Thefifth generation (Japanese:第五世代fifth generation) of Pokémon, commonly referred to by fans asGeneration V, is the fifth installment of the Pokémon series. Like previous generations, the first installments,Pokémon Black and White, were released as a pair. However, unlike previous generations, the games were followed by two sequels—Pokémon Black 2 and White 2—instead of a third version. For the first time sinceGenerationsI andII (following the internal identification ofPokémon Gold and Silver rather than the advertised console), the games were released on the same platform asthe previous generation's core series titles, in this case theNintendo DS.

Generation V
Title screen of Pokémon Black Version
Debut EN March 4, 2011 JA September 18, 2010 Pokémon 649(156 new) Main games Black and White,Black 2 and White 2 Region(s) introduced Unova Storage games Dream Radar Side games Rumble Blast,Learn with Pokémon: Typing Adventure,PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond,Conquest,Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity,Rumble U End EN October 12, 2013(953 days) JA October 12, 2013(1120 days)

Unova, the newregion introduced in this generation, is known to be far away from the regions of previous generations. Unlike the past four, Unova is based on an area outside ofJapan, drawing inspiration from theNew York City metropolitan area.

The Generation V games are able to communicate with the fiveGeneration IV games in the same way that the Generation IV games can communicate with the fiveGeneration III games, with players able to transfer Pokémon via a method similar toPal Park. Pokémon caught in a Generation III game are able to move forward to Generation V by passing through Generation IV games.

Black and White occur several years afterGeneration II andGeneration IV. TheTeam Rocket Grunt who stole theMachine Part makes acameo appearance, saying that while he had intended to reviveTeam Rocket upon returning home, he instead fell in love and had a son.Cynthia mentions visiting theDistortion World and being defeated by ayoungTrainer asSinnoh LeagueChampion.

Black 2 and White 2 occur two years after the events of Black and White.

Being the first games on the same console as their predecessors sinceGeneration II, the Generation V games enhance the Pokémon experience on the DS in several ways. Advancements introduced in Generation V include:

