Pokémon Black 2 and White 2

Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 are set two years after the events of Black and White, and much of the beginning events take place in new locations on the western side of the Unova region. These new locations also feature several Pokémon that were previously unavailable in Black and White, featuring a total of 300 unique creatures available from the start of the game.[11]

A new game mechanic introduced in Black 2 and White 2 is the "PokéStar Studios" side-game, where the player character participates in the filming of a movie involving Pokémon and other actors. A character named Brycen-Man also appears, as Brycen from the original games returned to his movie career.[12] Another new mechanic is the Pokémon World Tournament, where the player battles powerful trainers from the previous games in the series, ranging from Gym Leaders Brock, Misty, Volkner, and Giovanni to Champions Cynthia, Steven, and Lance.[13]

Black 2 and White 2 are also compatible with a new downloadable game for the Nintendo 3DS, Pokémon Dream Radar.[14] Pokémon AR Searcher introduces the character Professor Burnet, as well as alternate forms for the Pokémon Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus, which can be transferred to Black 2 and White 2 after being captured in AR Searcher.[15] Additionally, the Dream World makes a return from Pokémon Black and White, however, it was shut down on January 14, 2014, alongside all other services for fifth generation games. The mythical Pokémon Keldeo also received a new form in the game, known as the Resolute form.[16]

The player and their rival begin their Pokémon journey in the previously unexplorable western side of Unova. They live in the new Aspertia City, and receive their starter Pokémon from Bianca, an NPC that served as one of the player's rivals in Black and White. The player also meets Cheren, the other rival character, who is now a Gym Leader in Aspertia City. Much like other Pokémon games, the player travels around the region, battling Gym Leaders to acquire eight Gym Badges, and then goes on to challenge the Elite Four of the Pokémon League and its champion to beat the game.

The plot of Black 2 and White 2 features the antagonistic Neo Team Plasma, whom the player first encounters while running an errand, and later when travelling to the first other major city where the team announces its plans to take over the world and steal others' Pokémon in front of the player, the rival, and new Gym Leader Roxie[lower-alpha 3].[17] At the behest of Iris, the player helps Burgh track down more Neo Team Plasma members in the sewers of Castelia City, where the player meets Colress[lower-alpha 4] for the first time, who claims to be a researcher of the strengths of Pokémon.[18]

Later, it is revealed that Neo Team Plasma has stolen a Purrloin the player's rival was planning on giving to his sister, which makes the rival angry towards the organization, including its reformed former members. After learning about the legendary Pokémon Kyurem, which arrived at the Giant Chasm years ago, the player discovers that Neo Team Plasma is working to use Kyurem to take over the world, harnessing its power to freeze large portions of Unova, including Opelucid City. The player tracks Neo Team Plasma to Humilau City, home of the final new Pokémon Gym led by Marlon[lower-alpha 5],[19] who helps the player battle Neo Team Plasma to remove Kyurem from their grasp. He also helps the rival retrieve his Purrloin, which has since evolved into a Liepard that is used in battle against the player and rival.

The battle reaches its climax in the Giant Chasm, where the player discovers Colress is working with Neo Team Plasma to learn more about the capabilities of Pokémon, and that Ghetsis is planning to use Kyurem, the "empty" Pokémon that is left over from when Zekrom and Reshiram split apart hundreds of years ago, by filling it with his ambition to rule the world. After battling the Shadow Triad with help from the player's rival, who receives his Liepard back, the player enters the inner sanctum of the Giant Chasm where they find Kyurem and Ghetsis. N appears with either his Zekrom in Black 2 or Reshiram in White 2 to try to talk sense into his father Ghetsis, but N's legendary Pokémon is defeated by and fused with Kyurem, transforming it into Black Kyurem in Black 2 or White Kyurem in White 2, and forcing the player to battle it. After defeating Kyurem, it separates from N's Pokémon and the player faces Ghetsis, who is stunned that he has been defeated again. N tries to talk sense into him, but Ghetsis leaves, and N thanks the player for his assistance in defeating Neo Team Plasma once and for all. After defeating Neo Team Plasma, the player is finally able to battle the Elite Four and the new Champion of the Unova League, Iris, and complete the main story.

After the game's main story is completed, the player is able to challenge N who has taken up residence in his former castle, where upon the defeat of his legendary Pokémon, it turns into the object that once held its essence and N gives it to the player. The player can then bring the item to another part of Unova where it transforms back into the Pokémon and the player can then capture it. Also, after completion of the game, the player can battle former Unova Champion Alder, Sinnoh Champion Cynthia, the former Striaton City Gym Leaders, and take on the Black Tower or White Treehollow challenges in Black City or White Forest, respectively. Through use of a unique game feature called "Memory Link", the player can access new content and side quests dependent on the original Black and White games, such as references to the player's name in the previous game, flashback sequences, the ability to capture Pokémon that once belonged to N, battling Cheren and Bianca who reminisce about the protagonist of the previous game, and participating in the Pokémon World Tournament.

The games received "generally favorable reviews" from critics and holds an aggregate score of 80 according to Metacritic.[21][22] Famitsu magazine awarded Black 2 and White 2 a point total of 36/40, slightly lower than their perfectly scoring predecessors.[24] The games also received a 9.6/10 from IGN, praising the overall changes from their predecessors.[25]

As of January 2013, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 have combined sales of 7.81 million copies worldwide.[26]

• Official website