5th Gen Are Black and White a reboot?

With no evolutions or pre-evolutions of older Pokémon do you think that everything is basically starting over? When asking myself this question the first thing I thought of was Ruby and Sapphire as they kind of had the same situation.

But the more I thought about it, I realized that Ruby and Sapphire didn't make a new Nurse Joy or a new Officer Jenny, and they also didn't make a big deal in the anime about a Pokémon from Kanto being in their region. Also, while watching the Black and White premier today I noticed they brought back the "Who's that Pokémon?" thing, which I haven't seen since the Indigo league.

Another thing I noticed was a few of the Pokémon in this generation are basically copies of Pokémon from previous generations. One example is Voltorb and Foongus who are both obviously based on Pokéballs.

So what do you think? Are Black and White a reboot to the Pokémon series?

Yes, I think they just copied the original Pokemon series, and changed a few things. Tabunne which functions as Chansey, Alomomola (I think that was it's name) as Luvdisc, and Foongus serving as Voltorb.

I think they are. These games are different than the other games. There are new Pokemon replacing the old Pokemon that we used to see all the time.

I think they are, Ruby and Sapphire was a 75% reboot, but Black and White was a complete reboot. I like that, no connections to the previous regions until after the E4. The storyline is awesome, same goes for everything else. I guess Game Freak will not do reboots so often, otherwise people will get lost and confused. But this is a perfect time for a reboot, espically after Sinnoh. :3

Judging that Ash is 10, I'll say its a reboot lol.

I think they wanted to go for a perfect blend between keeping the longtime fans happy while still attracting a brand new generation of audiences. Over here in the UK Nintendo and its products are heavily advertised since the massive success of the Wii, and I expect Black and White to be heavily advertised also when the release date draws near.

The general concept of B/W is to start over, like the main series, like being able to only catch Unova Pokemon prior to the National Dex, as well as having more direct counterparts to older Pokemon. So I agree that B/W is a reboot.

Is connectivity retained?

Are references to past games made?

Do old characters cameo?

Are all Pokemon and formes retained?

Black and White is not a reboot. Even Ruby and Sapphire are closer to being considered reboots.

Hiroshi Sotomura said:

There's several references to past events - and what are you going to do? Pretend they didn't happen?

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In the case of reboots, yes. For example... the Christopher Noland Batman movies don't take into account any of the events of the four movies before them. They don't even reference them.

That having been said, Fushigidane-Chan, how are R/S "closer" to being reboots?

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Mostly the fact connectivity was cut off, and the few amount of references were just that - references. Black and White went the (unnecessary, but appreciated) extra mile and included several characters from past games, and one of them even in a rather important role (Caitlin).

In addition, while Ruby and Sapphire did feature quite a few old Pokemon, and one could argue Black and White are more like reboots due to the fact no old Pokemon appear throughout the main game - a good portion of them do indeed appear post-E4. And, as connectivity does indeed exist, it's been fully possible to acquire all the Pokemon that existed at the time from day 1 of Generation 5. This was not possible in Ruby and Sapphire, where a good portion of the older Pokemon were indeed unobtainable until Colosseum and FRLG were released, or without the assistance of cheating devices.

Edit: I guess it should also be mentioned that, while Ruby and Sapphire completely overhauled the battle system, the subsequent games merely tweaked and advanced it from then on. Black and White specifically brought forth no changes to the single-battle system itself. It only introduced triple battles.

Black and White include probably the biggest and most daring changes that have occurred through past generations. If anything, I would consider it a reboot of the franchise and games. They've heavily implied that these games (including the anime) are a large leap and change of perception from past regions. So, even if we were to think of it as just another generation, it wouldn't change the fact that these games were made with the purpose of rebooting the franchise.

I don't mind the inclusion of various past characters, such as Caitlin though. Personally, it still shows that Pokémon hasn't forgotten its past, but is just taking the next steps in moving the concept of the games further.

Hiiro said:

Black and White include probably the biggest and most daring changes that have occurred through past generations. If anything, I would consider it a reboot of the franchise and games. They've heavily implied that these games (including the anime) are a large leap and change of perception from past regions. So, even if we were to think of it as just another generation, it wouldn't change the fact that these games were made with the purpose of rebooting the franchise.

I don't mind the inclusion of various past characters, such as Caitlin though. Personally, it still shows that Pokémon hasn't forgotten its past, but is just taking the next steps in moving the concept of the games further.

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I agree with this post a lot. I'm glad they are making the heroes older and making the story a bit more realistic/darker.

Well... not a reboot IMO. Just a new region with some new Pokémon.

I forgot where, but an interview said that they were basically starting over with Black and White, hence the new systems and the incredibly hard reversal function. They want a new slate to start on and are doing so with a big bang.

I'd like to make a comment on the Gen 2 and Gen 3 relation though. Them not being able to connect was not due to a reboot, but rather a new change in coding that would not allow the two previous generations to connect with the new Generation. To fix that minor error they recreated the first Generation bringing in the first of the reconstructed game duo's into existence. Fire Red and Leaf Green. The fact that Ruby and Sapphire's time line is exactly at the same time as Red and Blue also helps this fact.

I forgot where, but an interview said that they were basically starting over with Black and White, hence the new systems and the incredibly hard reversal function. They want a new slate to start on and are doing so with a big bang.

I'd like to make a comment on the Gen 2 and Gen 3 relation though. Them not being able to connect was not due to a reboot, but rather a new change in coding that would not allow the two previous generations to connect with the new Generation. To fix that minor error they recreated the first Generation bringing in the first of the reconstructed game duo's into existence. Fire Red and Leaf Green. The fact that Ruby and Sapphire's time line is exactly at the same time as Red and Blue also helps this fact.

I forgot where, but an interview said that they were basically starting over with Black and White, hence the new systems and the incredibly hard reversal function. They want a new slate to start on and are doing so with a big bang.

I'd like to make a comment on the Gen 2 and Gen 3 relation though. Them not being able to connect was not due to a reboot, but rather a new change in coding that would not allow the two previous generations to connect with the new Generation. To fix that minor error they recreated the first Generation bringing in the first of the reconstructed game duo's into existence. Fire Red and Leaf Green. The fact that Ruby and Sapphire's time line is exactly at the same time as Red and Blue also helps this fact.

XanderO said:

I forgot where, but an interview said that they were basically starting over with Black and White, hence the new systems and the incredibly hard reversal function. They want a new slate to start on and are doing so with a big bang.

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Not quite sure what you mean by "new systems" and "incredibly hard reversal function".

I'd like to make a comment on the Gen 2 and Gen 3 relation though. Them not being able to connect was not due to a reboot, but rather a new change in coding that would not allow the two previous generations to connect with the new Generation.

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This is true. However, GameFreak did have the opportunity to cut off connectivity and begin anew again with Black and White; they did not. Connectivity is there and even encouraged with the Zoroark, Zorua, and Lock Capsule events, all of which require transferring certain Pokemon/items from previous games.

Yes Black and White are definitively reboots.