Pokémon Black and White: Difference between revisions

Pokémon Black Version and White Version (ポケットモンスターブラック・ホワイト, Poketto Monsutā Burakku & Howaito, "Pocket Monsters: Black & White") are role-playing games (RPGs) developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. These games are the first in the fifth generation of the core Pokémon series of RPGs.^[5] Released in Japan on September 18, 2010, Black and White introduce 156 brand new Pokémon to the franchise,^[6] two of which debuted in the thirteenth Pokémon film in Japanese theaters on July 10, 2010.^[7] Prior to the games' release, they were the fastest DS games to reach one million consumer pre-orders in Japan.^[8]

Like previous Pokémon games, Black and White follow the journey of a Pokémon trainer as he/she trains and battles Pokémon to compete in Gyms and defeating the Elite Four, while destroying the evil plans of a criminal organization, in this case, Team Plasma. The games are independent of each other but feature largely the same plot and, while both can be played separately, it is necessary to trade between them in order to complete the games' Pokédexes.

Pokémon Black and White are role-playing video games with adventure elements. The basic mechanics of the games are largely the same as their predecessors'. As with all Pokémon games for hand-held consoles, gameplay is in third-person overhead perspective, and consists of three basic screens: a field map, in which the player navigates the main character; a battle screen; and the menu, in which the player configures his party, items, or gameplay settings. The player begins the game with one Pokémon, and can capture more using Poké Balls. The player can also use his/her Pokémon to battle other Pokémon.

When the player encounters a wild Pokémon or is challenged by a trainer to a battle, the screen switches to a turn-based battle screen where the Pokémon fight. During battle, the player may fight, use an item, switch the active Pokémon, or flee (the last is not an option in battles against trainers). All Pokémon have hit points (HP); when a Pokémon's HP is reduced to zero, it faints and cannot battle unless taken to a Pokémon Center or healed or revived with a Pokémon skill or item. If the player's Pokémon defeats the opposing Pokémon (causes it to faint), it receives experience points. After accumulating enough experience points, it may level up; most Pokémon evolve into a new species of Pokémon when they reach a certain level, or when certain conditions are met (such as how much it 'likes' its trainer, by use of evolutionary stones, and by trading).

The graphics were further improved from previous games, and includes more cutscenes. When talking to people, the dialog box has been changed to speech balloons, which appear over other characters' heads, allowing more than one character to speak at once. In addition to this aesthetic change, Japanese players will be given an option to switch to having kanji appear on screen, rather than just hiragana and katakana.^[9] During battles, the sprites of the Pokémon are fully animated and the camera changes position to highlight specific parts of the battle.

In addition to the day and night cycle first introduced in the Gold and Silver games, Black and White have introduced a seasonal cycle, with the seasons cycling every four months rather than being linked to the actual calendar. Outside areas will appear different depending on the season, such as changing of leaves in autumn or snow on the ground in winter. Certain areas will only be accessible during certain seasons, and different Pokémon can be found in the wild in winter when others were encountered in the other seasons.^[10] In addition to these features, the Pokémon Shikijika and Mebukijika have been designed to change their physical appearance along with the seasons of the game.^[11]

There are two new battle mechanics in Black and White: Triple Battles (トリプルバトル, Toripuru Batoru)^[12] and Rotation Battles (ローテーションバトル, Rōtēshon Batoru).^[13] In Triple Battles, both teams must send out three Pokémon at once. Which of the Pokémon can be targeted by any specific attack is dependent on the position of the Pokémon in the line up; Pokémon on the left or right sides can only target the Pokémon directly opposite of them and the two Pokémon in the center position on both sides, while Pokémon in the center can target all Pokémon in the field. Positions can be changed, but this uses up the player's turn. In Rotation Battles, both sides send out three Pokémon at once, again, but instead of a three-on-three match as seen in Triple Battles, it is a one-on-one match where the Pokémon in the front can be switched with either of the two other Pokémon sent out without using up a turn. Depending on the game version, one of these two new battle types will be found in greater quantity than the other; Black has more Rotation Battles than Triple Battles, and vice versa in White. Another related feature are the Combination Moves (コンビネーション技, Konbinēshon Waza); the starter Pokémon from any game can be taught one of the three moves that can be used in combination with each other to produce more powerful attacks. Another battle mechanic is found in the wild, where differently colored and styled tall grass will enable Double Battles against wild Pokémon.^[14]

Unique to Black and White is the Pokémon Dream World (ポケモンドリームワールド, Pokemon Dorīmu Wārudo),^[15] a game mechanic that is dependent on the official Pokémon Global Link website where the player can befriend Pokémon not normally obtainable in gameplay with unique Pokémon Abilities, which are later captured in an area known as the High Link (ハイリンク, Hai Rinku) after syncing the game back with the Dream World, in a mechanic similar to the Pokéwalker used in HeartGold and SoulSilver. The player can also maintain a house in the Dream World that other players can visit as well as grow Pokémon Berries.

