Pokemon Colosseum was originally thought to be merely an update of the popular Nintendo 64 Pokemon Stadium games, but that's but the tip of the iceberg. Though it had been announced that players would be able to "snatch" other trainers' Pokemon, the actual method was never really understood. It turns out that the game contains a full length RPG of about thirty hours, in which you play a character stealing Pokemon from other trainers in order to free them. According to a new interview with developer Genius Sonority in Nintendo's Online Magazine, there are only certain Pokemon that can be snatched, those that are being "directed by a dark force". The only way players can tell if the Pokemon is "Dark" or not is by using the information your female partner provides.

Taking place in the entirely new Ore province, players will battle other trainers and snatch available Pokemon within a dreary desert locale. So dreary, in fact, that there are no wild Pokemon to battle and capture for oneself. Sounds pretty gloomy, huh? According to the game's designers, they wished to make the game more accessible to older Pokemon fans, so they took the game into a darker, more mature direction. The game designers describe the main character as a bit of an "anti-hero"; he seems quite evil, but you quickly learn this isn't so. This direction seems slightly unusual for a Nintendo franchise, especially one that has been traditionally aimed at the younger age demographic.

The game also allows you to store and organize your Pokemon, rather like the budget title Pokemon Box that was released earlier this year in Japan. With this addition, it seems clear why NOA decided to skip on releasing Box stateside.

Of course, the straightforward battle mode remains a big part of the title, featuring excellent 3D graphics. Up to four players (with three Pokemon each) can dish it out in style. All Pokemon will be supported, from every GBA version (Ruby/Sapphire, Fire Red/Grass Green), and a plethora of new rules and battle modes have been added. In fact, players can unlock Colosseum-only Pokemon and then transfer them to the GBA games, after clearing certain conditions.

Colosseum claims to feature two full-fledged games in one. With this combination of upgraded 3D battling and the long-awaited 3D Pokemon RPG, Pokefans will soon have a new reason to bust out their GameCubes.