Pokémon Black and White Retrospective

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The fifth generation of Pokémon, in all of its splendor! We've reached Peak Gaming.
0:00 Introduction
3:53 New Dogs, New Tricks
14:28 A Challenge of Convenience
26:17 A Journey Worth 1,000 Words
Patreon: / kingdomklannad
Twitter: / kingklonoa
Twitch: / thekingklonoa
Last Life: last-life.net/
Bulbapedia: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...
Serebii: www.serebii.net/
Commercials used:
• Pokemon Black and Whit...
Script:
docs.google.com/document/d/1t...
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Pokémon Black White Retrospective Review Critique KingK

[@Patterrz]

Pokemon Black and White deserved better from the community 10 years ago

[@SacredBlazeXxX]

I agree. I was one of those who hated the first half of gen5 but... the second half was godlike. Sorry gen5, you indeed deserved better :(

[@Raging]

We will be saying this too for the newer generations in due time.

[@javierortiz82]

@@Raging I really doubt I'll ever soften towards Sword and Shield, or Sun & Moon, those games bastardized the franchise.

[@ItsScapeGoated]

A bit better yes, but it has many flaws that the fans of BW try to avoid.

[@smashmaster521]

@@javierortiz82 How so?

[@LeoWhat707]

I named my character L out of laziness, but when I found out my rival was named N It kind of spooked me a bit and kind of made the story a bit better for me.

[@wittich_tara]

Lol

[@IsaiahFisher19]

😂

[@Ghoulofidiocy2917]

I named myself H

[@grotesquette6536]

You’re the main character

[@Narusasu98]

Did you get a Death Note during your playthrough?

[@MB-bl4nl]

Since it's not present in BW2, I'm surprised he didn't mention the that in all of N's battles (excluding the final battle) he uses exclusively Pokémon from the area your currently in, implying that he just catches them to fight you and then releases them after your done.

[@seanwilliams5711]

Never noticed that feature and that's some excellent attention to detail

[@faeb.9618]

ah shit i was just replaying bw right now and was wondering where N's purrloin went! i didnt even realize that that's so cool and its so nice to see how they kept it in line with his character

[@paulj6805]

He mentions it in the next video

[@dvillines26]

it's storytelling through game design in a way Game Freak isn't usually THAT good at. In general Gen 5 has a lot of that, a sense of intentionality missing from much of the rest of the series.

[@jadyndenys7736]

He mentions it in the bw2 video when talking about the "catching n's Pokemon" feature

[@hassledvania]

Breaks my heart this is the one time Pokemon tried to grow up and fans rejected it so hard theyll never try again

[@imposter685]

It actually makes me livid that it had so much heart besides black and white, I think the only other game that actually tried to change some things was Sun and moon which was unique with the challenges and islands compared to just gyms

[@KayaGrimoire]

This was the best Pokemon "for adults" got me into the harder difficulty and showed the potential of the franchise they never went back to being ambitious as this

[@novanic4071]

Yeah I just got a switch so I played let's go eevee and god that game is way too easy. BW is definitely my favorite of the franchise

[@XDarkEcho]

Yeah, of course they wouldn't, when this was their worst selling version. As well as the backlash these titles got when they came out. It's a shame really, and ironic that now fans are realizing how great B/W were.

[@TheAbsol7448]

I can't even begin to tell you how heartbroken SwSh made me after Gen 5 showed me what Pokémon could be. I expected so much more out of a console Pokémon game. I kind of excused the 3DS games, save for ORAS, because I figured they were just experimenting with 3D space. As much as I didn't like SM, I thought it was just part of the process, and that the big Switch title was going to be a lot better, and a lot more ambitious. I thought it was going to end up looking like Xenoblade. Linear in progression, but with _massive_ open ended areas been plot points, and maybe actual towns and cities. The Wild Area was "large and open", but come on. It's bland, there's almost no content in them, and the only reason they exist is for marketing. (I don't really excuse ORAS because it's a fairly simple remake. They absolutely could've done more with it, and I'll never forget how disappointed I felt when I got to the island where the Battle Frontier was supposed to be, and then later learned about _why_ it was removed.)

[@ArgenteonYT]

@@TheAbsol7448 Not only are the generations post-gen 5 disappointing as a whole but SwSh is an extremely disappointing console title because COLOSSEUM was a better console adventure. I would kill for the devs to make an ambition, hybridized colo/gen5 game someday, even just as a spin-off

[@fraymakerfan3628]

I know that this comment is over a year old, but if you want a more mature and more difficult Pokemon game, I recommend playing the pokemon fangame Pokemon Reborn. It's finally been completed after 10 years of development and is considered to be one of the best pokemon fangames there is.

[@ExtremeAce]

"Generation 5 is the peak of Pokemon" That's what I said when I first finished B2W2 in 2014. And I still hold on to that statement. The DS Era was truly Pokemon's peak.

[@UnknownUser_10]

Very true. I think that the Ds Pokemon games are still the very best. The 4th gen was perfect with its new region Sinnoh and the remakes of gold and silver and the 5th generation was pretty good too. My favorite out of all Pokemon gens is still gen 4.

[@Vassilinia]

Just like with Sonic, Pokemon massively decreased in quality when making the move to 3D.

[@SlainOracle]

@@UnknownUser_10 don't forget all the great spinoffs

[@SlainOracle]

@@Vassilinia you're wrong, but considering you picked that opinion up from a youtuber I can't fault you too much

[@Mr_Hilarious0]

@@SlainOracle Wich Game is better in 3d from Pokémon?

[@ComfortableTool86]

I just played Black for the first time and a thought I had right away was "wow, it's so cool that every pokemon used is new in this gen." I can't believe people disliked that.

[@dragonsswarm1987]

From what I understood back then it was because "they took away the older pokémon"

[@Rob.N.]

@@dragonsswarm1987 Which turned out to be untrue as you got the national dex post-story.

[@sincereeastman6972]

You can thank the Gen 1 boomers for that

[@viruschris3160]

I remember the first time I played White version... I LOVED IT! I enjoyed meeting the new Pokemon and building a brand new team. Learning about the new Pokemon that generation was so much fun. A shame people complained about that. Which is really dumb, they get their old Pokemon back post-game. Like past entries, they weren't gone forever as they're programmed in now. Looking at Gen 8 and onward with not every Pokemon coming back and the community "it's fine, it was inevitable" I get a little peeved about that hypocritical viewpoint. Now if some of their favorites are gone in the next gen when they want them in a "better" game I'm going to remind them of this quote. So dumb.

[@paulj6805]

@@sincereeastman6972 hey man, I started with gen 1 when I was like 5 and black/white are my favorites.

[@drunknbard2807]

Man. The rivals in BW are so underrated. Even though they're kids, they parallel with Young Adults finding their way in life through trial and error. They change and develop as the game goes on. BW is a more mature game and I love it.

[@Jadentheman]

There are young adult or at least teenagers. That’s was one of the main standouts for these games that the protagonists were 15/16 instead of 10

[@Cousinbiddy1]

@@Jadentheman no not just black and white , in platinum they were 13 so they were teens too

[@humanoidfrog4645]

@@Cousinbiddy1 isn't the minimum age for a teenager 14 though?

[@humanoidfrog4645]

and they felt childish to say the least

[@Cousinbiddy1]

@Thunderking A no 13 is also a teen too

[@nathancardoso1804]

Another thing I really like that a lot of people dont realize is how bianca represents truth and cheren represents ideals, bianca is truthful with herslef in regards to her ability, while cheren believes no matter what that he can be the best trainer ever

[@chibi3593]

i never thought of Cheren and Bianca that way! that's pretty cool ^_^

[@humanang4966]

We can think of it from another perspective. Bianca hoped to be stronger and more independent, so that she could stand up for herself and even protect those important to her, and at the last of the journey, she realised she wouldn't be able to be strong as protagonist and Cheren, but she till understood that she had many other ways to hone herself and grow. It's like she faced the hard truth, but found the ideal. Meanwhile, Cheren firmly believe he will be the strongest as long as he strive to be better, and this belief stuck in his head until he finally questioned himself whether this way of thinking is truly right. He pursued the ideal, but slowly learned the truth. Man I really love the minor details in this game.

[@iggnifyre6333]

I know this might be covered in the next video but if not, I'll mention it here because its relevant to Team Plasma. My favorite NPC in this game is the random Team Plasma grunt near the end that feels like his Patrat has gotten attached to him and doesn't want to part with them. I think that's the point that really drives home that Team Plasma's ideology being false.

[@Ariverfish]

Gen 5 was the most involved generation, story and gameplay-wise in the franchise. They basically made new Pokémon by giving old ones new abilities, not to mention entirely new Pokémon that changed the meta competitively (Excadrill, etc.). And, exploring old places and meeting the people you visited in BW in B2W2 and how much it changed made the world so much more alive (N's Bedroom still gives me chills), with the characters actually having plot progression, Leonora to Cheren, Alder to Iris, Ex-team Plasma and Sages, Zinzolin visibly getting older, Team Plasma with more specialized attires, Ghetsis going insane in the last scene, and a lot of nods to BW. Not to mention that even non-main story based interactions also contribute to this, with O E A~ guy and PWT in its entirety. And, what finally takes the cake, cementing Gen 5 as the best generation... Amoonguss, "disguising" himself as pokeballs, the man warned us about Among Us, and everyone was too blind to realize it. Not to mention that Ditto's imposter ability was also added in Gen 5.

