Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version are role-playing video games created by Game Freak and released 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. Sequels, Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2, were released for the Nintendo DS in 2012.
Like earlier games in the series, Black and White follow the journey of a young Pokémon Trainer exploring the Unova region. The Trainer trains Pokémon to compete against others and stops the plans of a criminal group called Team Plasma. Black and White added 156 new Pokémon to the series, 5 more than the previous record holder, Pokémon Red and Blue. The games also introduced new features, such as a seasonal cycle, rotation battles, triple battles, hidden abilities, and fully animated Pokémon images. The games are separate but share the same story. Players can complete each game individually, but trading Pokémon between the two games is needed to finish the Pokédex.
When released, Black and White received mostly positive reviews for improvements in gameplay. Some reviewers had mixed opinions about the Pokémon designs, and some critics thought the games did not add enough new ideas. Despite this, the games were very successful. Before their release in Japan, Black and White 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, just 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, where Pokémon fight; and the menu, where the player manages their team, items, or game settings. The player controls a Pokémon Trainer who starts with one Pokémon and can capture more using Poké Balls. Like other Trainers, the player can carry up to six Pokémon at a time. However, the game includes a network of PCs, located in buildings called Pokémon Centers, where players can store hundreds of Pokémon and heal them when they have low health or become unconscious.
Pokémon can learn up to four moves, such as attacking moves, healing moves, or moves that cause status effects on opponents. Each Pokémon has six stats that influence battle performance: maximum hit points (HP), Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. Attack and Special Attack differ based on move types: physical moves rely on strength, while special moves involve supernatural or elemental powers. Moves are classified into 17 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. Most of a Pokémon's moves match its type. A Pokémon's type determines how strong or weak it is against others. For example, Fire-type Pokémon are weak to Water-type moves, while Grass-type moves do little damage to them, and Electric-type moves do normal damage.
When the player meets a wild Pokémon or battles another Trainer, the screen changes 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 possible during battles against other Trainers or certain strong wild Pokémon. If a Pokémon's HP drops to zero, it becomes unconscious until revived. If an opposing Pokémon becomes unconscious, all of the player's Pokémon who helped defeat it earn experience points. When a Pokémon accumulates enough experience points, it levels up, increasing its stats. Many 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," players 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 may appear in tall grass along Routes or in water. Players sometimes battle Trainers in cities, towns, or along Routes. Eight cities and towns are home to "Gym Leaders," skilled Trainers who specialize in certain Pokémon types. Defeating a Gym Leader earns the player a "Badge." Collecting all eight Badges unlocks the Pokémon League, where the player faces the "Elite Four" and the Champion. Items can be found on the ground or purchased from "Poké Marts." For example, Hyper Potions restore HP, Antidotes cure poison, and Revives bring fainted Pokémon back to life. Technical Machines (TMs) teach moves to Pokémon, and Hidden Machines (HMs) are special TMs that allow players to travel through environments. For example, the "Surf" HM move lets players cross water.
Graphics in Black and White improved from earlier games like Diamond and Pearl. Dialog boxes from previous games were replaced with speech bubbles that appear above 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 specific parts of the battle. Black and White continue the day and night cycle from earlier games and add a seasonal cycle, with seasons changing monthly. 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 depending on the season. Pokémon like Deerling and Sawsbuck change their appearance to match the seasons.
Two new battle mechanics were added: Triple Battles and Rotation Battles. In Triple Battles, both teams send out three Pokémon at once. Some moves only allow Pokémon on the left or right to attack opponents 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 feature is Combination Moves: a starter Pokémon can learn one of three moves, and using them together in Double or Triple Battles creates stronger attacks. Walking through darker tall grass can trigger Double Battles with wild Pokémon instead of Single Battles in lighter grass.
