History YMMV / PokemonColosseum

** Unlike damn near every other game in the franchise, one must go to a PC in order to save.

* MoralEventHorizon: Dr. Ein crosses this just by ''inventing'' the Shadow Pokémon system (without a shred of remorse, and actually with a desire to ''improve'' it), and [[spoiler:Evice]] just by leading the whole operation. Particularly [[spoiler:Evice, since he oversaw all these despicable actions while posing as the friendly mayor of Phenac City.]]

** The last postgame Shadow Pokémon you have to snag is... a Lv 20 Togetic. That's considerably lower-level than the Pokémon you ''started the game with'', and Togetic isn't a particularly strong Pokémon at that. The biggest danger in snagging is it is not accidentally knocking it out. (Which is very easy to do, as you're expected to have a Lv 65-70 team at that point)

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: To quote {{LetsPlay/Chuggaaconroy}}, Colosseum has limited options. There are a little over 50 shadow Pokemon and a lot of them aren't particularly powerful. While they're still perfectly useable, most players prefer to just run with teams consisting of one or both starter Eeveelutions, a Johto starter, and any or all of the Legendary Beasts since they're far more powerful than most of the Pokemon the game has to offer.

** For how heavily they were featured in Wes's backstory and how prominent they were in the opening scenes, Team Snagem really isn't featured in the game all that much until post-game. In fact they aren't even mentioned once you get more involved in Cipher's activities.

* ViewerGenderConfusion: Nascour is easy to mistake for a woman, having long flowing hair and a sizable bustline due to being muscular, in a game where female bodybuilders are rather common as trainers and [=NPCs=].

* SpecialEffectFailure: Despite Jumpluff's body being made up of four spheres, it's shadow is four ''squares''. The sequel fixed this.

** In the context of the game, the encounter with [[BonusBoss Cipher Peon Mirakle B.]] He's a LoonyFan of Miror B. who wears a uniform modified to look like him and randomly shows up to battle you if you go all the way through Pyrite Cave to Miror B.'s hideout after beating Dakim ([[PermanentlyMissableContent but before beating the]] FinalBoss). Beating him gets you nothing, and unlike with Miror B., you don't even get an easy way out of the area.

%%* MemeticBadass: Wes.

* UnderusedGameMechanic: Theoretically, Snagging allows the player to capture any Pokemon. In the game proper, though, Rui prevents the player from trying it on non-Shadow Pokemon, and there are only around 50 Shadow Pokemon. While there's [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop a reason why]] the developer didn't allow players (especially young ones) to catch non-Shadow Pokemon, it would have provided an interesting dynamic if players had the freedom to Snag whatever they wanted, possibly with a reward to Snagging only Shadow Pokemon. They even [[NoFairCheating could have programmed it so]] Snagged non-Shadow Pokemon can't be traded over to the main series games.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: [[EnsembleDarkhorse/Pokemon See here.]]

* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Miror B. was popular enough that he and his bodyguards Trudly and Folly are the only Cipher members from ''Colosseum'' to reappear in the sequel.
** The other members of Cipher are this to a lesser extent, possibly due to the fact that they have their own unique Pokémon rather than the same Zubats that most other teams use.
** Ein deserves a special mention. He is immensely popular with fangirls.
** Nascour for being a truly chilling villain. Some were actually disappointed when [[spoiler: Evice turned out to be the head of Cipher]].
** Wes, the [[SilentProtagonist Player character]], tends to get fondly remembered among all the Pokemon protagonists for being older and more mature [[note]]being confirmed to be an older teen while the typical Pokemon protagonist in the main series is around ten[[/note]], having an interesting background as a [[TheAtoner former]] [[HeelFaceTurn member]] of an [[DecaderFromDecadance evil]] team, and just looking and being overall, generally [[BadAss badass]]. In fact, whenever there's talk about wanting an older protagonist, Wes is usually referred to.

