Pokémon Stadium (Japanese: Pokemon Sutajiamu) is a battle simulation game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo. It launched exclusively for the Nintendo 64 in Japan on August 1, 1998, as the first entry in the Pokémon Stadium series, featuring 3D Pokémon battles.
The game includes multiple modes: Battle, Organization, Pokédex View, Registration, Handheld, and GB Mode. Using the Transfer Pak, players can import Pokémon from mainline Pokémon games to battle.
Battle options include Free Battle and Tournament Mode. Free Battle lets players fight NPCs or other users across level tiers: 1-30, 50-55, and Open Level. Tournament Mode lets players face real-world competition opponents, earning points to speed up progress in GB Mode.
40 Pokémon are usable in battle, most taken from 1997 Nintendo Cup competitors’ teams.
Notably, late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, then a HAL Laboratory programmer, ported Red/Green/Blue code in one week without reference docs and wrote core base code for the title.
As a Japan-exclusive release, it remains less familiar to international Pokémon fans.