Players can occasionally find special areas, such as rustling grass or rippling water, where they might encounter rare Pokémon, Pokémon more common in the opposite game version, or the highest evolutionary form of a Pokémon. This is the only way to capture Pokémon like Audino, Emolga, and Alomomola. Dust clouds in caves and shadows of flying Pokémon on certain bridges may lead to rare items or encounters with Pokémon like Drilbur, Excadrill, Ducklett, or Swanna, which cannot be found in the wild. Sometimes, 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 Frontiers; 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 on the Nintendo DS's bottom screen. It manages wireless features, such as infrared (IR) communication for battling and trading, wireless access to the Entralink for transferring content from the Pokémon Dream World, syncing with Pokémon Global Link servers via Wi-Fi, and "Pass By mode," which lets the game communicate with other copies through infrared while the DS is asleep. The Feeling Check function tests compatibility between players and gives items based on results. 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 or via IR. A new mechanic called the Wonder Launcher allows healing items to be used during 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 are set in the Unova Region, a large landmass far from previous 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 Junichi Masuda, the game’s director, who visited the city during the launch of Diamond and Pearl. For example, Castelia City, the region’s main city, includes a bridge inspired by the Brooklyn Bridge and tall skyscrapers. Masuda wanted the city’s streets to show a sense of community. Unova has large cities, a harbor, an airport, an amusement park, many bridges, and mountain ranges. The region also has a variety of people with different skin tones, languages, and jobs. The Japanese name for Unova, "Isshu" (イッシュ), combines 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 from a distance.
Like other Pokémon games, Black and White follow a linear storyline, where main events happen in a fixed order. 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, while Bianca picks those with type disadvantages. The main goal is to earn eight Gym Badges in Unova and 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 similar to the Knights Templar who believe Pokémon are mistreated by humans and want to free them. Team Plasma is led by N, a young man who grew up with Pokémon and sees them as friends. During the game, N claims that capturing a Legendary Pokémon—Reshiram in White or Zekrom in Black—and defeating the Unova League Champion, Alder, will make him a hero and convince humans to let go of their Pokémon.
After earning the Gym Badges and defeating the Elite Four, players find that N has defeated Alder and become the new League Champion. N then builds a large castle around the League and challenges the player to a final battle. When the player reaches N, Reshiram or Zekrom appears, and the player must capture the Pokémon to prove their worth. After N’s defeat, he realizes his ideas were wrong. Ghetsis, the leader of Team Plasma, reveals he used N to take control of Pokémon and rule the world. Ghetsis challenges the player to a final battle. After Ghetsis is arrested, Alder returns as the League Champion and pardons N. N thanks the player and leaves with his chosen dragon to explore the world.
In the postgame, Looker arrives and asks the player to find remaining members of Team Plasma. Players can also challenge the Elite Four and Alder again, becoming the new League Champion. The player gains access to the eastern part of Unova, which includes Pokémon from earlier games and unique areas: Black City, a large, modern city with powerful trainers, and White Forest, where humans and Pokémon live together. Cynthia, the former Sinnoh League Champion, is also 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 29 January 2010, The Pokémon Company announced that a new game was being developed for the Nintendo DS and would be released later that year. Junichi Masuda, the game director, said that many parts of the series were being updated for the new generation. On 9 April 2010, a Japanese website shared the names of the new game versions as Pokémon Black and White and confirmed 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 Pokémon game. They also allow players to upload their saved game to the Internet, enabling them to complete tasks on an official website.
On 3 August 2010, Masuda announced on his blog that the Black and White versions would only include brand-new Pokémon at first, to give players the experience of starting a fresh game, similar to the original Pokémon games. In previous games, new Pokémon were introduced alongside older ones from earlier generations. For example, Pikachu was first introduced in the Red and Green games and was available in later games like Blue, Yellow, and others. However, in Black and White, Pikachu would not be available at the start of the game.
It was later confirmed that Pokémon Black and White are region locked on the Nintendo DSi and 3DS.
Junichi Masuda, the game director and composer, explained that to keep the games fresh, he reviews every previous element to decide what to include in the new game. He said, "people may not like what they like in the past, trend wise." He described the new battle styles, noting that triple battles require more strategy, while rotation battles depend more on luck. Masuda stated that the goal was to make the games enjoyable for new players and to encourage returning players to join again. He mentioned that balancing these goals was challenging. For new players, the games include clear instructions on how to play, while returning players can use the C-Gear, a feature that makes trading and battling easier. When asked about adding over 150 new Pokémon species, Masuda said this decision was made to give all players, new and returning, equal chances to succeed.
