Pokémon Black and White Versions
- This article is about the Generation V games. For other uses, see Black and White.
| Pokémon Black Version ポケットモンスター ブラック | |
|---|---|
 Pokémon Black Version's boxart, featuring Reshiram. | |
| Pokémon White Version ポケットモンスター ホワイト | |
 Pokémon White Version's boxart, featuring Zekrom. | |
Basic info
| |
| Platform: | Nintendo DS* |
| Category: | RPG |
| Players: | 1-4 players simultaneous |
| Connectivity: | DS Wireless, Wi-Fi, IR |
| Developer: | Game Freak |
| Publisher: | Nintendo The Pokémon Company |
| Part of: | Generation V main series |
Ratings
| |
| CERO: | A |
| ESRB: | E |
| ACB: | G |
| OFLC: | G |
| PEGI: | 3 |
| GRAC: | N/A |
| GSRR: | N/A |
Release dates
| |
| Japan: | September 18, 2010[1] |
| North America: | March 6, 2011[2] |
| Australia: | March 10, 2011[3][4] |
| Europe: | March 4, 2011[5] |
| South Korea: | April 21, 2011[6] |
| Hong Kong: | N/A |
| Taiwan: | N/A |
Websites
| |
| Japanese: | Pokémon.co.jp Nintendo.co.jp Official site |
| English: | Pokémon.com Nintendo.com (Black) Nintendo.com (White) Official site |
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Japanese boxart
 Boxart of Pocket Monsters Black.  Boxart of Pocket Monsters White. | |
Pokémon Black Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ブラック Pocket Monsters Black) and Pokémon White Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ホワイト Pocket Monsters White) are the primary paired versions of Generation V.
Black and White follow the trends set up by previous games in the series. Two player characters (one male and one female) travel a new region, Unova, on their Pokémon journeys. This region is inhabited by various Pokémon, and unlike before, none of those available prior to Generation V can be obtained before defeating the Elite Four.
The games' names were revealed on the official Japanese Pokémon website on April 9 2010, and scans from the subsequent issue of the magazine leaked the following day, April 10.
Pokémon Black and White 2, the second and final paired versions of Generation V, are the sequels of Pokémon Black and White.
Plot
The game starts in Nuvema Town in the player's room with Cheren, a childhood friend. Professor Juniper has left a gift box for the two and Bianca, another one of the player's friends, who arrives a little later. The box contains three Pokémon that the player can choose from. After the selection, Bianca will request a battle. When the battle is over, the room becomes cluttered due to the battle. Cheren heals both the player's and Bianca's Pokémon, and begins a battle with the player as well. If the player loses to Cheren, he will gloat about his victory. The three then go downstairs, and Cheren and Bianca will leave the house while the player's mother will heal the Pokémon.
The player visits Bianca's house, where she and her father are having an argument about her going on a Pokémon journey. Bianca storms out of the house, and the player follows her to Professor Juniper's lab, where Cheren has been waiting. In the lab, Professor Juniper will give the player a chance to nickname the selected starter Pokémon, and give each of the three a Pokédex. Upon leaving the lab, they will be greeted by the player's mother, who will hand everyone a Town Map.
From then on, the player will set off on adventures through the Unova region. Along the way, the player, Cheren, and Bianca will battle eight Gym Leaders, while trying to complete the Pokédex. After managing to obtain all eight Badges, the player will head to the Pokémon League to battle the Elite Four and the Champion. Cheren decides to pursue strength and Bianca realizes that she cannot match the skills of the player or Cheren.
However, the adventure does not go as smoothly as expected, as the evil Team Plasma will be encountered along the way to the Pokémon League. Team Plasma's goal is to separate Pokémon from people; claiming that humans are only hindrances to the lives and interests of Pokémon. The player will occasionally encounter N, the mysterious leader of the organization. Ghetsis, a co-founding member of the Seven Sages, has a secret, different goal from N's. The player must learn of and thwart their plans in order to save the relationship between Pokémon and their Trainers.
