Coming back after leaving during Generation V

Generation V added the most species and reusable TMs

Black and White went on sale in Japan on 18 September 2010 and added 156 species, the most of any generation, for 649 in total. The regional Pokédex used only new species until the post-game. TMs became reusable, hidden abilities arrived through the Pokémon Dream World web service, and a female passed her hidden ability to offspring 60 percent of the time. Experience scaled with the level gap between the two Pokémon. Triple and rotation battles arrived, seasons changed every calendar month, and battle sprites animated throughout. Black 2 and White 2 followed in 2012 as the first direct sequels in the main series and added the Shiny Charm and the Pokémon World Tournament.

Three changes since 2013 change the type chart and the field

X and Y in 2013 added Fairy as the 18th type, took Steel's resistance to Ghost and Dark away and cut critical hits to 1.5 times damage. Sun and Moon in 2016 removed HMs and replaced them with Ride Pokémon, dropped triple and rotation battles, and lowered burn damage to one sixteenth of maximum HP. Sword and Shield in 2019 limited each game to a regional list, so a species outside it cannot be brought in, and added Mints and the Ability Patch, which make a caught Pokémon's nature effect and hidden ability adjustable. Hidden abilities, which started in your generation, are now routine. The what-changed pages for VI, VII and VIII list each change.

Scarlet and Violet are the closest current match for Unova players

No Unova game has been released or remade on Nintendo Switch as of November 2026. Black 2 and White 2 remain the fullest version of the region, on any DS-family system including the 3DS, as used cartridges. On current hardware, Scarlet and Violet (2022) carry what Generation V players tend to value: a new region, a story told across three paths with its own rival and school setting, and a large set of new species. The two-part expansion adds Kitakami and Blueberry Academy. If you mainly liked the Pokémon World Tournament and battle facilities, the Switch games offer ranked online battles, and Champions (April 2026) is built only around battles.

Generation V cartridges reach HOME in two steps

Black, White, Black 2 and White 2 save without a battery, so a working cartridge should keep its save. Local wireless trading still works between two DS-family systems. Online play ended on 20 May 2014 with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, and the Pokémon Dream World and the Generation V Global Link closed earlier the same year. Generation V is the transfer gateway for the DS era: put the cartridge in a 3DS, run Poké Transporter, and the boxes in the cartridge go to Pokémon Bank. Bank then sends them on to HOME. Generation IV Pokémon have to come into a Generation V game through Poké Transfer first.

Limit. Poké Transporter takes every Pokémon in the cartridge's boxes in one pass, and it cannot send them back; empty the boxes of anything you want to keep in Unova first.

Run the first week as one game and one test transfer

Day one: choose Scarlet or Violet, a used Black 2 or White 2 cartridge, or another option from the which-game page. Day two and three: play to the first two gyms or story stops and read the Generation VI page, because Fairy hits Dragon and Dark types such as Hydreigon hard. Day four: note what each Generation V save holds and move the Pokémon you want into the boxes Transporter reads. Day five: open Bank and Poké Transporter on a 3DS that already has them, since new downloads ended in March 2023, and check that both still start. Day six: send one Pokémon through to HOME, which needs the Premium plan, well before Bank closes on 25 February 2027. Day seven: build a team for your new game with the first-team guide.