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 in Japan on 20 October 2010. 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.
A silhouette of a new Pokémon was shown by Junichi Masuda on the February 7, 2010, episode of Pokémon Sunday. It was said to appear in a summer film and would be identified in a future episode on February 21. This new Pokémon was also featured in the March 2010 issue of CoroCoro Comic, which was available on February 15. Later, the Pokémon was named "Zoroark," and it evolves from a Pokémon named "Zorua." Both were included in the film Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl The Movie: Phantom Ruler: Zoroark. For players who pre-ordered tickets, alternate-colored versions of Raikou, Entei, or Suicune could be transferred to their Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, or SoulSilver games. At theaters, players could download a Celebi to the same games. These Pokémon would activate special events in Black and White involving Zoroark and Zorua.
On April 18, 2010, the Pokémon Sunday episode showed game footage of a player character walking in a 3D environment and a screenshot of a battle between the player's Zoroark and an enemy Zorua. Host Shoko Nakagawa noted that the player's Zoroark had a full-body sprite shown from behind, unlike previous sprites that showed only a small part of the Pokémon. On May 9, 2010, the Pokémon Sunday episode revealed silhouettes of the three Pokémon players could choose at the start of the games. These were later identified as the Grass Snake Pokémon Tsutarja, the Fire Pig Pokémon Pokabu, and the Sea Otter Pokémon Mijumaru. Other information included that the game takes place in the Isshu Region, which includes the Hiun City metropolis. On May 16, 2010, the Pokémon Sunday episode showed battle footage, illustrating new in-battle animations and dynamic camera positioning. It also described Zoroark's Illusion ability and the special Zoroark acquired through the movie ticket pre-order gift.
On May 28, 2010, the official Japanese and English Pokémon websites revealed the names and designs of the two major legendary Pokémon in the games, which also serve as the game version mascots: the White Yang Pokémon Reshiram for Pokémon Black and the Black Yin Pokémon Zekrom for Pokémon White. The July 2010 issue of CoroCoro Comic introduced C-Gear wireless interactivity features, the ability to upload game data to the internet and a player's computer, new Pokémon, new 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. The June 27, 2010, Pokémon Sunday episode announced the release date as September 18, 2010, and mentioned a yet-to-be-named character. The June 28 episode of Oha Suta showed a trailer with the release date, new gameplay footage, new characters, more 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, the online Global Link system, an online Dream World, a Wi-Fi area called Hilink, a Live Caster feature for video chat on the Nintendo DSi and 3DS, kanji support, differences between the two game versions, version-exclusive areas, new characters, moves, abilities, and Pokémon.
The July 25, 2010, Pokémon Sunday episode introduced the new phantom Pokémon Victini, which first appeared in a trailer for the 2011 Pokémon film shown with screenings of Phantom Ruler: Zoroark. Victini is listed as Pokémon No. 000 in Isshu's regional Pokédex and can only be obtained by downloading a special item from Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, DS Stations, and Nintendo Zones (such as those in Japanese McDonald's restaurants) to a game save. It was initially available for one month after the games' release. Another promotional Pokémon, Kumasyun, was given out after the games' release and is only found in the games during winter.
On the day of the Japanese release, Nintendo of America sent cease and desist letters to two English-language Pokémon fansites, PokéBeach and Serebii, after they posted screenshots and other media from the newly released games. Nintendo claimed the media violated copyright and threatened to shut down the websites unless the content was removed. The screenshots were later taken down. Luke Plunkett of Kotaku initially thought Nintendo acted because the images were obtained illegally, but Jon Sahagian of PokéBeach said the images came from the Japanese forum 2channel. Charlie Scibetta of Nintendo of America later explained that the choice of images was the issue. He stated, "Nintendo supports and appreciates Pokémon fans' efforts to create fan sites. In most cases, there is no issue with the content posted, but on this occasion, we had to ask a few websites to remove confidential images."
Foreign promotion for the games began on November 22, 2010, when the official website for North America, Europe, and Australia was updated. It included localized names for the starter Pokémon (Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott) in English, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish markets and revealed the games' setting in the Unova region. Floats featuring Reshiram and Zekrom accompanied the Pikachu balloon during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 25, 2010.
