Pokémon Black 2 and White 2/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Alternative Character Interpretation: Colress. Was he clearly in league with Ghetsis wanting to destroy Unova for the sake of discovering the power of Pokemon or was his "personal intellectual curiosity" (as Ghetsis said) what he was really out for and wanting Unova to be for the better?
  • Anticlimax Boss: Iris, the Champion, is thought of as this, as all her Pokemon are either weak to type coverage that's relatively simple to obtain, are very slow and easy to get in hits against, or both. Most of them also lack overly powerful movesets (i.e. her main Pokémon, which almost always opts to use Earthquake instead of its primary STAB move when both have neutral coverage). On Challenge Mode, however, her movesets are drastically redesigned and can hit much harder, but there's still the first two points. At least on Normal Mode, she should be nothing you can't handle if you can get through the hordes of trainers in Victory Road and Route 23 before the Pokémon League and are high leveled enough.
    • This could be justified since Iris is a fairly new and inexperienced Champion, so if you're expecting Cynthia, look elsewhere.
    • The boss battle against Kyurem can be this. Being a Legendary Dragon that absorbed the version mascot would make you think quite a challenge awaits you, especially considering they have the highest base (Special) Attack stat of any non-event Pokémon in this generation...Except this game is loaded with the some of the strongest Fighting-type mons in the game, including the Mienfoo line, the Musketeer trio and the Riolu line. And all of them have high attacking power and, with the exception of Lucario, all of them are faster than Kyurem. The only reason this battle isn't outright Anticlimax Boss is because it is followed by the battle against Ghetsis.
  • And the Fandom Rejoiced: This is the first main-game sequel since Pokémon Gold and Silver, and it'll probably be more of a sequel than that game. Also, the thought of the beloved Pokémon Black and White continuing - and threads being tied - made the fandom really rejoice.
    • This is also one of the first main series games to be localized the same year as its original counterpart. Dated summer for Japan and (northern hemisphere) fall for the United States and other countries.
    • The confirmation that these games are indeed outright sequels, featuring an expanded Unova.
    • New Pokémon joining in the Unova regional Pokédex, some including the Eeveelutions, Riolu/Lucario, Psyduck/Golduck and ... Tyranitar and Metagross!
      • Specifically, 300 Pokémon are in the regional Pokédex. You will not be at a loss for team options in this one.
    • The addition of a Poison-type specialist may seem minor, but there hadn't been one since Generation II.
      • Nor outside of Kanto, for that matter.
    • The female protagonist design has once again become popular within the franchise. The male protagonist's design, on the other hand, seems to be a Love It or Hate It deal.
    • Regular Trainers now have animated sprites. Not only that, but from what few animations we've seen, they're much more animated than the three frames that previous generations had and now have as many frames as animated Pokémon sprites do (not minding the fact that the Trainer sprites stop, of course).
    • The new First Town, Aspertia City. According to the Trivia, Aspertia City is the first hometown in the main series to be a city, to be much larger than other hometowns, to contain a Pokémon Center, to have a Trainer's School, and to feature a concreted path, too.
    • There will be a World Tournament mode which features Gym Leaders and Champions from previous generations.
    • New formes for the Kami trio!
    • Cheren and Bianca are both confirmed to be back; Cheren will be a Normal-type Gym Leader while Bianca will give you your starter Pokémon. There've been hints dropped that they'll play a fairly important role in the plot as well.
      • N is also confirmed to be appearing in the game with the same scan that shows Cheren, Bianca, and Alder.
      • Ghetsis is back as the Big Bad - being such a Love to Hate villain, fans are ecstatic!
      • And Colress is leading the new Team Plasma! I Knew It!!
    • Early May 15, some pics from a yet-to-be-released video popped up, showing an animated trailer for the games. Some hours later, it finally showed up on Youtube. Saying the fandom rejoiced might as well be an understatement.
  • Badass Decay: Cheren. However, this is actually a result of his Character Development; having spent the whole of Black and White chasing power, and being bested by Hilbert/Hilda and taught the pointlessness of his ambitions by Alder, it makes perfect sense that Cheren would take the message to heart and would try and set new trainers on their way as the first Gym Leader. Besides, the anime trailer shows him with a Stoutland during events later in the narrative.
