Pokémon Stadium

For the first game in the series which was never released in English, see Pocket Monsters Stadium.

For the stage in the Super Smash Bros. series, see Pokémon Stadium (stage).

Pokémon Stadium
Game information
Number of player(s)	1-4 players
Platform(s), Categories and File Size	Platform(s) Nintendo 64 Genre(s) Battle simulation
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
In other countries
Japan	Release date April 30, 1999
Japan	Release date April 30, 1999
Anglosphere	Title(s) Pokémon Stadium Release date(s)  February 29, 2000 December 31, 2000 March 23, 2000 Rating(s) ESRB (USA and CA): E for Everyone Notes ^ a: signifies that it only applies to the US, UK, CA, AU, NZ and SG
Anglosphere	Title(s) Pokémon Stadium Release date(s)  February 29, 2000 December 31, 2000 March 23, 2000 Rating(s) ESRB (USA and CA): E for Everyone Notes ^ a: signifies that it only applies to the US, UK, CA, AU, NZ and SG

Pokémon Stadium (titled Pocket Monsters Stadium 2 in Japan) is a Nintendo 64 game released in 1999 in Japan and in 2000 elsewhere. It is the second game of the Pokémon Stadium series, releasing after Pocket Monsters Stadium, and the first Pokémon game for a home console to release outside of Japan. On April 12, 2023, the game was ported to Nintendo Switch Online.

Pokémon Stadium is a turn-based strategy game centered around battles inside a big arena. The Pokémon models are fully rendered in 3D. Players can use rental Pokémon in battles or alternatively transfer their own from any Generation I game of the core series, except for Mew. Most battles require the player and their opponent to each select three Pokémon for a round, so if they lose that round, the other three Pokémon can be used in the next round. Unlike the core series, Pokémon can neither level up nor evolve. The game also has no storyline or usable items.

There is an unlockable Round 2 option that applies to several of the game's modes, and is essentially defined by replaying the game at a higher difficulty level. Round 2 can be unlocked by clearing Vs. Mewtwo. It can be switched on or off by pressing C-Right on the main menu.

Modes

The game has a primary mode select screen and a submenu. The first menu has a few options on a standard light brown background depicting repeated instances of the Pokémon Stadium logo. The options on the first menu include: Battle Now!, the Pokémon Stadium submenu, Event Battle, Gallery, and Options.

Main menu

Main menu in the North American version, which has a Gallery mode which does not appear in other regional releases

Battle Now!

This mode is playable in both single-player and multiplayer. It simply involves a quick battle between two sides spanning two rounds. Unlike quick battle, the player is always randomly assigned six Pokémon from a pool of two predetermined teams, as well as their opponent. Each of these Pokémon at are level 50. The player and their opponent each have to select three Pokémon for the battle. The side that defeats the opponent's Pokémon in a round is the winner. The player that runs out of Pokémon loses the match altogether. After a fight concludes, if the player begins with the first possible team, their team is changed to the second possible team or vice versa.

If Round 2 is unlocked, a pool of three Pokémon from two different predefined teams is used instead.

• Round 1
• Round 2

• First possible team
• Second possible team

Trainer
Player
				Poké Balls
				Items	—
Pikachu				Bulbasaur
Base article	Type	Electric		Base article	Type	Grass /  Poison
	Level	50			Level	50
Moves	Thunderbolt	Quick Attack	Moves	Razor Leaf	Sleep Powder
	Thunder Wave	Swift		Leech Seed	Cut
Charmander				Squirtle
Base article	Type	Fire		Base article	Type	Water
	Level	50			Level	50
Moves	Flamethrower	Bide	Moves	Surf	Withdraw
	Dig	Slash		Strength	Ice Beam
Sandshrew				Clefairy
Base article	Type	Ground		Base article	Type	Fairy
	Level	50			Level	50
Moves	Earthquake	Sand-Attack	Moves	DoubleSlap	Metronome
	Submission	Rock Slide		Thunder	Mega Punch

Trainer
Player
				Poké Balls
				Items	—
Magnemite				Oddish
Base article	Type	Electric /  Steel		Base article	Type	Grass /  Poison
	Level	50			Level	50
Moves	Thunderbolt	Supersonic	Moves	Mega Drain	Sleep Powder
	Thunder Wave	Swift		Double-Edge	Petal Dance
Vulpix				Psyduck
Base article	Type	Fire		Base article	Type	Water
	Level	50			Level	50
Moves	Flamethrower	Confuse Ray	Moves	Surf	Disable
	Dig	Fire Blast		Confusion	Ice Beam
Cubone				Meowth
Base article	Type	Ground		Base article	Type	Normal
	Level	50			Level	50
Moves	Earthquake	Focus Energy	Moves	Fury Swipes	Growl
	Submission	Body Slam		Thunder	Take Down

