Shadow Pokémon

File:Pokemon XD Dark Lugia.png

Shadow Lugia (XD001) from Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

Shadow Pokémon (Japanese: ダークポケモン Dark Pokémon) are Pokémon who have had the doors to their hearts shut artificially, a process created and carried out by Cipher in the Orre region. Collection of Shadow Pokémon through snagging and restoring them to normal is the main goal of Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.

A Shadow Croconaw in Pokémon Colosseum

Creation and behavior

Shadow Pokémon are created through an undisclosed process that removes the Pokémon's emotions, turning it into a soulless fighting machine. Ein, creator of the process and Cipher's head scientist at the time of Colosseum, refers to this process as "shutting the door to their hearts".

While normal Pokémon are generally friendly and trusting creatures, Shadow Pokémon are not hesitant to attack with full force, using Shadow moves, such as Shadow Rush. Likewise, they do not attack only other Pokémon, and will actually attack Trainers. Shadow Pokémon can sometimes be overwhelmed by their emotions, indicating the relative instability of their Shadow state, and will sometimes enter a state known as Hyper Mode in Colosseum and Reverse Mode in XD. This state will be triggered more often the closer the Pokémon is to purification, making them generally more difficult to battle with until they are ultimately purified. A Pokémon in this state can be cured of it by calling to it in battle or use of a cologne, as well as several other methods.

An interesting quirk about Shadow Pokémon is their inability to be differentiated from normal Pokémon by all but those with certain abilities or tools. Shadow Pokémon emit a normally invisible dark aura that normal Pokémon do not, which so far has only been able to be detected by Rui through an innate ability, and Michael with his Aura Reader.

Shadow Pokémon cannot level up, and any experience they gain in battle will be held until they are purified, at which point it will be awarded en masse.

Purification

Main article: Purification

A Shadow Pokémon's purification process will begin as soon as it has been snagged, at which time its heart gauge will become visible to the player. Replacing the experience bar, the heart gauge monitors how close the Pokémon is to being fully purified, with the dark purple gradually giving way to white.

Pokémon can be purified from their Shadow state in several ways with varying effectiveness:

• Walking around: A Shadow Pokémon carried with the player in their party will slowly but surely lower the Pokémon's heart gauge.
• Battling: A Shadow Pokémon sent into battle will have its heart gauge lowered a bit, with battling being the only way it can enter Hyper Mode or Reverse Mode.
• Calling: If a Shadow Pokémon is in Hyper Mode or Reverse Mode, calling to it will not only return it to its senses, but also reduce the heart gauge a bit.
• Massaging: Using special colognes, Shadow Pokémon can be massaged to lower their heart gauge.
• Day Care: In Colosseum only, a Shadow Pokémon put into the Day Care in Agate Village will slowly reduce its heart gauge. Shadow Pokémon are no longer accepted in Pokémon XD.
• Purification Chamber: Between Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD, a special chamber was developed in the Pokémon HQ Lab that could quickly purify Shadow Pokémon, making the process easier, in case Cipher were ever to return.

Nature and stats

A Shadow Pokémon, when encountered, is generated in the same way that a wild Pokémon is generated in the Generation III games, with its personality value and individual values set and effort values set to 0. Shadow Pokémon will not have a set nature, nor will they have a set gender, with these values generated again for later battles if the player fails to snag it the first time. The only constants about a Shadow Pokémon are its level and moves; all other factors, including shininess, will not carry over between encounters.

List of Shadow Pokémon

Main article: List of Shadow Pokémon