    • Moreover, being the first Gym Leader the protagonist faces, he's using his weakest Pokémon on purpose, because fighting a novice with a level 70 Serperior wouldn't be very fair.
  • Base Breaker: Whether Iris being the new champion was a good move or not is still being contested.
    • Black Kyurem. When its design was revealed, fans called it Badass and ugly in roughly equal numbers.
    • Hugh is hated by a lot of people who think his character arc is cliché, and are annoyed by the fact that he barely fights you during the main game. But he does have his fans, so he’s not a full-on Scrappy.
  • Broken Base: These games have become serious points of contention since the second they were announced. A pleasantly surprising change in the release formula, or proof that Game Freak is finally out of ideas and has to rely on sequels?
    • Not to mention the people who were hoping the next installment would appear on the Nintendo 3DS.
    • More traditionally, which cover picture looks better.
      • If the cover pictures look good at all.
    • The new protagonists. Nate especially, most likely due to not looking as "cool" as Hilbert. He has also become a full-on Scrappy for some due to a hyperactive, immature-looking manga sketch of him being confused for the official artwork (and the scarcity of details at the moment). For others, Palm Tree is seen as a total bro.
      • However, seeing him in the animated promotional trailer has redeemed him, some even declaring him to be as Badass as Red.
    • The decision on Colress's name. It was originally Akuroma, which was romanized to Achroma. Achroma would make logical sense and still sounds English enough (derived from achromatic), but it was revealed that his name was actually Corless. It still sounded good enough, and is derived from colourless. Then, it turns out that Corless was a typo, and his name is now known as Colress, as revealed by a trailer. While it's just a simple switch of two letters, it doesn't roll off the tongue as well.
    • The revelation that the Shadow Triad are not the Striaton Trio. Some fans still insist that they are, despite the flashback that shows them all together. Some fans seem to believe that the Striaton Trio were just lying. Even though the designs for the Shadow Triad are very clearly nothing like the Striaton Trio.
    • The voice acting in the English version of the animated trailer has caused this. While some fans like the English dub just fine, others either found the dub too over dramatic or claim the dub gave characters awful voices and awful dialogue even to characters who got good voices. It's also possibly starting another meme: "I'M ABOUT TO UNLEASH MY RAGE".
    • The Rival, Hugh. When artwork of him was first shown, almost everyone fell in love with how badass he looked, with some expecting a return to the classic Jerkass rivals from the old days. When they began revealing his role in the games however, opinions on him started getting very divided among the fandom. Some praised him for being the first rival in the series with a fleshed out backstory and whose motivation wasn't to just beat the player character and be the stronger trainer. Others were disappointed that all he seemed to care about was Team Plasma and wasn't much of a rival, fighting alongside you more times than against you throughout the main story.
    • Iris, the gym leader in the first White game/Drayden's apprentice in Black is now the games' new champion, dressing like a fancy Disney Princess and giving off a roar in her sprite animation before she battles you. There's a legion of fans who love this, while others argue that Iris is too bratty to actually deserve the title, claiming Alder, Marshal or even Drayden himself more fitting for the title.
    • Pokestar Studios. It's either a waste of time like the Pokemon Musical that players desperately try to get through in the main storyline as quickly as possible (even if it means completely butchering the mandatory first film and looking like a complete joke) and never return again, or it's an addicting side feature that the player will have a blast making movies with for amusement. And that brings us to...
  • Cliché Storm: The movies in general. Stereotypical villains, strange machines with weird powers, giant monsters and the like, a stereotypically selfless protagonist; you name any old movie cliché, Pokéstar Studios most likely has it.
    • Although, based on the sheer cheesiness of the movies and the gross overreactions of the fans, it's likely this is intentional.
  • Complete Monster: Ghetsis is back and as heartless as ever. His new plan is to have the entire Unova region frozen over in ice until the masses submit to him in fear for their health and lives, so that he can make it the center of his new empire and rule it with an iron fist. He attempts to have the Pokemon he's been torturing murder the protagonist in cold blood - a slow, painful demise by freezing to death from a Glaciate attack - and forces that Pokemon and N's Pokemon to fuse together in order to enhance it's power. And he refuses to repent even when his own abused son is offering it to him, proving once and for all how far gone he is.