[@ededdynedd]

the BW meta was so great. It was called "Landorus."

[@BinhHoang-bj7sz]

@@ededdynedd thats more like gen6+. LandoT in gen5 certainly had a big presence, but not as defining as keldeo and terrakion and latios. Incarnate? Pfft, yeeted off to ubers

[@thelorewriter9460]

Maybe it's because I grew up with Gen 3 and 4, but Gen 5 felt like a technological and mechanical step up while taking a step back for story and adventure. BW is without question a higher quality game as far as visuals, battle, and having a completely new Dex, but the antagonists and narrative fell flat for me. I experienced B2W2 vicariously by watching my younger brothers play through them because the games felt like they'd doubled down on the things I didn't want in the game, but it really felt like more of the same. The growth and progression of each character was nicely done, but swapping Alder for Iris as the champion was about as sacrilegeous as replacing Steven with Wallace

[@Ariverfish]

@@thelorewriter9460 I dunno, having a flat evil villain is very refreshing, as Ghetsis was practically worse than Hitler (at least Hitler's dogs liked him), as Ghetsis' Pokémon hated him. The man tried to use propaganda, then proceeded to brute force terrorism the second, actually one of the best villains I would say. Man doesn't have any moral excuses like previous people, man was literally insane and had a literal God complex. Man actually literally threatened to *kill* you in B2W2 if it weren't for N. As for Alder, I think the story hints that he probably retired after the events of the first game as we know canonically, he got beaten down by two people back-to-back who didn't even take the champion title, and later on his ace (Volcarona) died from an illness, quite the stress for even a happy-go-lucky dude to handle. And I'm quite biased for Iris, have you seen her champion dress? Literally, kawaii princess beating you down with devil incarnate. I do prefer B2W2 than the original BW though, as a lot of the lore is hinted thereafter, and better gameplay in general. A lot of the lore is very subtle, though, and some you even find post-game or are entirely optional.

[@thelorewriter9460]

@@Ariverfish Eh, Iris' dress always looked stupid to me, but the big problem was that just like Emerald, the champion doubled up on a gym leader and we lost an interesting team to fight. I understood the in-game explanations for why, but it didn't make Iris any better. She's always been one of my least favourite champions, just above Lance and Diantha. I've been really enjoying the DP remake, but this video really made me reflect on why I love each game. My perfect Pokemon game would be a Gen 4 story with the mechanical quality and extras of the Gen 5 games

[@FarCritical]

I love that Generation 5 is finally getting the love it deserves. Black and White were my first Pokemon games so I can admit that I'm heavily biased, but I love these games to death.

[@ooooh8977]

Same story here!

[@twiggiestarimfamous993]

@@ooooh8977same

[@a.x.x8184]

Now I’m just waiting when the starters get appreciated bc IMO how the hell does Emboar one of the most designed badass Starters ever get called ugly? It looks soooo much better than any fire starter before it (maybe not Charizard tho OG fr) but you get my point, and Unovas Starters aren’t all bipedal like Hoenns. Take nostalgia glasses off and compare Unova starters to Hoenn. It easily solos. A Snake 🐍 > Humanoid Geco with pimples on its back Battle Boar 🐗 🔥 > Blaziken. It Literally doesn’t look like a Chicken anymore just a Humaniod Bird with human legs Samurott > Swampert. This water starter is a deadass Man with amphibian features and fins and hunches down. Yeah I’d prefer a Seal lion on ALL FOURS with ARMOR & BLADES over a literal Water man. I can’t wait when people realize how good these starters were.

[@TheVitaltundra]

"Generation 5 is in my opinion, the peak of the franchise." Truer words have never been spoken.

[@kugansivasakthy2091]

Big Facts 💯

[@Whirlwhind1]

I've been saying that for years.

[@MaxArceus]

It's true, but not complete. The peak started 1 game earlier, HGSS. Right after that, BW came and then BW2. Those 3 are the peak.

[@Ren-gk2tg]

Pokemón definitely peaked on the DS, that's for sure.

[@jaretco6423]

Yeah. I agree. Gen. 4 was an great return for it's revolutionary. Though it's very slow & so many HM requirements. HGSS was an nice extent of an remake with added content. But the leveling system was bad. Gen. 5 took the good parts from previous gens and improved alot. There the most fun gens I've played in an long time and still is to this day. Not even the future games comes closed as polished as Gen. 5 has.

[@johnpaulcross424]

Can’t fully explain how happy I am to see this in my sub box, binged the series and I’m elated that I have a new video to put on loop! Thanks for the great content as usual

[@lawrencelord9777]

Same. He’s too good at this.

[@qactustick]

Not saying the videos aren't good, but...people put videos this long that aren't music extensions on loop?

[@lawrencelord9777]

@@qactustick what?? people play videos of all types of lengths.

[@qactustick]

@@lawrencelord9777 I'm not asking about playing, I'm asking about looping. Having the video continuously repeat. What's the point of that for a video like this?

[@slikclips2966]

Aww bro it made me happy aswell

[@exile9521]

Still my favourite gen. Also the only main series game that made me feel like my character is a hero and not just some random trainer.

[@Moonsong227]

Nice to see I’m not the only one who liked the hero angles to Pokemon!

[@goobah1389]

Yep, I loved the story arch.

[@tsholts5173]

The hate gen 5 got was unreal for no good reason, and those "fans" played a big part in the future games' downfall. How ironic the people now telling us to use the limited dex pokemon because of supposed "graphical and animation improvements" are the same people who bashed these games for being forced to use the new pokemon while still having improvements from the previous ds games. They'd rather have boring standstill battle animations over these lively ones because of the black outlines around the pokemon that gen 5 have. 100% agree with you on the designs. And GameFreak's lazy now because why should they put in the effort as gen 5 didn't sell all that well? They found out that nostalgia pays their bills and they can do the bare minimum as long as that Pikachu that nobody uses outside of Kanto is in the game

[@JuanLeon-oe6xe]

Pokemon, Final Fantasy, hell, even Halo to an extent, all fucked over due to people wanting nothing but nostalgia circle-jerks rather than... I don't know, wanting the best version of the new? giving proper criticism instead of acting like overgrown chimpanzees? Linkara's "Nostalgia can be toxic" hits hard now doesn't it?

[@koalakultofficial]

Top comment asap

[@clix8100]

Definitely hit the nail with *nostalgia pays their bills*

[@RacistCeilingBird]

Well said. These facts will only solidify more with time.

[@thepopcornman9950]

That Pikachu comment rings especially true, as Pikachu is not available in the Unova games, the only time it wasn't in a regional Dex.

[@SilphSpectre]

Was very excited for this one! Gen V is undoubtedly one of my favorite generations; I think you certainly did the base games justice, captured their essence, and thoroughly examined their purpose and stature within the franchise. Thrilled to hear B2/W2 will get their own video - deservedly so in my estimation. Keep up the great work (oh, and Happy Birthday! 🥳)

[@warriorofthegrandline2y618]

Yep it’s my favourite too! Best HP depletion Best pixel graphics Best Attack animations Best colours Best Music Best story(mainline only otherwise PMD2 outclasses it) Best champion comes to undella town Best Rival Best difficulty Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!! Pokémon B/W and B2/W2

[@warriorofthegrandline2y618]

Are my favourite Pokémon games and the hate it gets was definitely unwarranted

[@edwardsaldana2534]

Gen 7 is Good OK!!!!

[@warriorofthegrandline2y618]

@@edwardsaldana2534 no one said it wasn’t WTF!!

[@MasterLPG]

@@warriorofthegrandline2y618 Black 2 and White 2 is also Good OK!!!!! *;)*

[@Tim_593]

As someone who has been on the internet for a long time, I have loved to see the reception about these games changing. The 10 year old me enjoyed these games the most out of any game in the series, but whenever I saw comments online, they were usually hating on the game without any real argument other than "that Cactus looks stupid". I feel like, especially over the past 4 years, the Gen 5 games were the ones most people named as their favorites and the reception has turned around completely, and I love that. Gen 5 to me seems like a turning point where GameFreak decided to make an actual story that anyone would play. Its funny that the protagonists in these games are much older than in the other games, almost as if GameFreak are deciding their target audience themselves. I really loved you going off on the Plasma plot, I myself had many thoughts about the ethics behind it and you explained that pretty well. The very same debate is probably more important now than ever, in both Freedom vs. Authority and Unity

[@DrSwoose]

Gen 5 has always been my favorite gen and I'm glad people are finally starting to see why. After playing through guns 3 and 4, I was actually surprised with how much more I enjoyed gen 5 when it came out, I did not understand the hate.

[@mariowalker9048]

The opinions of gen 5 have shifted a ton . I remember the hate it had in 2011 especially the anime,.