The C-Gear (Ｃギア, Shī Gia) is a new mechanic that replaces the Pokétch on the Nintendo DS's second screen. It allows the player to control the various wireless capabilities of Black and White. These include connecting to other players through infrared communication (battling, trading, friend codes, and the "Feeling Check" function), wireless communications with friends in the Live Caster (ライブキャスター, Raibu Kyasutā) video chat^[16] or access to the High Link to transfer content from the Pokémon Dream World, connecting to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to sync with the Pokémon Global Link servers, and the new Pass By mode which allows the game to communicate with other games through IR when not being played.

The Feeling Check (フィーリングチェック, Fīringu Chekku) function tests the compatibility between two players, awarding them with one of two items depending on the level of compatibility.^[17] In addition to allowing players access to Pokémon acquired in the Dream World, the High Link also enables players to interact with each other and perform side games which award points that can be traded for "powers" that improve normal gameplay, such as increasing experience, capture rate or lowering prices of items in Poké Marts. The Pass By feature is another side game in which the player answers various survey questions, and depending on how many other games are interacted with, the players receive an item. Another new feature is Random Match (ランダムマッチ, Randamu Matchi), where the player can battle a random other player.^[18] When playing against other players online or in IR battles, a new mechanic called the Miracle Shooter (ミラクルシューター, Mirakuru Shūtā) allows for items to be used in battle to heal or improve the status of the players' Pokémon.^[19]

To transfer Pokémon between the older games and the new games, two features have been placed in Black and White. For normal transfer, the PokéShifter (ポケシフター, Pokeshifutā) feature is available after completion of the main storyline. Unlike the Pal Park feature that was in the Generation IV games, the PokéShifter is a mini-game in which after six Pokémon are transferred, the player uses the touch screen to launch Poké Balls at the transferred Pokémon which are moving about on the top screen to catch them within a time limit.^[20] Another feature called the Transfer Machine is used to transfer the Pokémon given away in promotions for the Pokémon: Zoroark: Master of Illusions film so the player can activate the special events to obtain the rare Zorua and Zoroark Pokémon. Unlike the PokéShifter, this function is available before the main game is completed.

In addition to the standard battling and Gym challenges, the player can compete in Pokémon Musicals (ポケモンミュージカル, Pokemon Myūjikaru),^[21] a side-game similar to the Pokémon Contests of previous games; the Battle Subway (バトルサブウェイ, Batoru Sabuwei),^[22] similar to the Battle Towers and Battle Frontiers of previous games; and on the Royal Isshu (ロイヤルイッシュ号, Roiyaru Isshu-gō), a cruise ship that the player can ride daily and fight various trainers aboard.

Black and White are set in the Unova Region, or the Isshu Region (イッシュ地方, Isshu-chihō) in the Japanese releases, a continental mass located far away from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh.^[23] Unlike the previous regions which were based on locations in Japan, Unova is modeled after New York City.^[24] Several places in Unova were patterned after NYC districts and landmarks: for example, the Hiun City of Isshu represents the lower Manhattan and the Sky Arrow Bridge serves as a stand-in for the Brooklyn Bridge. Unova also has an airport, an amusement park, and several icy mountains. In addition to a diversity of new landscapes, the Unova region is also home to a diversity of people who vary in skin tone and occupation.

Like other Pokémon games, Black and White's gameplay is linear; the main events occur in a fixed order. The protagonist of Pokémon Black and White is a teenager who sets on their first step to journey through the Unova (Isshu) Region to become the Pokémon master. At the beginning of the games, the player chooses either Snivy (Tsutarja), Tepig (Pokabu), or Oshawott (Mijumaru) as their starter Pokémon as a gift from Professor Araragi (アララギ博士, Araragi-Hakase). The protagonist's friends, Cheren (チェレン) and Bel (ベル, Beru), are also his/her rivals and are Pokémon Trainers who occasionally battle the player. The player's primary goal is to obtain the eight Gym Badges of Unova and then challenge the Elite Four and the Unova region's Pokémon League Champion to win the game.