    • Sabrina plays one in the form of nasty sorceress Queen Bellelba in the Magical Doors series of Pokéstar Studios films, who is a power-hungry witch who loves to absorb people's life force and has plans on enslaving all of humanity for no other reason than because she can. It's a surprisingly dark role when contrasted to the campier baddies that most Pokéstar Studios films pit you against.
  • Contested Sequel: Some fans feel that these games may suffer from Sequelitis compared to the first set, primarily due to its weaker storyline and relatively minimal originality. However, other fans (namely those not tired of the Pokémon formula) feel that these are Even Better Sequels for the new features, the storyline continuation and the World Tournament.
    • Generally, those who view the story as a continuation of Black and White's story rather than a brand-new storyline (like the one introduced each generation) tend to view these games more favorably. But even then, there are naysayers: see Broken Base and Fan-Disliked Explanation.
  • Draco in Leather Pants: An alarming number of fans seem to interpret Colress as being an overall good guy who was complicit in Team Plasma's crimes for pragmatic reasons but is ultimately well meaning towards trainers and Pokemon, and "redeems" himself in the end. This interpretation seems to come from the fact that we barely ever see him as Team Plasma's new acting boss in N's place and when we finally do, he allows you to go derail Ghetsis' plans after defeating him in battle, but what they don't take into account is the reason he goes against Ghetsis is the exact same reason he joined him in the first place: he was curious as to what method could best bring out a Pokemon's fullest strength and he would turn to any means, even heartless and immoral ones, to further his research and fulfill his scientific agenda. He adapted to kinder and more caring means because they got him the better results - he never actually changed the person he was throughout the entire game. At best, Colress' way of thinking is morally gray, with many of his actions bordering on morally bankrupt.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse: The rival, Hugh, is easily more popular than the new protagonists.
    • Between said new protagonists, Rosa is the more popular of the two.
    • Roxie, the new Poison-type Gym Leader, has also been especially well-received by the fandom.
  • Evil Is Cool: Colress. And Ghetsis to extent.
    • Kyurem, if you count "mind-controlled by the Big Bad" as "evil".
  • Evil Is Sexy: Colress. And Ghetsis. And even the Shadow Triad, now that they appear to be less androgynous and more masculine.
    • Magic Queen Bellelba, played by Kanto Gym Leader Sabrina, of all people, who is just about equally as attractive.
  • Expy: The new protagonists seem like expys of the previous ones. Also, does Marlon look like a "freaky fish guy" to you?
  • Fan-Disliked Explanation:
    • N is confirmed to not be Ghetsis' real son, and wasn't stolen from his real parents either. Some fans find this to be a rather underwhelming reveal after the climax of the last game.
    • The Shadow Triad are not the Striaton Trio, as evidenced by the flashback that shows all of them together in one room. Some fans are not happy with this, and insist that the trio was just lying. It doesn't help that the Triad themselves admit they had no real reason for visiting; they may as well have said they're just showing up to Joss the theories.
  • Fan Dumb / Hate Dumb: See Ruined FOREVER.
  • Game Breaker: You can easily grind up the levels of the shops in Join Avenue as soon as you get there by rapidly trading Magnemite with other players on the GTS, or by simply visiting other people via the Dream World. With just a few dojos/diners and the giant surplus of money you usually get in Pokemon games (Amulet Coin helps), you can remove any semblance of effort from the rest of the game.
  • Goddamn Bats: Surprisingly subverted with Zubat; although it's back in the regional Dex, it's only found in the Castelia Sewers.
    • The Pokémon Breeders now will rematch you with the Pokémon levels same as before, effectively making them play this straight.
  • Good Bad Bugs: As mentioned, Pokémon Breeders will rematch the player if they reenter that route. It also applies to Small Court and Big Stadium. So if a Breeder pops up there, one can beat it, hget a ** Rare Candy, leave and come back for another fight and another Rare Candy.
  • Guide Dang It: Finally averted for evolutions. You can call the professor on the Xtransceiver, and she'll tell you how to evolve any Pokémon in your party. Likewise, if you call Bianca, she can tell you how high your Pokemon's happiness is, which helps for the likes of those that evolve by that method.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • Last minute example — the day the game came out, some user at Game Faqs made a thread about how Iris could be the Champion, hinted by Drayden becoming the seventh Gym Leader. It did.
      • The truly hilarious part of all this was that the second post stated that there was "a 0% chance of this happening". Irony of epic proportions ensued and the quote gained a somewhat memetic status.