However, unlike previous games, the player will not be battling the Champion of the Unova region after first defeating the Elite Four. Once the player enters the Champion's room, N is seen triumphantly boasting over Alder, and proceeds to summon his castle to ambush and attach to the Pokémon League. The player traverses through the castle to find N and his legendary dragon, who claims to be the hero. However, the Light StoneB/Dark StoneW in the player's Bag is released and summons the second dragon hero, ReshiramB/ZekromW, which the player captures and uses to battle and defeat N.
Once defeated, Ghetsis angrily intervenes, revealing his intentions of creating Team Plasma for his own interests of power, and how N and the idea of Pokémon liberation were merely his tools. In a rage, he battles the player in an attempt to eliminate any witnesses of the truth. His actions are futile, however, and N reconsiders his actions and ideas.
After defeating N and Ghetsis, however, the game is not over, as there are further activities to be done. After beating the game, the player will return to their house and see his/her mother next to Looker, who will be disguised as the player's mother temporarily. He explains that he needs help rounding up the Seven Sages of Team Plasma that are hidden across Unova. Also, Route 11 and Marvelous Bridge open up, allowing access to Black City or White Forest, Undella Town, and Lacunosa Town. The player may also access Giant Chasm, within which Kyurem may be battled and captured. The routes surrounding these areas contain many Pokémon native to the other four regions. Alder himself may also be battled in proper Champion fashion.
Pokémon outbreaks will now occur across Unova's routes as well. Additionally, a series of strong windstormsB/thunderstormsW will occur across routes, indicating the presence of a roaming TornadusB/ThundurusW, which can be battled and caught. In Caitlin's villa in Undella Town, the player will encounter Cynthia, the Champion of the Sinnoh region. She will battle the player, remarking about the striking similarities the player shares with another young Trainer from Sinnoh.
Blurb
A new world filled with never-before-seen Pokémon!
What are the true motives of Team Plasma and the mysterious N? What is the secret of the Legendary Pokémon? Adventure across the Unova region and discover all-new Pokémon!
Features
Black and White returns features present in previous generations, such as day, time, Abilities and the split between Physical and Special moves. Certain ones, however, such as Pokémon following their Trainers and the Battle Frontier, have been left out. Black and White also features a great deal of general graphical enhancements over previous generations, such as a higher level of 3D graphics and creative camera angles.
In addition to the improved graphics, a number of aesthetic changes have been made from previous generations, including an altered battle scene containing fully animated Pokémon battle sprites as well as a dynamic camera that changes focus to highlight specific parts of the battle. Also, when talking to people, speech balloons for dialog will appear over people's heads, rather than as simply a dialog box.
C-Gear
- Main article: C-Gear
The C-Gear allows players to use certain multiplayer functions while anywhere in the game world. These functions vary with the type of communication used: wireless, Wi-Fi and infrared. The C-Gear is similar to the Pokétch in that it fills the bottom screen, but its applications are much different.
On the C-Gear, as well as in battle, the current time is displayed in 12-hour format, however, at the hours of 12:00 AM and PM, the hour displays as 0, rather than 12, as a 24-hour clock, such as that on the DS and in the Generation IV games, would display midnight.
Pokémon Global Link
- Main article: Pokémon Global Link
The Pokémon Global Link is a multiplayer feature that makes use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and is the equivalent of the fourth generation GTS. In addition to providing the features of the GTS, it allows players to upload their save files to the Pokémon Global Link website to access the Pokémon Dream World. Players can also go to the Pokémon Center to enter Random Matchup where they can battle a random person also connected to Random Matchup. The Global Link is also the place where players can download exclusive content including C-Gear and Pokédex skins and additional Pokémon Musical songs.
Pokémon Dream World
- Main article: Pokémon Dream World
The Pokémon Dream World is a special feature of Black and White which is operated via an Internet website, Pokémon-GL.com. The Dream World allows players to send a Pokémon to the Internet to obtain items and meet other Pokémon, making the website in a way such that it is a Generation V analog to the Pokéwalker.
Many Pokémon that are found here are not found in the Unova region, and would otherwise have to be migrated from a Generation IV game to be used. All of the Pokémon available here are given Dream World-exclusive Hidden Abilities that their species cannot have by normal means.
