Black or White: Which Pokemon version should you pick?

Choosing between Pokemon Black and White is not an easy choice, since both these games have aged extremely well. It has been more than 10 years since the launch of Pokemon Black and White on Nintendo DS, and the game is still running strong. Fans still jump into the game to experience that decade-old nostalgia.

If you do not want to grind your way through both games and intend to play only one, you have a really difficult choice to make. When it comes to Black and White, that choice primarily revolves around your liking for Reshiram and Zekrom. Your preference in this category might just be the answer to making an educated pick.

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Which Pokemon version should you pick?

Zekrom and Reshiram (Image via Game Freak)

Black and White take the difference in-game to a completely new level. Instead of just exclusive Pokemon and slight story alterations, Black and White also offer completely different in-game locations.

Black has Black City while White features White Forest. Black City is full of shops and trainers to battle, while White Forest is filled with wild Pokemon, including 32 that cannot be found in the Black version.

Black City and White Forest (Image via Game Freak)

The White Forest exclusive Pokemon are:

• Pidgey
• Nidoran (Male & Female)
• Oddish
• Abra
• Machop
• Bellsprout
• Magnemite
• Gastly
• Rhyhorn
• Porygon
• Togepi
• Mareep
• Hoppip
• Wooper
• Elekid
• Magby
• Wurmple
• Lotad
• Seedot
• Ralts
• Surskit
• Slakoth
• Whismur
• Azurill
• Aron
• Trapinch
• Corphish
• Bagon
• Starly
• Shinx
• Budew
• Happiny

Each one of them can be found at level 5 and cannot be avoided with either Abilities or Repels. It is also on top of the normal version of exclusive creatures found between the two games.

The version exclusives for White are:

• Caterpie
• Metapod
• Butterfree
• Paras
• Parasect
• Misdreavus
• Poochyena
• Mightyena
• Minun
• Mismagius
• Solosis
• Duosion
• Reuniclus
• Rufflet
• Braviary
• Thundurus
• Zekrom

The version exclusives for Black are:

• Weedle
• Kakuna
• Beedrill
• Murkrow
• Houndour
• Houndoom
• Shroomish
• Breloom
• Plusle
• Honchkrow
• Gothita
• Gothorita
• Gothitelle
• Vullaby
• Mandibuzz
• Tornadus
• Reshiram

A good thing to remember is that the white-colored Legendary, Reshiram, belongs to the Black version. On the contrary, the black-colored Legendary, Zekrom, belongs to the White version.

In-game Pokemon Black and White (Image via Game Freak)

There are also appearance changes in some areas between the two titles. Opelucid City will be futuristic in Black, while it is a bit more rustic in White. Opelucid Gym Leaders change, too, with Drayden in Black and Iris in White. The Battle House will have different styles of battle based on the version picked.

A character in the city will want to be shown a Pokemon with the move Charge. In Black, he says he wants it to travel back in time, and in White, he says it is so he can return to his own. In Mistralton City, the airfield will have greenhouses near it in Black, but simple plots of land in White.

Those are the major differences in Pokemon Black and White. White should be considered the best choice, seeing as it has more Pokemon available. Otherwise, the futurism of Black may be your style.

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For more content on the Pokemon franchise, check out the following:

• All Fire-type Starter Pokemon, ranked
• All Water-type Starter Pokemon, ranked
• All Grass-type Starter Pokemon, ranked
• 5 of Ash's best Pokemon from Unova
• 5 best Ash's Pokemon from Kalos
• 5 of Ash's best Pokemon from Galar
• 5 of Ash's best Pokemon from Alola