Games
Black and White: Unova, 156 new species and no older ones until the credits
Black and White are the 2010 Nintendo DS pair set in Unova, with 156 new species and a main story that uses only those new species. Black has Reshiram and the Black City, White has Zekrom and the White Forest, and each version holds a set of wild species the other lacks. They play on any DS or 3DS system from a used cartridge, have no remake as of November 2026, and lost their online services, the Pokémon Dream World included, in 2014.
Black and White on Nintendo DS: structure, versions, postgame and how to play in 2026. Drafted 8 Nov 2026.
Unova has eight gyms and a Champion who loses before the player arrives
The player starts in Nuvema Town with two friends, Cheren and Bianca, and receives a starter from Professor Juniper. The antagonists are Team Plasma, who argue in public speeches that trainers should release their Pokémon. Their king, N, and the sage Ghetsis drive the plot. The first gym in Striaton City has three leaders, Cilan, Chili and Cress, and the one the player faces is the one whose type beats the chosen starter. Seven more gyms follow. The Elite Four are Shauntal (Ghost), Grimsley (Dark), Caitlin (Psychic) and Marshal (Fighting), and they can be fought in any order. After the fourth, N's castle rises out of the ground, N has already beaten the Champion, Alder, and the story ends with the player catching the second dragon and battling N and then Ghetsis. Every wild and trainer species before the credits is new to Generation V.
Black and White split their species and their late-game towns
Black has Gothita, Cottonee and Vullaby with their evolutions, plus Tornadus as a roaming Forces of Nature member and Reshiram as the story dragon. White has Solosis, Petilil and Rufflet with their evolutions, plus Thundurus and Zekrom. The difference reaches the map. Black has Black City, a dense city of trainers and shops; White has the White Forest, a field of wild species from older generations. Trade evolutions are back with a pair specific to this generation: Karrablast and Shelmet evolve into Escavalier and Accelgor only when traded for each other. Black and White trade with each other and with Black 2 and White 2 over local wireless in the Union Room or through the C-Gear, so a second cartridge and a second DS-family system cover the gaps without any server.
Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott reach the Striaton trio first
Snivy is Grass and evolves at 17 and 36 into Serperior, still pure Grass. 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, still pure Water. The first milestones run in a fixed line. Route 1 and Accumula Town, where Team Plasma gives its first speech. The Dreamyard behind Striaton City, where a trainer hands over one of the elemental monkeys, Pansage, Pansear or Panpour, of the type that beats the gym leader the player is about to meet. The Striaton gym for the Trio Badge. Nacrene City, where Lenora's Normal gym gives the second badge and a museum hosts the first Team Plasma fight. Lenora's Watchog uses Retaliate, and Fighting moves are the quickest answer; Tepig turns Fire and Fighting on evolving into Pignite at 17.
The postgame opens eastern Unova and older species
After the credits the east of the map opens: Undella Town, where Cynthia visits a summer house, the Marvelous Bridge, and the route to Black City or the White Forest. Older-generation species start to appear in the wild, and the National Pokédex follows once every Unova species has been seen. Kyurem waits at the bottom of the Giant Chasm. Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion, the Swords of Justice, sit in fixed caves and woods. Looker asks for help tracking down the remaining Seven Sages of Team Plasma. Alder becomes the Champion again for rematches, and the Elite Four rebuild their teams. The Battle Subway in Nimbasa City, open since the mid-game, adds its Super lines with tougher trainers. Volcarona waits on the lowest floor of the Relic Castle in the desert west of Castelia.
Unova changes season every month of the calendar
Black and White read the DS system clock and change the season at the start of each month: spring, summer, autumn and winter in a four-month cycle, so January and May are both spring. The season changes the map. In winter, snow covers several routes and opens paths over drifts and frozen water that are closed the rest of the year. Some wild encounter tables change by season, and Deerling and Sawsbuck show a different form for each one. A player who starts in a summer month sees a different Unova from one who starts in a winter month, and a guide written in another season can describe a path that is not there. Check the system date and month before following a route description. The what-changed page for Generation V lists the season rule with the other engine changes.
Hidden abilities arrived with Black and White through the Dream World
Generation V gave many species a third, rarer ability alongside the one or two they already had. Black and White had almost no way to get one inside the cartridge. The main source was the Pokémon Dream World, a browser game on the Pokémon Global Link that a player reached by tucking a Pokémon in through Game Sync, then catching new species there and sending them back with their hidden ability. Dream World closed on 14 January 2014. In 2026 the only hidden-ability Pokémon a Black or White cartridge can get come from Black 2 or White 2, whose Hidden Grottoes produce them, by trading within Generation V. Pokémon from later games cannot travel back. The glossary entry is at /reference/glossary/#hidden-ability, and each species sheet marks its hidden ability.
