Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version are role-playing video games created in 2010 by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. These games are the first in the fifth generation of the Pokémon video game series. They were first released in Japan on September 18, 2010, and later released in Europe, North America, and Australia in 2011. Follow-up games, Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2, were released for the Nintendo DS in 2012.
Like earlier games in the series, both Black and White follow the story of a young Pokémon Trainer traveling through the region of Unova. The Trainer trains Pokémon to compete against others and stops the plans of the criminal group Team Plasma. These games added 156 new Pokémon to the series, more than the previous record holder, Pokémon Red and Blue. They also introduced new features, such as a seasonal cycle, rotation battles, triple battles, hidden abilities, and fully animated Pokémon images. While the games can be played separately, they share the same story, and trading Pokémon between them is needed to complete the Pokédex.
When the games were released, they received mostly positive reviews for improvements in gameplay. However, some reviewers had mixed opinions about the Pokémon designs, and some critics believed the games did not add enough new ideas. Despite this, the games were very successful commercially. Before their release in Japan, they sold 1 million pre-orders and became the fastest-selling Nintendo DS games to reach 5 million copies. As of September 2017, the games sold a total of 15.64 million copies, making them among the best-selling Nintendo DS games, slightly behind their predecessors, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.
Gameplay
Pokémon Black and White are role-playing video games that include adventure elements. The games are viewed from a third-person, overhead perspective. There are three main screens: the overworld, where the player moves the main character; the battle screen; and the menu, where the player can manage their party, items, or game settings. The player controls a Pokémon Trainer who starts with one Pokémon and can catch more using Poké Balls. Like other Trainers, the player can carry up to six Pokémon at a time. The game also includes a network of PCs, found in buildings called Pokémon Centers, where the player can store hundreds of Pokémon and heal them when they have low health or are injured.
Pokémon can learn up to four moves, such as attacks, healing actions, or moves that cause status effects on opponents. Each Pokémon has six stats that influence battle performance: maximum health points (HP), Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. Attack and Special Attack differ based on the type of move: physical moves involve direct contact, while special moves use supernatural or elemental power. Moves are grouped into seventeen types: Normal, Water, Grass, Fire, Electric, Ghost, Bug, Fighting, Ice, Steel, Rock, Poison, Psychic, Dark, Dragon, Ground, and Flying. Pokémon can have one or two types. A Pokémon’s type affects how it interacts with others. For example, Fire-type Pokémon are weak to Water-type moves, but Grass-type moves do little damage to them, and Electric-type moves do normal damage.
When the player encounters a wild Pokémon or battles another Trainer, the game switches to a turn-based battle screen. During battles, the player can use a move, use an item, switch Pokémon, or flee. However, fleeing is not allowed during battles against other Trainers or certain strong wild Pokémon. If a Pokémon’s HP drops to zero, it faints until it is revived. When an opponent’s Pokémon faints, all of the player’s Pokémon who helped defeat it earn experience points. After gaining enough experience, a Pokémon may level up, improving its stats. Some Pokémon evolve into new forms when specific conditions are met, such as reaching a certain level or using a special item. At the "Day Care," the player can breed two Pokémon (usually a male and a female) to create Eggs that hatch into baby Pokémon at level 1.
Pokémon Black and White takes place in the Unova region, inspired by New York City. Unova includes cities and towns connected by "Routes." Wild Pokémon can be encountered in tall grass along routes or in bodies of water. The player may battle Trainers in cities, towns, or along routes. Eight cities and towns in Unova are home to "Gym Leaders," skilled Trainers who specialize in specific Pokémon types. Defeating a Gym Leader earns the player a "Badge." All eight Badges are needed to access the Pokémon League, where the player faces the "Elite Four" and the Champion. Items can be found on the ground or bought from "Poké Marts." For example, Hyper Potions restore health, Antidotes cure poisoning, and Revives bring fainted Pokémon back to life. TMs teach moves to Pokémon, and HMs are a special type of TM that allows the player to perform important actions, such as using the "Surf" move to cross water.
The graphics in Black and White are improved compared to earlier games. Dialog boxes from previous games have been replaced with speech balloons that appear over characters’ heads, allowing multiple characters to speak at once. Japanese players can see kanji on screen instead of only hiragana and katakana. During battles, Pokémon sprites are fully animated, and the camera moves to focus on key parts of the action. The games continue the day and night cycle from earlier games and add a seasonal cycle, with seasons changing every month. Areas look different depending on the season, such as autumn leaves or winter snow. Some areas are only accessible during certain seasons, and different Pokémon appear in the wild based on the time of year. For example, Pokémon like Deerling and Sawsbuck change their appearance to match the seasons.