[@donnylurch4207]

I haven't played White since it came out, but I had the best time going through that story. I felt seen by the fact the protagonists were no longer 10-12, but somewhere about 15-16. I didn't expect the series to go full-on into adult mode from here, but it has been disappointing to see Pokemon return to the gold standard of unusually gifted 10-year-olds setting out on their own and becoming champion. Even as a kid, I thought it was a little far-fetched. Even though I was 20 when these games came out, I would have liked playing a cool, older teen when I was still little. It worked for Ocarina of Time! It reminds me of RedLetterMedia's critique of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, where they said the producers pushed child Anakin Skywalker to appeal to children as this "cool little kid, just like you!" ...and it didn't land, because kids don't want to be "the kid" in a work of fiction, they like to look up to the cool and capable teen or young adult that they can aspire to become. Maybe not every kid, but that's just my two cents on how Pokemon could still appeal to kids while respecting its aging legacy players.

[@Tim_593]

@@donnylurch4207 100% agree

[@urm8matt156]

I've never played them, but the Kanto games seem like an actual story that anyone can play.

[@SupraLugia]

Really enjoyed this video! Gen 5 has always been my favorite, I feel like I replayed it on my DSi at least 50 times lol

[@lynx9851]

Yes, totally agree! I loved Gen 5 and have sunk like 300 hours into my first „playrhrough“ xD

[@theJokerEvoker]

And for the last kicker, BW legit has the best credits music. I almost teared up at the end there.

[@AeirEclipseHayastin]

The sentimentality I have towards Unova and their games only increased a couple months back. A friend of mine had passed away in September, who was an avid fan of Zekrom. I had known him for a long time, and associated the Deep Black with him to a great extent. He was a great friend who helped me become a fair bit more confident in myself. I can't talk with him ever again, but I will make efforts to take care of Zekrom wherever I can.

[@alexc4003]

I love that this Gen made the Bug type absolutely based. All of them are highly usable, varied and are well designed, also averting the previous crutch of the two or three stages Bugs for only the early game and then are just at best self-imposed challenge mons to use for the rest of the game. It helps that with the Phy Sp split of attacks from Gen 4, they get to use their moves, typings and stats to their advantages, almost like if the change from the previous gen fixed the use of previous Bugs, these ones were made in mind with the changes. The next games would still bring some outstanding Bug mons, but nothing yet has reached both the quality and quantity of the Bug types Gen 5 introduced.

[@celestee2264]

Hell yeah. Honestly there's hardly a badly designed bug type imo, but gen 5 kicked it up a notch. This gen made bug my favorite type

[@chibi3593]

Gen 5 is when I started to like bug types because of the good designes and the mons themsleves being good additions to the team

[@noaht6338]

There’s so many! Scolipede, Volcarona and Genesect are some notable ones.

[@dvillines26]

no generation has ever served either Bug or Ghost so well before or since. Scolipede, Durant, and Joltik/Galvantula are four of my bug favorites, Sewaddle is best baby bug, the cross-trade with Shelmet and Karrablast is one of the coolest evolution methods, and Escavalier is a fuckin' joust knight bug while Accelgor is a shell-less ninja snail thing. and THEN there's also Dwebble/Crustle, Larvesta/Volcarona, Swadloon and Leavanny are pretty cute, and Genesect is the first bug legendary! Well, mythical, who care. and it bears mentioning ghosts because all four lines are bangers. Maybe Frillish/Jellicent a liiiitle bit less, but they're still pretty cute and well-designed, and male Jellicent is Pringles mascot, lmao. Yamask/Cofagrigus, Golett/Golurk, Litwick/Lampent/Chandelure? just, they went so hard!

[@spiderfrog5764]

Please gf, just give us a bug dragon type for gods sake

[@pingufan1239]

The first sentence “people do not respond well to change” literally defines all of gen 5 imo lmao. Gen 5 Best gen btw

[@thelorewriter9460]

Honestly, I welcomed the change of pace and mechanical growth of the franchise with Gen 5 but the story was kind of boring to me. I always felt like the strengths of the game sort of covered for the missing feeling of adventure that stood out from Gen 3 and 4. The Eco Terrorists of Gen 3 were a fun gimmick and Team Galactic straight up felt like an actual threat, but Plasma always managed to take me out of the moment. Cyrus best team boss.

[@a.x.x8184]

@@thelorewriter9460 I could see how you think Gen 5s story was boring, but compared to the previous it shows it had one. Gens 1-4 & 6 & 8 had more into the gameplay side focused on rather than the story of gens 5&7. Gen 4 sucked ass tbh. The “evil team” has the dumbest goals, look/outfits and overall mediocre themes. Building a new world/galaxy without human spirit solely just for Cyrus to be alone in a deep void world is fucking dumb lmao. Cyrus never even felt evil as he kept whining about “nO mOrE HuMaN SpIrIt mAkEs Me WeAk”. Both him and Lysander became the way they are bc of people. Archie/Maxie aren’t dumb, but misguided. They want to bring the world more land/water which I can understand why (although Aqua goal is dumb af maybe dumber than galactic lmao).

[@humanoidfrog4645]

@@thelorewriter9460 it's funny how you say gen 3's evil teams were a fun gimmick while it had one of the if not the worst evil teams in the older generations compared to gen 5. gen 4's evil team was okay but the only goal was ''make a new world'' while he had no reasonable argument for destroying the world. team plasma is a bunch of people who think they are helping pokemon while the higher ups are just trying to control the world with a puppet like ''king'' who also thought he was doing good ... in bw2 the organizations real goal was uncovered and all the nice guys went away with only the corrupt members left.. this is where i stop, if this is boring to you i wonder what isn't

[@humanoidfrog4645]

@@a.x.x8184 ah yeah misguided is the word i searched for the grunts in team plasma

[@jadedjimmy]

You’re not wrong. The reason why people love gen 5 so much more now, though, is because we’re all way more familiar with it so it seems familiar and nostalgic already. And then of course there are people who claim they loved it all along, sure, but nostalgia is a huge reason why it’s held in such higher regard now than it was 11 years ago.

[@codinginflow]

The way the fight animations look, this wass actually what I expected Red/Blue to look like before I played it for the first time at 8 years old

[@EluTran]

The BW/BW2 duology have been, and still are my favorite Pokemon games of all time. Everything about Unova just oozes a ton of charm, as well as having my favorite OST in the series! I especially feel like the world just felt so alive. It's such a great point with how the Gym Leaders and your rivals are really well interwoven to the pacing of the story, in relation to Team Plasma, like when the Gym Leaders show up to fight the Sages. Cheren's development over the course of the game and how Alder acts as a mentor figure is also one of my favorites, especially knowing how Cheren and Bianca also end up in BW2. Also very glad how you talk about the designs of Unova Pokemon. (I mean, c'mon. How can you NOT love Vanilluxe?) This video really was absolutely incredible and just a joy to watch. I'm really excited to see your BW2 retrospective, whenever it happens!

[@SirReginaldThe2rd]

I still don't understand all the hate Vanilluxe gets.

[@TallTapper]

tale under guy

[@gunnarschlichting9886]

@@SirReginaldThe2rd Probably because they think it's actually an ice cream cone, instead of an icicle with a light covering of snow.

[@15r52]

@@SirReginaldThe2rd because its an abomination 🤣 amazing games terrible designs

[@asheevee_]

based elu bug fables

[@ChaoticMeatballTV]

I never understood the hate that Gen 5 got in the early days. I remember being 9 years old and importing Black version from JP since that was before they did international releases, and having brand new Pokemon as well as the language barrier make my experience more difficult in turn made it more fulfilling. It felt like I was playing for the first time again, and that feeling is really hard to get in gaming nowadays when games can feel like "let me copy your homework but only slightly differently so the teacher won't notice". Overall, loved the video, and I'm looking forward to the B2W2 video, those are my favorite in the series and your analysis is always appreciated.

[@TheDeathmail]

It wasn't as hated as people think. It's just that, at the time, some older Pokemon fans just saw a few of the new Pokemon that they happened to also not like and were vocal about it. You are more likely to see a person complaining about a Genwunner than an actual Genwunner... Long story short, this "hate" is more overblown. Pokemon just lost a lot of popularity at the time because a huge chunk of the fandom just outgrew playing games for a bit.... they were in high school or college and weren't playing a DS anymore...

[@joshlyman7059]

Most of the dislike I think had nothing to do with the game itself but is solely because some of the designs are just not that good, I do think gen 5 has the lest good collection of mons, they should have gone the xy way, trim the filler designs (because uno a def has a Lot of not that well designed filler mons) and only gone with the fantastic ones, those often get lost in the numbers

[@ZenoDovahkiin]

Bruh. Of course you don't get the negative reaction of vetereans when you're 9.

[@rayflyers]

Wow you're.younger than I realized. I was in high school when the games came out. I played with my friends at lunch and after school.

[@michaelgrey1503]

I was 14 when the games came out and not being able to play with older Pokemon annoyed me. Now I see how wrong I was but I'm sure I wasn't the only one. I blame my fellow teens of the time for thhe hate as well as many of the problems plaguing Pokemon these days.

