Pokémon Colosseum is a role-playing video game in the Pokémon series developed by Genius Sonority and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo. It was released for the GameCube on November 21 2003 in Japan; March 22 2004 in North America; and May 14 2004 in Europe. Unlike previous titles' random encounters with Pokémon Colosseum allows the player to steal ("snag") the Pokémon of other Pokémon Trainers. The game also features single-player and multiplayer battle modes. Set in the desert region of Orre the player controls Wes a former member of Team Snagem. Throughout the game Wes rescues "Shadow Pokémon"—Pokémon who have had their hearts darkened by Team Cipher an antagonistic organization—via snagging. Rui a non-player character serves as Wes's sidekick and identifies Shadow Pokémon.