Two new battle mechanics are introduced: Triple Battles and Rotation Battles. In Triple Battles, both teams send out three Pokémon at once. Some moves can only be used by Pokémon on the left or right side to attack the opponent’s Pokémon on the same side or in the center. Changing positions takes one turn. In Rotation Battles, each team sends out three Pokémon arranged in a circle that can be rotated. Black has more Rotation Battles than Triple Battles, while White has more Triple Battles. Another new feature is Combination Moves: a starter Pokémon can learn one of three special moves, and using them together in Double or Triple Battles creates stronger attacks. Walking through darker-colored tall grass may trigger Double Battles with wild Pokémon instead of Single Battles.
Rare Pokémon, Pokémon more common in the opposite game version, or the highest evolutionary form of a Pokémon can be found in rustling grass or rippling water. This is the only way to catch Pokémon like Audino, Emolga, and Alomomola. Dust clouds in caves and the shadows of flying Pokémon on certain bridges may lead to rare items or encounters with Pokémon like Drilbur, Excadrill, Ducklett, or Swanna, which are not found in the wild. Occasionally, throwing a Poké Ball increases the chance of capturing a Pokémon due to a random event. New side-games include Pokémon Musicals, similar to previous contests; the Battle Subway, similar to earlier battle towers; and the Royal Unova, a cruise ship where players can fight Trainers to earn rare items.
The C-Gear replaces the Pokétch from earlier games. It controls wireless features, such as infrared (IR) communication for battling and trading, Wi-Fi connections to sync with online servers, and the "Pass By" mode, which allows the game to communicate with others through infrared while the DS is asleep. The Feeling Check function tests compatibility between players and gives items based on the result. In "Pass By," players answer survey questions and receive items depending on how many other players they’ve connected with. The "Random Matchup" feature lets players battle others online. A new mechanic called the Wonder Launcher allows healing items to be used in battles.
Two features were added to transfer Pokémon from older DS games to Black and White. For normal transfers, the Poké Transfer feature is available after completing the main story.
Plot
The Pokémon games Black and White take place in the Unova Region, which is part of a large landmass far from earlier regions like Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Unlike those regions, which were inspired by real places in Japan, Unova was modeled after New York City. This idea came from game director Junichi Masuda, who visited the city during the launch of Diamond and Pearl. For example, Castelia City, the region’s main city, includes a bridge called Skyarrow Bridge, which resembles New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, and tall skyscrapers. Masuda also wanted the streets of Castelia City to show a sense of community. Unova includes large cities, a harbor, an airport, an amusement park, many bridges, and mountain ranges. The region is also home to a wide variety of people with different skin tones, languages, and jobs. The Japanese name for Unova, Isshu (イッシュ), comes from two words: tashu (多種), meaning "many kinds," and isshu (一種), meaning "one kind." This reflects how the many types of people and Pokémon in Unova seem like one kind of life when viewed from a distance.
Like earlier Pokémon games, Black and White follow a fixed storyline. The main character, Hilbert or Hilda (depending on the player’s choice), travels through Unova to become a Pokémon Master. At the start of the game, players choose a Starter Pokémon—Snivy, Tepig, or Oshawott—as a gift from Professor Juniper. The player’s friends, Cheren and Bianca, are rival trainers who battle the player. Cheren picks Pokémon with type advantages over the player’s team, while Bianca picks Pokémon with type disadvantages. The player’s main goal is to earn eight Gym Badges in Unova and then challenge the Elite Four and the Unova League Champion to complete the story.
In addition to the main story, players must defeat Team Plasma, a group that believes Pokémon are mistreated by humans and wants to free them. Team Plasma is led by N, a young man who grew up with Pokémon and sees them as friends, not tools. Throughout the game, N tries to capture a Legendary Pokémon—Reshiram in White or Zekrom in Black—and defeat the Unova League Champion, Alder, to prove his ideas are correct.
After earning all eight Gym Badges and defeating the Elite Four, players find that N has defeated Alder and become the new Unova League Champion. N then builds a large castle around the League and challenges the player to a final battle. During this battle, Reshiram or Zekrom appears, and the player must capture the Pokémon to prove their strength before facing N. After N’s defeat, he realizes his beliefs may be wrong. Ghetsis, a leader of Team Plasma, reveals he used N as a pawn to control Pokémon and rule the world. Ghetsis then fights the player in a final battle. After Ghetsis is defeated, he is arrested, and Alder becomes the League Champion again. He forgives N, who thanks the player for helping him understand the true relationship between humans and Pokémon. N then leaves the castle with his chosen dragon to explore the world.
After completing the main story, the player meets Looker, who asks them to find the remaining members of Team Plasma. Players can also challenge the Elite Four and Alder again, becoming the new Unova League Champion. They gain access to the eastern part of Unova, which includes Pokémon from earlier games and two unique areas: Black City, a city with powerful trainers, and White Forest, where humans and Pokémon live together. Cynthia, the former Sinnoh League Champion, is also found in this area and can be challenged. A character named after Shigeki Morimoto, a Game Freak programmer and designer, can also be battled in the game.