On December 27, 2010, the official websites for international releases updated again, revealing the English names for many Pokémon first shown during the Japanese promotion. The English names for Hiun City and Professor Araragi were also revealed as Castelia City and Professor Juniper, respectively.
From January 3 to January 9, 2011, players of Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver in the United States could download a special shiny Raikou at GameStop stores. This was previously given to Japanese pre-order ticket holders for Phantom Ruler: Zoroark. Similar downloads for shiny Entei and shiny Suicune were available later in January and February. These Pokémon still activated the Zoroark event in the North American Black and White versions. The same Pokémon were later
Reception
Pokémon Black and White received mostly positive reviews from critics, with an average score of 87% on Metacritic, which means "generally favorable reviews." The Japanese magazine Famitsu Weekly gave the game a perfect score of 40 out of 40, making it the 15th game to receive this honor and the highest score ever given to a Pokémon video game by the publication. Game Informer’s Annette Gonzalez said, "Pokémon Black and White do a great job building upon already solid features and taking them to the next level." VideoGamer.com’s Jamin Smith noted that the games did not introduce many new ideas, but he said, "rest assured in the knowledge that Black and White are damn fine games; the best the series has to offer." Official Nintendo Magazine called them "A beautiful refinement of a great series […] the best Pokémon ever." Nintendo Power said, "the Pokémon series's latest pair of adventures is as addictive as ever." Edge acknowledged that "where next for Pokémon, Black and White don't suggest any answers, but they do remind us why we'd care in the first place."
IGN gave the games a 9 out of 10, a higher rating than any other Nintendo DS Pokémon games. The review praised the games for renewing interest in the series, though it criticized some of the new Pokémon designs, explaining that "aside from a weaker lineup of monsters (largely an aesthetic complaint), this is the best Pokémon has to offer on every level, renewing my waning interest in monster battling." Jeremy Parish of Retronauts criticized Black and White, saying he grew tired of the game quickly and felt it was too similar to previous Pokémon games. He also said that invisible game mechanics called EVs and IVs are not necessarily helpful but that the games could be good for new players. He compared them to other games like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon and Final Fantasy XIII, which he said are bad at first but improve later. Fellow Retronauts contributor Justin Haywald criticized the games’ release on the DS, which had already had two main Pokémon series games. GamesRadar editor Carolyn Gudmundson stated, "It may not break the Pokémon mold, but Black and White offers enough new content coupled with the series' classic, deep battle mechanics to make it endlessly playable. If you could only play one game for the rest of your life, this would be a wise choice."
In August 2010, one month before the games’ release in Japan, Pokémon Black and White gained a total of 1.08 million pre-orders, becoming the fastest-selling Nintendo DS game to reach 1 million copies. In the first two days on sale, it sold more than 2.6 million copies, becoming the biggest launch in the series’ history in Japan. By November 3, the games had sold over 4.3 million copies in Japan. As of January 9, 2011, the games became the fastest-selling DS titles to sell 5 million copies.
Upon its release in the UK, White and Black took the #1 and #2 spots respectively in the UK overall sales charts. White became the second fastest-selling DS game ever in the UK after Professor Layton and Pandora's Box, selling 13,000 more copies than Black. Combined, their sales became Nintendo's third biggest ever launch in the UK, behind Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii, and the biggest opening weekend ever for a pair of Pokémon titles.
In the US, Black and White sold more than 1.08 million copies on day one, breaking the previous day-one record held by predecessors Diamond and Pearl of 780,000 copies. According to the NPD Group, Nintendo sold 1.3 million units of White and 1.1 million units of Black in March 2011, making them the #1 and #2 top-selling games in the US for the month. In April 2011, Nintendo's financial earnings report confirmed that Pokémon Black and White had sold 11.5 million copies worldwide, making them the highest-selling DS games for Nintendo in the 2010–11 financial year and third overall, behind only the Wii games, Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort. As of September 2017, the games' combined sales have reached 15.64 million.
Legacy
The follow-up games to Pokémon Black and White, called 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 is set in Blueberry Academy, which is a special enclosed area located off the coast of Unova.