[@KiyoshiroClips]

i stand by these words until today: BW had the best storytelling ever in all of pokemon games, whether it be games before or games after BW. The way that it starts off by welcoming you into its lore and as you progress through the game, we learn about the main concept of the game, battle between Truth and Ideals, and the build up for the main story's very climax, everything about it is just the best. But the best part is after the final fight with Ghetsis, not only because you feel that you've finally beaten the game, but you also see N reflect on his life and that what he's been doing isn't right. He decides to fight for his own ideals of helping pokemon and making them happy, while he tells you to follow your own path and "make your dreams come true!" Those are the game's parting words. no "congrats on beating the game!" or "thanks for playing!", but a simple word that had the most impact on me and hearing it from a GAME filled my heart more than anything else. Thank you Pokemon BW for everything. BW is the best pokemon gane ever for me.

[@NelStone1]

This game is why I miss the overworld sprites so much. This was the perfect marriage of 2D sprites with a 3D overworld. IMO, B/W had the better story of the two Unova games, but B2/W2 had the better, much more filled out map. The overworld differences between the two versions was cool too, something I wish they'd have done more for future titles.

[@josemou6172]

They had the perfect sprites

[@heeeyyy2947]

I always felt like this was the direction Pokémon should’ve kept taking: focus more on making each generation feel unique by focusing on the new Pokémon, stronger stories, etc and less on bringing back every single Pokémon and feature from older games!

[@svenbtb]

Also Pokemon "fans": Lol dexit wow no game corner lazy devs fhjkshfkhlkda

[@QuintaFeira12]

To be fair, they are still doing this. Gyms in particular are specifically done different now to keep things frehs and unique to each region. Even megas are gone. The PROBLEM is that all games from gen 6 onwards are morbidly unfinished.

[@TheDeathmail]

@@QuintaFeira12 Gen 7 and 8 were actually complete games. They just were able to add more. But it was pretty solid game play. Gen 6 was the real unfinished one. And it's with the DLC that SwSh really feel the best, but they use everything Gamefreak learned about the Wild Area and improved it quite a lot, but even without the DLC, SwSh were still solid Pokemon games that felt right to play.

[@joaogarcia6170]

Sadly pokemon lives on nostalgia, black and white had an all original roster of pokemon, more original pokemon than gen 1, had arguably the best storyline, animated pokemon sprites, yet it's the worst selling pokemon main series game. Gamefreak took the hint and the newer titles sell like hotcakes with putting gen 1 Mons into the games or reimagining them.

[@devilman4723]

Gen 7, or at least Sun and Moon, were extremely strong story wise. Maybe even better than Black and White although that's really debatable. The more personal narrative surrounding a family torn apart was extremely powerful

[@GamerBoy603]

Generation 5 has always been the most influential generation for me. It was the first generation where I had access to an emulator and the internet. When Generation 5 released in Japan Iplayed through it multiple times on an emulator. My parents seeing how much Iwas playing it decided to import the japanese version for me so that I could play it, knowing full well I would also be getting the English version of the game. When I got my copy of Pokemon white, I felt over the moon. I only knew the names of the Pokemon in Japanese and the same with all the trainers, Gym Leaders and Pokemon. It's one of the few generations where I flip flop on how I call specific characters. I usually will say either Bel or Bianca depending on where my heads at. I own every version of this generation in English and Japanese and it was the first generation that got me to save money to own a second DS. The region felt the most approachable and I loved all the little post games things like White Forest and the Entralink. While I'm sure you're gonna talk about a lot features and other things way more in the B/W 2 retrospective. I will say that playing these games back to back and side by side always felt like something intentional. The games felt like they truly wanted you to connect with other trainers whether it be around the world or in your school. Pokemon Black and White and Generation 5 as a whole mean the world to me and is one of the few generations that just like you, will replay the most out of every Pokemon generation. I loved your retrospective it really made me remember a lot of very good times. Have a wonderful week!

[@NOCKtxt]

It’s a shame we will most likely never get Pokémon games as great as the gen5 titles. Animated sprites were also short lived only lasting a single gen.

[@chibi3593]

i miss the animated sprites they really made the pokemon feel alive and it always feels werid going back to the old gens and having them not move

[@slimerewoods5766]

@@chibi3593 right? The game feels so dead without them moving, it really adds a lot of life to the world

[@bakes1324]

Lenora and Elisa were always two of the hardest gym leaders in my book but that allows gen 5 to reward exploration and team building. Maractus really helps with Elisa yet it’s usually overlooked.

[@CJCroen1393]

Elesa is the one thing about Gen 5 that I genuinely hated. Her and those two demon squirrels of hers. I couldn't stay mad at Lenora, but Elesa took me like, five tries in Black and two in Black 2 to beat, and in the latter she proceeded to beat my ass _again_ in the PWT. I hate her more than I hate Ghetsis--at least he was _intended_ to be despicable.

[@dvillines26]

@@CJCroen1393 oh they knew what they were doing with Elesa's Emolga's. little flying devils.

[@Pehk]

I'm so glad you share the same sentiment of only using new pokemon in a gen, thats why I like black and white 1 more than 2.

[@themilkman5004]

Me too especially with a lot of KZbinrs or people I know end up just using the same team they made in other gens. And I never really see the same team being used for gen five unlike Gen 4 with Starter, Luxray, floatzel, Staraptor, Garchomp, and hm slave or gift egg

[@MrGshinobi]

It's thanks to BW that i always use the rule of only new pokemon in every new generation and it seriously makes the game a MILLION times more fun than using the same team over and over, it's the same feeling that you get when you find an unexpected new favourite pokemon in a nuzlocke challenge thanks to your limited roster options.

[@zfantasy349]

Same! I love that I can make many new favourites with only gen 5 Pokémon in Black and White. 🙌

[@emblemblade9245]

It’s why I’m hesitant to play BDSP because the pokemon availability looks so dang bad. I don’t want to use Kanto mons for the umpteenth time!

[@laggalot1012]

Likewise, whenever a new gen drops, I will now always run a full team of purely new Pokémon and it's a great way to form new favourites. Some of them may turn out better than expected, some weaker, which can make things more challenging, but Pokémon is generally easy enough that anything can work. I still remember my first BW team. Samurott, Simisear, Lilligant, Sigilyph, Cinccino and finally Galvantula, which replaced a Zebstrika that wasn't working for me. It has a few oddball picks and I liked them a lot. Galvantula is now my second all-time favourite, in fact, because I enjoyed both its design and Compound Eyes Thunder so much. Things got a bit dicey at the end, Ghetsis nearly ruined me, but I barely pulled through, so that's an exciting memory for me. I do think BW2 was right to expand the regional dex with older Pokémon, but only because it is a direct sequel. But typically, I do really think that restricting Pokémon options in the way BW did works to the game's strengths.

[@gamingk639]

Im so glad that this was my introduction to pokemon. It was my first rpg as well. I love these games so much and looking back you can tell gamefreak gave it there all. The music was so good. So much work went into them. Music would even change while walking on routes, gyms theme remixed for every gym, and iris champion theme still slaps. The battle system was pefected. While Gen 4 battles system felt like a test of the hardware, Gen 5 was a master of it. Battles are quick and fun. And dont even get me started on the fully animated sprite work. Eye candy for sure.The cities in this game actually look like cities. That moment on the skyarrow bridge walking to castelia city with the music swelling up as you walk while trucks and boats pass by will always be a iconic moment. The characters are also so well writte and unlike past generations isnt just an obstacle to the next gym. They both have character arcs.They grow and we watch there progression from black and white, to black and white 2. N is written so well i could see him in a square game. even gym leader have depth too t. They all have second jobs to contribute to Unova. I could go on and on, but i love these games. They are what made me love rpgs. They are truly the best pokemon game and marked a end to a great era of pokemon.

[@Turamaton]

Coudnt have said it better

[@TheAbsol7448]

That's a pretty good introduction. Mine was LeafGreen 6 years earlier. The GBC, GBA, and the DS were honestly the golden age of Pokémon.

[@jaceybella1267]

Clicking on this vid I was like "Yeah he's probably gonna be negative on it, most people are, but he always does such a good job so of course I'll watch." But when the "peak of the series" like hit it smacked me like a sledgehammer. I've never met anyone else that agrees B&W is the best Pokémon has to offer, so I'm absolutely charmed here.

[@jadedjimmy]

Most people are definitely NOT negative on it, where did you get that from

[@jaceybella1267]

@@jadedjimmy I got it from following the game first announcement onwards and being utterly surrounded by negativity about the game for years after launch???

[@jadedjimmy]

@@jaceybella1267 hm, maybe I just have a limited view but from what I’ve seen, every single video about pokemon regions/gens always amounts to everyone in the comments praising gen 5 and saying it’s they’re favorite. By far more love for gen 5 than any other gen, in my observations. I understand that people criticized it when it came out, but wasn’t that literally back in 2010? 😅

[@chandlersparkman3162]

Something tells me you haven't interacted with the fanbase at large very much recently. I just got into pokemon like 3 years ago and i was immediately bombarded with love and favoritism for gen 5. The game being unpopular mightve been the way it was on release from what ive heard but it is definitely not the most popular opinion nowadays.

