Pokemon has finally allowed me to overcome my Gen 3 blind spots over 20 years later

With 2026 as Pokémon series' 30th anniversary, there's never been a better time for me to finally fill in the missing gaps in my childhood by playing the Gen 3 games I missed out on 20 years ago. Thankfully, the recent Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 releases celebrating this anniversary have helped me tremendously with this goal. Between Fire red and leaf green Switch ports and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness Releasing on Nintendo Switch Online, I've been able to reconnect with my inner child and make them proud by fulfilling a long-held goal.

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The unwritten rules of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen explained

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen have many secrets to discover and easy facts to miss, but fans can rely on unspoken rules that apply to most runs.

I can finally access the Gen 3 Pokemon games I missed as a kid thanks to the Switch 2

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 them when these remakes were released, so it was an obvious chance to experience the Kanto region for the first time in my eyes. I ended up picking Fire red only because I thought Charizard was the strongest Pokemon, which I think was a pretty common belief that a lot of kids held back then.

When it came down to it Pokemon XD: Gale of Darknessi was less informed about what the game actually entailed, and thought it was just a remake of Pokemon Coliseumwhich I had already played, only with some new features. Because I didn't understand Pokémon XD was a full-scale sequel to ColosseumI never cared about it. Growing up I learned what I missed, heard about how Pokémon XD fixed many of the problems Colosseum had, and I was kicking myself for missing it 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 Leaf green as a kid I decided that would be the version I picked up when the Switch ports were released. After playing Pokemon FireRed as a child I was envious of Leaf green player when I realized it Leaf green have the better version exclusives, and I always missed not being able to get them when I replayed Fire red. Now that I've had the chance to play through Leaf greenI'm not sure if I can go back to Fire red as I greatly prefer the exclusive version for this version of the game.

Exclusive in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen version

Apart from Leaf green technically have a more exclusive Pokemon than Fire redI think it has the superior list of exclusives due to the presence of some of my favorite Pokemon. I love Slowpoke, and I was devastated that it was never available to me Fire redinstead I was left with Psyduck and Golduck, which I was always disappointed with when I remembered that they aren't Water/Psychic like they should be. Also, I prefer Sandshrew and Sandslash over Ekans and Arbok, so I was happy to finally have access to those as well. Although I like both Arcanine and Ninetales equally, I made it a point to use Ninetales in my team, as I never had the chance to use it in any of my Fire red play through.

Playing through Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness for the first time makes me wish I hadn't slept on it as a kid

After finishing my playthrough of Leaf green with my version exclusive Slowbro and Ninetales as part of my Hall of Fame team, I went on to play Pokémon XD for the first time. Back in the day, I struggled along Pokemon Coliseums drastic jump in difficulty compared to the main series, largely due to how it limits catching Pokémon to Shadow Pokémon only. After finally hitting Pokemon Coliseum as a kid I wasn't that eager to jump in Pokémon XD when I saw it announced, because I thought it was more of the same, and I wasn't ready to go through that challenge again.

How Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness differs from Colosseum

• A completely new story that takes place five years later Colosseum

• Improved purification mechanics for Shadow Pokemon

• Expanded list of available Pokemon

• Shadow Lugia

If I had paid more attention to game releases as a kid, I would have realized that Pokémon XD fixes almost all my problems with Colosseum. The story of Pokemon Coliseum never really caught me as a kid, but I instantly feel more engaged in Pokémon XDs history is played through it now for the first time. I also found it really boring to purify Shadow Pokemon and make them useful on my team, and Gale of Darkness make this process so much faster with the Purify Chamber.

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

System

Released

September 7, 2004

ESRB

All 10+ / Mild fantasy violence, simulated gambling

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

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