Pokemon Black and White versions — Everything there is to know (so far)

With less than two months until it releases in Japan, we’re currently being flooded with new information about the two upcoming Pokémon games: Black and White. I figured that with so much information out there, it’s time to sort through the magazine scans, Pokémon Sunday clips and leaked information to deliver all the essential facts on these new Pokémon games. And also speculate a bit.

Both games take place in the new region of Isshu, supposedly far away from Kanto, Sinnoh or any other Pokémon regions. What’s interesting about Isshu is that it features different areas specific to different games. For instance, the White Forest area is exclusive to the White version and the Black City one will only appear in Black. Apparently some other areas in the region will differ slightly between versions, which should hopefully make the two versions less “samey,” with more than just exclusive Pokémon to differentiate them.

Professor Araragi with my favourite Pokemon of Gen V, Chiramii. It’s a chinchilla!

Every Pokémon game needs to open with narration from a friendly professor, so Black and White give us Professor Araragi, the series’ first female professor. In keeping with tradition, she gives the player the choice of three starter Pokémon — Grass, Fire and Water types, as usual

Poor Mijimaru. It’s sad because the other two are so much cooler.

Tsutarja is the grass starter —the “grass snake” Pokémon. None of the starters have any evolutions revealed yet, so I can only speculate as to what Tsutarja will evolve into. Given that it’s a snake Pokémon, adding the Poison type to its evolutions would make sense (though Grass/Poison has been done to death). Of course, Tsujarja is only its Japanese name; none of the Pokémon have any English names yet. Despite this, Tsujarja has already earned the fan nickname of “Smugleaf” due to the smug look on his face.

Pokabu is the “fire pig” Pokémon. Sure, we’ve seen pig Pokémon before (Grumpig and Swinub come to mind), but not a FIRE pig Pokémon. It’s pretty cute, but who knows if it’ll stay that way once it evolves. I can see Pokabu turning into a giant boar or something.

The last starter is Mijimaru; the water-type “sea otter” Pokémon. It’s a sea otter and that’s about it.

This time around, the protagonist has two rivals who take the two starter Pokémon you reject. Bel (Belle?) is described as a spontaneous girl who is often unreliable; she’s the complete opposite of your other rival, Cheren —an intelligent, trustworthy guy who wants to become Isshu’s Champion. The story and characters have never been Pokémon’s strong suit, but parts of Black and White’s overarching plot actually interest me, namely N. N (I’m guessing that’s not his real name), looks like he’ll serve as the games’ antagonist, but unlike previous villains like Giovanni and Cyrus, he actually seems to be someone I can sympathise with. He views Pokémon as “friends” and wants to free them from humans, creating a “black and white world.” And that’s where the title comes in. N seems to have a noble goal, but I’m sure he’ll end up trying open a wormhole to suck all the Pokémon into another dimension or some other really over-the-top evil thing.

Y’know, something to that effect.

Pokémon games haven’t really changed much over the years and so Black and White don’t seem to be adding much to the formula gameplay-wise. The main new addition is Triple Battles, which —as the name suggests— pit two teams of three Pokémon against each other. Where Pokémon are positioned in battle will determine where they can attack. For instance, Pokémon on the sides can only target Pokémon directly across from them, whereas the one in the middle can target everything. The positions can be switched mid-battle, so it sounds like it could get fairly strategic.

For the first time in the main Pokemon series, you can actually see your Pokemons’ feet in battle!

Multiplayer seems to be getting a massive overhaul. Connecting with other players for a quick battle or trade can be done via infrared, just like bumping Pokéwalkers (not that it happens too often). There is also a “Passing By” feature that sounds a lot like Dragon Quest IX’s mode that allows players to swap information and (hopefully) receive hidden things just by being close by. Like with Dragon Quest IX, it will probably work best in densely populated places (like Japanese cities), but it’s a neat feature even if you live in the middle of nowhere. Video chat with up to three other people has also been added.

The graphics aren’t a massive step up from the 4th generation Pokemon games; it’s still a mix of sprites and 3D models, but the 3D effects are much more noticeable this time around. Pokémon now have larger, fully animated sprites in battle. There’s also a camera that pans around the battlefield to zoom in on a Pokémon charging an attack or taking a hit. These changes are all well and good, but the most important part of any Pokémon game is the titular creatures.

Reshiram is the Dialga to Zekrom’s Palkia. The Groudon to its Kyogre.

The two main legendary Pokémon this time around are Reshiram and Zekrom. Reshiram is a Dragon/Fire type Pokémon who is the version mascot for the Black version of the game (despite being white). Zekrom is the version mascot for White with a Dragon/Electric typing. Both Pokémon are supposed to represent the Chinese “Yin and Yang,” which makes sense given the colours chosen for the two versions. There is also a third legendary Pokemon —a “mirage” Pokémon—, which will supposedly be revealed shortly. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what it is.

Zoroark vs. the new female protagonist. Who has the more ridiculous ponytail?

The first two Pokémon of Generation V to be revealed were Zorua and it’s evolution, Zoroark. Both are Dark-type Pokémon who play a key role in the newest Pokémon movie, which was just released in Japan. Zoraoark is interesting because it’s the only Pokémon with the “Illusion” ability, which allows it to take the form of whatever Pokémon it’s fighting. Suddenly Ditto doesn’t seem like such a unique Pokémon any more. Both Pokémon are cool, but they might be “event-only,” due to there being a movie tie-in event that will allow them to be unlocked in Black and White once the games are out.

Musharna. It’s an incense burning, sleeping tapir that floats?

I have no idea what Musharna and it’s pre-evolution, Munna, are supposed to be, but these two psychic type Pokémon are worth mentioning because they factor into one of Black and White’s most interesting features. Once Musharna is obtained in the game, it allows access to the Pokémon Global Link; a website where you can upload your Black and White save file for online battles and enter “The World of Dreams”. From what I gather, the World of Dreams consists of a series of minigames that allow you to encounter and catch Pokemon that wouldn’t normally be available in the Isshu Pokédex. Basically, it sounds a lot like HeartGold and SoulSilver’s Pokéwalker — minus the experience points and exercise.

Six out of five-hundred-and-something Pokémon

And then there’s the other 20-odd Pokémon that have been revealed (some unofficially) at this point in time. There’s the usual mix of animal-based Pokémon —everything from apes to zebras— as well as a few odd ideas like a ghostly coffin and a pair of gears. The only two Pokémon that are known to be version exclusives at this point are Rankurusu —a weird green Psychic blob…thing that will only appear in the White version— and Gochiruzeru —another Psychic type Pokémon that appears to be wearing gothic lolita style clothes (yes, really). Technically, Gochiruzeru is the “celestial body” Pokémon, but I’ll always view it as the gothic lolita Pokemon. Also, it’ll only be available in Pokémon Black. No evolutions of existing Pokémon have been officially revealed, but new screenshots (which ruined my finished article) show a new fish Pokémon —Mamambo— that looks suspiciously like an evolution for Luvdisc. Now Luvdisc might not be as worthless!

Sure, it could just be any old sunfish, but Luvdisc needs more love.

And that’s all we know for now. Keep your eyes peeled, because there’s sure to be even more information revealed as we draw closer to the release date of Pokémon Black and White.