[@jadedjimmy]

@@chandlersparkman3162 ^^^^ seriously. While I do love gen 5, I’ve always been perplexed as to why people still seem to assume it’s getting crapped on by everyone and their mother to this very day. It’s like every gen 5 stan says “am I the ONLY one who actually loves gen 5 the most??” ….but they ALL say that. 😂

[@joanjoestar3252]

Something i love about these games is that through the conversations with N is easier to recognize the personality of the protagonist that's why Hilbert is My favorite Main character in the games

[@UubTay]

The "point" that people think Plasma has, is not so much a textual argument as it is a theoretical one. We can consider the world in which Pokemon plays out a fairytale-like utopia, where the interests of Pokemon and people just happen to line up perfectly and the structures that have developed, such as Pokemon training, the gym/league challenge etc., are therefore perfectly fine. The text of the game seems to suggest this. But there's still an uncomfortable question of agency in the relationship between Pokemon and humans, as their relationship, at least how it manifests with Pokemon trainers, is mediated through the literal catching and containing of the Pokemon by using Poke-balls. That everybody involved in these structures is happy with it is all well and good, and this is textual, but the agency that produces these structures seems to be solely with the humans, but this is theoretical as the text never really delves into this. I mean, the fact that you have to weaken a Pokemon or else it will break out of the entrapment device says a lot right? In my own head-canon, I've reformulated this idea of catching Pokemon, not as a method of conquering but as a test of skill. The Poke-ball does not function as a trap which the Pokemon can break out of if it is not weakened enough, but rather as a home which the Pokemon has complete agency over if it will stay in or break out of. The Pokemon battle prior to catching a Pokemon is then not an attempt at weakening a Pokemon to better entrap it; instead it's a test battle in which the Pokemon decides if you're worthy enough to be its trainer. Weaker Pokemon will quickly decide you seem to be a good enough trainer thus don't have to be battled much, stronger Pokemon require more battling and the showcasing of more skills, status ailments, to accept you as trainer. The anime already used this framing device a lot ever since Ash caught Bulbasaur, so it's not completely removed from Pokemon canon, but it's certainly not the main concept behind catching Pokemon, which has always remained a little weird in the way relationships between humans and Pokemon are portrayed otherwise.

[@zeromythosver.]

Good comment, and I’ll add as a reminder that the Luxury Ball’s descriptions in-game and it’s mere concept (plus anecdotally the existence of balls like Friend, Nest) back up your interpretation that these are like home spaces, enclosures, for them, that successfully or unsuccessfully catching them is presumably akin to them choosing to stay within or not Various balls cater well to the Pokémon you’re trying to catch with them, hence the better success rate if their condition is met; the enclosure is more inviting to a certain broad sensibility that might apply to the Pokémon you’re using it on (like a Dusk Ball on a bat or owl Pokémon)

[@NotSpecialDude]

I agree. Plus Alder flat out says that pokemon could leave pokeballs at anytime. Its for this reason that I can excuse catching GOD. From Arceus' perspective its like a minor investment at worst and the kid's cute so why not?

[@Cute___E]

Absolutely this, it was never the text inside of Pokemon Black and White that made me think about Team Plasma's argument, but more the sort of unspoken assumptions that we've always been forced to make about the game and the world it takes place in. I honestly feel, in that regard, team Plasma was the most interesting simply because their stated goal, regardless of if it was their true one, was the only team in all of Pokemon that actually made me pause and consider - what if they have a point?

[@UubTay]

@@zeromythosver. That's a great point! Hadn't considered the Poke-Ball variants. That only leaves the Master Ball as a bit of a mystery lol

[@UubTay]

@@NotSpecialDude Oh didn't know that, thanks! So it might have more textual evidence than I thought. Haven't played these games since their release so I've lost a lot of the details.

[@FizzleBurger]

I loved your dissection of the hypocrisy in Team Plasma! I hope that, when you get to X&Y, you do a similar analysis of Team Flare. They seem almost like a satire of people who view overpopulation as the biggest threat to humanity but don't want to admit that their ideology is steeped in classism.

[@zeromythosver.]

It’s a shame they blew natural resource monopolies and (loosely, looking at Galar Weezing and Corsola mostly) climate on Sword and Shield, I feel like even the seeds of a good idea are wasted on as mediocre a game as it turned out to be In a better Pokémon game, left in the oven more, hell even maybe given the creative liberty afforded to only SuMo and B/W before it, those themes could’ve been incorporated in a very interesting way But they were instead blown on the one with the mouse cursor visible in its credits roll lol, I do feel bad though for those at GF who tried to make the best of a bad situation

[@Mayeur000Donz]

@@zeromythosver. I've only seen snippets of Sw&Sh, but am I correct in reading that the villain's plan was wrong because "Us dooming the world is a long way off", completely disregarding people who will be alive then, and he comes round because the protag reminds him of the fun of a Pokemon Battle? That can't be it, right?

[@byronlyons3548]

@@Mayeur000Donz Well, it ain't the main bad guy (if you can even call him that) is reminded of how fun a Pokemon battle is, as he does get to see it everyday. Just that the problem is him going overboard on trying to get his hands on a new energy resource, so as to future proof and avert a possible crisis that's a long ways away. And him trying too hard to catch this Pokemon that releases so much energy, and have it for a new source of energy, even though said Pokemon would unleash the apocalypse if he frees it from it's containment. Unless he gets a surefire backup, like the two main Legendaries that are meant to fight things like that. It's much like Archie and Maxie, where they go too far off into the deep end of "for the greater good, even though it's a bad idea", but with energy sources for every day to day lives usage.

[@creativebeetle]

@@Mayeur000Donz You're correct, and it's actually worse than that considering he gave himself a one day time limit for no reason whatsoever. None of these stories are well-written. The best you'll get out of a mainline Pokemon game 'story' is NPCs with generic character traits, a villain with a nonsensical motive, and something which could pass the bare minimum requirements of a narrative. I really hope this changes someday, but as it stands, I find it really unlikely. Giovanni is a mob boss (generic but excusable considering the hardware). The Ruby/Sapphire villains want to destroy the world and expand the land/ocean for really underdeveloped reasons (nonsense). Cyrus wants to become god (generic). Robe dude who's name I'll never remember wants to rule the world (generic). Team flare may as well not exist, seeing as the organisation has no specific objective, whereas the leader wants to kill all life on Earth (generic and nonsense). Team skull had the most character out of most of these groups and is a fresh inclusion. Lusamine worshipped a Jellyfish (nonsense). And last but not least, the chairman in SWSH has no motive, logic, or character and cannot wait literally a single day to solve all his problems. It literally makes zero sense at even the most basic level (beyond hope). There is a reason that professional writers exist, and sadly, the Pokemon developers don't seem to care.

[@aturchomicz821]

Enlightened take ngl, especially to all the Anti Peta nonsense in this Comment Section

[@nathanh.1069]

Generation V means a lot to me. Diamond was my first mainline game, but Black was the first that immersed me in the franchise. I played the hell out of that game, I began shiny hunting and event collecting, I got really into the TCG and I was apart of many online communities (most now dead). I was even an admin on one that was pushing a couple thousand users. For 13 year old me, that was huge. In retrospect I do think the quality of the games’ narrative is a little overblown, and Diamond will always be the most nostalgic for me. But these games cemented my love for the franchise firmly and permanently in my head. They were the catalyst for so many experiences and interactions that I either remember fondly or have morphed into other aspects of who I currently am. I will forever be thankful for these games and for Pokémon.

[@SupThomas]

Best Generation of all time. Best sprites, Best competitive, best story. Love BW!

[@KevinLeroyGrant]

The ending to Black and White always gives me chills, and it gave my an insane feeling the first time I beat it. It's the only main Pokémon game I have beat multiple times and have gone back to frequently. Even though it wasn't my first, it's definitely the one I grew up in, and I feel like it was a great time to be Pokémom fan then... Until Gen 6 happened and I fell off...

[@Glory2Snowstar]

I JUST rewatched the D/P/Pt retrospective an hour ago, what is this madness?!?! That’s some cosmic timing! Seriously though, Gen 4 were my first games but Gen 5 was the first time where I had a Pokémon experience beyond “press Close Combat and win.” I love the Region, being a New Englander myself. I love the music and graphics, both stylishly modern and timeless. And most of all, the roster is one of our best yet. Not only the largest number of new Pokémon, but a massive quantity of inventive, unique new oddballs. We have Garbodor as a hulking, freakish oaf who both embodies the sanitation of NYC to a T, and completes the Pollution Trio. We have Klinklang, a fascinating contraption of a creature who may as well have the most satisfying animations in the series. Swoobat, for our much-needed and cute new addition to Pokémon’s chiropterans, Vanilluxe as an adorable snow cloud ice cream weirdo, Cofagrigus as a plain cool terror… and I can’t forget Chandelure. Everything about Chandelure is a mastery of creature design. Gen 5 is absolutely amazing, and if Alola didn’t resonate with me as much as it did, it would have been my favorite Generation period. (The real reason I like Gen 7 more than I do 5 is because Gen 5 cursed us with Landorus)

[@Tinil0]

Any reason you hate Landorus besides it's ubiquity? As far as I know, it's mostly just terrorizing OU in smogon tiered tourneys. VGC has much worse things to face. I consider it more an issue with the smogon tiers than the pokemon itself.

