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Gen V

Pokémon Black & White

Unova's boldest story — truth, ideals, and a villain who questions what it means to be a trainer.

The Path

The intended order — follow this and you'll stay at the right level all game.

  1. 1

    Striaton Gym

    Gym

    Fire/Water/Grass · Chili, Cress or Cilan (counters your starter) · recommended Lv. 12–14

  2. 2

    Team Plasma's Accumula rally

    Story

    First run-in with N and Plasma's Pokémon-liberation preaching · recommended Lv. 14–16

  3. 3

    Nacrene Gym

    Gym

    Normal · Lenora · recommended Lv. 18–20

  4. 4

    Castelia Gym

    Gym

    Bug · Burgh · recommended Lv. 21–23

  5. 5

    Nimbasa Gym

    Gym

    Electric · Elesa · recommended Lv. 25–27

  6. 6

    Driftveil Gym

    Gym

    Ground · Clay · recommended Lv. 29–31

  7. 7

    Mistralton Gym

    Gym

    Flying · Skyla · recommended Lv. 33–35

  8. 8

    Icirrus Gym

    Gym

    Ice · Brycen · recommended Lv. 37–39

  9. 9

    Opelucid Gym

    Gym

    Dragon · Drayden (Black) / Iris (White) · recommended Lv. 41–43

  10. 10

    Unova Elite Four

    Elite Four

    Ghost/Dark/Psychic/Fighting · Shauntal, Grimsley, Caitlin, Marshal · recommended Lv. 44–48

  11. 11

    N's Castle showdown

    Story

    Zekrom (Black) / Reshiram (White), then N and Ghetsis · recommended Lv. 50–52

The Story

Far from every region you've visited before, Unova is a land of cities and ambition where your journey begins in Nuvema Town alongside your childhood friends Cheren and Bianca. Every Pokémon you'll meet in the wild is brand new — no old favorites to fall back on — which makes this the freshest start the series ever offered.

Shortly into your journey you'll encounter Team Plasma, a movement preaching that Pokémon should be liberated from trainers. Their young king N is no ordinary villain: he genuinely hears the voices of Pokémon, and his questions about the trainer-Pokémon bond cut deeper than any evil team's scheme before him.

At the heart of Unova's founding myth sleep two dragons — Reshiram, embodiment of truth, and Zekrom, embodiment of ideals. N seeks one of them to prove his vision of the world, and as the story builds, you'll be drawn toward the other.

The climax breaks series tradition: N's Castle erupts around the Pokémon League itself, and the final confrontation isn't for a championship title but for the soul of the trainer-Pokémon relationship.

Good to Know

  • Only Unova Pokémon appear in the wild during the main story, so embrace the new roster — old favorites return after the credits.
  • Shake the rustling grass for Audino: they're walking EXP jackpots and keep your whole team on level.
  • Pack answers for the Elite Four: Dark or Ghost coverage for Shauntal and Caitlin, Fighting-types for Grimsley.
  • Striaton's gym leader counters your starter type, so catch a backup answer on the early routes.

After the Credits

  • Explore eastern Unova: Undella Town, Lacunosa Town, and Black City (Black) / White Forest (White).
  • Ride the Battle Subway in Nimbasa City for streak-based single, double, and multi battles.
  • Use the Poké Transfer to bring Pokémon forward from your Gen IV games.
  • Rematch the Elite Four at much higher levels for a real challenge.

My caught checklist

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Want the full step-by-step walkthrough? This page is the roadmap — for turn-by-turn directions, Bulbapedia and Serebii both have detailed per-route guides.