• The addition of 156new Pokémon, bringing the total to 649. No new evolutionary relatives of previous Pokémon are introduced, and in Black and White, no Pokémon from previous generations can be caught in Unova itself until after theNational Pokédex is obtained.
• The addition of92 new moves, bringing the total to 559.
• The addition of41 new Abilities, bringing the total to 164. Many older Pokémon are allowed to have newAbilities, including some that were introduced inGeneration III andGeneration IV, by transferring them from theDream World. This effectively gives most Pokémon three legitimate Abilities, rather than the two which have been standard since Generation III.
• Yet another region to explore, theUnova region, far away from the previous four and based onNew York City, rather than on a region of Japan.
• A newvillainous team,Team Plasma, whose goals include separating the worlds of Pokémon and humans to make a black and white world.
• Triple Battles andRotation Battles are now a part of gameplay, which are variations of battling likeDouble Battles.
• The introduction of theWonder Launcher, a new battle mode which can stack with double, triple and Rotation Battles.
• The introduction ofdark grass, where Double Battles againstwild Pokémon can occur.
• The introduction ofphenomena, occurrences which involve wild Pokémon or items moving and making sounds to indicate their position, somewhat similar to thePoké Radar.
• The introduction ofseasons, which alternate every month.
• Camera placement is more varied, making the cities and towns of Unova more realistic and lifelike. There are also curves in places likeCastelia City,Dragonspiral Tower, and theSkyarrow Bridge.
  • Side-facingwaterfalls also appear.
• ThePoké Mart is now combined with thePokémon Center.
• Introduction of theEntralink, which allows players to visit each other in-game in Black and White, rather than just inside of theUnion Room or theUnderground.
• The newPokémon Global Link, which allows players to connect their games to the internet to view statistics or download changes to the games, such as the design of thePokédex. This also grants players access to thePokémon Dream World, where players may befriend Pokémon and send them over to their games.
• Theweather and currenttime are now displayed on the bottom screen during battle when making selections as to what to do during the turn.
• One new variant ofPoké Ball, theDream Ball, retaining the 25 found in previous games.
  • TheApricorn Poké Balls and theSport Ball are inaccessible without hacking and do not function as Poké Balls even if acquired; however, Pokémon caught in these Poké Balls inHeartGold and SoulSilver retain them when sent to a Generation V game.
• Pokémon battle sprites now animate constantly, rather than simply animating upon exiting aPoké Ball as in previous generations. These animations are reminiscent of those ofPokémon Crystal, rather than the two-sprite distortion method that has been the standard sincePokémon Emerald.
  • Unlike the animated models from 3D games, these sprites' animations play on a loop and do not depend on a given Pokémon's current actions.
  • Each Pokémon has two sets of identically animated sprites: one with its eyes open and one with its eyes closed. In addition to the looped animation, at random intervals the sprite momentarily changes to the "eyes closed" version before switching back to the "eyes open" version, to show the Pokémon blinking.
  • The speed at which Pokémon move slows as theHP goes down and with moststatus conditions (frozen Pokémon do not move at all).
  • When a Pokémon is affected by a status condition, in addition to slowing movement, it also glows a color depending on the status condition.Sleep does not have a color, but switches to using the "eyes closed" version of the sprite exclusively until the Pokémon is awakened.
• The back sprites of Pokémon show the Pokémon's body in full, with their poses and animations being the same as the front sprite, but as seen from behind.
  • This enables dynamic camera movements during battle, e.g. the camera may zoom in or out and focus on specific Pokémon as the battle progresses.
  • It also allowsMawile to face the audience when it performs in aPokémon Musical without the need of an additional sprite.
• A pair of sequels to its original games were introduced (Gold and Silver are direct sequels toRed, Green, Blue, and Yellow, but they are not from the same generation nor version-specific sequels).
• The battle music changes under certain conditions. When one of the player's Pokémon or an ally NPC's Pokémon in battle has 20% or less HP remaining, the music changes to a faster, more suspenseful track. When battling aGym Leader's last Pokémon, the music also changes.
• The overworld music also changes in certain circumstances. Almost all the routes now have instruments that differ between the seasons and layers that activate and deactivate when the player walks or stops, respectively. Music that plays in some towns and cities has layers that can be added by talking to citizens. These people can be seen playing different musical instruments like piano, guitar, etc.
• In the Japanese version of the game, the option to displaykanji in game menus and text is available, in addition tohiragana andkatakana as in the previous four generations.
• In international versions of the game, Pokémon names are displayed with proper capitalization, rather than having all capital letters, as it was prior to Generation V.
• The number of boxes in thePokémon Storage System has been increased from 18 to 24. However, players initially start with only 8 boxes. After placing one Pokémon in each of the 8 boxes, they will receive an additional 8 boxes, for a total of 16. After placing one Pokémon in each of the 16 boxes, they will finally receive their last 8 boxes, for a total of 24 and a storage total of 720 Pokémon.
• TMs have expanded from 92 to 95. Many of the 92 TMs found in Generation IV contain different moves.
  • In addition, TMs now have infinite uses, likeHMs.
    • To prevent repeated usage of TMs for the purpose of PP restoration, when a Pokémon forgets a move in order to learn from a TM or HM, the move learned takes on the currentPP of the move replaced (up to its own maximum).
• The number of HMs has been reduced from eight to six. The first four remain the same as during the first four generations; HM05 is nowWaterfall and HM06 is nowDive.
• Thetrading process has been upgraded: players may now trade Pokémon directly from theirPC boxes, without having to place offered Pokémon in their party first. TheGlobal Terminal also allows players to trade using this method. Furthermore, players can trade outside of thePokémon Center viainfrared.
• Key Item registration has been expanded. Multiple items, and even several menu screens, may be registered simultaneously. Pressing the Y button now brings up a quick access menu of the registered commands.
• While the framerate for the overworld is still 30, the framerate has been increased to 60 for battles, the title screen, and 2D menus. However, the opening movie only has a framerate of 15.
• When Pokémon are sent out, there is a sound effect and visual effect as they land which varies depending on theweight of the Pokémon. These effects do not apply for Pokémon that stay airborne, likeHydreigon,Ho-Oh, orGoldeen; or forDiglett andDugtrio.