Development
On January 29, 2010, The Pokémon Company announced that a new game was being developed for the Nintendo DS and would be released later that year. Director Junichi Masuda said that many parts of the series were being changed for the new generation. On April 9, 2010, a Japanese website updated with the game titles, Pokémon Black and White, and announced a release date in the third quarter of 2010. The games include better visuals than previous Pokémon games, with more use of 3D computer graphics than any other handheld game in the series. They also have a special feature that allows players to upload their saved game to the Internet, enabling them to complete tasks on an official website.
On August 3, 2010, Masuda announced on his blog that the Black and White versions would only include brand-new Pokémon at first, to create a feeling of starting fresh, similar to the original Pokémon games. In all games after the first generation, new Pokémon were introduced alongside Pokémon from earlier generations. For example, Pikachu was first introduced in the Red and Green games and was available in Blue, Yellow, and all later main series games. However, Pikachu would not be available at the start of Black and White.
It was later confirmed that Pokémon Black and White are region locked on the Nintendo DSi and 3DS.
Game director and composer Junichi Masuda said that to keep the games fresh, he reviews every previous element to decide what to include in the new game. He noted that some past features might not be popular anymore due to changing trends. He explained that new battle styles, such as triple battles and rotation battles, require different skills—triple battles need more strategy, while rotation battles depend more on luck. Masuda said the goal was to make the games fun for new players and to encourage returning players to join again. He mentioned it was challenging to balance these goals. For new players, the games include clear instructions on how to play, while returning players can use the C-Gear, which makes trading and battling easier. When asked about adding over 150 new Pokémon species, Masuda said this was done to make it harder for experienced players to know which Pokémon are strong, creating a fairer experience for all players.
The Nintendo DS Pokémon Black · White Super Music Collection is a four-disc soundtrack featuring music from the games, composed by Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Shota Kageyama, Hitomi Sato, Morikazu Aoki, Minako Adachi, and Satoshi Nohara. The soundtrack was released on October 20, 2010, in Japan. Go Ichinose directed all Pokémon voices for the game, and Minako Adachi produced all sound effects.
Promotion and release
Pokémon Black and White were released in Japan on September 18, 2010. They were later released in Europe on March 4, 2011, in North America on March 6, 2011, and in Australia on March 10, 2011.
On February 7, 2010, Junichi Masuda showed a silhouette of a new Pokémon on the Pokémon Sunday episode. This Pokémon was said to appear in a summer film and would be identified in a future episode on February 21. The same Pokémon was also shown in the March 2010 issue of CoroCoro Comic, which was available on February 15. The Pokémon was later named "Zoroark" and evolves from "Zorua." Both were featured in the movie Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl The Movie: Phantom Ruler: Zoroark. Pre-order ticket holders could receive alternate-colored Raikou, Entei, or Suicune for their Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, or SoulSilver games. At theaters, players could download a Celebi to the same games. These Pokémon activated special events in Black and White involving Zoroark and Zorua.
On April 18, 2010, the Pokémon Sunday episode showed game footage of a player walking in a 3D environment and a screenshot of a battle between Zoroark and Zorua. Host Shoko Nakagawa noted that Zoroark’s sprite showed the full body from behind, unlike previous sprites that showed only part of the Pokémon’s body. On May 9, 2010, the Pokémon Sunday episode revealed silhouettes of the three starter Pokémon: Tsutarja (Grass Snake), Pokabu (Fire Pig), and Mijumaru (Sea Otter). The game takes place in the Isshu Region, which includes Hiun City. On May 16, 2010, the episode showed battle footage with new animations and camera movements. Zoroark’s Illusion ability and a special Zoroark from the movie were also described.
On May 28, 2010, the official Japanese and English Pokémon websites revealed the names and designs of the two major legendary Pokémon for the games: Reshiram (White Yang Pokémon) for Pokémon Black and Zekrom (Black Yin Pokémon) for Pokémon White. The July 2010 issue of CoroCoro Comic introduced C-Gear wireless features, internet data uploads, new Pokémon, moves, Reshiram and Zekrom’s types, details about the Celebi/Zorua event, and a new character: Professor Araragi, the first female Pokémon professor in video games. On June 27, 2010, the Pokémon Sunday episode announced the release date as September 18, 2010, and mentioned a character yet to be named. The June 28 episode of Oha Suta showed a trailer with the release date, gameplay footage, new characters, Pokémon, and a three-on-three battle system. The August 2010 issue of CoroCoro Comic explained new game mechanics, including the three-on-three system, online Global Link, Dream World, Hilink (similar to the Underground), Live Caster for video chat, kanji support, version differences, exclusive areas, new characters, moves, abilities, and Pokémon.
