Pokémon White

Pokémon Black and White are role-playing video games with adventure elements, presented in a third-person, overhead perspective. There are three basic screens: an overworld, in which the player navigates the main character; a battle screen; and the menu, in which the player configures their party, items, or gameplay settings. The player controls a Pokémon Trainer who begins the game with a single Pokémon and is able to capture more using Poké Balls. Like all other Trainers, the player can carry up to six Pokémon at one time.

However, the game also includes a network of PCs to store hundreds of Pokémon. PCs are found in certain buildings called Pokémon Centers, where the player can heal their Pokémon when they have low health or have fainted.

Black and White are set in the Unova Region, part of a continental mass located far away from the previous regions, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Unlike the previous regions which were based on real locations in Japan, Unova is modeled after New York City, an idea developed by game director Junichi Masuda when he visited the city for the launch of Diamond and Pearl. One particular example of this is Castelia City, which serves as the region's central metropolis and had such inspirations as Skyarrow Bridge its "Brooklyn Bridge-style suspension bridge" and its "huge skyscrapers". Masuda also wanted to convey a "feeling of communities" in Castelia's streets.

Unova is host to large urban areas, a harbor, an airport, an amusement park, several bridges, and several mountain ranges. In addition to a diversity of new landscapes, the Unova region is also home to a diversity of people who vary in skin tone, language, and occupation. The region's Japanese name "Isshu" (イッシュ) is derived from the Japanese words tashu (多種, meaning "many kinds") and isshu (一種, meaning "one kind"); the many kinds of people and Pokémon seen up close look like only one kind of life from afar.

On 29 January 2010, The Pokémon Company announced that a new game was in development for the Nintendo DS to be released later that year. Director Junichi Masuda stated that several aspects of the series were being revamped for the new generation. On 9 April 2010, the Japanese website updated with the titles of the versions as Pokémon Black and White and announced a Q3 2010 release date. 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.

On 3 August 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. 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.

Pokémon Black and White have received largely positive reviews by critics, having an aggregate score of 87% on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Japanese magazine Famitsu Weekly awarded the game a perfect 40/40 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. Game Informer's Annette Gonzalez remarked that "Pokémon Black and White do a great job building upon already solid features and taking them to the next level." com's Jamin Smith criticized the games for not innovating as much as some people would have liked, but stated that "rest assured in the knowledge that Black and White are damn fine games; the best the series has to offer."

Official Nintendo Magazine referred to them as "A beautiful refinement of a great series [...] the best Pokémon ever." Nintendo Power expressed that "the Pokémon series's latest pair of adventures is as addictive as ever." Edge acknowledged that "where next for Pokémon, Black and White don't suggest any answers, but they do remind us why we'd care in the first place."

Sequels to Black and White, Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2, were released for the Nintendo DS in 2012.

The second part of the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero takes place in the Blueberry Academy, a terrarium off the coast of Unova.