[@Rodolphin]

I love that you pointed out that BW made us use the new Pokemon and out of our comfort zone. It’s what made Pokemon, Pokemon. New creatures that we have no idea what they do until we catch and use them. You know, like what Red and Blue did when they first came out.

[@KymaeraTech]

This was and will always be my favorite generation and game

[@Gallame021]

The Pokémon introduced in this Gen are some of my favorites in the whole franchise, I also couldn't understand how most people seemed to hate on them. Loved the video, can't wait for Part 2!

[@idunno_]

People just needed a reason to hate the game so they went with complaining about the pokemon designs, which is a really dumb thing to complain about since they don't impact the gameplay

[@Friendly_Neigborhood_Astolfo]

Because they see designs of only 2 pokemon in the unova dex which were Garbadour and the Vanilluxe line and make petty complaints. Not to mention the misinformation about transferability when the unova only dex rule only applied to the main game and VGC 2011 rulesets. You were still able to transfer legacy pokemon post game

[@garbagelmao2730]

@@Friendly_Neigborhood_Astolfo It's even worse cause those 2 have really great designs

[@nefalissys9630]

2:53 : "Generation 5 is in my opinion the peak of the franchise" I see that you are a man of culture as well.

[@SuraimuWasTaken]

It's honestly so great to hear someone speak so highly of Gen 5. It has always and will always be my favorite generation to go back and play and deservered so much better from the community when it came out.

[@bornanime3255]

8:22 Okay I'm not that deep into the video yet, but I just wanna say right here and now. THANK YOU FOR PRAISING THE BLACK AND WHITE DESIGNS!! They're my favourite generation designs in the franchise and the credit they deserve gets washed aside so frequently. This video has already done everything it needs to make me watch part 2😭

[@AustinOnSugar]

Ever since playing Gen V, I've stuck to a pretty strict set of rules for every subsequent Pokémon game: My final team needs to - Have my starter - Have no type redundancy - Only have pokémon from the new gen Along with "don't heal in battle more than my opponent" and "only use as many pokémon in each battle _as_ my my opponent does," I've been able to force almost every game to give me new favourites I wasn't expecting, as well as new challenges I hadn't considered. It might be why I remember Moon so fondly; the challenge and structure was just right for my self-imposed limits. Without them Ribombee, Minior, even an odd duck like Hippowdon would have been looked over, and I owe that all to how White altered my perspective on teambuilding.

[@johncronk8867]

Hippowdon is a gen 5, not gen 7 Pokémon.

[@AustinOnSugar]

@@johncronk8867 Gen IV, actually. I was saying in general - I never gave the dumb-looking mono-Ground hippo a chance til I went back to Sinnoh and tweaked my rules ta do an all-ground team... and there's only six Ground-types new to Sinnoh.

[@seanplayscl]

I use essentially the same rules, though I've been doing it forever. I also allow for prior generation Pokémon if it helps me reduce type redundancy and make a cooler team, and hoenn games require two water types IMO. Generally, though, I have teams I love that are based around the generation.

[@ducky8075]

You should try nuzlocking if you’re looking for a bit of difficulty from here on out! There’s no wrong way to play, but if you’re starting to get into self imposed difficulties, nuzlocking is a good thing to take a look at.

[@shadowgame0630]

I remember my Moon playthrough rping as Blanche from Pokemon Go with an all water team. My team got wiped by that totem Lurantis spamming solar blade lol

[@TeejMonstersDen]

this video is like 42 minutes of validation XD My entire friend group when this game came out hated it so much and I was the only one to beat it and get to max level because I loved it so much

[@percytaylor2598]

I see you're a man of taste. Gen 5 is my favorite generation with White 2 being my favorite game of all time, and the amount of passion and adoration in this video added fuel to the fire I feel for these games. I'm beyond excited for your coverage of Black 2 and White 2. I actually jumped for joy when I heard you were giving them their own video, because they most certainly deserve it!

[@medrest_]

I remember playing Pokémon Black on the DS my cousin gave me… to this day, I don’t think I can recall being as happy as my 11 yo. self felt while seeing the N cutscene at the beginning of the game. It felt like a dream come true. I will forever cherish the first Tepig I chose, the first Reshiram I caught. Your analysis is much appreciated and brought back many good memories. Thank you!

[@CaptainObliviousV]

You are the first person I’ve heard actually acknowledge N as a rival and you have no idea how happy that makes me! Amazing video and I can’t wait for the BW2 retrospective!

[@CJCroen1393]

N is the BEST rival!

[@bigquan8217]

@@CJCroen1393blue 🌀

[@thelastwindwaker7948]

The designs I don't mind, but there's a certain feeling of the genie being taken out of the bottle when they operate similarly to their predecessors, like the Timburr line finishing its evolution with a trade, just like the Machop line did. But then you have Shelmet and Karrablast, one of the most amazing evolution gimmicks ever. Team Plasma always amused me since people pointed out that they're basically the Pokemon world's equivalent of PETA. A team of extreme animal rights group that turn out to be hypocrites.

[@JustButton]

Even better was Peta AT THE TIME running a shitty ad campaign featuring their own misguided parody “Pokemon Black and Blue” They teed up the joke themselves!

[@byronlyons3548]

I mean, there was at one point I think, when the original idea for trade evolutions for gen 1 was going to work just like Shelmet and Karrablast. Which with how some of the Pokemons are designed, you can kind of see it, with Machamp and Golem, compared to their previous evolution stage. Except this time they fully went through with it.

[@aturchomicz821]

Ok Peta hater, you have no arguements lmao

[@TheBfutgreg]

@@byronlyons3548 Plus Butterfree and Venemoth, since the designs are definitely based on Venonat and Metapod respectively

[@skateboardmd9163]

​@@aturchomicz821 More animals get killed through euthanization in a Peta shelter than animals that get butchered in a slaughterhouse. Their whole schtick is to be against abuse or use of animals for solely human gain, yet the fact that they still kill animals themselves, (yes, even the ones that are completely healthy), should be enough to discredit them, or at least show us that they have an agenda beyond just being against animal exploitation. For people that go through lengths such as insulting dead people, stealing legally owned property or even going against human rights, they're a walking contradiction and are the worst pro-animal organization to support out of every one of them out there. If you actually want to make a difference instead of just feeling good about being anti-animal abuse, go support a local animal sanctuary instead where you can guarantee that they treat their animals with actual love and care.

[@mintyfresh8732]

God, I remember back when I played gen 5 for the first time. I had no idea what type match ups were, I just grabbed whatever Pokémon I liked and moved on. I ended up going the entire region with a rag tag team of underlevel’d Pokémon, and a overlevel’d Superior. Good memories.

[@Apocobat]

Gen 5 was the best gen. It was everything I thought and dreamed pokemon could be as a kid.

[@thekiss2083]

I think Gen 5 is also the best the series has ever looked, visually. The pixel-art Pokemon and trainers were so vibrant and expressive. The sprinkling of 3D elements let them do some really inventive stuff with the cities, dungeons and bridges, making Unova feel like a place instead of just a map. The 3D art of the later games has always looked cheap and failed to live up to what I imagined during the 2D era.

[@nicocchi]

I can't in good faith say it's the best Pokémon has ever looked but that's 100% fault of the DS's tiny resolution. The 3D looks fine, but when you put a small 2D sprite in a 3D environment WITH a tiny resolution and Nearest sampling, it's going to warp and look weird and jaggy. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore what they did in BW, and they are indeed my favorites visually, but if I try to be more objective, I'd have to say that Gen 4 games look better in the DS because they didn't try to push the console too hard. However, it's great conceptually. Go and emulate the games, and increase the resolution output, and that's how BW truly shines: freed from the shackles of the DS

[@thekiss2083]

I mean, if we're talking "weird and jaggy" I think Gen 4 pretty much wrote the book. Framerate so low you can practically watch the buildings rendering in real time

[@WillWatches]

Whenever they do a remake I hope they keep the pixel art and go for an Octopath Traveller look

[@superlombax1561]

@@thekiss2083 Now that I have never seen happen. And I've played Gen 4 both on the original hardware and emulated.

[@primal44]

These retrospectives are incredible and this one has given me the most nostalgia of them all, I really love how you talk about these games and especially how your script and editing ties it all together.

[@BepisQueen]

3:50 gave me straight chills through my entire body This is was my first Pokémon game, and unfortunately I’ve sensed lost the cartridge, so I haven’t been able to play it in years, but watching/hearing that made me feel like a kid again

[@HQ_Default]

I like your dissection of Team Plasma. Team Plasma would have a good point in the real world. The problem is that Pokemon are not the same as regular animals. They genuinely enjoy the opportunity to be helpful and have a much greater degree of sentience and self-awareness than some random squirrel on the street. Even when they're fighting each other, they always trust that their trainer will fix them up if it gets too rough. They are a legion of _good bois._

[@Silph_Co]

I really want Pokemon to focus on its RPG elements again like it did with Gen 5. It has easily my favorite region, characters, music, story, and pacing. Gen 7 is the closest we've gotten since then, but those games don't have the best pacing unfortunately (despite being legitimately good otherwise, imo). Great video by the way, I probably should've mentioned that up front.