Entralink
- Main article: Entralink
The Entralink is a new feature in Pokémon Black and White which allows contact with other players over local wireless. It is a multiplayer area in central Unova; Pokémon obtained in the Pokémon Dream World can be caught here. In combination with the C-Gear, it is possible to travel through Unova with other players and battle, trade and perform various multiplayer sidequests.
Pokémon Musical
- Main article: Pokémon Musical
Pokémon Contests, which have been present since Generation III, are replaced by the Pokémon Musicals. Similar to the Super Contests in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, Trainers have to dress up their Pokémon with different accessories. The Pokémon will then compete by dancing on the theater stage with the other entrants. They are held in Nimbasa City.
Seasons
- Main article: Seasons
Much like Generation II introduced a system of time, Generation V features a system of seasons. Seasons change every month, thus completing three cycles per year. With it comes aesthetic changes in the region, as well as some changes with the Pokémon found in the wild. It also reflects real life in affecting the time each part of the day is; for example, in winter, night from is 19:00 to 6:59, but in summer it is from 21:00 to 3:59. Additionally, Deerling and its evolution Sawsbuck change forms every season. Some areas can only be accessed in certain seasons.
Sprite animations
While already featured in previous games, Pokémon sprites in Black and White remain animated throughout the battle. Additionally, full back sprites are now present in the games. Some, but not all, Pokémon use animated versions of their Generation IV sprites, occasionally with minor modifications to the original Generation IV sprites. All Trainers, on the other hand, with the exception of Bianca, Cheren and N, return to sprites with no animations.
Changing music
Whereas in previous games, the music was the same during entire battles (other than when the player's Pokémon has less than ¼ health remaining), in Generation V, things such as battle music may change with the situation. For example, when battling a Gym Leader's last Pokémon, the music changes to a remix of the main theme. The warning sound heard when a Pokémon has less than ¼ of its maximum HP remaining has also been remixed into its own music. "Rare" Pokémon also get their own theme. Although this isn't technically new, the seasons change the music in certain places as well, though these changes are mostly the instruments heard. This is similar to the day/night cycle in Generation IV.
Weather conditions
Unlike previous generations, the weather is shown only once, during the first turn. Instead of showing it again every turn until the condition ends, there will be an icon on the touch screen showing current weather (or no icon if there's no weather currently). However, unused text exists in the game for hail and sandstorm.
Triple Battles
- Main article: Triple Battle
In a Triple Battle, three Pokémon on each side are sent out at once. There are restrictions as to which Pokémon can attack which opponent. The Pokémon in the middle can attack all three on the other side, but the ones on either side cannot attack the Pokémon on the far side of the opposite end. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, through the use of moves such as Pluck or Aura Sphere. The Pokémon Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour were introduced to showcase this new feature. The position of each Pokémon can be changed during the battle; however, a turn will be used up.
Rotation Battles
- Main article: Rotation Battle
Rotation Battles are similar to Triple Battles in that three Pokémon in each team are sent onto each side; however, they are sent out onto a circular platform. The platform can be rotated a third of the way around without wasting a turn. The Pokémon which is in the third of the circle facing the opponent is the one currently active. Strategy revolves around predicting which Pokémon the opponent will switch to and switching to the appropriate Pokémon on the player's side.
Gyms
Pokémon Black and White brings back the traditional eight Gyms, but with it a total of eleven Gym Leaders. They are Cilan, Chili, and Cress (Grass, Fire, and Water, respectively), Lenora (Normal), Burgh (Bug), Elesa (Electric), Clay (Ground), Skyla (Flying), Brycen (Ice), and Drayden and Iris (Dragon). Cilan, Chili, or Cress are battled if the player has chosen the Water-type, Grass-type, or Fire-type starter Pokémon, respectively. Drayden is battled in Pokémon Black while Iris is battled in Pokémon White.
