Nintendo continues to expand the GameCube library available through Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. Following the recent arrival of Super Mario Sunshine, attention is now shifting toward one of the biggest confirmed games still waiting for its release: Pokemon Colosseum.
Nintendo has already confirmed that Pokemon Colosseum will eventually join the service. However, the company has yet to announce an official release date. With Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness already available and rumors surrounding additional Generation 3 Pokemon games growing, the timing could soon be right for Colosseum to make its return.
Pokemon Colosseum Is Still Coming to Nintendo Switch Online
Nintendo has gradually built an impressive GameCube Classics library for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers.
Games currently available include:
- F-Zero GX
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
- Soulcalibur 2
- Super Mario Strikers
- Chibi-Robo
- Luigi’s Mansion
- Wario World
- Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
- Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
- Super Mario Sunshine
Pokemon Colosseum remains one of the major confirmed titles that has not yet joined the lineup.
Its absence has become increasingly noticeable following the release of Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. The two games are closely connected, with XD serving as a successor to Colosseum and continuing many of its ideas.
Nintendo has therefore already brought the second game to Nintendo Switch Online while players continue waiting for the original.
Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald Rumors Could Be Important
The potential timing becomes more interesting when looking at recent rumors surrounding the Generation 3 Pokemon games.
Leaker Spheshal Nick has suggested that Pokemon Ruby, Pokemon Sapphire, and Pokemon Emerald could arrive on Nintendo Switch in late September or October.
Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have not officially confirmed that release window, so the information should still be treated as a rumor.
However, if the games do arrive around that period, Pokemon Colosseum would make plenty of sense as a companion release.
The original GameCube game was heavily connected to the Generation 3 Game Boy Advance titles. Players could connect compatible GBA games to Pokemon Colosseum through the Game Boy Advance link cable, allowing Pokemon to move between the handheld and console games.
Bringing these titles back around the same period would therefore create a particularly strong Generation 3 nostalgia push.
Nintendo Has Coordinated Pokemon Classics Before
There is also some precedent for Nintendo placing related Pokemon releases close together.
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen arrived on Switch on February 27. Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness then followed less than a month later.
That does not guarantee Nintendo will repeat the same strategy with Pokemon Colosseum, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. However, it shows that closely timed releases involving classic Pokemon games are certainly possible.
A similar strategy later this year could also give Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack another significant boost heading toward the holiday season.
Pokemon remains one of Nintendo’s strongest properties, and adding several highly requested classics within a relatively short period could make the Expansion Pack more attractive to players who have been waiting for more legacy Pokemon content.
Pokemon Colosseum Would Fill an Important Gap
Pokemon Colosseum originally launched for the Nintendo GameCube and offered something considerably different from the traditional handheld Pokemon formula.
Instead of traveling across a traditional region and collecting Gym Badges, players explored the Orre region while battling trainers who possessed Shadow Pokemon. These corrupted Pokemon could be captured from opposing trainers before eventually being purified.
The darker setting and unusual mechanics helped Colosseum develop a dedicated following.
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness expanded on many of those concepts, but having XD available without Colosseum leaves a noticeable gap in the current GameCube Classics catalog.
Once Colosseum arrives, Switch owners will finally be able to experience both major Orre adventures on modern Nintendo hardware.
Could Pokemon Colosseum Arrive This Fall?
For now, there is no official release date for Pokemon Colosseum on Nintendo Switch Online.
That distinction is important.
Nintendo has confirmed the game for the GameCube Classics collection, but any connection between its release and the rumored arrival of Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald remains speculation.
Still, the pieces fit surprisingly well.
Pokemon XD is already available, Generation 3 games are rumored for late September or October, and Nintendo has previously released complementary Pokemon classics within weeks of each other.
A Pokemon Colosseum release during late Q3 or early Q4 would therefore be a logical move, particularly as Nintendo begins preparing its holiday lineup.
Whether Nintendo actually follows that strategy remains to be seen. At this stage, Pokemon fans know Colosseum is coming. The bigger question is when Nintendo finally decides to release it.
