What is Pokémon Stadium 2 called in Japan?
The game the West knows as Pokémon Stadium 2 was released in Japan on December 14, 2000, the same day as Pokémon Crystal, under the name Pokémon Stadium Gold and Silver. It was Japan's third Stadium game but only the second to leave the country, hence the numbering gap this cluster documents shelf by shelf.
Through the Transfer Pak, it battles in 3D with the player's own Pokémon from Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver and Crystal, all six cartridges welcome. The Game Boy Tower plays those cartridges on the television, and the Pokémon Lab manages boxes and trades between game paks, with two Transfer Paks required to trade.
The Japanese version reached one step further: it supported the Mobile System GB from Japanese Crystal, letting uploaded Crystal battles fight in its Mobile Stadium service, an online feature no Western Nintendo 64 game of the era attempted.
Stadium 2 sold 2.54 million copies, and as an object it closes the generation's loop: the Game Boy cartridges hold the Pokémon, and this cartridge exists to give them a stage.