Games
Black 2 and White 2: Unova two years later, with Key System difficulty and a tournament
Black 2 and White 2 are the 2012 Nintendo DS sequels to Black and White, set in a changed Unova two years after the first story with a new player character and a partly new set of gym leaders. The versions differ in their Kyurem form, in a handful of wild species and in Black Tower versus White Treehollow, and Black 2 unlocks Challenge Mode where White 2 unlocks Easy Mode. They are used DS cartridges in 2026, playable on any DS or 3DS, with no remake and no digital release.
Black 2 and White 2 on Nintendo DS: structure, versions, postgame and how to play in 2026. Drafted 8 Nov 2026.
Black 2 and White 2 start in the south-west with new gyms
The player starts in Aspertia City, a town in the south-west of Unova that the first games never showed. Bianca, now Professor Juniper's assistant, hands over the starter, and the rival is Hugh, who wants his sister's stolen Purrloin back from Team Plasma. The antagonists are a split Team Plasma: one half, under Ghetsis and the scientist Colress, uses Kyurem to freeze Opelucid City. The eight gyms mix returning and new leaders. Cheren runs the first, Normal gym in Aspertia. Roxie's Poison gym in Virbank City and Marlon's Water gym in Humilau City are new, and Burgh, Elesa, Clay, Skyla and Drayden return with new teams. The Elite Four are the same four as Black and White, in any order. The Champion is Iris. Older-generation species appear from the first routes, unlike the 2010 pair.
The versions differ by Kyurem form, a dungeon and a difficulty key
Black 2's story ends with Black Kyurem, the fusion of Kyurem with Zekrom, and White 2's with White Kyurem, the fusion with Reshiram. After the credits each version can catch its own dragon, Zekrom in Black 2 and Reshiram in White 2, and fuse it with Kyurem using the DNA Splicers. The postgame dungeon in Opelucid City is the Black Tower in Black 2 and the White Treehollow in White 2. Beating the game unlocks a difficulty key: Challenge Mode in Black 2, Easy Mode in White 2. Keys travel between cartridges through Unova Link, so a player with one version needs a friend's cartridge to get the other mode. Wild species split between versions too. Trade evolutions, including Karrablast and Shelmet, still need a second Generation V cartridge and a local wireless link.
The starters are the same three, with different first stops
Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott return. Snivy is Grass and evolves at 17 and 36 into Serperior. Tepig is Fire and evolves at 17 and 36 into Emboar, Fire and Fighting. Oshawott is Water and evolves at 17 and 36 into Samurott. The first milestones are new. Aspertia City's lookout, where Bianca hands over the starter and Hugh first appears. Floccesy Ranch and Route 20, the first wild areas, already with older species such as Riolu and Marill. Cheren's Normal gym in Aspertia for the Basic Badge. Virbank City, where Roxie's Poison gym gives the second badge and Pokéstar Studios, a film-shooting side mode, opens next door. A Ground or Psychic move handles Roxie's team. Castelia City and Burgh's Bug gym follow as the third badge.
The Pokémon World Tournament brings back leaders from four regions
The Pokémon World Tournament in Driftveil City opens in the mid-game and grows after the credits. Its postgame brackets bring in gym leaders and Champions from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova, with set rules for each tournament, and wins pay Battle Points. The Battle Subway returns from Black and White. The Black Tower or White Treehollow is a ten-level dungeon of trainer battles with a boss at the end of each area. Older legendaries scatter through the map: Regirock, Regice and Registeel behind sealed chambers, Latios in Black 2 or Latias in White 2 in the Dreamyard after the credits, Heatran in Reversal Mountain, and Cresselia, Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf at fixed points. The Medal Office in Castelia hands out medals for more than 200 kinds of in-game feats, which gives completionists a checklist.
Hidden Grottoes made hidden abilities a cartridge feature
Black and White relied on the online Dream World for hidden abilities. Black 2 and White 2 added Hidden Grottoes, small clearings behind trees on about twenty routes that each hold one Pokémon or item. A Pokémon found in a grotto often has its hidden ability, and after the grotto is emptied there is a chance it refills each time the player walks a set number of steps. With Dream World closed since 2014, grottoes are the only in-cartridge source of hidden abilities in Generation V, and Pokémon caught in them can be traded to Black or White. Seasons still run on the system calendar, which changes some grotto contents. The glossary entry is at /reference/glossary/#hidden-ability, and the species sheets list each species' hidden ability.