Alterations from Generation IV

• The???-type does not exist in this generation. Instead,Curse is now aGhost-type move.
• Rotom'sappliance forms are now no longerGhost-type Pokémon; instead, they areElectric and the type of their special move.
• Team previews were added to Linkbattles.
• Pokémon Super Contests and thePokéathlon do not appear in favor of thePokémon Musical, a different type of competition which does not factor in a Pokémon's moves.
• Seals andBall Capsules are no longer available for use onPoké Balls.
• Pokémon in theparty can no longerfollow the player outside of battle inany point of the game.
• Encounter rates no longer differ based on thetime of day.
• The option to have theRunning Shoes on at all times, as in HeartGold and SoulSilver, has been removed.
• In theWi-Fi Club, there is no longer an option to set all Pokémon at level 100.
• Items are displayed in a list format rather than the six-cell pages that were seen in HeartGold and SoulSilver.
• Record mixing is no longer a feature.
• Game Corners do not appear.
• The persistent bottom-screen menu fromPokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver is no longer present, as that screen now displays theC-Gear. The menu is brought up on the touch screen in the same way, though, with X.
• The way someKey Items are used, such as the Dowsing Machine, has been altered.
• Poison no longer inflicts damage outside the battle.
• Badges are no longer necessary in order to useHMfield moves.
• TheElite Four may be challenged in any order.
• WildShiny Pokémon no longer sparkle upon breaking out of a Poké Ball.
• Many Pokémon have their experience yield changed, which is no longer limited to 255.
  • Additionally, the experience formula now accounts for the difference between the level of the Pokémon defeated and the Pokémon receiving experience.
• In theVs. Recorder's Browse Mode, it is no longer possible to change the interface's color to the previous color in the line by tapping the left border of the touch screen. Tapping either border will change it to the next color in the sequence.
• Nintendo DSi systems connected to an Internet router requiring the "advanced setup" option are now compatible with online features, such as theGlobal Terminal.
• Battle-only forms, such asCherrim'sSunshine Form orCastform'sweather forms now use their own minisprites, rather than using default form's minisprite. Additionally, Cherrim's Sunshine Form minisprite is different than the one used in HeartGold and SoulSilver.
• The HP bar now empties as soon as the move animation ends, simultaneous to the animation of the Pokémon's body "blinking" between visible and invisible. Previously, the HP bar did not empty until after the "blinking" animation had finished.
  • Additionally in Double Battles (and Triple Battles) when move hits multiple targets, the HP bar now empties for all Pokémon at once rather one by one - first on player's side, then on opposing side. Due to this, messages have been changed to include the Pokémon (e.g.A critical hit on the foe's <Pokémon>! orIt's super effective on <Pokémon> and <Pokémon>!).
  • If a multi-target move misses one opponent (for any reason) but hits another, a<Pokémon> avoided the attack! message will appear first (if it was due to something else than immunity or protecting itself, otherwise the usual message likeIt doesn't affect <Pokémon>... appears), before the move's animation executes, and the missed Pokémon will not react to the animation.
• When an Ability is activated during battle, it is shown as a green-blue arrow for the player's side or a red-yellow arrow on the opposing side with the text<Pokémon>'s <ability> instead showing it activated on the battle text. (e.g.Pikachu's Static and the messageThe foe's Meowth is paralyzed! instead ofPikachu's Static paralyzed the foe's Meowth! on the battle text). This has been changed to a black arrow for both sides in Black and White 2. Additionally, if the Ability is changed, the arrow appears, reflecting the Ability change that took place.
• Pokémon sprites can be as large as 96 by 96 pixels, although most sprites are still smaller than 80 by 80.
• During breeding, offspring now have an 80% chance to have the Ability slot corresponding to their mother, unless it is a Hidden Ability; for example,Venomoth withShield Dust is more likely to breedVenonat withCompoundeyes than withTinted Lens.
• Ninetales'sEV yield was changed from 1 Special Attack and 1 Special Defense to 1 Special Defense and 1 Speed. Sky FormeShaymin's was changed from 3 HP to 3 Speed.
• If more than one egg becomes ready to hatch, the first egg will hatch while each subsequent Egg will hatch with each subsequent step.

Additions in Black 2 and White 2

• A sequel pair to the original pair of games, with an all-new story.
• Pokémon from previous generations appear more often in Unova, even from the start.
• The New UnovaPokédex includes a Habitat mode, allowing the player to select a specific area or route in Unova and view what Pokémon are known to inhabit it.
• Entralink missions are replaced byFunfest Missions, which can be played with or without connecting to other players.
• New attractions, such asPokéstar Studios and thePokémon World Tournament.
• All opponent Trainers now have animated sprites that move before battle.
• Players can now use a new feature called theUnova Link, which lets the player make the game easier or harder, switch betweenBlack City andWhite Forest, and cause certain events to happen by connecting to Black or White.
• Watchog'sEV yield is changed from 1 Attack to 2 Attack.
• Players can now move held items directly between Pokémon in their party.
• Several new locations have been added to the map, includingAspertia City,Floccesy Town,Floccesy Ranch,Cave of Being,Virbank City,Virbank Complex,Pokéstar Studios,Castelia Sewers,Relic Passage,Clay Tunnel,Pokémon World Tournament,Reversal Mountain,Strange House,Lentimas Town,Seaside Cave,Humilau City, andPlasma Frigate.
• The location ofVictory Road on theTown Map has changed completely, from the west of thePokémon League to the east of it.
• When the effects of any kind ofRepel wear off, the game will automatically ask the player if they wish to use another one, so long as they have one of the same kind.

