Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 are role-playing video games created in 2012 by Game Freak. They were published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. These games are part of the fifth generation of the Pokémon series and are follow-up games to Pokémon Black and Pokémon White. They were first released in Japan in June 2012 and later released worldwide in October 2012. These were the last games made for the Nintendo DS by the company. The games include two legendary Pokémon named Black Kyurem and White Kyurem, identified by Junichi Masuda. The games were first announced on February 26, 2012, during an episode of the Japanese television show Pokémon Smash! and later confirmed on the official Pokémon website.
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 follow a new player’s journey to become the Unova League Champion, two years after the events of the original games. The story continues from the previous games, where the criminal group Team Plasma returns as Neo Team Plasma. Players must stop them from achieving their goal of ruling the world. The games include new features such as the Key System, Hidden Grottoes, new cities, and additional Pokémon. Like other main series Pokémon games, players need to trade between the two versions to complete the Pokédex.
A Pokémon Grey game was not made because the name "Grey" did not fit the theme of opposites in Black and White. Developers also wanted to surprise players by not following the same naming pattern as earlier games. Critics generally gave the games positive reviews, praising the new features and changes from the original. However, some critics noted that the games lacked new ideas.
Gameplay
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 include two main types of gameplay: exploring the game world and battling. During exploration, players control their character from a top-down view, speak with other characters, and search for items and Pokémon. Battles involve sending out Pokémon to reduce the opponent’s Pokémon to zero health points. Players use their Pokémon’s "moves," which can attack, help or weaken other Pokémon, or cause special effects.
The games take place two years after the events of Pokémon Black and White. Many early parts of the story happen in new areas on the western side of the Unova region. These new areas include Pokémon that were not available in the earlier games, with a total of 300 unique Pokémon available at the start.
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 work with a new downloadable game for the Nintendo 3DS called Pokémon Dream Radar. This game introduces a character named Professor Burnet and alternate forms of Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus, which can be transferred to Black 2 and White 2 after being captured. The Dream World, a feature from earlier games, returns but was closed on January 14, 2014, along with other services for fifth-generation games. The mythical Pokémon Keldeo also gains a new form called the Resolute form.
A new feature in Black 2 and White 2 is the "PokéStar Studios" side-game, where the player helps film a movie with Pokémon and other characters. A character named Brycen-Man appears, as Brycen from the original games returns to his acting career. Another new feature is the Pokémon World Tournament, where players battle strong trainers from earlier games, including Gym Leaders like Brock, Misty, Volkner, and Giovanni, and League Champions like Cynthia, Steven, and Lance. A final new feature is the Key System, which unlocks after completing the game. This system allows players to access harder challenges and new areas, such as Black Tower or White Tree, within the same version. It also lets players explore special chambers where they can capture Regirock, Registeel, and Regice.
Plot
The story of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 happens two years after the events of the first games. New areas are added, such as Virbank City, Flocessy Town, Lentimas Town, Humilau City, and Hidden Grottoes, where special Pokémon can be caught. Instead of starting in Nuvema Town, players begin their journey in Aspertia City, a new city in the southwest of Unova. Unova’s design is inspired by New York City.
Players and their rival start their adventure on the western side of Unova, which was previously unreachable. They live in Aspertia City and receive their starter Pokémon from Bianca, an NPC who was a rival in the first games. Players also meet Cheren, who is now a Gym Leader in Aspertia City. Like other Pokémon games, players travel the region, battle Gym Leaders to earn eight Gym Badges, and then challenge the Elite Four and the Unova League Champion to complete the game.
The main villains in Black 2 and White 2 are Neo Team Plasma. Players first meet them during an errand and later when the group announces its plan to take over the world and steal Pokémon in front of the player, the rival, and new Gym Leader Roxie. At Iris’s request, players help Burgh track Neo Team Plasma members in Castelia City’s sewers, where they meet Colress, a researcher who studies Pokémon’s strengths.
