Black & White FAQ and Information

Black & White FAQ and Information

Written and compiled by me, Daikenki, a.k.a. Bellossodia's resident B/W expert. Feel free to ask me any questions you have!

What is Pokemon Black and White?
Pokemon Black and White are "revamps" to the Pokemon franchise. They are set in the Unova Region, which is also introduced in these games. With the Unova Region, 156 new Pokemon were introduced bringing the total number of Pokemon to 649.

When were the games released?
Black and White were released in Japan on September 18, 2010. The European release came on March 4, 2011 followed by the North American release on March 6, 2011. The Australian release came in afterward on March 10, 2011.

What are the three starting Pokemon?
Like every region before it, you start off with a choice of a Grass-type, Fire-type or Water-type. In Black and White you will be able to choose between Snivy, Tepig or Oshawott.


Who are my rivals?
You have two childhood friends known as Cheren and Bianca, who you'll meet at the start of the game. Cheren picks the starter strong against yours while Bianca takes the one weak to yours. Both will be battled at several points throughout the game.

How do I transfer Pokemon between D/P/Pt/HG/SS and B/W?
You will need two Nintendo DS consoles, one with a copy of Black or White and the other with a copy of a 4th Generation game (Diamond/Pearl/Platinum/HeartGold/SoulSilver). Pokemon will then be transferred onto Black or White via the Poke Transfer, a mini-game where you toss Poke Balls and attempt to catch the transferred Pokemon. The transfer is one-way and the games must be the same language (e.g. you cannot transfer from an English copy of Diamond to a Japanese copy of Black). Also, you need the National Pokedex before you can use the Poke Transfer feature. Transferred Pokemon cannot hold items or know an HM move. Eggs and Spiky-eared Pichu also cannot be sent over.

What Legendary Pokemon can I find in the game?

• Victini
  
• Reshiram (Black only)
  
• Zekrom (White only)
  
• Cobalion
  
• Terrakion
  
• Virizion
  
• Tornadus (Black only)
  
• Thundurus (White only)
  
• Landorus (Requires both Tornadus and Thundurus in party)
  
• Kyurem

Click here for more information, such as where to find them.

What Pokemon have alternate forms?
Click here to see the full list of alternate forms.

I've heard there are seasons in-game, how does it work?
Black and White makes a new change to time-based events in the game, in addition to the day-night system there are now seasons included in-game. Unlike the day-night system, the seasons are not based upon or dependent on the real world seasons. Instead, the seasons last one month, giving you the opportunity to experience each season three times in a year.

Spring occurs during January, May and September. Summer takes place in February, June and October. Autumn is in March, July and November while Winter is in April, August and December. The seasons also make slight changes to background music in some locations, as well as the wild Pokemon encounters. Also, the time of day also changes depending on the season. The Normal/Grass Pokemon Deerling and Sawsbuck change forms when present in your party at the time of a season change. Also, if you head to the Season Research Lab on Route 6 and show the scientist all the forms of Deerling, he will give you a Leaf Stone.

What are the in-game trades in Black and White?

• Petilil for Cottonee (Nacrene City, White only)
  
• Cottonee for Petilil (Nacrene City, Black only)
  
• Minccino for Basculin (Driftveil City, Red-stripe Basculin in Black, Blue-stripe in White)
  
• Boldore for Emolga (Route 7)
  
• Ditto for Rotom (Route 15)
  
• Cinccino for Munchlax (Undella Town, Summer only)

What are the gift Pokemon obtained in Black and White?

• Pansage (Dreamyard, if chosen starter was Tepig)
  
• Pansear (Dreamyard, if chosen starter was Oshawott)
  
• Panpour (Dreamyard, if chosen starter was Snivy)
  
• Zorua (Castelia City, requires Movie 13 Celebi)
  
• Tirtouga (Nacrene City, obtain Cover Fossil in Relic Castle)
  
• Archen (Nacrene City, obtain Plume Fossil in Relic Castle)
  
• Larvesta (Route 18, obtained as egg)
  
• Magikarp (Marvelous Bridge, buy for 500 Pokedollars)
  
• All Kanto, Hoenn and Sinnoh fossil Pokemon (Nacrene City, obtain fossils at Twist Mountain)

What are the version exclusives?

Black

• Weedle line
  
• Murkrow line
  
• Houndour line
  
• Shroomish line
  
• Plusle
  
• Volbeat
  
• Cottonee line
  
• Gothita line
  
• Vullaby line
  
• Tornadus
  
• Reshiram

White

• Caterpie line
  
• Paras line
  
• Misdreavus line
  
• Poochyena line
  
• Minun
  
• Illumise
  
• Petilil line
  
• Solosis line
  
• Rufflet line
  
• Thundurus
  
• Zekrom

Exclusive to White Forest

• Happiny
  
• Trapinch
  
• Aron
  
• Magnemite
  
• Starly
  
• Slakoth
  
• Bagon
  
• Nidoran♂
  
• Nidoran♀
  
• Oddish
  
• Lotad
  
• Seedot
  
• Magby
  
• Elekid
  
• Pidgey
  
• Rhyhorn
  
• Budew
  
• Mareep
  
• Shinx
  
• Gastly
  
• Machop
  
• Abra
  
• Wurmple
  
• Porygon
  
• Bellsprout
  
• Ralts
  
• Azurill
  
• Corphish
  
• Whismur
  
• Surskit
  
• Wooper

What other differences are present in the games?
Black City, found only in Black contains many tall buildings, complete with Trainers to fight and items not found in White. White Forest, found only in White contains large trees as well as rare items and Pokemon not found in Black.