Elite Four and Champion
Unlike previous games, the Elite Four can be battled in any order. After battling all four, a path to the Champion is unlocked. The Elite Four members are Shauntal (Ghost), Grimsley (Dark), Caitlin (Psychic), and Marshal (Fighting). However, the player is not able to battle the Champion before defeating Team Plasma. Later, after defeating the Elite Four in a rematch, the player will face Champion Alder, who uses a variety of types. Caitlin is the same person present in the Battle Castle who was alongside her butler Darach in Generation IV.
Technical Machines
There are now 95 Technical Machines, and, unlike in previous generations, they now have infinite uses, much like Hidden Machines. Due to this major change, only a few machines can be bought, and now the current PP of the replaced move remains when a new move is taught.
New Pokémon
Black and White bring a total of 156 new Pokémon, higher than any other generation, bringing the overall total to 649 from the 493 present in Generation IV. While some new Pokémon may have similarities to previously introduced Pokémon, none of the new Pokémon are related by evolution to any of the 493 introduced previously.
The first Pokémon to be revealed were Zoroark and Zorua on February 10, 2010, who were both featured in Zoroark: Master of Illusions. Following that, the starter Pokémon Snivy, Oshawott, and Tepig were revealed in the May 2010 issue of CoroCoro. Unlike previous generations, no other new Pokémon were featured in the main anime prior to the games' release.
Version-exclusive Pokémon
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The following Pokémon can only be found in White Forest, which is exclusive to Pokémon White. All of these Pokémon are found at level 5 and cannot be avoided through the use of Repel or similar means:
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- When Genesect is holding a Drive, the light on its back changes color. The Burn and Shock Drives are exclusive to Black, while the Douse and Chill Drives are exclusive to White.
- While Cottonee and Petilil are only available in the wild in Black and White respectively, there is an in-game trade in Nacrene City for the Pokémon which is exclusive to the other game. By extension, this also allows Whimsicott and Lilligant to be obtained in the versions they are otherwise unobtainable in.
- While Volbeat and Illumise are only available in the wild in Black and White respectively, Illumise can breed with any male Pokémon in the Bug Egg Group, Human-Like Egg Group or Ditto to produce Eggs that have an 50% chance of hatching into Volbeat. Likewise, breeding Volbeat with Ditto may produce Illumise Eggs.
- Wild Huntail are exclusive to Black, while wild Gorebyss are exclusive to White, but Clamperl can be found and evolved in both games.
- Several version-exclusive Pokémon can also be obtained via the Pokémon Dream World.
Compatibility
Black and White are able to connect with all fourth generation main series games. Pokémon from Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver are able to be traded forward to these games using the Poké Transfer. Like the transfer available in Pal Park, Pokémon sent to Black and White cannot be returned to their original games. Some event Pokémon released in Generation IV have the ability to unlock more events in Generation V: specific Raikou, Entei, Suicune and Celebi, transferable via an exclusive method called the Relocator, unlock Zorua and Zoroark. Likewise, the Lock Capsule transferred from Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver yields TM95 (Snarl), but this event has yet to take place.
Black and White also have the ability to connect to the Internet, accessing the Pokémon Dream World; Pokémon acquired in this manner are obtained in the Entree Forest. Although the game cartridges contain infrared technology similar to that used in HeartGold and SoulSilver, Black and White are unable to connect with the Pokéwalker.
These games are the first to take advantage of the Nintendo DSi's capability to recognize and connect to routers with WPA connections. However, if the cartridge is used in an original Nintendo DS or a Nintendo DS Lite, this functionality is disabled.
Reception
Gaming magazine Famitsu has given Pokémon Black and White Versions perfect scores. The reviewers were highly impressed with the fresh approach that the game has taken, from the graphics to the new features to the diversity of the Pokémon. The reviewers were also impressed by the Wi-Fi and PC features.
Very few games have received a perfect score of 40/40, the first of which was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Game Informer gave the games 8.75 out of 10. Videogamer.com gave the games a 9 out of 10. Nintendo Power gave the games a 9.0 out of 10. Edge gave the games an 8/10. The Official Nintendo Magazine gave the game 95%. IGN gave the games a 9.0 out of 10.
Staff
- Main article: Staff of Pokémon Black and White
Trivia
- The developers included antiwar ideas in Pokémon Black and White.[7]
- Pokémon Black and White each have a mascot of the color of their counterpart version.
