Pokémon BW. What I think and what I think Gen5 haters missed

(i don't think this can be kept spoiler free)

Also. i might be biased talking about bw (just look at my profile) so constructive criticism is always appreciated. I wanna play all the other pokemon games too just to have a fuller pointview so maybe one day I'll come back to this and roast the hell out of this blog entry. (played gen1 and gen2 so far with bw too)

so we all know that Pokémon Black and White has been  hated on when it was first released (because "tHeRe ArEn'T aNy pOkEmOn FrOm OtHeR rEgiOnS uNtIl ThE pOsTgAmE" or "tHe ReGiOn LaYoUt Is ToO sImPlE" or something) when there are WAY MORE things people didn't even notice.

Let's start from something simple. Why is gen5 so different from previous pokemon games?

It's a soft reboot. Game Freak realized that their fanbase was growing up, so they decided to start over,  but differently.  The story actually exists, and the characters are well written. (I didn't play DPP but I'm pretty sure it does a similar job talking story and character wise) I don't think people complain about this though but rather the things I talked about in the intro, and I'll be discussing both points.

1. "There aren't any Pokemon from other regions until the postgame."

It's a soft reboot. Would you expect a soft reboot to rely on old content? That’s like going to Madagascar, seeing exotic parrots, and then expecting to find the same birds in New Orleans. It just doesn’t make sense. The only games it makes sense to be like that are the gen2 games (as Johto is Kanto's neighboring region).

2. "The region layout is too simple."

Even if Gamefreak had a different age group when developing BW's story, Pokemon is still a franchise targeted at children, god forbid they made it slightly easier.

From here you could also start the counterargument that "if it's a kids’ game, why does it have such a complicated story?” Cartoons have sex jokes too, that doesn’t mean kids get them. 

Also kids aren’t stupid. A 10 y/o will get *most* of the story, just not that deeply, and will get the more deep stuff when they get older. (trust me, I believed that N was a bad guy when I was little, he’s my comfort character now)

More complaints people (apparently) had:

1. Character Development and Rival Dynamics

Some people might say that Cheren and Bianca as rivals are useless, because after BW, Game Freak kept pushing the “rivals as friends” thing in later games as well but that doesn’t make sense? Rivals as friends are there since gen3 bffr, I would give you half a gold star if you talked about how Cheren and Bianca’s character arcs never got a proper ending (in the first games at least, but even in bw2 it doesn’t feel real idk how to explain it) like Cheren still doubts his skills in the postgame when you rematch him ("I'll keep battling many Trainers and Pokémon like this, and if I can learn what kind of person I am, it will open up my path. I'm sure this path will lead me to become the person I'm meant to be. Pokémon will always be with you and me as we go down our own paths. Our important friends, Pokémon…") Bianca gets a more complete arc, she starts traveling as a quest of emancipation (as her dad didn’t want her to travel), when she gets in Nimbasa she confronts her dad and he gives her permission to travel (if you think about it she technically ran away from home)  but it still feels too early to end the character arc in the middle of the game. 

2. Removal of Features from Previous Games

Gym leaders rematches, the VS seeker, Pokémon following you… They’re all gimmicks that have been introduced in other games, and that have not been added to BW. Sure, some people might be upset about those, but Gym leader rematches come back in B2W2, the VS seeker might not be a thing anymore but you can still battle new people in front of the ferris wheel in Nimbasa, and most importantly, BW has its own gimmicks too. Seasons, combination moves, the C-Gear which literally allowed you to video call your friends on a damn pokemon game… And of course rotation and triple battles, that even if they’re yes, gen5 exclusive, I feel that they have been underused, and because of that, not carried over to other games.

Now, let’s talk about common misinterpretations of the game’s story.

1. Overlooking the Moral Complexity of Team Plasma

Most Pokémon game intros prioritize showing off the region, the starter trio, your character’s look, and maybe a flash of the villain team near the end. But Black and White does something different. Why?

Because from the very beginning, this isn’t a story about becoming Champion. It’s a story about belief, manipulation, and how ideals can be twisted into something dangerous.