Later, it is revealed that Neo Team Plasma stole a Purrloin that the rival planned to give to his sister, angering him. Players learn that Neo Team Plasma is using Kyurem, a Legendary Pokémon that arrived at the Giant Chasm years ago, to freeze parts of Unova, including Opelucid City. Players confront Neo Team Plasma in Humilau City, where Gym Leader Marlon helps them battle the group and recover the rival’s Purrloin, now evolved into Liepard.
The story’s climax takes place in the Giant Chasm, where players discover Colress is working with Neo Team Plasma and that Ghetsis plans to use Kyurem to achieve his goal of ruling the world. After battling the Shadow Triad with the rival’s help, players face Kyurem and Ghetsis. N, who has Zekrom in Black 2 or Reshiram in White 2, tries to stop his father Ghetsis, but his Pokémon is defeated and fused with Kyurem, transforming it into Black Kyurem or White Kyurem. Players defeat Kyurem, which separates from N’s Pokémon, and then battle Ghetsis. N thanks the player for helping defeat Neo Team Plasma. After completing the main story, players can battle the Elite Four and the Unova League Champion, Iris.
After finishing the game, players can challenge N in his former castle. When his Legendary Pokémon is defeated, it becomes an object that N gives to the player. The player can later use the object to capture the Pokémon again. Players can also battle former champions like Alder, Cynthia, and the Striaton City Gym Leaders, and complete challenges in Black City or White Forest. Using a feature called "Memory Link," players can access new content tied to the original Black and White games, such as references to their name, flashback sequences, capturing Pokémon that once belonged to N, and battling Cheren and Bianca who reminisce about the previous game’s protagonist.
Development
During the development of Black and White 2, Takao Unno introduced the theme of resonance, which inspired the team to create a feature allowing 100 players to connect and play together using the Entralink. To help new and returning players enjoy the game more easily, a Pokémon Center was added to the first city in the region. This was the first time a Pokémon game included a Pokémon Center in the starting city, making it simpler for players to learn about the game world. Takao Unno wanted players of Black and White to see the region of Unova in Black and White 2 from a new angle. Junichi Masuda, the executive director, believed that beginning the game in a new city would help returning players feel like they were exploring a fresh world. He also explained that he tries to experience the games as someone who has never played them before, ensuring they are easy to understand for newcomers.
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 were released at the same time as the premiere of Pokémon the Movie: Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice. In some theaters in Japan, players who watched the movie could receive a special in-game Pokémon for Black and White or Black and White 2.
The background music in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 includes songs from Pokémon Black and White, adds new tracks, and uses the same arrangements as most of the music from Pokémon Black and White. The official soundtrack for the game, titled Nintendo DS Pokémon Black 2 · White 2 Super Music Complete, was released in Japan on July 25, 2012. Disc 4 of the soundtrack also includes music from Pokémon Black and White, Pokémon Emerald, and Pokémon Platinum, which had not been included in a complete soundtrack before.
Reception
The games received "generally favorable reviews" from critics and have an aggregate score of 80 according to Metacritic. Famitsu magazine gave Black 2 and White 2 a score of 36 out of 40, which is slightly lower than the perfect scores of their earlier versions. IGN's Audrey Drake rated the games 9.6 out of 10, praising the changes made from the original games. Game Informer's Kyle Hilliard also liked the new features, saying they "work well with the Pokémon formula," but he was not happy with the "lack of innovation." Nintendo Life gave the games a 9 out of 10, calling them “the best in the series to date” and “fresh and easy to play.” GamesRadar+ rated the games 4 out of 5, noting that they relied too much on Black and White but also praised the extended storyline and new areas added to the game.
Within the first two days of release, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 sold more than 1.6 million copies, and over 2 million copies within the first two weeks. By January 2013, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 had total sales of 7.81 million copies worldwide. By 2020, the games had sold 8.52 million copies worldwide.