Pokémon Black 2 journal - entry five

I cruised through the revamped Victory Road by using a few repels. I found that I didn’t really care to fight a bunch of Gurdurrs during my ascent. As for the actual battles against the members of the Elite Four, they went much more smoothly this time around. There was certainly still a degree of challenge to them, and I hold firm to my belief that the generation five Elite Four is the best rendition of the series’ “final boss gauntlet run”. But I was much more prepared with my team of Serperior, Genesect, Lucario, Zoroark, Glaceon, and Espeon. Whereas Caitlin proved the most difficult to best in White version, with a team that included bug and dark types she was the easiest to beat this time around.

As for the League Champion battle, it was rather interesting. While still intense and challenging, it was also one of the most enjoyable final battles I’ve experienced in a while. The whole fight has an atmosphere of “just plain fun” about it, and after putting an end to the sinister plot that Team Plasma had brewed up, it presents a welcome shift back to the happy overtone the series is known for. But as fun as the endgame was, I still have a fair amount of ground to cover in the post-game. I expect my review for Black version 2/White version 2 to be posted in early November.

Pokémon Black 2 journal - entry four

I’ve arrived at Victory Road, and it is the last thing that stands between me and the conclusion of the main game. It’s been a long road from the brief tutorials and first gym battle in Aspertia City, but it’s certainly been worth it. I was worried that Black 2 would be easier than White version, but the gym battles proved more balanced as a whole – due in part, I think, to the inclusion of Pokémon from past generations. The layout of each gym was cool and - between those and the cutscenes - showed just how much the DS cartridges can handle nearly eight years after the system’s initial release.

Choosing Serperior as my starter paid off in the end, with the water and ground-type gyms being significantly easier than in either White version or Soul Silver version. In fact, my whole team is a large break away from what I am used to – bug, steel, grass, and fighting are types that I previously only fought against, and the only dark type I ever got much use out of was my Umbreon in Soul Silver. But knowing what the Elite Four has in store for me, I can say that I feel much better prepared this time around than I did while playing White version. I have caught all three of the legendary horse Pokémon, though it was more because the story directed me toward catching them and less because I have any actual intention of using them for this first Elite Four encounter.

The story played out very well, and the final few hours fighting Team Plasma were challenging and intense, even with all the healing items on hand. I appreciated the fact that there was honestly no real need to grind throughout the entire game, though I did set aside a couple of hours to boost my Eevee’s happiness and evolve into an Espeon. While Black 2 has not been a wild departure from what I experienced in White version, the few tweaks that have been made here and there are welcome and benefit the game in small ways. Nintendo has adhered to the simple principle of not trying to fix what isn’t broken, though the new and expanded areas feel just as much a part of the Unova region as everything retained from the first two games.

I don’t expect my review to be up before the end of the month, but it should be posted sometime in early November. There’s a lot left to explore in the post-game, and I want to take the time to thoroughly experience that. Also, I would be a liar if I said I wasn’t interested in tracking down some of the legendary Pokémon carried over from previous generations (as well as a certain Shiny Haxorus).

Pokémon Black 2 journal - entry three

Way back when I started my journal for Pokémon Soul Silver, I stated my intent to raise each and every one of the Eevee evolutions. While I started with Umbreon, I quickly built up a solid line of Eevees, one of which would be evolved into Vaporeon in Soul Silver, and the rest which would be evolved through their respective processes in White version. Thanks to the convenience of being allowed to use the instantaneous infrared trading between White and Black 2, I have moved my Glaceon over to Black 2 and added him to my party. While I won’t deny that Vanillish/Vanilluxe served me well as an ice-type in White version, I would like to better familiarize myself with new Pokémon instead of relying on the same faces as last time around. The same goes for the Eevee I caught in the wild in Black 2, who will be evolved into Espeon relatively soon. I have not actually had an Espeon since the first time I played through the original GBC release of Gold version. My secondary choice was going to be Solosis/Duosion/Reuniclus, but considering those are exclusive to White 2, I don’t much care to go out of my way to track down someone who already owns one and is looking to trade. Besides, if I’m raising all these Eevees, I might as well get some use out of them, right?

I still caught a few of my mainstays from White version in Black 2 just in case I find my party needs a major change. Zebstrika, Litwick, and Elgyem are all waiting in my PC Box, though I really don’t anticipate using them. In fact, I find it rather strange (though not entirely unwelcome) the fact that I have gotten so far without using a fire type Pokémon. I put Growlithe back in the PC after the first few gym battles, and I’ve found that it actually isn’t terribly difficult to make it the rest of the way without a fire type, though it certainly helps that the game has presented me with so many "free" Pokémon (Zorua/Zoroark, Lucario, the downloadable Genesect).

