Pokémon Stadium 2 was released in 2000 (Japan) and 2001 (international) for the Nintendo 64. In Japanese, it is known as Pokémon Stadium G&S (Gold and Silver).
In this game, the player can use Pokémon from their copies of the Game Boy (Color) games Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, or Crystal to battle other human players or computer-controlled opponents. There are also rental Pokémon that the player can use, but their stats and movesets are usually inferior to those that could be created from a copy of one of the Game Boy games. It is, however, possible to complete the game's challenges using only rental Pokémon, although it does rely on luck.
In addition to battling, the player can also interact with a connected copy of a Game Boy Pokémon game in a variety of ways. The player can:
The player is also able to access the Move Relearner to enable Pokémon from Game Boy games to relearn moves they previously knew. To access this feature, the player must 1) have the Pokémon on their team, and not as part of a registered team; and 2) defeat the Elite Four and Champion at the Gym Leader Castle without using the Suspend option. Once the Champion is defeated, the player will be able to use the Move Relearner with any eligible Pokémon on their team. The player cannot do this normally in Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, or Crystal.
The game also features a handful of multiplayer minigames that can be played with up to four players.
All 251 Pokémon available in Gold, Silver, and Crystal can be used in this game, but not every species can be used in every cup. Details are given on the individual cups' pages.
In this game, unlocking Doduo Mode for Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow requires beating either Round 1 of all Stadium cups or Gym Leader Castle, and Dodrio Mode requires beating both. Doduo and Dodrio mode for Gold, Silver, and Crystal are unlocked the same way, but on Round 2.
In August 2023, Pokémon Stadium 2 was rereleased for the Nintendo Switch as part of the Nintendo Classics program on Nintendo Switch Online. Unlike the original releases, this version is not capable of communicating with any other Pokémon game. This means that all battle challenges must be completed with only rental Pokémon, and the gift Pokémon obtained as rewards for clearing certain challenges cannot be used for anything.