• First possible team
• Second possible team

Trainer
Player
				Poké Balls
				Items	—
Raichu				Dodrio
Base article	Type	Electric		Base article	Type	Normal /  Flying
	Level	50			Level	50
Moves	Thunder	Submission	Moves	Drill Peck	Tri Attack
	Swift	Body Slam		Rage	Mimic
Sandslash				Ninetales
Base article	Type	Ground		Base article	Type	Fire
	Level	50			Level	50
Moves	Slash	Earthquake	Moves	Flamethrower	Dig
	Rock Slide	Toxic		Double-Edge	Confuse Ray
Vileplume				Seadra
Base article	Type	Grass /  Poison		Base article	Type	Water
	Level	50			Level	50
Moves	Petal Dance	Stun Spore	Moves	Hydro Pump	Take Down
	Mega Drain	Solar Beam		Substitute	Ice Beam

Trainer
Player
				Poké Balls
				Items	—
Electabuzz				Pidgeot
Base article	Type	Electric		Base article	Type	Normal /  Flying
	Level	50			Level	50
Moves	Thunder Punch	Strength	Moves	Fly	Mirror Move
	Psychic	Seismic Toss		Quick Attack	Hyper Beam
Victreebel				Rapidash
Base article	Type	Grass /  Poison		Base article	Type	Fire
	Level	50			Level	50
Moves	Razor Leaf	Toxic	Moves	Stomp	Fire Spin
	Mega Drain	Sleep Powder		Fire Blast	Agility
Dewgong				Rhydon
Base article	Type	Water /  Ice		Base article	Type	Ground /  Rock
	Level	50			Level	50
Moves	Blizzard	Headbutt	Moves	Earthquake	Rock Slide
	Surf	Growl		Horn Attack	Tail Whip

Event Battle

A two-player mode where the two players compete in a Pokémon battle, each using only Pokémon from their party in one of the Generation I games within the core series; because of this, each player needs a Generation I game cartridge attached to the Transfer Pak in their respective Nintendo 64 Controller. Additionally, the players each need to have a full party of six Pokémon in their respective game cartridges. The two players each choose three Pokémon from the six they have in their Game Boy team. The winner is the one who first weakens the opponent's Pokémon. A series of rules can be selected to modify the parameters of the battle.

Gallery

Gallery mode in Pokémon Stadium

Gallery is a mode which appeared exclusively in the North American release. The player can use it to capture photos of either their rental Pokémon or their Pokémon transferred from a Generation I game cartridge inserted in the Transfer Pak. The photos allows the player to change their backgrounds, choose angles or perspectives, and other enhancements. They can also create stickers in 16×1 or 4×4 sizes. The print option is available only while the cartridge is connected to a Pokémon Snap Station and paying to have select photos and stickers printed.

Options

Main article: Options

Some of the game settings can be changed from the Options menu. The options include toggling between mono and stereo sound, turning the announcer's voice on or off, or deleting all saved data.

Submenu

Stadium

Main article: Stadium (Pokémon Stadium series)

Stadium is the main gameplay mode. The objective is to emerge victorious in battles against other Pokémon in one of four Stadium Cups—Pika Cup, Petit Cup, Poké Cup, and Prime Cup—each having a different ruleset and Pokémon Trainers to battle. One of four difficulty levels can be selected for the latter two cups: Poké Ball (very easy), Great Ball (easy), Ultra Ball (medium), and Master Ball (hard). The name of each increased difficulty level corresponds to the increased effectiveness of that Poké Ball. Only Pokémon leveled 15-20 are usable in Pika Cup, 25-30 in Petit Cup, 50-55 in Poké Cup, and all levels in Prime Cup.

If the player clears Round 2 of Prime Cup on the Master Ball difficulty with a party consisting of a Pikachu and other Pokémon transferred from a Generation I game, the game displays a dialog box, which congratulates the player for their victory and asks if they want to teach Surf to Pikachu. The dialogue box does not appear if a Pikachu is not in the player's party.

Gym Leader Castle

Main article: Gym Leader Castle

Gym Leader Castle is similar to Stadium mode, but it involves fighting each Gym Leader (including a few Pokémon Trainers from their respective Gyms), Elite Four member, and lastly the Rival, all in the same order as they are fought in the story of the Generation I games. Like most other battles, both the player and their opponent have a party of six Pokémon, from which they use only three in a battle. When the player defeats their opponent, they are rewarded one of eight Pokémon, chosen by the game at random: Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Eevee, Omanyte, or Kabuto.