The Key System changes difficulty after the credits
The Key System is a set of unlockable options handed out for beating the story or finishing tasks. Challenge Mode, the Black 2 key, raises the levels of trainers and gym leaders and gives them larger or stronger teams. Easy Mode, the White 2 key, lowers them. Other keys open sealed chambers for older legendaries and switch the layout of Black City or the White Forest. Keys pass to other Black 2 and White 2 cartridges over Unova Link, so two players can trade modes. A player starting fresh has Normal Mode only, so a first run on either version is at the standard difficulty. The mode can be changed again from the Unova Link menu once the key is held.
Black 2 and White 2 rebuilt Unova and widened its Pokédex
Against Black and White, the sequels change the order of the map, open the south-west, the far east and Humilau City, and let about 300 species into the regional Pokédex, older generations included. Kyurem gains its Black and White fused forms, and Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus gain Therian Formes through the Reveal Glass at the Abundant Shrine. Side modes arrive: Pokéstar Studios, the Join Avenue shopping street that grows with visitors, the Pokémon World Tournament and more than 200 medals. Memory Link reads a Black or White save to replay events of the first game from other characters' points of view. As of November 2026, neither the first pair nor the sequels have a remake, and Unova has not returned in a newer main-series game.
Black 2 and White 2 went offline with Nintendo Wi-Fi in May 2014
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection closed on 20 May 2014, and the Pokémon Global Link closed on 14 January 2014. That ended the Global Trade Station, online battles, the Dream World and online visitors to Join Avenue. Local features remain: Unova Link with another cartridge, infrared and wireless trades, Memory Link and key exchange. The sequels were never sold digitally and have no Nintendo Switch Online release, so in 2026 they come as used cartridges for any DS, DS Lite, DSi, 3DS or 2DS. White 2 and Black 2 cartridges are common counterfeits, so check the label and the shell. Poké Transfer brings Generation IV Pokémon in from a second DS, and Poké Transporter on a 3DS moves them on to Pokémon Bank and Pokémon HOME, one way only. Pokémon Bank can no longer be downloaded and ends service on 25 February 2027.
| Species, area or feature | Version |
|---|---|
| Black Kyurem (story) | Black 2 |
| Zekrom (postgame) | Black 2 |
| Black Tower | Black 2 |
| Challenge Mode key | Black 2 |
| White Kyurem (story) | White 2 |
| Reshiram (postgame) | White 2 |
| White Treehollow | White 2 |
| Easy Mode key | White 2 |
| Latios (Dreamyard, after the credits) | Black 2 |
| Latias (Dreamyard, after the credits) | White 2 |
Latios and Latias rows and the Challenge Mode key in Black 2 confirmed on the official Japanese site (pokemon-jp-b2w2-legends, pokemon-jp-b2w2-keys), 8 Nov 2026. That site calls the White 2 mode Assist Mode; the English name Easy Mode is from memory. Kyurem forms, Zekrom and Reshiram, Black Tower and White Treehollow rows still check; wild splits omitted.
| Order | Leader | City | Badge | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheren | Aspertia City | Basic Badge | Normal |
| 2 | Roxie | Virbank City | Toxic Badge | Poison |
| 3 | Burgh | Castelia City | Insect Badge | Bug |
| 4 | Elesa | Nimbasa City | Bolt Badge | Electric |
| 5 | Clay | Driftveil City | Quake Badge | Ground |
| 6 | Skyla | Mistralton City | Jet Badge | Flying |
| 7 | Drayden | Opelucid City | Legend Badge | Dragon |
| 8 | Marlon | Humilau City | Wave Badge | Water |
Cheren (Normal), Roxie (Poison) and Marlon (Water) confirmed as leaders on the official Japanese character pages (pokemon-jp-b2w2-chars), 8 Nov 2026. Towns, badges, order and the other five rows still check.
5 checks before you act
- Delete any old save with Up, Select and B on the title screen.
- Set Text Speed to Fast and Battle Scene to Off in the Options menu.
- Check the system date, since seasons and some grotto contents follow it.
- Bring a Ground or Psychic move for Roxie's Poison gym in Virbank City.
- Look behind trees on each early route for the first Hidden Grotto.
Read next
Sources read for this page
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