Like all other Trainers, the player can carry up to six Pokémon at one time. The player controls a Pokémon Trainer who begins the game with a single Pokémon and is able to capture more using Poké Balls.

There are three basic screens: an overworld, in which the player navigates the main character a battle screen and the menu, in which the player configures their party, items, or gameplay settings. Pokémon Black and White are role-playing video games with adventure elements, presented in a third-person, overhead perspective. As of September 2017, the games' combined sales have reached 15.64 million, putting them amongst the best-selling games for the Nintendo DS, just behind their predecessors, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Nevertheless, the games were commercial successes prior to the games' Japanese release, Black and White sold one million consumer pre-orders and became the fastest Nintendo DS titles to sell five million copies. Reviewers, however, were divided on some of the Pokémon designs, and some critics felt that the games did not innovate as much as expected. Upon their release, Black and White received positive reviews, with praise for the advancements in gameplay.

Both titles are independent of each other but feature largely the same plot, and while both can be played separately, trading Pokémon between both of the games is necessary in order to complete the games' Pokédex. Black and White introduced 156 new Pokémon to the franchise, 5 more than the previous record holder Pokémon Red and Blue, as well as many new features, including a seasonal cycle, rotation battles, fully animated Pokémon sprites, and triple battles. Similar to previous installments of the series, the two games follow the journey of a young Pokémon trainer through the region of Unova, as they train Pokémon used to compete against other trainers while thwarting the schemes of the criminal organization Team Plasma. Sequels to Black and White, Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2, were released for the Nintendo DS in 2012. First released in Japan on 18 September 2010, they were later released in Europe, North America and Australia in 2011. They are the first installments in the fifth generation of the Pokémon video game series. Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version are 2010 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS.

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