Today marks a monumental milestone as the Pokémon franchise celebrates its 30th anniversary. To honor three decades of pocket monsters, The Pokémon Company hosted its latest Pokémon Presents broadcast— a showcase that balanced nostalgic tributes with exciting future reveals. Among the most significant announcements was the long-awaited return of a fan-favorite classic: Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness is officially heading to Nintendo Switch Online.
Originally released as a GameCube exclusive, Gale of Darkness has spent years as a sought-after “holy grail” for collectors, with physical copies often fetching astronomical prices on the second-hand market. This digital revival brings the Shadow Pokémon saga to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service. It joins an increasingly prestigious library of GameCube titles, including The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Notably, this GameCube tier of the service remains exclusive to Nintendo’s latest “Switch 2” hardware.
While a specific launch day remains under wraps, the presentation confirmed that Gale of Darkness will debut sometime in March, meaning trainers only have a few weeks to wait before returning to the Orre region.
In addition to this retro revival, the Pokémon Company also revealed a peculiar new Game Boy-themed music player designed specifically for aficionados of the series’ classic soundtracks.