[@svenbtb]

Gen 7 gets so much flak that it doesn't deserve. It's honestly great, and I can't wait for 5 years from now when people all collectively start saying "Gen 7 was good actually" like they've been slowly doing with Gen 5 now.

[@laggalot1012]

I do think gen 7 is pretty solid! I think there is a lot of things to like an appreciate with SM. But the pacing really did kill it for me over time, I'm sorry to say, along with a handful of smaller problems. Once was great, but I have no desire to revisit these games because they are such a slog to get through. And USUM was a joke to me to the point where I just straight up didn't buy it. I did not care at all, they immediately lost me as soon as they revealed USUM. It was the first core Pokémon game since starting with Ruby that I did not buy.

[@Friendly_Neigborhood_Astolfo]

@@svenbtb i was dissappointed with gen 7 I admit, but there were still was many things I liked about it: -IV checker in PC instead of being an NPC was something I never knew I wanted. -Hyper training was a nice addition. -Z-Crystals, while a waste of an item slot even in competitive doubles imo, were a nice litte reward that really gave alola's culture life. Not to mention it made the world building feel a bit less redundant My issues were Lack of PSS (sorry @kingk not all change is good change and this is an example), and replaced it with something objectively worse (cough palace plaza cough) -Pacing. Dont know if it was tutorials or what but the pacing felt sluggish -with the exception of the starters, most of the pokemon excluding alolan forms were somewhat forgettable in design, but this one is just a personal opinion. -Megas were just thrown off to the sidelines and it is sad cause they could have expanded on this more.

[@TheAbsol7448]

@@svenbtb Eh, some of that flak really is deserved. The story struck me hard as being shallow, bland, and predictable, and the pacing was absolutely atrocious compared to Gen 5. The hyper linear map with zero room for proper exploration takes some of the blame for that. SM is a decent enough game, but it's still not great.

[@runningoncylinders3829]

This is one of the best generations. GBA/DS had so much passion, and the sights and sounds filled me with wonder.

[@robertlauncher]

Gen 6 was such a fall from this game’s quality. You can see it in the evil teams. Team Plasma: Commentary on overzealous and fake activism, relevant even today, showing both the side that’s been seriously brainwashed and the shady side that benefits from it. Pulled off with a nuance that makes their motives look noble on a surface level. You can interpret it in all sorts of ways. Team Flare: We wanna make the world pretty!

[@shushiiiiiiiiii]

actually, Team Flare ideals sounds pretty much like n4zism but with ginger people. it's a bit more "hidden" than the ideals of Team Plasma, that easily shows off their hypocrisy towards the ideal they spread.

[@robertlauncher]

@@shushiiiiiiiiiiYeah but the presentation simplifies and makes it so non-threatening that it’s comical. Their umm, “interesting” designs don’t help.

[@shushiiiiiiiiii]

@@robertlauncher that's a fact for sure, but in all honesty team plasma just has too much lore hidden that they being just an evil cult undermines them a lot, but any team like rocket or etc have their actual threat level, is just that bw treats them more seriously and their goals ain't something like ending the ocean or land to live underwater

[@niklas9848]

And the next gens, the "evil" Trainer become more and more childish 😂 They are evil because of evil? Hip-hop-dancers, Groupies with a fat belly, just a few school bullies with no interaction? The Designs get lazyier with every gen. Team Galactic seems to me as the best Organisation. They posed a threat to the Environment.

[@TheGalaxyWings]

I precisely disliked how team plasma's point is immediately invalidated by their methods. Instead of letting the conflict get actual moral complexity, the game just tells you in the first 30 minutes that "challenging the status quo is bad, look, they're stealing from children and kicking an innocent pokemon". I wish the entire team plasma was more like N, because they genuinely have a point. In terms of game mechanics, if you catch a pokemon, you can do anything with it, even make it hate you by feeding it herbs. It felt really artificial when N told me that my least favourite team member that I put in the front of the party to level him up liked me. I would've definitely liked the story more if it ended with a compromise between team plasma's far-fetched project and the ambivalent nature of human/pokemon relationships. The game even feels like it wants to go that way by telling you that your point of view complements N's, but concretely, nothing changes and the national sport is still forcing your pets to fight for fun.

[@robertlauncher]

Gen 5 temporarily got me back into the franchise. Gen 7 pushed me out again. Which is weird, because for the most part, it was because the plots were keeping me from my gameplay. But the writers for Gen 5 had this fantastic concept where if you’re going to have a lot of mandatory dialogue in a Pokémon game, get this, the plot should be ENGAGING! Black and White have a substantial amount of plot, but it never feels like padding to waste my time like Gen 6 and 7, or stuff we’ve seen before drawn out like Gen 4.

[@edwardsaldana2534]

Gen 7 is GOOD

[@GrandCorsair]

I just don't think writing is game freak's strong suit. I found myself fading in and out lot while playing Swsh and PLA. I can't put my finger on why the story just loses me.

[@avisays350]

one of my favorite parts of the game is entering route 10 for the first time and just.. the music and the knowledge that you are approaching the end is so powerful. plus after u fight each NPC on the route they have something interesting or minorly profound to say, and when cheren “tests” you to make sure you’re ready really goes to show how far both cheren and bianca have come as characters. tbh u could honestly do an entire video on just how well made route 10 is as a whole, i love this route and moment in BW helping make it my favorite pkmn game of all time

[@Ren-gk2tg]

Best games in the series, I truly believe that. Amazing story, region, graphics, and music. All around a fantastic game. I also love that you have to use the new pokémon for that gen for the main story. It really gives it these games their own identity as opposed to just letting you use familiar faces from other entries.

[@Jhazzmiin]

PkmBW2 is better

[@ZZ-ex8py]

HGSS better

[@junglezone7323]

I think the story in SM was a bit better since the main conflict was around a family rather than a large scale event, but BW's story is still a masterclass

[@JGr2000]

@@Jhazzmiin personally I prefer the first ones. Sure BW2 had a significantly better post game, but the originals had a way better story. I hate how BW2 retconned Team Plasma’s motivations

[@Jhazzmiin]

@@JGr2000 they didn’t retcon their motivations

[@forformgamer]

About a year ago I decided to play all the Pokemon games I missed out on and was a bit scared of playing Gen V because of the negativity I remembered from back in the day. Few weeks ago I got the urge to play some Pokemon again and felt like Gen V was the most fun one to get back into it. To me the team building is the most important part for this gen. The fact that you have to learn about new Pokemon instead of relying on what you already know is the most fun part!

[@AnotherGameDev2411]

Sometimes I feel like my life revolves around waiting for these Retrospectives...I truly love 'em

[@PeterGargan]

Still my favourite generation to this day, I've always felt a lot of heart and soul was put into BW that went unappreciated for so long.

[@audi.6106]

I’ve been playing since gen 1 and this is my second favorite gen after gen 1. I loved black and white so much

[@publictoaster4150]

Gen 5 was my little brother first Pokémon game. It was the first time we got to play a Pokémon game together. They will forever be my favorite gen.

[@holzman00]

Black and White are the Pokémon games I always go back to when I’m in a Pokémon mood. Every time you play it, you notice a new touch or details that makes you appreciate it more.

[@joltx9909]

To me, both gen 4 and 5 were the pinnacle of pokemon as a franchise. one was classic and iconic and the other was revolutanery and brave, and both pushed the hardware to its limit and gave us lots of content, great characters and story pieces and well designed pokemon. pokemon on the DS will probably forever be my favorite era

[@pengoschwortz4734]

I’ve been rewatching your Pokémon videos recently and I’m so glad this video is out Gen 5 deserved SO much better and I blame the fanbase so hard for why GameFreak doesn’t make games like Gen 5 anymore

[@15r52]

Yep shot ourselves when they tried to make something good now we only get trash

[@15r52]

Yep shot ourselves when they tried to make something good now we only get trash

[@15r52]

Yep shot ourselves when they tried to make something good now we only get trash

[@efnfen]

You should blame Game Freak for Game Freak's laziness and lack of ambition instead of making excuses for them.

[@15r52]

@@efnfen exactly

[@lucas11001]

Pokemon white was my first game ever. I love it. It was a great choice to have only the unova pokemon in the game. I'm always a bit dissapointed when I find another geodude in a non kanto game. I want to get to know the pokemon of each region, that's part of the exploration thing everyone wants out of the games

[@brendenlamb6146]

Hey, your channel is practically an answer to a prayer for me. I just found this video a few days ago and I've already been through a bunch of your videos. You're eloquent and your analyses actually elevate the games. My brother listened in on this vid and told me he didn't know Pokemon could get that deep. Your Persona 4 video hit me at a soft spot in my heart at the moment. I'm about to go through a month or two where I need a bunch of long in-depth mostly audio videos to listen to and I expect I'll devour most of your backlog in that time. Thank you for all you do and please keep up the excellent work.

