Pokémon the Series: Black & White: Difference between revisions

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* With the beginning of this series, many attacks have had their visual appearances changed (for instance, {{type|Fire}} attacks and {{m|Stone Edge}} are now rendered in CGI, while [[physical attack|physical]] {{type|Steel}} attacks make the corresponding body part steel-colored rather than white). {{m|Hyper Beam}} has also been changed considerably, to match how it looks in the games.
* With the beginning of this series, many attacks have had their visual appearances changed (for instance, {{type|Fire}} attacks and {{m|Stone Edge}} are now rendered in CGI, while [[physical attack|physical]] {{type|Steel}} attacks make the corresponding body part steel-colored rather than white). {{m|Hyper Beam}} has also been changed considerably, to match how it looks in the games.
* ''[[BW122|What Lies Beyond Truth and Ideals!]]'', the final episode of ''Season 2: Episode N'' aired in Japan during the same week that ''[[BW109|New Places... Familiar Faces!]]'', the first episode of Episode N aired in the United States.
* ''[[BW122|What Lies Beyond Truth and Ideals!]]'', the final episode of ''Season 2: Episode N'' aired in Japan during the same week that ''[[BW109|New Places... Familiar Faces!]]'', the first episode of Episode N aired in the United States.
* This is the first series where [[Cassidy]] and [[Butch]] don't appear.
* This is the only series:
* This is the only series:
** In which [[Jessie's Wobbuffet]] is not part of the regular cast. His only appearance in this series was in ''[[BW142|The Dream Continues!]]''.
** In which [[Jessie's Wobbuffet]] is not part of the regular cast. His only appearance in this series was in ''[[BW142|The Dream Continues!]]''.

Revision as of 06:02, 4 October 2015

018Pidgeot.png It has been suggested that this article be moved to Pokémon the Series: Black and White.
Please discuss whether or not to move it on its talk page.

Best Wishes! redirects here. For the similarly named first opening of the Best Wishes series, see Best Wishes! (song).
Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! Season 2 redirects here. For the similarly named CD, see Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! Season 2 (CD).

English logo
Japanese logo

Pokémon the Series: Black and White (Japanese: ポケットモンスターベストウイッシュ Pocket Monsters Best Wishes!), referred to by fans as the Best Wishes series, is the fourth series of the Pokémon anime and is based on the events of the Generation V core series Pokémon games. It follows the Diamond & Pearl series and was succeeded by the XY series. It ran from September 23, 2010 to September 26, 2013 in Japan and from February 12, 2011 to December 7, 2013 in the United States. It was not given an English name until after the release of Pokémon the Series: XY.

As with both the Advanced Generation and Diamond & Pearl series before it, the Best Wishes series begins with only Ash Ketchum, headed off to a new region with his Pikachu. Much like before, his previous female companion, Dawn, has left the series, while, unlike the previous three series, with the exception of the Orange Archipelago saga, Brock does not join him in his journey in Unova. Instead, Ash now travels through Unova with a girl by the name of Iris and with one of the first Unova Gym Leaders, Cilan, who is also a Pokémon Connoisseur.

As before, Ash receives a change of clothes. For the first time in the entire show, the Team Rocket trio also receive a change of clothes, but later change back to their original outfits. Additionally, the Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny in Unova are designed differently than those of the regions visited by Ash before. Best Wishes is also notable for Jessie, James and Meowth not being present in all episodes outside of clip shows and the first episode, a trend that continued into the XY series. For a majority of the series they play a significantly more antagonistic role than in any other series, displaying very little humor (although this was restored during the Decolore Islands arc).

The series also saw the return of Who's That Pokémon? in the English dub of the first episode, and the return of Dare da? in BW061 after an absence of 444 episodes.

It is divided into three seasons for audiences outside of Japan.

Episodes in the Best Wishes series are numbered with the prefix BW on Bulbapedia. For a complete episode listing, see the list of Best Wishes series episodes.

Japanese seasons

The Best Wishes series has been divided into multiple arcs in the Japanese release, similar to the "chapters" of the original series.

Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes! (BW001-BW084)

Best Wishes! logo

Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ベストウィッシュ) includes Ash's arrival in Unova, his meeting Iris and Cilan, and collecting the Gym Badges of the region. Several times throughout the arc, Ash and his friends come into major conflicts with Team Rocket.

Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes! Season 2 (BW085-BW108)

Best Wishes! Season 2 logo

Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes Season 2 (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ベストウイッシュ シーズン2) mainly consists of World Tournament Junior Cup and Vertress Conference tournaments. Cynthia and Dawn return, and the group meets Meloetta. Giovanni returns as a major character to lead Team Rocket in "Operation Tempest," a mission to capture Meloetta and the Forces of Nature.

Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes! Season 2: Episode N (BW109-BW122)

Best Wishes! Season 2: Episode N logo

Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes Season 2 - Episode N (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ベストウイッシュ シーズン2 エピソードN) focuses on N and Team Plasma. Ash, Iris and Cilan learn of the White Ruins and decide to visit Cedric Juniper's expedition there. On their way, they meet N and become involved in Ghetsis's plot to have Team Plasma take control of the world using Colress's Pokémon control device.

Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes! Season 2: Decolora Adventure! (BW123-BW142)

Best Wishes! Season 2: Decolora Adventure logo

Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes Season 2 - Decolora Adventure! (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ベストウイッシュ シーズン2 デコロラアドベンチャー!) comprises Ash and his friends touring the Decolore Islands on their way back to Kanto. On their way, they meet Alexa, a Pokémon photographer from the Kalos region.