Opelucid City, where the 8th Gym is located, also has slight changes between the games. In Black, Opelucid has a futuristic look and has Drayden as the Gym Leader while in White it looks more natural and the Gym Leader is Iris. Also, Mistralton City has a slight difference. In Black there are greenhouses at the bottom of the runway while in White there are patches where plants are growing.

I heard there are two new battle systems introduced, what are they?
Yes, they are Triple Battles and Rotation Battles. In White, there are more Triple Battles while in Black there are more Rotation Battles.

In Triple Battles, you use 3 Pokemon on each side of the field against your opponent. Targeting a Pokemon depends solely on your Pokemon's position on the field, say for example if your Pokemon is in the center, it can attack all Pokemon while those on the sides can only hit the Pokemon directly opposite them or the opponent's center Pokemon. You can switch positions but be warned as it can waste a turn, therefore leaving you vulnerable to attacks.

Rotation Battles on the other hand, have 3 of your Pokemon on a rotating stage. Unlike Triple Battles, only one Pokemon can attack at a time, and you can freely rotate Pokemon without using up a turn.

Also, a new feature in multiplayer battles is introduced, called the Wonder Launcher. This allows players to use items, however they have to be earned throughout battle. Items range from those such as Revive, X Items, Ether and more!

What are critical captures?
Critical captures have a slight chance of occurring during battle, but when it happens, the Poke Ball makes a metal-like sound, pauses in midair for a bit and shakes once. Most result in successful captures but there is still a chance the Pokemon might break out. This can also happen with any type of Poke Ball.

Where is the Daycare Center?
The Pokemon Daycare Center is found on Route 3, near Striaton City. Because it is found that early in the game, you will only be able to put one Pokemon in there at a time. When you get to Nimbasa City and find the Daycare Man, you will be able to put two Pokemon in there. The Daycare Man will tell you how well your Pokemon are interacting and when there may be an egg.

What are the new evolution methods?
The Pokemon Karrablast and Shelmet have an unusual method of evolving. When traded with each other, they will evolve into Escavalier and Accelgor respectively.

Also, due to the removal of contest stats, there is now a new way to evolve Feebas in-game. If traded holding a new item called the Prism Scale, it will evolve into Milotic. The item must be attached during a trade, and it will evolve afterward.

In addition, the Pokemon that evolve in certain locations can now evolve in new locations in-game as stated below:

• Eevee → Leafeon (level up in Pinwheel Forest)
  
• Eevee → Glaceon (Level up in Twist Mountain basement)
  
• Magneton → Magnezone (Level up in Chargestone Cave)
  
• Nosepass → Probopass (Level up in Chargestone Cave)

What is the Battle Subway?
The Battle Subway is a new substitute for the Battle Tower/Frontier from previous games. The Battle Subway is accessed through the Gear Station in Nimbasa City. There are 7 different lines where you can battle Trainers:

• Dark Green: Single Line
  
• Light Green: Super Single Line
  
• Red: Double Line
  
• Pink: Super Double Line
  
• Orange: Multi Line
  
• Yellow: Super Multi Line
  
• Blue: Wi-Fi

There is also an additional Brown line which takes you to Anville Town. In the Multi Battles you can team up with a friend or an NPC, who is the opposite gender protagonist (Hilbert or Hilda). You can then select a team of either offensive, defensive or balance of both.

Like the Battle Tower, you must win 7 battles consecutively to win a round. After completing a round, you earn Battle Points (BP) which can then be used in the shop to buy items and TMs. A total of 21 wins allows you to battle the Subway Boss (Ingo in Single Lines, Emmet in Double and both in Multi) while 48 consecutive wins is followed by an even harder challenge against the Subway Boss.

Are Pokemon Contests back in this game?
Nope, they have been replaced by Pokemon Musicals. Musicals are a lot different from Contests and instead involve dressing up your Pokemon with Props which you then use to match the Musical's theme. There are four categories: Cool, Elegant, Cute and Unique.

Also, if your Pokemon holds a Prop in its hands, you can tap on the bottom screen during the performance and it will perform an action with the Prop. Make sure to use it wisely.

How do I use the Relocator?
Like with Poke Transfer, to activate the Relocator in Castelia City you need two DS systems, one containing Black/White and the other with a 4th Generation game.

To activate the Relocator, say this message:
EVERYONE HAPPY
SIMPLE CONNECTION

The Pokemon you can transfer over are Celebi and the Shiny Raikou/Entei/Suicune that was given out as a Movie 13 promotion. Celebi unlocks Zorua for obtaining while Raikou/Entei/Suicune allows you to catch a female Zoroark in Lostlorn Forest.