Pokémon White vs. Pokémon Black? (Explained)

When talking about a nostalgic old game, the first thing to pop up in your mind may be Pokémon. You will immediately remember the old days when you would play it on a Nintendo or Gameboy and many more consoles and handheld gaming stations. Well, Pokémon is one of the nostalgic games. It is still cherished by a wide range of people.

It was not only famous in games but movies and TV shows too. Playing cards have gained popularity over time, but nowadays these cards are like collectibles as some of them are worth millions of dollars and some are priceless. We’ll cover everything in this article regarding Pokémon White and Black. 

What is Pokémon?

Pokémon is a line of video games from Nintendo that premiered in Pokémon Green and Pokémon Red in Japan in February 1996. Later, the franchise gained enormous popularity in the US and other countries. 

Two games from the series, known as Red and Blue, were released in the United States in 1998. The series was initially created for the company’s Game Boy line of portable consoles. In the game, players take on the role of Pokémon trainers, acquiring and raising cartoon creatures to engage in combat with other Pokémon. In terms of global video game franchises, Pokémon has become the most successful. 

These Are Some Successful Pokémon Games: 

  • Pokémon Black 2 & White 2 – 8.52 million 
  • Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon – 8.98 million 
  • Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen – 12.00 million 
  • Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver – 12.72 million 
  • Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu & Let’s Go Eevee – 13.28 million 

These are some of the many more popular ones. 

An old Pokémon cartridge for Gameboy
An old Pokémon cartridge for Gameboy

What is Pokémon Black? 

Pokémon Black is a roleplaying game with adventurous elements with a third-person perspective or an overhead view. These Pokémon were loved by many as they were more story-driven than the last ones.

With newer Pokémon, many people bought both white and black to see that they both had different Pokémon, especially the legendary ones. 

Pokémon Black would start with a new journey and a Pokémon with you, in the black city where you would fight a lot of trainers. Pokémon Black featured rotational battles more than trainer battles, with the Opelucid City Gym Leader Drayden

Pokémon Black came out in 2010, with Game Freaks being the developers, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It’s the first installment of the fifth generation of the Pokémon video game series. 

They were initially made available in Japan on September 18, 2010, and in Europe, North America, and Australia in 2011. Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2, the DS sequels to Black and White, were published in 2012. 

The Specifics of Pokémon Black

With 156 new Pokémon in these games, more than in any previous generation. Existing Pokémon of earlier generations have not undergone any evolution or pre-evolution. Reshiram is the legendary Pokémon that is an icon for Pokémon black. 

After finishing the main game, players can find or transfer Pokémon from other regions with the PokéTransfer or find Pokémon from different regions. 

The game takes place in the Unova region. Since Unova is so far from the previous region so the players must travel by boat or airplane. Unova is mostly an industrialized region, with factories and railroad tracks spread throughout different areas. 

The hostile Team Plasma, a group that wants to free Pokémon from the difficulty of battles and sees owning Pokémon as a sort of slavery, is featured in the game’s plot. Similar to previous generations, the player must also engage in a fight with the region’s gyms to earn the eight legend badges required to face off against the Pokémon League. 

A Blue Nintendo Gameboy Color Playing Pokémon
A Blue Nintendo Gameboy Color Playing Pokémon

What is Pokémon White?

Pokémon White features a handheld, adventurous RPG game that has repeatedly thrilled the Pokémon fans on the Nintendo DS, both the young and the more experienced ones.

The brand new Unova region also has more triple battles, the legendary Pokémon Zekrom, and a large number of Pokémon from different regions that may be caught in the White Forest and Iris. 

There are 156 new Pokémon in these games, more than in any previous generation. Existing Pokémon of earlier generations have not undergone any evolution or pre-evolution. After finishing the main game, players can find or transfer Pokémon from other regions with the Poké Transfer or find Pokémon from different regions. 

Pokémon White is a game made by Nintendo and the Pokémon company as Pokémon Black on the same date that both debuted and were established by Game Freak. It was first released in Japan as the Black version did, on September 8th, 2010. Zekrom, a legendary Pokémon, serves as the mascot for Pokémon White. 

The Specifics of Pokémon White

Pokémon White features a total of 156 new Pokémon more than ever in the previous ones. Any previous Pokémon have not gotten any buff, they are still the same as they were previously. Zekrom is the legendary Pokémon of the white version. 

As in the black version, players need to finish the game first to use poke transfer, so they can find Pokémon and transfer them from one region to another. White also takes place in the Unova region, but players have to travel by boat or plane because the region is too far from the previous one. 

The majority of Unova is urbanized, with factories and train tracks dispersed throughout various districts. In a beautiful environment, there is an antagonistic team named Plasma. They want to free all the Pokémon from any ambiguity, and they don’t want the Pokémon to be owned by anyone, as they see it as slavery. The players must also engage in fights, as they did in the previous generations, with the region’s gyms, which will get the players the eight badges required to enter the Pokémon League. 

A Nintendo DS on which Pokémon Black And White was Released first
A Nintendo DS on which Pokémon Black And White was Released first

Main Differences

  • The black version is located in the black city where a lot of trainers are waiting to be battled in the darkness, whereas the white version is situated in the white forest, which contains tall trees, water surfaces, and much more. 
  • The black version contains rotation attacks in which three Pokémon are chosen and one can attack at a time, and the white version contains triple battles with six Pokémon, and one can use three Pokémon to attack. 
  • In the black version, there is a gym leader known as “Drayden of the Opelucid City” who gives legend badges to the trainers. And in the white version, the gym leader of the Opelucid City named Iris gives legend badges to the gym leader. 
  • The legendary Pokémon of the black version is Reshiram, who is the icon or mascot of the black version of Pokémon and is a kind of fire dragon, whereas Zekrom is the icon/mascot of the white version. He is also a dragon but of the electric type. 
  • The black version consists of 20 Pokémon, including the legendary Reshiram, Mandibuzz, Tornadus, Weedle, Beedrill, Murkrow, Houndoom, Cottonee, Volbeat, and so on. The white version, on the other hand, has more than the black one as it consists of 32 Pokemon: Zekrom, Butterfree, Paras, Caterpie, Parasect, Metapod, Rufflet, Reuiniclus, Lilligant, and so on. 
A Video on Pokémon black and white and why it’s underrated, yet so goo

The Difference in Tabular Form 

Comparison CriterionWhite VersionBlack Version
Locationlocated in the Black Citylocated in the Black City
Battlesrotation battlestriple battles.
Gym leaderGym leader DraydenGym leader Iris
Legendary mascot/icon PokémonReshiram is the legendary mascotZekrom is the legendary mascot
Pokémon20 Pokémon32 Pokémon
Comparison between both the versions

Conclusion

  • Although, after the debut, it was underrated as time passed it was loved by many of its fans and now it’s just a wonderful and colorful game with a lot to do, many battles, and much more, and it’s still admired by many.
  • Both games are phenomenal as they have amazingly good artwork and the 3D point of view made this game reach its apex.
  • In my opinion, both games are amazing and loved by many, and still played by many.

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