What is Pokémon Stadium called in Japan?

The first Pokémon Stadium, released in Japan on August 1, 1998, was an unfinished-feeling pioneer: of the 151 Pokémon, only 42 could actually be used in battle, the rest appearing as models and Pokédex entries. It was never released outside Japan.

The sequel completed the idea. Pokémon Stadium 2 in Japan, released April 30, 1999, fielded all 151 Pokémon, and it is this game the West received as its first Pokémon Stadium in 2000. When the second generation arrived, Japan's third game, Pokémon Stadium Gold and Silver of December 14, 2000, became the West's Pokémon Stadium 2.

Every Stadium game works through the Transfer Pak, the Nintendo 64 controller accessory that reads a Game Boy cartridge, so a player's own raised Pokémon fight in 3D. The GB Tower mode even plays the Game Boy games themselves on the television.

For collectors the naming shuffle is a genuine trap: a Japanese Stadium 2 cartridge is the West's Stadium 1, and the Japanese original, with its 42 fighters, is a curiosity that exists under the same name as a much bigger game.