Pokemon: Every Main Game Ranked Worst To Best

Effectively providing players with a blank slate, Pokemon Black & White's Unova Pokedex comprised of entirely new Pokemon, a first for the series. A whopping 156 new Pokemon were added in the series' second outing on the DS, and while a number of these overtly parallel Pokemon introduced in the franchise's first game (Thro and Sawk are this Generation's Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, while Pidove and Tranquill are lazy re-hashes of Pidgey ad Pigeot), this upheaval of the Pokedex demonstrates a commitment to design not seen since in the franchise.

While Black & White's gameplay is solid, it didn't do much more to advance the series than its immediate DS predecessors, Diamond & Pearl. The seasonal changes are a nice aesthetic touch (snowy locations in Pokemon tend to be beautiful), but isn't any more significant than the seminal night/day mechanic introduced in the franchise's second generation.

Version-exclusive areas are compelling on paper, but it's unfair to ask players to buy essentially the same game twice just to experience different locations, especially if they already have friends with the other version who they can trade with to complete their Pokedex.

Quite likely the last 2D Pokemon game we'll ever see, Generation Five pushed the already-charming graphics of Diamond & Pearl further still. The only games in the franchises to spawn true sequels, the release of Black and White 2 marked a step away from the Pokemon tradition of releasing a bridging third game for each Generation after the original two, arguably reducing the accessibility of Pokemon and making it even more expensive to catch 'em all.