Throughout the game, you meet Team Plasma, who position themselves as Pokémon rights activists. They claim they want to liberate Pokémon from human control: a surprisingly ethical stance in a franchise that’s always told you to catch ’em all and throw them into battle. It plants a question in your mind: “Are my Pokémon actually happy with me?”

But as the story unfolds, you find out the real truth, or rather, Ghetsis’s truth. His goal was never liberation. It was control. The entire organization, the ideals, the crusade… All of it was a front to make him the only person in the world allowed to use Pokémon. He weaponized the cause, and even weaponized N, his own adopted “son”, (or rather, “freak without a human heart”) turning him into a puppet messiah to sell the lie.

N isn’t just a figurehead. He’s the emotional core of Team Plasma’s tragedy. Raised in isolation, taught that humans only hurt Pokémon, and having the ability to “hear” them, N genuinely believes in the cause. To him, this fight is personal and righteous. But to Ghetsis? N is just a means to an end, a charismatic symbol to attract followers and give the cult a “king.”

Team Plasma isn’t just “steal Pokémon and take over the world.” They’re a moral illusion: dressed in white cloaks and noble words, but built on deceit. At first, they make you hesitate. Then, they make you doubt yourself. And finally, when you defeat them, the entire structure collapses, not just physically, but philosophically. Ghetsis’s ideology is exposed for the sham it was, and N is left to figure out what was ever real.

And suddenly, that quiet, haunting intro at the start of the game clicks into place. It was always there. The real story. You just didn’t see it yet.

2. Misunderstanding the Message of 'Truth vs. Ideals'

People treat truth and ideals like it has to be like that in that game, but it’s literally trying to prove the opposite, the only characters that believe that are Ghetsis and the shadow triad (it’s literally in the anime op “It's not always black and white, / But your heart always knows what's right. / It's not about win or lose, it's the path you choose.”)

3. Assuming Pokémon Ownership is Morally Unambiguous 

Pokemon started with “pokeballs r good!! Catch em mons” but gen5 questioned if that was right, it’s not only what team plasma thinks but while you play, there’s always this thing of “are you sure your pokemon want to fight or are you forcing them” that it's never mentioned in other games

N: Rival. Antagonist, (or lover…?)

The first time you meet N is in Accumula Town, when you, as the player, get introduced to Team Plasma. Some people might think of him as the villain of the game, but in my opinion he’s the “true rival”, while the real villain is Ghetsis. I wouldn't classify him as a villain because he’s more human than other villains. He’s ready to forgive Ghetsis (in B2W2’s pokespe arc) because he gave him shelter, food, and he’s grateful for that. (and Ghetsis is an asshole. Fuck you Ghetsis)

N is canonically obsessed with the BW protagonist. Is it admiration? Is it love? You might not agree but I think that there’s feelings (romantic or not) between these two.

Just look at these quotes man

"You… remind me of that Trainer."

"Now that I think about it, we both rode this Ferris wheel, too."

"Making dreams come true is hard… I wonder if we will meet again..."

If you’re one of those people who are like “yEaH bUt N iS tWeNtY bEcAuSe BuLbApEdIa SaYs So” your teachers never told you to check what Wikipedia links? You know you can do the same thing with Bulbapedia?

Bulbapedia links a broken blog website, another that says “this is not clear whether it’s about BW or B2W2” and a third one that says “he’s about 20 in the original” (keyword: ABOUT) when talking about N’s age.

And even if you wanted to argue, PokéMas literally has made both an isshushipping and a ferriswheelshipping event, and it would be really inappropriate if they were indeed 14 and 20 (Bulbapedia links the broken blog link and the same interview for N, even if the working link on it doesn’t even talk about the protagonists’ age)

So um yeah. This is all.

P.S. this has really nothing to do with BW but. Not saying that this is canon at all but i think itd just make sense. In pokespe they say that ppl that can talk to pokemon all were born in viridian forest n that they're all related which would make sense cause N used to live in a forest before ghetsis came around and since it's not specified that it's pinwheel forest it could make sense, also that way it'd technically make him be a relative of Giovanni (and indirectly, silver too) yellow, lance and clair which funny N and silver r basically the same character (silver is just evil) and they could be distant cousins 😭😭