Unova

Main article:Unova

Like previous generations, another new region, theUnova region, is introduced inPokémon Black and White. Unlike the previous four regions, which are relatively close in respect to one another, Unova has been revealed to be distant from them, with the only ways to travel between it and the other four being byboat orairplane.

First partner Pokémon

The first partner Pokémon of the Unova region, like the first partner Pokémon of the previous four regions, follow the Grass-Fire-Water trio, withSnivy theGrass-type,Tepig theFire-type, andOshawott theWater-type.

Snivy		Tepig		Oshawott
Grass		Fire		Water
	Servine		Pignite		Dewott
Grass		Fire	Fighting	Water
	Serperior		Emboar		Samurott
Grass		Fire	Fighting	Water

Gym Leaders

Black and White

Unova League
Generation V						Region:Unova
Gym Leader Japanese						Location Japanese	Type			Badge
Cilan デント Dent		Chili ポッド Pod		Cress コーン Corn		Striaton City サンヨウシティ Sanyou City	Grass	Fire	Water	Trio Badge
Lenora アロエ Aloe						Nacrene City シッポウシティ Shippou City	Normal			Basic Badge
Burgh アーティ Arty						Castelia City ヒウンシティ Hiun City	Bug			Insect Badge
Elesa カミツレ Kamitsure						Nimbasa City ライモンシティ Raimon City	Electric			Bolt Badge
Clay ヤーコン Yakon						Driftveil City ホドモエシティ Hodomoe City	Ground			Quake Badge
Skyla フウロ Huuro						Mistralton City フキヨセシティ Fukiyose City	Flying			Jet Badge
Brycen ハチク Hachiku						Icirrus City セッカシティ Sekka City	Ice			Freeze Badge
Drayden シャガ ShagaB			Iris アイリス IrisW			Opelucid City ソウリュウシティ Souryuu City	Dragon			Legend Badge

Black 2 and White 2

Unova League
Generation V				Region:Unova
Gym Leader Japanese				Location Japanese	Type	Badge
Cheren チェレン Cheren				Aspertia City ヒオウギシティ Hiougi City	Normal	Basic Badge
Roxie ホミカ Homika				Virbank City タチワキシティ Tachiwaki City	Poison	Toxic Badge
Burgh アーティ Arty				Castelia City ヒウンシティ Hiun City	Bug	Insect Badge
Elesa カミツレ Kamitsure				Nimbasa City ライモンシティ Raimon City	Electric	Bolt Badge
Clay ヤーコン Yakon				Driftveil City ホドモエシティ Hodomoe City	Ground	Quake Badge
Skyla フウロ Huuro				Mistralton City フキヨセシティ Fukiyose City	Flying	Jet Badge
Drayden シャガ Shaga				Opelucid City ソウリュウシティ Souryuu City	Dragon	Legend Badge
Marlon シズイ Shizui				Humilau City セイガイハシティ Seigaiha City	Water	Wave Badge

The fifth generation of Pokémon games focuses on the polarity between things defined by their opposition to each other,^[1] such as between nature and industry or between humans and Pokémon.Junichi Masuda, the director ofPokémon Black and White, described whiteness as a blank slate with the potential to become anything in contrast to the complete and unchanging nature of blackness.^[1] This comes from the concept of yin and yang, whichReshiram andZekrom, the legendary mascots of Pokémon Black and White, are based on. For this reason, Reshiram is the mascot of Black while Zekrom is the mascot of White, both are the opposite color to their respective game's color; previousgame mascots had always matched the color associated with their respective games. In Pokémon Black and White, the logos also feature the text in one color and the outline in another, with each being either black or white.

This opposition between extremes is reflected in the game's story, as the goal of the generation's main antagonists,Team Plasma, is to separate Pokémon from humans.^[2] TheSwords of Justice also represent this theme as they are trying to prevent Pokémon from losing their natural habitats to human industry. Additionally, multiple locations reflect this theme by having aesthetic differences depending on the version of the game; two major examples of this areBlack City^BB2 andWhite Forest^WW2, the version-exclusive areas, which represent the contrast between cities and nature. Masuda noted that people who live in urban areas may desire to visit rural areas and vice versa.^[1] Other areas that differ between game versions areOpelucid City,Mistralton City,Reversal Mountain, andRoute 4^B2W2. TheDream World, which is supposed to combine dreams and reality, also fits into the theme of polarity.