On July 25, 2010, the Pokémon Sunday episode introduced Victini, a new phantom Pokémon first shown in a trailer for the 2011 film Phantom Ruler: Zoroark. Victini is listed as Pokémon No. 000 in the Isshu Pokédex and can be downloaded via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, DS Stations, or Nintendo Zones. It was available for one month after the game’s release. Another promotional Pokémon, Kumasyun, was given out after the games’ release and is only found in the game during winter.
On the Japanese release date, Nintendo of America sent cease and desist letters to two English-language fansites, PokéBeach and Serebii, after they posted screenshots and media from the newly released games. Nintendo claimed the content violated copyright and asked the sites to remove the media. The images were later taken down. Nintendo stated it supported fan sites but had to ask some sites to remove confidential images.
International promotion began on November 22, 2010, when the official website for North America, Europe, and Australia was updated with localized names for the starter Pokémon (Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott) and the game’s setting in the Unova region. Reshiram and Zekrom floats joined Pikachu during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 25, 2010.
On December 27, 2010, the international websites revealed English names for Pokémon and locations introduced during the Japanese promotion, including Castelia City (Hiun City) and Professor Juniper (Professor Araragi).
From January 3 to 9, 2011, in the United States, players of Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver could download shiny Raikou at GameStop stores. Similar downloads for shiny Entei and Suicune occurred later in January and February. These Pokémon enabled the Zoroark event in North American Black and White versions. The same Pokémon were later distributed via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in Europe, Australia, and North America.
The Celebi event in North America was available through GameStop stores from February 21 to March 6, 2011, or through the Black and White game promotion tour starting February 5. In France and Spain, Celebi was available from January 1 to March 3, 2011. In Italy, Celebi was available from January 21 to March 3, 2011.
An event to capture Victini was also held after the games’ release.
Reception
Pokémon Black and White received mostly positive reviews from critics. They have an average score of 87% on Metacritic, which means most critics found the games to be good. A Japanese magazine called Famitsu Weekly gave the games the highest possible score of 40/40, making them the 15th game to earn this honor and the best Pokémon game ever rated by that magazine. Game Informer’s Annette Gonzalez said the games improved on earlier features and took them to a higher level. VideoGamer.com’s Jamin Smith said the games did not add many new ideas, but still called them the best in the series. Official Nintendo Magazine described them as a beautiful improvement to the series and the best Pokémon games ever. Nintendo Power said the games were as addictive as ever. Edge magazine said the games reminded people why they enjoy Pokémon, even if they did not show where the series might go next.
IGN gave the games a 9/10, which is the highest score any Nintendo DS Pokémon game has received. The review praised the games for bringing new interest to the series but said some Pokémon designs were not as strong. Jeremy Parish of Retronauts said he found the games boring after a short time and thought they were too similar to older Pokémon games. He also said hidden game features called EVs and IVs were not helpful but thought the games were good for new players. He compared them to other games that start weak but improve later. Justin Haywald of Retronauts said the games were released on the Nintendo DS, which already had two other main Pokémon games. Carolyn Gudmundson of GamesRadar said the games added enough new content and kept the classic battle system, making them very enjoyable.
In August 2010, one month before the games were released in Japan, they had 1.08 million pre-orders, becoming the fastest Nintendo DS game to reach 1 million pre-orders. On the first two days of sale, they sold more than 2.6 million copies, the biggest launch in the series’ history in Japan. By November 3, they sold over 4.3 million copies in Japan. By January 9, 2011, they became the fastest Nintendo DS games to sell 5 million copies.
When released in the UK, Pokémon White was the top-selling game and Pokémon Black was second. White sold 13,000 more copies than Black and became the second-fastest-selling Nintendo DS game in the UK after Professor Layton and Pandora's Box. Together, their sales were Nintendo’s third-largest launch in the UK, after Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii, and the biggest opening weekend for a pair of Pokémon games.
In the US, the games sold more than 1.08 million copies on the first day, breaking the previous record held by Diamond and Pearl. In March 2011, Nintendo sold 1.3 million copies of White and 1.1 million copies of Black, making them the top-selling games in the US for that month. By April 2011, Nintendo reported that the games had sold 11.5 million copies worldwide, making them the best-selling Nintendo DS games in the 2010–11 financial year and third overall, behind only Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort. As of September 2017, the games had sold a total of 15.64 million copies worldwide.
Legacy
Sequels to the games Black and White, titled Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2, were released for the Nintendo DS in 2012.
The second part of the downloadable content The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet takes place in the Blueberry Academy, a terrarium located off the coast of Unova.