    • Another example — a user at Game Faqs made a thread about how people in the games should be outright attacked or even killed. Well, it turns out, Ghetsis tries to have a Pokemon attack the protagonist outright, with murderous intent.
    • Yet another related example — many people thought that that very event would be censored in the NA release to apply Never Say "Die". Turns out, it was. And then subverted once the Japanese dialogue was retranslated and revealed to be similar to the English dialogue, essentially making this an enforced example.
    • Remember PETA's publicity stunt with Super Mario 3D Land? Good. Remember how Team Plasma is essentially Poké-verse PETA? Yeah. Mix these two facts, and what you get is PETA's new "masterpiece"!
    • Hacked pokemon "Wondertomb" and "Wondereye" are Ghost/Dark types with no weaknesses and Wonder Guard, effectively making them invulnerable to attacks. Now we have the Majin, the villain of Ghost Eraser which is a Ghost/Dark type with Wonder Guard.
    • Remember Venustoise from the first season of the anime? Many years later, we get actual, similar Pokémon fusions with Black Kyurem and White Kyurem. Adding to this, it's unclear Black and White Kyurem are themselves fusions in the anime's continuity...
  • Ho Yay: If you're playing as a female, the Hiker from the previous game shows up at the ferris wheel. He talks about meeting the person he loved in summer two years ago, then them disappearing without a trace.
    • Both this and Les Yay: When recommending shops in the Join Avenue to guests, some will specifically want to go to one with a male or female clerk. Both preferences are not exclusive to any gender.
    • Also, while a certain Ferris wheel date for Nate was censored, Rosa's equivalent sure wasn't. The winter guitarist talks about how she can only show her real image around you after singing a love song.
  • Internet Backdraft: PETA's "parody" game. Fans were not happy when this appeared the same day of BW2's launch, PETA alleging the game promoted animal abuse. Fans were about to unleash their rage, pointing out that just as Plasma stole Pokemon from their trainers in order to save them PETA kills 97% of the animals they "rescue". Needless to say, PETA didn't really see or They Just Didn't Care that Plasma is a huge Take That to people like them who want to separate animals and humans, just as the latter wants to separate Pokemon and humans.
    • Others noted however the parody was too silly to take seriously, lacking even basic knowledge of the series.
      • Though, for some people, the fact that said parody misses so much of the series' basic logic is why it's so annoying.
  • Just Here for Godzilla: Some fans who prefer the first set of games mostly play the sequels to keep up with the competitive scene, or to get the new Pokémon formes such as Black/White Kyurem and the Therian Genies.
  • Magnificent Bastard: Colress is a scientist looking for the best way to bring out a Pokémon's strength who travels across Unova and battled trainers to craft a theory for him to test out. As part of Team Plasma, Colress invented a machine to maximize the full extent of Kyurem's power and fire it upon the world, freezing Opelucid city in the process. Admitting that he doesn't care about his cruel actions, Colress engaged the protagonist in battle to test out his theory on hidden potential and upon defeat allowed them to face off against Ghetsis to develop his theories more. Showing no loyalty to Team Plasma or Ghetsis, Colress is such a nice person that it is easy to forget that he never once regretted almost destroying Unova.
  • Memetic Badass: Nate, ever since the animated trailer.
  • Memetic Mutation: The over the top hairstyles of the protagonists are starting to reach this.
    • Once people began to realize that the new parts of Unova are based on New Jersey, the Jersey Shore jokes started flooding in. Poké fist pumps!
    • Both of the newly revealed Gym Leaders; Roxie for her totally bitchin' bass, and Marlon for the tanline around his waist. Marlon's tanline has also resulted in a fair deal of Rule 34.
    • A Corocoro scan features Volkner and Steven next to each other. Due to the unfortunate placement, it looked like Volkner was grinding up against Steven. Thus, Steven/Volker became a popular pairing on /vp/ within minutes. Also, referring to Steven's "steel spoon."
  • Memetic Sex God: Marlon.
  • Moe: Rosa, the new female protagonist, comes off as this.
    • Bianca has glasses now. If there was ever any doubt before...