** Wes, the [[SilentProtagonist Player character]], tends to get fondly remembered among all the Pokemon protagonists for being older and more mature [[note]]being confirmed to be an older teen while the typical Pokemon protagonist in the main series is around ten[[/note]], having an interesting background as a [[TheAtoner former]] [[HeelFaceTurn member]] of an [[DecaderFromDecadance evil]] team, and just looking and being overall, generally [[BadAss badass]. In fact, whenever there's talk about wanting an older protagonist, Wes is usually referred to.

* HilariousInHindsight:
** Ein's [[MagnificentBastard personality]], [[TheEvilGenius intellect]], [[TheManBehindTheMonsters creations]], and even hairstyle and dress sense are all very similar to [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Sosuke Aizen]].
** May also cross over into HarsherInHindsight, depending on how you view the issue. One of the [[https://youtu.be/KZJEiFxHstA commercials]] for the game depicted an angry mob, with a man prominently shouting "We will get our Pokémon back!", which becomes almost prophetic in light of the outrage in the announcement that the [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Gen 8]] games wouldn't get support for Pokémon not in the region's PokéDex.

* MostAnnoyingSound: The alarm in the Shadow Pokémon Lab. It doesn't really do anything except annoy you, since the areas you've cleared out stay cleared. There's also no way to avoid it, as it's a scripted event that happens after defeating a required enemy. Worst of all is that it replaces the incredibly catchy background music.

* JustHereForGodzilla: 99.9% of all discussion of this game is focused on its Story Mode, with Battle Mode (which is essentially Stadium 3) being forgotten despite the fact it was likely meant to be the main point of the game. The developers seem to have been aware of this, as [[VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness the sequel]] was made with story mode in mind and only has a tiny, tacked-on Battle Mode.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X67YWv5C6qQ Miror B.'s Retro Groove]]. It's probably the most well-remembered theme from the game, and it's sure to [[EarWorm stay stuck in your head]] for quite a while after listening.

** Wes is this among the main protagonists in the series. Unlike the others who prior to the game's release and the next generation were 11 year old kids, Wes is an about 17 year-old ex-gangster with an overall cool design. In fact, Wes is used quite a lot as an example when players request or complain about the player being children and they want a more mature and older protagonist like him.

** The fact that shiny Shadow Pokémon probably won’t remain shiny once purified because they receive a second RNG roll when purified. It was actually likely a glitch or oversight, as it was fixed in the sequel and shiny locks are in full effect there.

ThatOneLevel:

* HilariousInHindsight: Ein's [[MagnificentBastard personality]], [[TheEvilGenius intellect]], [[TheManBehindTheMonsters creations]], and even hairstyle and dress sense are all very similar to [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Sosuke Aizen]].

** The reveal of the BigBad. [[spoiler:It's not the tall, cool-looking Nacour; it's the short, fat, ugly mayor of Phenac City. Who somehow floats]].

** Miror B. and his Ludicolo. The only weakness they have that you have access to is Flying, and only through a near-purified Noctowl/Swablu's Fly. They all have [[HealingFactor Rain Dish]] and know Rain Dance plus a group of restoring moves (Absorb, Leech Seed and Mega Drain) which make the fight take a long time even with Fly, since it's a two-turn attack.

** The Shadow Pokémon Lab has a very linear layout but has two major annoyances. First there is only one PC where you can save which is located at the beginning and no heal machine at all; then there is the other problem of Cipher Peons dropping in (literally) and ambushing you when your Pokémon are weak.

** Miror B's battle in Realgam Tower lacks his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZsOwo9rhsQ iconic battle music]] and instead goes with the much more dramatic [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld4TzVQD0Ag Cipher admin theme]]. That means the opening notes of the song are playing... ''[[https://youtu.be/MmdeGe5-I_c?t=325 while Miror B. is dancing.]]''

** The game as a whole is this to the ''Pokémon'' franchise. With its unique (for the series) premise, interesting snagging mechanic, [[NintendoHard higher difficulty]], [[DarkerAndEdgier overall darker tone and story]], awesome protagonist, fun and memorable characters (and their designs), among other things, very few ''Pokémon'' spin-offs even come close to receiving the near-unanimous love as ''Colosseum'' gets.