Reusable TMs and scaled experience changed how a run plays
Two smaller Generation V rules change every playthrough. First, Technical Machines stopped breaking after one use. A TM such as Return, Flamethrower or Earthquake can be taught to any number of compatible Pokémon, so a player can test a move on one team member and teach it again later without hunting for a second copy. Hidden Machines still exist and still need a Move Deleter to remove. Second, experience now scales with the level gap between the winner and the fainted Pokémon. Beating a higher-level opponent pays more, and grinding low-level Pokémon pays little, which pulls a team toward the level of the next gym rather than far past it. Triple Battles and Rotation Battles also debut here, used by a small number of story trainers.
Black 2 and White 2 continued the story, and no remake exists
Black and White are the only main-series pair to get direct sequels rather than a third version. Black 2 and White 2, released in Japan in June 2012, are set two years later in the same region with a new player character, new gyms and a reworked map that opens Aspertia City, Virbank City and Humilau City. Cheren becomes a gym leader and Iris becomes Champion. The sequels let older-generation species into the main story, add the Pokémon World Tournament and the Key System for difficulty, and keep the Battle Subway. As of November 2026 Generation V has no remake on any system, and Unova has not appeared in a newer main-series game. A Black or White save connects to the sequels through the Memory Link feature, which recalls events from the player's first-game file using two DS-family systems over local wireless.
Black and White lost the Dream World in January and Wi-Fi in May 2014
The Pokémon Global Link and the Dream World closed on 14 January 2014. Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection followed on 20 May 2014, which ended the Global Trade Station, Random Matchup, online Mystery Gift and the Battle Subway Wi-Fi line. Local features still work: the C-Gear's infrared and wireless links, the Entralink and local trades and battles. Black and White were never sold digitally and have no Nintendo Switch Online release, so the 2026 route is a used cartridge in any DS, DS Lite, DSi, 3DS or 2DS. Generation V is the bridge to modern games. Poké Transfer in the postgame pulls Generation IV Pokémon in from a second DS, and Poké Transporter on a 3DS moves the first box into Pokémon Bank, then to Pokémon HOME. The move is one-way. Pokémon Bank can no longer be downloaded and ends service on 25 February 2027, so this works only on a 3DS that already has Bank and Transporter installed, and only until that date.
| Species or area | Version |
|---|---|
| Gothita, Gothorita, Gothitelle | Black |
| Cottonee, Whimsicott | Black |
| Vullaby, Mandibuzz | Black |
| Tornadus | Black |
| Reshiram (story) | Black |
| Black City | Black |
| Solosis, Duosion, Reuniclus | White |
| Petilil, Lilligant | White |
| Rufflet, Braviary | White |
| Thundurus | White |
| Zekrom (story) | White |
| White Forest | White |
Partial list, rows held with confidence only.
| Order | Leader | City | Badge | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cilan, Chili or Cress | Striaton City | Trio Badge | Grass, Fire or Water |
| 2 | Lenora | Nacrene City | Basic Badge | Normal |
| 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 | Brycen | Icirrus City | Freeze Badge | Ice |
| 8 | Drayden (Black) or Iris (White) | Opelucid City | Legend Badge | Dragon |
5 checks before you act
- Check the DS or 3DS system date and month, since the season follows it.
- 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.
- Take the elemental monkey from the Dreamyard before the Striaton gym.
- Teach TMs freely; each one is reusable from this generation on.
Read next
Sources read for this page
- ReadWriter's game knowledgeundated
- ReadPokéAPI Black White version-group metadataread 7 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI species and evolution records, repository cacheread 7 Nov 2026
- ReadPokémon Company notice: end of the Pokémon Global Link and Dream World for Generation V (14 January 2014)undated
- ReadPokéAPI Black 2 White 2 version-group metadataread 7 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Support: Service Discontinuation: Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Serviceread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Support: Pokémon Bank End of Serviceread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadOfficial HOME service overviewread 7 Nov 2026
- Read『ポケットモンスターブラック２・ホワイト２』公式サイト: おもいでリンクread 8 Nov 2026
- Read任天堂: ポケットモンスター ブラック2・ホワイト2read 8 Nov 2026
- Read任天堂: ポケットモンスター ブラック・ホワイトread 8 Nov 2026