  • Misblamed: Before the English release of the games, many non-Japanese-speaking fans mistranslated Ghetsis's threat to freeze the player alive as a threat to impale him/her with Kyurem's icicles, which wouldn't be too out-of-character for him, and it became very widely accepted that that's what actually happened in the game. This made the English dialogue look like a Never Say "Die" Bowdlerization at first. (The dialogue in English: "I'll freeze you solid right here so you can watch my glorious ascent!"; in Japanese: "You will be frozen here and see the end of Unova!") Despite this, in some ways the implications of what happens are still arguably worse than the misconception. (See Moral Event Horizon entry below.)
    • Despite this, a few Fan Dumb fans are vocal about wanting Ghetsis to have tried to impale the player character in the first place.
      • It becomes Harsher in Hindsight in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, where Kyurem froze Hydreigon with Glaciate and breaks him in pieces. Doing both what the fans thought Ghetsis tried to do and what he really said, though this could make it arguable that Ghetsis intended to have this happen to the player character too. Also Hilarious in Hindsight since Hydregion is Ghetsis' signature Pokemon. Must be Kyurem's vengeance...
  • Moral Event Horizon: Ghetsis is still on the other side of this, and yet he actually manages to outdo himself here! When the player character confronts him and Kyurem in the Giant Chasm, Ghetsis is bothered by how much he/she reminds him of The Hero who destroyed his plans for world domination two years ago, and out of spite he orders Kyruem to use Glaciate on him/her, and Kyurem (being tortured and controlled by Ghetsis' cane) prepares to do it! Ghetsis does this before a battle can even take place. This makes him the first Big Bad in the series to actually order the super-powered creature in his possession to attack another human being, who is both the main character AND a Kid Hero, too. What's also horrifying is that Glaciate is a damaging attack, not one meant for giving the Freeze status effect to it's opponent. (In fact, it can't; it lowers the targets' Speed.) If used on a human, it could freeze that human to death. So yes, Ghetsis intended on murdering the protagonist. And in a slow, painful, gruesome way too, (by freezing, starvation, hypothermia, etc.) because that's the sort of death a sadist like Ghetsis enjoys dealing out. N thankfully arrives to stop this attack on time, but the action of attempted homicide on a child for purely petty reasoning solidifies just how depraved and pure evil Ghetsis truly is.
    • Not only that, but after Ghetsis fuses Reshiram/Zekrom with Kyurem (that itself a dick move seeing as he's not truly Kyurem's trainer and has it under Mind Control, meaning it had no consent to this forced fusion), he mentions that even your Pokémon are shaking with rage at his actions...then proceeds to deny it because he believes that, as mere tools, Pokémon aren't supposed to feel anything.
      • To add on to that, after you beat him, he calls you and the previous Unova protagonist "fools who can't even use Pokemon correctly". Based on how he repeatedly insults N after he tries to convince Ghetsis that Pokemon are not tools, that's pretty much what Ghetsis openly declares - that Pokemon, and his son for that matter, are just tools meant to be used in service of his personal desires, which is a pretty low statement to make even as a villain in this series.
    • The fifteenth short episode of Pokémon Geneartions that adapts the climax of the game makes these events even worse. Instead of ordering Kyurem to directly attack the main protagonist and freeze them to death, he orders Kyurem to do that to his son, N. And in this version, Kyurem has already been forcibly merged with Reshiram, so it's icy blasts are combined with fire from Reshiram's Fusion Flare. Had he not been saved (twice), N could have been annihilated by his own father.
  • Narm: The music in Roxie's gym. Chanting "P-O-K-E-M-ON" non-stop isn't exactly the first thing that comes to people's minds when they think "underground punk rocker."
    • Thanks to some dodgy writing, your rival's motivation to fight Team Plasma does come off as a bit petty and childish most of the time. Also, "I'm about to unleash my rage!" is hardly the best of catchphrases.
    • The Champion's battle sprite looks somewhat daft (May be Narm Charm for some though).
  • Nightmare Fuel:
    • The Stranger's House, which is basically an even more ominous and oppressing version of the Old Chateau.
    • Castelia Gym for those uncomfortable with clowns and webs; It even provides the best of both worlds by having one of the Harlequins randomly popping out of a cocoon.
    • One particularly unsettling instance occurs in Lostlorn Forest. A backpacker staring at a rock will ask you about the Pokemon Zoroark and then give you the TM 95 Snarl. He'll then talk about Zoroark's visit to the forest two years ago and talk about it's devious ability to create illusions. Then just as he's walking out, he suddenly transforms into a Zoroark - much to not only yours, but your character's surprise as well - and runs off immediately.