In addition to the standard gameplay, the player will also have to defeat the games' main antagonist Team Plasma, a group of Pokémon trainers modeled after Knights Templar^[25] who seek to liberate Pokémon from human oppression. The group is led by N (エヌ, Enu), a young man who was brought up alongside Pokémon and sees them as friends rather than as tools for sport. Throughout the game, the player will battle N, who will capture one of the two Legendary Pokémon of the region, the Deep Black (originally Black Yin) Pokémon Zekrom in Black and the Vast White (White Yang) Pokémon Reshiram in White. After the player defeats the Elite Four, N challenges the player to a battle as he has become the region's new champion, and the player will encounter the games' version mascot (Reshiram in Black and Zekrom in White), which the player must capture in order to proceed in the game, in the final battle with N. After N is defeated in the games' climax, he will realize that his ideas were wrong, just as his father Goetis (ゲーチス, Gēchisu) angrily laments that he had planned on N forcing all humans to give up their Pokémon so he would be the only one with Pokémon and rule the world. After Goetis is defeated, he is arrested, and the Unova League's true champion Adeku (アデク) resumes his position.

After Team Plasma's high ranking officers are defeated, Looker tasks the player with finding the other members of Team Plasma's Seven Sages so they can be brought to justice. After the Sages are arrested, the player can challenge the Elite Four, again, and then challenge Adeku so the player can become the Unova region's new Pokémon Champion. The player also gains access to the eastern portion of the Unova Region, which contains Pokémon that are obtainable in previous games, as well as access to two areas unique to either game: the ultra-metropolitan Black City (ブラックシティ, Burakku Shiti), home to powerful Pokémon trainers, and the White Forest (ホワイトフォレスト, Howaito Foresuto), home to humans and Pokémon living in harmony. Cynthia can also be found in this area of the game and can be challenged.

On January 29, 2010, the Pokémon Company announced that a new game was in development for the Nintendo DS to be released later that year.^[26][27] Director Junichi Masuda stated that several aspects of the series were being revamped for the new generation.^[28] On April 9, 2010, the Japanese website updated with the titles of the versions as Pokémon Black and White, and announced a Q3 2010 release date.^[29] The games feature an improved visual style from other Pokémon games, with an increased use of 3D computer graphics than any other of the handheld series. It also has a special feature that allows the user to upload their saved game to the Internet, allowing them to do certain things on an official website.^[30][31] Another new feature in the game is the implementation of different seasons tied in with the games' internal clock.

On August 3, 2010, Masuda announced on his blog that the Black and White game versions will initially only contain brand new Pokémon to evoke a feeling of it being a brand new game, like when the original Pokémon games were first released.^[32] In all of the games following the first generation, there were a series of new Pokémon introduced interspersed with Pokémon from the previous generations. For example, Pikachu was introduced in Red and Green, and was obtainable in Blue, Yellow, and all subsequent main series games; however, Pikachu will not be obtainable in Black and White from the start of the game. It was later confirmed that Black and White are region locked on the Nintendo DSi.^[33]

A silhouette of a new Pokémon was shown by Junichi Masuda on the February 7, 2010 episode of Pokémon Sunday, stated to be in the film for the summer and to be identified in a future episode on February 21.^[34] This new character would also be featured in the March 2010 issue of CoroCoro Comic available on February 15, and is the start of the fifth generation of the Pokémon franchise. Since then, the character has been named "Zoroark" (ゾロアーク, Zoroāku), and it evolves from a character named "Zorua" (ゾロア, Zoroa). Both were featured in the film Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl The Movie: Pokémon: Zoroark: Master of Illusions.^[35][36] For pre-order ticket holders, an alternate-colored Raikou, Entei, or Suicune was available for transfer to their Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, or SoulSilver games. At the theater, players would be able to download a Celebi to the same games. Both of these Pokémon would activate special events in Black and White involving Zoroark and Zorua, respectively.

On April 18, 2010, the episode of Pokémon Sunday showed game footage of a player character walking around in a 3-D environment and a single screenshot depicting a battle between the player's Zoroark and an enemy Zorua. Host Shoko Nakagawa made note of how the player's Zoroark's sprite was a full body sprite as viewed from behind, when in the past all such sprites only showed a smaller portion of the player's Pokémon's body.^[37] On May 9, 2010, the episode of Pokémon Sunday revealed silhouettes of the three Pokémon available to choose from at the beginning of the games,^[38] which were later revealed to be the Grass Snake Pokémon Tsutarja (ツタージャ, Tsutāja), the Fire Pig Pokémon Pokabu (ポカブ), and the Sea Otter Pokémon Mijumaru (ミジュマル).^[39] Other information revealed is that the game takes place in the Isshu Region (イッシュ地方, Isshu-chihō) which includes the Hiun City (ヒウンシティ, Hiun Shiti) metropolis.^[40] On May 16, 2010, the episode of Pokémon Sunday showed game battle footage, illustrating the new in-battle animations and dynamic camera positioning; also described were Zoroark's Illusion (イリュージョン, Iryūjon) ability and the special Zoroark acquired by the movie ticket pre-order gift Pokémon.^[41]