Free Battle

Two Mews competing in Free Battle mode

Free Battle is a mode where the player chooses the rules of the battle. Up to four players can face each other as a team or against the COM in easy, medium and hard difficulties. Besides allowing for the rules of either the Pika Cup, Petit Cup, Poké Cup, or Prime Cup, the player can opt for the Anything Goes ruleset instead, having some of the following customizable options:

• Allowing any of the 151 Pokémon to enter battle.
• Whether one to four players can compete, each being able to form two teams. COM players can also join, and they have three skill levels.
• No level restrictions, meaning players can have up to level 100 Pokémon present in battle, like in the Prime Cup.
• Only one Pokémon can be sleeping or frozen at once. However, it is possible to have one Pokémon asleep and another frozen.
• Team matches with two players on each side. Each player select three of their six Pokémon to battle. Teammates cannot give commands to each other's Pokémon.
• Self-Destruct is ineffective on the final Pokémon, so if the player's last Pokémon uses Self-Destruct or Explosion, they'll automatically lose the battle, even if their opponent's last Pokémon has already fainted.

Kids Club

Kids Club features some playable minigames where four players compete. Up to three of the players can be COM players if they are not human players. If there at least one COM player is present, the player has to select either the Easy, Normal, Hard, or the unlockable Hyper difficulty setting. There is also a "Who's The Best?" play style, which continues until a player achieves a certain number of wins. The Hyper difficulty can be unlocked through this play style by winning five minigames consecutively on Hard difficulty against three COM players.

The Kids Club has a total of nine minigames: Magikarp's Splash, Clefairy Says, Run, Rattata, Run, Snore War, Thundering Dynamo, Sushi-Go-Round, Ekans' Hoop Hurl, Rock Harden, and Dig! Dig! Dig!.

GB Tower

Main article: GB Tower

GB Tower is used to play a Generation I game from within Pokémon Stadium, if its game cartridge is attached to the Transfer Pak, similarly to what the Super Game Boy allows for. If the cartridge has a save file present, it carries over when playing on GB Tower mode, and it can still write save files.

GB Tower has two unlockable upgrades, Doduo GB Tower and Dodrio GB Tower, allowing the option of playing the connected Generation I game at twice and thrice the speed, respectively. The Doduo GB Tower is unlocked by completing either Poké Cup or Prime Cup in Stadium mode, while unlocking Dodrio GB Tower requires the completion of both.

Pokémon Lab

Main article: Pokémon Lab (Pokémon Stadium series)

Mewtwo, as seen from the Pokédex

The mode requires a cartridge of one of the Generation I games to be inserted in the Transfer Pak, otherwise the mode cannot be accessed, since the mode retrieves data from the save file on that cartridge. One of the features is a PC, on which the player can organize their Pokémon within the Pokémon Storage System in the connected Generation I game. There is a Pokédex feature in which the player can view Pokémon that have been caught or at least encountered in the connected Generation I game, including their 3D render. A detailed 3D map of the Kanto region can also be seen. If there are two players, each having a game cartridge of a Generation I game in their Transfer Pak, they can trade Pokémon that they have within their games.

Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame registers the Pokémon within the player's party each time they win a Stadium Cup or defeat their Rival in Gym Leader Castle. The recorded data includes their name, level, ID, and the name of the player who owns them. It is not possible to register the same type of Pokémon in the Hall of Fame twice, in which case a Pokémon entering the Hall of Fame overwrites the data of the previous Pokémon of its type.

When all 151 Pokémon are registered in the Hall of Fame, the player unlocks a Psyduck that knows Amnesia, a reference to Misty's Psyduck in the anime.

Vs. Mewtwo

If the player manages to complete every cup in Stadium mode and the Gym Leader Castle, a Mewtwo appears in the sky of the Stadium submenu. The player can select it to battle the Mewtwo, which is at level 100, allowing the player to engage with it in battle in an Anything Goes ruleset. Mewtwo can also be fought at the end of Round 2, the only difference with its moveset being that Blizzard is replaced with Amnesia.

• Round 1
• Round 2

Mewtwo
Base article	Type	Psychic
	Gender	Genderless
	Level	100
	Ability	Pressure
	Item	None
	Moves	Psychic	Blizzard
Thunderbolt		Rest

Mewtwo
Base article	Type	Psychic
	Gender	Genderless
	Level	100
	Ability	Pressure
	Item	None
	Moves	Psychic	Amnesia
Thunderbolt		Rest

Trivia

• The cries in the game are similar to the original cries they make in the Game Boy games, but are enhanced with the 64-bit capabilities of the Nintendo 64. An exception is the cry of the first partner Pikachu from Pokémon Yellow Special Pikachu Edition is based on its cry from the anime, not from in-game.

Gallery

Logo

Title screen