    • Ghetsis trying to kill Nate/Rosa by having Kyurem freeze him/her alive a la Master Xehanort. The animation in the scene makes it even scarier due to the floating chunks of ice spinning around and hurtling towards the hero at high speed; imagine what that would look like in real life. To some, the scene was even scarier back when the games were untranslated and fans didn't know what the characters were saying; it looked like Kyurem was actually going to brutally impale the player using pointed icicles.
    • Some of the Bad and Strange endings to some of the Pokestar movies can be quite creepy.
      • The Bad ending to the first of the Timegate Traveller movies has the time machine exploding, followed by the main character discovering that they have merged with their Solosis.
      • The villain for The Red Mist of Terror is pretty much an Eldritch Abomination. Even its humanoid minions are unsettlingly creepy. Especially when you remember that it had one of its spawn use Selfdestruct/Explosion just to hamper you. In general, the idea of one of those things using Selfdestruct is equal parts Nightmare Fuel and Nausea Fuel / Squick.
  • Railroading: Most of the Pokestar Studios movies. The opponent AI changes depending on whether you follow the script and/or say the right lines. If you don't get it right, the enemy will usually destroy you on the next turn. If you do everything correctly, you usually can get through the movie all right.
  • Replacement Scrappy: Considering how incredibly popular Hilbert and Hilda were, the new, slightly younger-looking protagonists Nate and Rosa are receiving a lot of hate. Rosa gets it for being girlier than Hilda, and Nate gets hate for an overuse of Shonen Hair and generally seeming far more immature than Hilbert. However... this later becomes Subverted, after seeing him in the animated trailer. Thus, making him...
  • Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Nate was the subject of much derision when he was first shown. After the animated promo was seen though, some people are now declaring him the manliest protagonist since Red himself. It helps that he has the same seiyuu as Sora.
    • In addition, it sparked the idea that instead of being silent, he's just stoic, as he makes a "heh" and yells attacks for his Pokemon. However, other people that arrived at this conclusion have extended it to all the other protagonists.
    • An extended version of the trailer was put up, showing a battle between Rosa and Cheren, so she received the same treatment.
  • Ruined FOREVER: Predictably, some people reacted in this way. The fact that Black 2/White 2 are numbered sequels caused many people to believe that Game Freak was running out of ideas (and colors, possibly), despite the fact that this is a completely new concept for Pokémon. What do they expect?! Generation VI?! Already?!
    • Often, the most common complaint is wanting remakes of the third-generation games. That's right, they say the creators are running out of ideas... then demand rehashes of old games. Try to wrap your mind around that one.
    • The other most common complaint is that they're not developed for the Nintendo 3DS.
  • Rule 63: Rosa genderswapped is ridiculously popular on Pixiv.
  • Scrappy Mechanic: The Pokémon Breeder trainer class' new gimmick is to challenge you every time you re-enter the route they're on. It wouldn't be nearly as bad if they didn't retain their normal line of sight, which ends up making transversing old routes a bit of a chore. On the other hand, the battles are typically quick and easy, making them convenient for training lower level Mons.
    • Once again, the EXP system still plays hell on grinding.
      • At last, there's a Hard Mode to make Pokémon difficult without players having to rely on self-imposed challenges! Except only Black 2 gets it. And only after you've already beaten all of the gym leaders and the elite four. And you can't unlock it and then restart the game with it. But wait, you can receive the "Challenge Key" from other players! Except there's a restriction on using Wifi, so you'll have to use the DS's infrared port. Don't know someone else with Black 2, or are unwilling to purchase a second DS and copy of the game? Sucks to be you! What makes it all the more frustrating is that this comes after the games have made it easier to trade Pokémon between versions, making it appear completely arbitrary.
      • The C-Gear also returns, with essentially identical functionality.
  • Stop Helping Me!: Now manifests in Bianca, who drags you halfway across the starting town in order to push you through one of the series' traditional forced tutorials.
  • That One Sidequest: The Yancy/Curtis Xtransceiver sidequest, mostly for being riddled with Guide Dang It just to be able to contact them* and generally resulting in nothing major up until the player has called them back over 50 timesnote , which is many more than he/she would likely bother to do at that point. Your reward for all the trouble? The ability to trade them any Com Mons for extremely rare mons that not only are unavailable anywhere else, but also have their Dream World abilities. Anyone with steady access to the GTS will likely pass this one up, though.