On May 28, 2010, both the official Japanese and English Pokémon websites revealed names and designs of the two major Legendary Pokémon of these games, who also serve as the game version mascots: the White Yang Pokémon Reshiram (レシラム, Reshiramu) for Pokémon Black and the Black Yin Pokémon Zekrom (ゼクロム, Zekuromu) for Pokémon White.^[42] The July 2010 issue of CoroCoro Comic revealed the C-Gear wireless interactivity features,^[43] the ability to upload game data to the internet and the player's computer,^[44] several brand new Pokémon, new Pokémon moves, Reshiram and Zekrom's Pokémon types, details on the Celebi/Zorua event, and a new character: Professor Araragi (アララギ博士, Araragi Hakase), the first female Pokémon professor to appear in the video games.^[45] The June 27, 2010, episode of Pokémon Sunday, made the announcement of the release date as September 18, 2010, and a yet-to-be named character.^[46] The June 28, 2010, episode of Oha Suta, showed a trailer, which included its release date, new gameplay footage, several new characters, more new Pokémon, and a three-on-three battle system.^[47] The August 2010 issue of CoroCoro Comic elaborated upon many new game mechanics: the three-on-three system, the online Global Link system, an online Dream World that can allow for access to other Pokémon, access to an area that uses the Wi-Fi called the High-Link (similar to the Underground), a special feature called Live Caster for video chat on the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS, kanji support, aesthetic differences between the two versions of the game, areas exclusive to the game versions, new characters, new moves, new abilities, and new Pokémon.^[48]

The July 25, 2010, episode of Pokémon Sunday introduced the new phantom Pokémon Victini (ビクティニ, Bikutini),^[49] which initially appeared in a trailer for the 2011 Pokémon film that was shown with screenings of Pokémon: Zoroark: Master of Illusions. It is noted to be Pokémon No. 000 in Isshu's regional Pokédex, and is only accessible by downloading a special item from Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, DS Stations, and Nintendo Zones (such as those found in Japanese McDonald's restaurants) to a game save. This will initially be available for a month following the games' release date.^[50] Another promotional Pokémon given out after the games' release is a Kumasyun (クマシュン, Kumashun), a Pokémon that is difficult to find in the games unless it is during the winter season.^[51]

The foreign promotion for the games began ramping up on November 22, 2010, when the official website for the North American, European, and Australian markets was updated, including the localized names of the starter Pokémon (Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott in English, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish markets)^[52] and the setting (Unova Region).^[53]

As part of promotion for the game, floats of version mascots Reshiram and Zekrom accompanied the Pikachu balloon during the 2010 edition of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 25, 2010.^[54]

Template:Nihongo title is a four-disc soundtrack featuring the games' music scored by Junichi Masuda, Hitomi Sato, Go Ichinose, Shota Kageyama and Morikazu Aoki. The soundtrack was released on October 20, 2010 in Japan.^[55]

Pokémon Black and White were released in Japan on September 18, 2010.^[1] A release in North America is scheduled for March 6, 2011 and in Europe for Spring 2011.^[2][4]

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 published screenshots and various other media from the newly released games.^[56] Nintendo claimed the posting of the media was infringing copyright and noted their intention to shut down the websites under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act unless the media was removed.^{[56][57][58][59]} The screenshots were subsequently taken down from both websites.^[58] Luke Plunkett of video game blog Kotaku initially speculated that Nintendo of America issued the cease and desist letters over the belief that the images were illegally obtained via a ROM image, however Jon Sahagian of PokéBeach stated the images in question had been obtained from the Japanese forum 2channel.^[56] Charlie Scibetta, Nintendo of America's senior director of corporate communications, later stated that it was the choice of images that were of concern to the company. In a statement to Kotaku, he said "Nintendo supports and appreciates the efforts that Pokémon fans go through to create fan sites. In most cases there is no issue with the content that is posted, but on this occasion we had to contact a select few websites to ask them to take down confidential images."^[56]

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 game on the Nintendo DS to break the one million mark.^[8] In the first two days on sale, it sold more than 2.6 million copies,^[61] becoming the biggest launch in the series history in Japan.^[62] By November 3, the games had sold over 4.3 million copies in Japan.^[63]

Japanese magazine Famitsu Weekly awarded the game a perfect 40 out of 40 score, becoming the 15th game to receive such a distinction, as well as obtaining the highest score ever given to a Pokémon video game by the publication.^[60]

• Official Japanese website Template:Ja icon
• Official website (global)