- Game Freak spent about one and a half years developing the story and characters.[8]
- Several bonus items were available with pre-orders of the games in various countries:
- In Japan, people could receive a Reshiram sound drop by pre-ordering Pokémon Black and a Zekrom sound drop by pre-ordering Pokémon White.
- In the USA, Toys "R" Us offered Reshiram and Zekrom wall clings to anyone who pre-ordered the game.
- In the UK, Gamestation offered three styluses for the DS, each one featuring one of the Unova starter Pokémon to anyone who pre-ordered the game.
- In the UK, GAME offered an exclusive poster to anyone who pre-ordered the game.
- In Australia, JB Hi-Fi offered a Nintendo DS case featuring Reshiram and Zekrom to anyone who pre-ordered the game.
- In Mexico, Gameplanet offered a white T-shirt featuring Zekrom for pre-ordering Pokémon White and a black T-shirt featuring Reshiram for pre-ordering Pokémon Black. Each T-shirt had their corresponding version logos, the Nintendo DS logo and the Gameplanet store logo. The event Celebi for Generation IV games was also promoted as a pre-order exclusive, but in practice it could be obtained by anyone with a Generation IV game in the store.
- The credits of the Japanese versions are shown in English if kanji mode is selected.
- The font used in the text of dialogues by the Japanese versions is the same one seen in pre-release media of the Japanese versions of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.
- Pokémon Black and White are the first main series games to require the version mascot to be specifically caught; if the battle ends by any other means (such as causing ReshiramB or ZekromW to faint), the story will not proceed, and the player will have to try again.
- However, if the player is unable to catch their mascot because of a full party and PC boxes, the story will proceed anyway, and the Pokémon will be waiting for them at Dragonspiral Tower later.
- In the international versions, Pokémon names are no longer displayed in all capital letters, following the trend set in Generation IV of no longer displaying the names of characters, items and locations in all capital letters.
- Pokémon transferred forward, however, will keep an all-caps species name unless they are evolved in Generation V.
- When the games were advertised or reported on Pokémon Sunday, the song Black or White by Michael Jackson was played multiple times as a reference to the titles of the games.
- These games are the first main series games to be available in Europe before the United States, being released 2 days earlier. However, these are not the first Pokémon titles, as this was also the case with the spin-off games Pokémon Dash and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure.
- The slogan used in the commercials for these games is "Start From a New Beginning".
- Black and White are the first handheld Pokémon games to censor certain words when attempting to nickname a Pokémon. This means that if the player gives a nickname to a Pokémon that is registered on the games' built-in blacklist, he/she will be unable to confirm the nickname as the action will be denied, requiring another, whitelisted name to be input.
- The European versions of Black and White were translated directly from the original Japanese version, rather than being translated from the American version like with previous games.[9]
- Korean versions of Black and White, unlike all Korean Generation IV games, can communicate with international versions without any issues.
- Due to the DS cartridges being black, Pokémon Black is technically the first Pokémon game since Emerald to have its cartridge match the color of the game.
- When played on a Nintendo DSi, DSi XL, or 3DS, the Poké Ball on the game's icon will wiggle.
- Black and White are the first two Pokémon games in which the Master Ball can be given to the player more than once without the use of a lottery number.
- Both the English/European language and Japanese logos of Black and White feature white and black borders, respectively, to represent Reshiram and Zekrom (who are the opposite color from the game they are featured in). The sequels' logos feature black and white borders matching the game version, the legendary mascot (Black or White Kyurem) and the rest of the logo.
In other languages
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See also
References
- ↑ Pokémon.co.jp
- ↑ Pokémon.com (US)
- ↑ Nintendo of Australia - Pokémon Black Version
- ↑ Nintendo of Australia - Pokémon White Version
- ↑ Pokémon.com (UK)
- ↑ Nintendo of Korea
- ↑ Dan Vinci magazine
- ↑ Game Freak's blog
- ↑ The brains behind Pokemon Black and White Interview • Page 2 • Interviews • Eurogamer.net
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This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games. |