[@bellaeon5646]

I’ve always found BW as games to be pretty interesting. Unova is this odd yet beautiful mix of both western and eastern ideals which shouldn’t really work on paper but it does - we have stuff like themes of eastern philosophy with the Tao trio mixed with characters based or named after figures from Greek mythology and whatever is connected to them, things that one could easily think have no business being this close to each other, yet it all comes together nicely at the end. I’m not sure how intentional some of it was, but it does strengthen the themes of the game for me. If those two things can work together in the story to make it more interesting, people and pokemon can work together for a better world. Truly a peak of Pokemon.

[@NostalJackMusic]

I love the extra routes near Nuvema that you can go back to with surf. They remind me of the routes in Hoenn that you sail through with Mr. Briney, and if you're sharp enough to remember to come back with surf, there's a plethora of little islands to explore. That always brought me a ton of joy when I was a kid :)

[@notscorchingsands9718]

Lmao enjoying a water route, nice joke

[@superlombax1561]

Yeah. That was pretty neat. It was like one or two secret routes back to back with lots to explore over in that area.

[@fr2138]

@@notscorchingsands9718 shut up bud

[@erichb414]

The role of the gym leaders was ALWAYS my favorite part of this game- I thought it was so cool that they were part of the world and would go places and do things- but like you said I think the reason I (very very regrettably) as a sophomore in college stopped playing at B/W and never gave B2/W2 a chance was the ALL new pokemon aspect (and wanting to not be a pokemon nerd for a minute).

[@phealtalk]

Something that they captured so well in gen 5 was the american spirit. exposing team plasma as corrupt tyrants is one of my favorite things to do in any video game. somehow in a pokemon game they've crafted a villain that seems more real than most. a spoiled narcissistic kid who's given a false god and an ounce of power tries to oppress the freedom loving citizens of unova? sounds familiar to me.

[@leahb.3298]

You mean an abused manipulated kid that genuinely wants the best for a group he sees as abused and oppressed does everything in his power to save them and give them freedom, with such a pure conviction that he awakens the power of a legend to fight at his side? Did we play the same game?

[@hanansheikh5016]

@@leahb.3298 Yh, the whole point of the plot was that idealism without truth is bad. N's idealism was virtuous but detached from reality, and it wasn't even his fault. Like the dude wanted to battle and test his ideals the protagonist simply because he heard their pokemon say that they liked their trainers. Showing that faced with reality he started second guessing himself.

[@CJCroen1393]

...My friend, if you're implying what I think you're implying about N, I'm actually legally obligated to throw hands with you. Jk, obviously, but seriously not cool. N is way better than that! He's the best boy! Now _Ghetsis_ on the other hand...

[@GenericYouTuberXD]

Gen 5 is a huge part of my childhood. The whole vibe and aesthetic this game has is so unique

[@mtacharlie649]

When gen 5 came out it just really didn't gel with me. It was a strange shift to a somewhat darker vibe both in both story and visuals compared to Soulsilver, which I had played around the same time, and Pokemon in general. But after growing up I look back on it with much more nostalgia and respect than SS.

[@RickachuCXVI]

Although I never played the second game, the first game in gen 5 was definitely what I considered the last good Pokemon game in the mainline series. I always felt it was because this gen felt like an improved AND original Pokemon game

[@Tim_593]

I think that is even more true for the second ones. More QoL changes, story feels even more direct, actual cutscenes and the roster of pokemon wasnt as restricted

[@iCANTsleep2]

Youre missing out. BW2 best games

[@WisdomAkpan211]

BW1 was fantastic, but BW2 added so much more. You really need to check it out

[@cyanlos01]

Gen 5 best gen. It was gen we needed, but not the gen we deserved. "We're not so different you and I." -- Not the villains, this time.

[@cartycartoons5594]

The best thing about Pokemon black and white when I first played them, was that they didn't feel like run of the mill Pokemon games which grew my interest in fakemon and other monster tamer games when I got older.

[@jordonspence5633]

I couldn't agree more. I've always loved that Gen 5 only allowed you to build a team with the new Pokémon until the post game. Every generation I play, my main team are composed of Pokémon from the generation I'm playing. It allows the player to experiment and find new favorites in newer Pokémon. It's the main reason why Gen 5 is very nostalgic to myself and many others

[@JankTank]

2:56 man, it's so good to hear a content creator express this opinion. I've held for a while that this generation is consistently the MOST underrated generation, and I've long said that these games feel like Game Freak's love letter to 2D Pokemon design knowing that things were going to change moving forward on the 3DS. Calling these the peak of the series echoes that sentiment in a lot of ways, I would say. HG/SS certainly give these games a run for their money, imo, but I would find myself very conflicted to disagree with you.

[@jsyproductions7]

Gen 5 is one of my favorites, as well, but I strongly disagree that the gen is underrated. Maybe that was the case when it came out, but it definitely isn’t anymore. Almost all the comments discussing the best Pokemon games online, even in this comment section, talk about how excellent gen 5 was. People frustrated about new Pokemon games always bring up how great the gen was. I’m all for praising a great game, but I raise my eyebrows a bit when someone says “DAE think gen 5 is underrated” because it certainly isn’t anywhere on the internet.

[@KingThor128]

Just binged this entire series in a single night of work. Cant wait for follow up installments.

[@BlueZangoose_]

FINALLY SOMEONE GIVING THE TRUBBISH AND VANILLITE LINE THE LOVE THEY DESERVE!

[@Yntsire]

Love these retrospectives! I only ask that in Black 2/White 2 you mentioned that Hilbert and Hilda are probably close to the best player character designs we’ve seen in the series. Gen V really feels like the first “sift reboot” of the series, with Hilbert especially feeling like a clean reinterpretation of Red’s design for a new generation.

[@aidankocherhans9861]

I love that the gym leaders are more involved in this gen, it makes them much more interesting characters

[@propaneking2332]

I use Electross in every generation I can get it in. I fell in love with it and Galvantula and I fully understand I would have never fallen in love with any of my other members of my team if they hadn't done a "soft reset".

[@gamer21husala20]

I’m older now, and I appreciate this game even more, from when I was younger.

[@gabrielheupel2242]

These were the best 42 minutes I have ever spent, while I should have been studying. Great Video!

[@Blaziken36]

No way I was literally thinking of when your next video would be coming out today

[@MysticCat21]

I had the best experience of Pokemon imo. I started off the franchise with Pokemon Heartgold, where i got to discover pokemon for the first time. Met various pokemons, fought 16 gyms, elite 4 & red (the red battle was so hard for the 9y/o me xD). Explored Johto and Kanto for the first time. It was such a fun experience. Then, i bought pokemon White 1 year later. Again, i got to discover a whole new region with only new pokemons (until post-game). It was like rediscovering pokemon for the first time. I loved the box legendaries, the designs, the pixel animation, the FREAKING MUSIC!!!! To be honest, i thought every new generation of pokemon games were supposed to only bring new pokemons until post-game. It was only a few years later that i realized that BW had been the exception. But to this day, gen 4&5 remain my top favs, both at an equal level. Can't say i prefer one over the other. Edit: I also lost so many times to lenora's watchog and Elisa hahahaha Edit 2: I also lost so many times to the first gym. Kept trying to fight my way through with brute force, but the type disadvantage just kept destroying me. Only later realized there was someone gifting me a monkey in the area right next to it that i could use... And the Cynthia surprise battle in the post-game... I had heard about cynthia, but never played the sinnoh games at that point back then. So i found her in the house, realized "oh, it's the champion from one of those older games. Welp, i bet she's a pushover lmao". ...And that was the day that child-me got a huge ass-whooping from the hot, blond lady.

[@barrybend7189]

6:17 about the Magicarp not being present I will disagree as it's a literal Shiny level chance to encounter one in the games but it is possible. My team has one and I love him.

[@thattimestampguy]

0:00 Pennies, Nickels, Dines...oh wait. 2:53 Black & White: The Peak of Pokémon handheld gaming • So many unique Pokémon, _very few ogs_ • Edgy Pokédex entries • Building and Martial Arts Pokémon • Crocodile Pokémon • Chandelier • Sarcophogus • Garbage 🗑 and 8:37 Ice Cream 🍦 9:15 The Uglies 11:50 Post-Game National Dex 15:14 Infinite Use TMs 18:20 Intelligent Gym Leaders 22:40 24:30 Triple & Rotation Battles

[@bokobo6295]

Literally decided to rewatch the last couple episodes of this retrospective series earlier today, having no idea this would come out. What a treat!

[@actualsunshine8032]

Pokémon Black was my favorite game as a kid 😭 and still one of the best in my opinion, though I LOVE Pokémon Diamond

[@anankos795]

Your talk about TM's reminded me of what Sword and Shield did with TRs and how I felt a bit confused and peeved about it. I agree that it's important to counterbalance infinite use TM's with how tricky it can be to obtain them, so I couldn't help but think "For what purpose?" when I saw that Sword and Shield decided to slightly go back to finite move-learning usage. As many will say, one of the worst things to do is waste one's time, and I can't help but feel like that's what those games did, especially considering how big the competitive scene is.

[@superlombax1561]

And then of course Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl completely went back to one use TMs, though you do get more for beating Gyms and getting them from NPCs as well as being able to trade spheres for them in the Underground. But still, considering ORAS was able to have that as well as some of the modern additions from X and Y for better or worse, it feels really weird imo.