    • Another one that is worth mention is the Pokestar Studios. For one, you have to get a good ending on every movie (except Brycen Man Strikes back harder) for one of the Trainer Stars. Second, the filming ranges from either somewhat annoying to Luck-Based Mission incarnate because if the AI's choices can screw your filming attempt up with just one out-of-place move. Notable examples are the last Ghost Eraser movie or any films involving you surviving 10+ cuts. Yeah, it's a bitch.
  • They Changed It, Now It Sucks: Some fans are about to unleash their rage after they changed DOGARS (Koffing's Japanese name) to POKEM-ON in Roxie's Gym.
    • The Daycare Center is still where it was in Black and White. This location, however, is impossible to access before beating the Elite 4. The fanbase threw a collective hissy fit after knowing.
    • Route 10 has been destroyed due to the original Victory Road collapsing, making it inaccessible. This means that the only way to hear its music is to talk to one of the people in the house in Icirrus City where the ex-Team Rocket grunt used to be. Of course, this means that you can only listen to this song during the game's Winter.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot / Fan-Disliked Explanation: The Striaton Triplets are shown conclusively to not be the Shadow Triad, which disappointed quite a few fans.
    • The fact that you never get to battle Hilbert or Hilda, even in the PWT, especially when so many people were expecting it. There was even two text dumps found in the code of the game suggesting that a tournament match against one of the two may have been planned, but got Dummied Out.
    • A special Pokemon was stated to be found in the Nature Preserve. Even before there was word that it was a dragon fans were excitedly hoping the Pokemon would be the Original Dragon, even if it couldn't be caught. It turned out to be just a Shiny Haxorus.
    • The fact that N never really gets to do anything to fight against Ghetsis, and he wasn't his biological son OR an orphan by way of parental kidnapping, really makes fans upset.
  • Tough Act to Follow: Despite all the new features in the game, it was kinda tough to live up to the praises of the original Black and White. This may be responsible for the games' positive-but-mixed-by-Pokémon-standards reception.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Meta-example. Even though the trailer is for the games, it's animé-styled. And the normal animé, when compared to the trailer, is... meh.
    • This works for Nate, too; while many fans were at first disappointed with his goofy appearance, the trailer manages to make him look quite Badass.
  • Woolseyism: A variant: In Roxie's gym, she still sings DOGARS, but it's heavily overlaid with POKEBALL and POKEMON.
    • The title cards of the Pokéwood movies are in several languages, giving Pokéwood an "international" flair and also reflecting the real world, where countries might be famous for a certain genre of movie. In text, the movies are reflected either by their translated titles or their subtitle.
  • What Do You Mean It's for Kids?: Several fans had this reaction after Ghetsis' attempt to directly attack the player character with Kyurem. In general, the game features a surprising amount of human-on-human violence, at least by the standards of the series. Sure it's all shown in map sprites so you don't exactly see anything, but the implications aren't pretty.
  • The Woobie: The remains of the new Team Plasma become this in the post-game, based on this quote said by a grunt on the Plasma Frigate while it is docked at the P2 Laboratory: I knew... I knew that Ghetsis was using me... But I had friends here...
    • What that quote means is that while the grunts were basically friends, they were for the most part used for a diabolical scheme. Another grunt in the lower area of the frigate comments on how Kyurem must have felt bad after Ghetsis cruelly forced it to work. So, you really do feel bad for them in the end.
      • Hell, another grunt basically yells at you for judging her because some people have nowhere else to go for food and shelter.
    • Kyurem itself. It's trapped and used as a living weapon by Team Plasma, controlled (to whatever extent) by Ghetsis, and forced to absorb N's dragon (which, according to N, could detect Kyurem's suffering), only to be beaten up by your Pokémon and separated from it again.
    • N's dragon could also qualify; just watch the part where Kyurem absorbs it and it's desperately trying to fly away, and then try not to feel bad when you merge them to use Black/White Kyurem yourself.
      • Although one might interpret the dragon believes that you're trying to aid in completing the dragon once more in the latter case, as it knows you are far more benevolent compared to the last person who preformed the fusion.
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