Dub seasons

When the Best Wishes series came to be dubbed into English and other languages, it was divided into three seasons:

Gallery

Posters

Japanese

English

Characters

Main characters

Rivals

Supporting characters

Antagonists

Etymology

The Best Wishes title is likely intentionally comprised of words beginning with B and W as an allusion to its counterpart games, Black and White. Additionally, the katakana transcription of the English word "Wishes" (ウイッシュ Uisshu) contains the Japanese name of Unova (イッシュ Isshu), the region the games and anime series take place in.

Trivia

  • For several weeks, previews of the Best Wishes series's early episodes explicitly excluded Ash Ketchum, with the hosts of Pokémon Sunday commenting on his absence. Ash also did not appear on a pre-release poster.
  • Ash catches the Unova starter Pokémon in reverse Pokédex order, obtaining Oshawott, then Tepig, and finally Snivy. All previous times he has caught multiple starter Pokémon he has caught the Grass-type among them first, following up with the Fire-type in all regions but Hoenn, and finally catching the Water-type among the group in Kanto and Johto only.
  • The first few episodes of this series share similar elements to the first few episodes of the original series, and the series features many allusions to the original series, including:
    • Both of Ash's traveling companions are based on Gym Leaders.
    • Ash meets his male traveling companion in the fifth episode, when he leaves behind his Gym Leader duties to travel with Ash.
    • The sixth episode of both series feature a Pokémon that evolves via the Moon Stone.
    • Ash catches the Unova starters in the same circumstances as he caught the Kanto starters: the Water-type Pokémon follows him, the Fire-type Pokémon is abandoned by its original trainer, and the Grass-type Pokémon is found in the wild.
      • Also the Fire-type's original trainer tries to get their former Pokémon back after witnessing their powers, but fail.
      • The Grass-type's situations were also similar, having left their trainer, they distrusted humans until Ash gained their respect. They then allowed him to battle and capture them.
      • Only the Fire-type evolved while the other two did not.
    • Ash captured more than six Pokémon.
      • He also captured a three-staged evolutionary Bug-type, who evolved into their final form, as well as an additional Water-type.
  • The main heroine from the Best Wishes series, Iris, also shares some similarities to the main heroine from the original series, Misty. Both of them:
    • Try to avoid returning to a specific Gym.
    • Debuts in the first episode of the series, but she is not introduced in full until the second.
    • Are aiming to master a specific Pokémon type, with Misty aiming to be a Water Pokémon master, while Iris wishes to be a Dragon-type Master.
    • Are afraid of a specific Pokémon type, with Misty fearing Bug-types, while Iris is scared of Ice-types.
    • Both travelled with a Pokémon which they kept outside the Poké Ball, Misty with Togepi and Iris with Axew.
  • Best Wishes is the first anime series that did not premiere on the same day its respective games were released since the original series.
  • This is the shortest completed series of the anime so far, with 142 episodes.
    • This series also has the fewest dub seasons of all completed series, with three.
    • This is also the series with the fewest movies to date, with only three.
    • Its first Japanese opening theme, Best Wishes, is currently the longest running opening theme, which hasn't been re-mixed.
  • This is the first series in which all episodes that were originally aired in Japan were dubbed. Previously, the original series had four banned episodes and the Advanced Generation series and Diamond & Pearl series dubs each skipped recap episodes. There were two unaired episodes in the Best Wishes series, but they were also unaired in Japan.
  • With the beginning of this series, many attacks have had their visual appearances changed (for instance, Fire-type attacks and Stone Edge are now rendered in CGI, while physical Steel-type attacks make the corresponding body part steel-colored rather than white). Hyper Beam has also been changed considerably, to match how it looks in the games.
  • What Lies Beyond Truth and Ideals!, the final episode of Season 2: Episode N aired in Japan during the same week that New Places... Familiar Faces!, the first episode of Episode N aired in the United States.
  • This is the first series where Cassidy and Butch don't appear.
  • This is the only series:
    • In which Jessie's Wobbuffet is not part of the regular cast. His only appearance in this series was in The Dream Continues!.
    • In which there are no boss fantasies.
    • That uses the same title card throughout the entire series.
    • Not to have any of the dub seasons to produce with 52 episodes.
    • Which none of Ash's Gym Battles are interrupted by Team Rocket.
    • In which Ash does not part ways with a Pokémon through release or for the purposes of training.
    • In which extra Pokémon Ash captured were not sent to Professor Oak's lab in Pallet Town; instead, they were sent to the laboratory of the region's Pokémon Professor, Professor Juniper.
    • In which Ash actively cycles his Pokémon between those in his party and in storage, though only with the Pokémon he caught in Unova.

In other languages


External links

Original series (list) Indigo LeagueAdventures in the Orange Islands
The Johto JourneysJohto League ChampionsMaster Quest
Ruby and Sapphire (list) AdvancedAdvanced ChallengeAdvanced BattleBattle Frontier
Diamond and Pearl (list) Diamond and PearlBattle DimensionGalactic BattlesSinnoh League Victors
Black & White (list) Black & WhiteRival DestiniesAdventures in Unova and Beyond
XY (list) XYKalos QuestXYZ (Mega Evolution Specials)
Sun & Moon (list) Sun & MoonUltra Adventures‎Ultra Legends
Journeys (list) JourneysMaster JourneysUltimate Journeys (The Arceus Chronicles)
Horizons (list) Horizons
Specials (list) Pikachu's Winter VacationSide StoriesPokémon Chronicles
Planetarium specialsPikachu shorts
Mewtwo ReturnsThe Legend of Thunder!Pichu Bros. in Party Panic
The Mastermind of Mirage PokémonPokémon Ranger: Guardian SignsA Ripple in Time
Complete listMoviesOther anime series
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