I feel that the gyms have held a much better balance this time around. The first couple were relatively easy to overcome, and none of them have proven exceptionally difficult. But the progression of difficulty has been relatively consistent with each gym presenting a greater number of challengers before the main event with the actual gym leader and smarter tactics from the gym leaders overall. The fact that the game introduces some new areas to Unova is cool. Though I haven’t heard much of Team Plasma in a while, there are rumors floating around Unova of their activities, and I find it hard to believe they won’t make another appearance soon.

Pokémon Black 2 journal - entry two

Even though the different wild Pokémon I’ve run into at this point has been relatively limited to a small pool, the types I’ve been able to gather have made for a very well-rounded team. I’ve had a few team members evolve, and added a couple of new Pokémon to my rotation. I am still testing the waters with Zorua and getting a feel for the way he handles. Meanwhile, I swapped out Venipede for Genesect. When I purchased White version, Victini was available for download, though I hardly used him because I wanted my initial playthrough to be exactly as Nintendo intended it to be. With Genesect, however, I am keeping him a few levels lower than the rest of my party to maintain a decent balance. His dual bug and steel types are rather interesting, and his attacks (while severely limited by PP) cover a solid range.

The challenge presented by the gym battles is better in Black 2 than in White, in my opinion. Elesa’s team is still frustrating as ever, what with their constant spamming of Volt Switch. But Clay’s gym proved one of the largest yet, and the challengers therein had a nice variety of Pokémon (even if they were all ground types). The World Tournament seems like a really cool idea – almost like a variation of Pokémon Stadium for this handheld game. My first experience with it was quite positive, though I think I will find it even more enjoyable once I have access to battles with gym leaders from regions outside Unova.

While the story is still gradually unfolding, it has struck me with a few unexpected twists. While my rival’s motives for tracking down Team Plasma were predictable, the behavior of Team Plasma itself has struck me as very intriguing. I think it’s pretty cool that so many people in Unova mention both the protagonist from Black/White and N. Their presence is felt, even though I haven’t actually seen either one of them in-game yet, and in that regard Black 2 feels like a real sequel to the previous adventure in the Unova region.

Pokémon Black 2 journal - entry one

At present, I am a little over four hours into Pokémon Black version 2. The controls and menu setup are largely unchanged, though there are a few new features that are convenient, like the habitat readout on the Pokédex, which informs you of all the Pokémon that can be encountered in landmark areas in Unova. Nintendo and Game Freak have done a great job in streamlining the experience so far. Instead of spending a lot of time on tutorials, you are given an option to skip past most of these if you are familiar with the previous Black or White versions. Also, you are given Pokéballs before you even leave your hometown, and the first gym leader battle (against Cheren from Black/White) serves more as a benchmark than a full-fledged battle - Cheren only uses two Pokémon, but it is a good idea to grind just a little bit before facing him, which will in turn aid a natural experience progression in the areas that follow (and on to the second gym). That isn't to say that Black 2 is slow-going right out the door - in fact, the introductory events move much more quickly than with its predecessor.

The opening credits suggest that N will play an important role in Black 2/White 2, and already the people of Unova have made mention of his actions from two years ago. Team Plasma made a brief debut, and I will be interested to see what has become of them since their defeat in the first two games (odds are they haven't wised up to using more powerful Pokémon than Patrats and Woobats, but whatever). The first two gyms were relatively quick, with the latter's rock-concert venue being something strikingly different from past gyms, and honestly pretty darn cool. The fact that these gyms were host to Normal types and Poison types respectively hopefully indicates a more natural progression in the game's difficulty (the gym battles being among the few complaints I had about Black/White versions).

Fire types have traditionally been my go-to starters, and using Oshawott in White version proved a different (though not wildly so) experience. This time around I chose Snivy as my starter in the hopes that it provides me with a slightly higher degree of challenge than with past Pokémon games. Honestly, I've hardly ever used any Grass types before - though Bug and Poison types are not completely foreign to me, I anticipate using a Grass type will take some getting used to.

As for the rest of my party, I've been capitalizing on the fact that there are so many Pokémon from previous generations now available for use in Unova. As I mentioned in some of my previous postings, I have never played any of the core games from Generation III or IV (i.e. - Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl, Platinum), it is nice to have access to Pokémon like Riolu and Azurill so early on. For the most part, the Pokémon currently in my party are single element types, which makes for a substantially different experience than I had anticipated when compared to all the dual types I had in my party throughout most of White version. To be honest, it's kind of like a throwback to my experience with Soul Silver. I am going to try my hardest to avoid overlap from my party members in White version - I may train another Chandelure, and I do intend to catch Zekrom by the endgame, but I want the rest of my part to be different than the last time around.