Takao Unno, the director ofPokémon Black 2 and White 2, stated that the games' theme was "resonance," expressed as "gameplay that broadens each other's worlds," in contrast to Pokémon Black and White communicating with each other through "interference," such as through theEntralink.^[3][4] The names of Black 2's and White 2'splayer characters,Rosa andNate, reference this concept. This theme enabled Unno to expand upon the communication aspects of the games, such as throughJoin Avenue. ThePokémon World Tournament was another example of this, as the downloadableWorld Championships Tournaments represented a resonance between the real world and the game.^[4] Unno gavePokéstar Studios as a further example of resonance, as it expanded the game's world with additional gameplay in which "anything would be possible."^[5]

Generation V is seen as a major departure point for the series. While the preceding generations often adhered to the formulaGeneration I had established, Generation V did several things differently by setting itself in a region where Pokémon from previous generations could not be caught, putting out dual sequels instead of a single third version, and using a dynamic camera angle with continuously animated Pokémon sprites in battles. Although some of the changes seen in Generation V may have influenced future titles,Generation VI saw further changes, thus establishing that each generation from this point forward could contain features unique to that generation that may be dropped in the future. For example, Generation V is the only generation to date that utilizesseasons.

English title screens

Pokémon Black	Pokémon White
Pokémon Black 2	Pokémon White 2

Japanese title screens

Pokémon Black	Pokémon White
Pokémon Black 2	Pokémon White 2

Spin-off games released during Generation V include:Pokémon Conquest,Learn with Pokémon: Typing Adventure,PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond,Pokédex 3D,Pokédex 3D Pro,Pokédex for iOS,Pokémon Dream Radar,Pokémon Rumble Blast,Pokémon Rumble U,Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity,Pokémon Say Tap?,Pokémon Tretta, andPokémon Tretta Lab.

• The Japanese logo of thePokémon games was redesigned once again for Generation V's releases; the first logo was used inGenerations I andII, and the second logo was used duringGenerations III andIV.
  • The text for the English boxes also received a new design.
• This generation introduced the most new Pokémon to thecore series of all generations, with 156 (five more thanGeneration I introduced).
  • This generation also introduced the mostGym Leaders of all generations, with 14.
• This is the onlygeneration:
  • Whoseprimary paired versions were released in Europe before North America.
  • To introduce a single-type Pokémon of every type that existed at the time.
  • WherePikachu is not available withouttransfer from another generation.
  • Where the battle music changes at low HP.
  • Whose core series games all require aBadge to be able totrade.
  • To introduce a pair of sequels to its original games.
  • To not introduce aRock- orPsychic-type specialist.
    • However,Caitlin, who was introduced inPokémon Platinum but couldn't be battled inGeneration IV, was revealed to be a Psychic-type specialist.
  • To not introduce aMove-based Evolution since its introduction inGeneration IV.
  • To not feature aregion or land based of any areas of Japan for the mainline series games.
• This is the first generation:
  • Where theHMWaterfall is no longer required to beat the game.
  • To introduce afirst partner Pokémon trio whose final Evolutions have the same base stat total under the current stat system. (TheGeneration I first partner Pokémon had the same base stat totals in Generation I, but do not under the stat system introduced inGeneration II.)
  • To introduce a pureFlying-type Pokémon,Tornadus, giving each type at least one Pokémon solely of that type.
  • Not to featureProfessor Oak or theKanto region.
  • Not to introduce:
    • A higher number ofLegendary Pokémon than the previous generation. In this case, both Generations IV and V introduced nine Legendary Pokémon.
    • Anybaby Pokémon since the concept was introduced in Generation II.
    • Anycross-generational Evolutions to pre-existing Pokémon since Generation I.
  • In which it is impossible to complete theNational Pokédex withouttransferring Pokémon from a previous generation, even if a player owned all versions in the generation and allevent Pokémon were acquired.
  • That allows Korean versions totrade with versions of other languages.
  • In which two sets ofplayer characters were introduced.
  • To name theGym guide, giving him the name Clyde.
  • To lack either a Safari Zone or a similar concept in any capacity.
• This is the last generation to introduce aPokémon with a gender ratio of three males to one female, which is theTimburr evolutionary line.