Reviewing Pokemon's Human Characters - Unova

And here we go with the fifth generation of Pokemon games and their human characters. The fifth generation is interesting in that it's one of the two generations to really try to have a more elaborate, longer story and actually explore a bit more themes than just 'evil team tries to take over the world and capture a legendary Pokemon'. The two sets of games in this generation -- Black & White, as well as Black 2 & White 2 -- are interesting in that ever since Kanto and Johto, these are the only games that have ever technically been 'sequels' of each other instead of a remaster. And I feel like the fifth generation is one of the most contentious ones, with so many people swearing up and down that they're the best games Pokemon has ever put out, while some people swear up and down that they are the worst. I very rarely see any ratings that put Generation V in the middle of the pack, it's either considered a masterpiece or an abomination.

And... I don't think fifth generation is my favourite generation of games. My favourite is honestly probably the fourth. But fifth generation does have one of my favourite stories out there, even if it is admittedly a bit heavy-handed at times. As I mentioned before, I played both Sinnoh and Unova games in one huge 'catch up' month before the release of Pokemon XY, and it was also a time where I consumed a lot of information in one go -- the games, the manga, the new Pokemon, a bunch of online Nuzlocke comics... which is why a lot of information about the fifth generation didn't actually stick because there's a fair bit of information overload. I also never actually played any of the Unova games beyond the story modes, so I don't really have much of an opinion on any of its post-game characters. I might have to fix that soon, I could do a little reset of my old White 2 cartridge.

One thing to note about the fifth generation is that Unova is the first region in a mainline Pokemon series (Orre's cool, but it's considered quasi-canon by Nintendo, I feel) that is not set in a Japan-based region. So far, in the past generations, most of the characters are honestly very easily assumed to be ethnically and culturally Japanese other than a few specific exceptions that the games point out (Lt. Surge, Fantina, arguably Phoebe and Dahlia) but with Pokemon itself being an international franchise, it's interesting to have that in the back of our minds. Of course, they're all ultimately drawn in a very anime-esque art style, so it's really hard to note if any of the fair-skinned characters are supposed to be Japanese or Caucasian in ethnicity. It's not really going to matter, honestly, but it's interesting to note that it's with Unova that they're actively trying to be representative of non-Japanese countries.


Hilbert & Hilda

• Position: Protagonist
• Japanese Name: Touya & Touka

As usual, I really don't have a whole lot to say about Hilbert, the male protagonist of the first round of games, Black and White. He's wearing a distinctively lighter shade of blue, but the designs of the likes of Red, Ethan, Lucas and Hilbert over here all fall into what's more or less similar designs if you squint. Hilbert has a messier set of hair, I suppose, but I actually feel like he's easily the most forgettable of your playable avatars, I'm sorry. His female counterpart, Hilda, is a bit more memorable to me because while she's kind of a generic anime teenager, at least her black-and-white getup and her shorts make her distinct from all other Pokemon human designs. I'm not sure what the term for those little white dangly-bits on her shorts are, but that also helps to make her a bit more distinctive.


Nate & Rosa

• Position: Protagonists
• Japanese Name: Kyohei & Mei

Black 2 and White 2 take place a couple of years after the first round of generation 5 games, so your protagonist is just spoken of by some of the NPC's while you get to pick one of these two new kids to run around Unova. I was actually briefly around when B2/W2 news were starting to break, and I remembered that people were all speculating that B2/W2 will bring back diving or something since Nate and Rosa seem to be wearing some skin-tight bodysuit under their outfits. I mean, Rosa could just be fashionable and be wearing a skirt-over-pants deal, but Nate's definitely wearing some sort of weird bodysuit under that funky-looking jacket. That's really what made these two memorable. As usual, the female protagonist looks a lot more unique than the dude one -- the colour palette for her outfit and the Princess Leia hair-buns make for a far more memorable character design. Although Nate is probably kind of a bit more memorable? He's got hair over his hat and that weird baggy shorts over his maybe-bodysuit.


Cheren

• Position: Rival (B/W); Gym Leader (B2/W2)
• Japanese Name: Cheren

In the original Black/White, you get two rivals, and I remember them very vividly! Cheren is your first rival, this geeky kid with glasses and an almost suit-like jacket, and he's going to be the more 'serious' one of your two rivals, being a bit more analytical, picking the starter that's stronger against yours, and generally ends up being the smart, serious one. Black/White tries to have a 'truth vs. ideals' theme going on that I don't think is actually delivered all that well, but Cheren's meant to be your buddy whose worldview revolves around ideals, and his goals to become champion... but when he actually gets questioned about it, he doesn't actually know why he wants to be a champion or something. I do like Cheren.

He shows up in the B2/W2 games a bit older and having found a place for himself, serving as one of the early gym leaders and becomes a Normal-type gym leader, taking over from Lenora from the first set of Unova games. I think Cheren is the first time in the games that we actually get straight-up confirmation that, yes, the early-game gym leaders you fight with a level 10 Patrat don't actually use their 'proper' teams to fight, because when Cheren shows up later to either help you or to show up in the tournaments, he's packing higher-leveled Pokemon and in at least one 'memory link' battle he brings back his Haxorus/Gigalith team from the first games.


Bianca

• Position: Rival (B/W), Professor's Aide (B2/W2)
• Japanese Name: Bel

I've always been of the opinion that if given proper pacing and screentime, Bianca's story would actually be pretty heartbreaking and an awesome one to watch. Unfortunately, in the actual Black/White games it feels like a random tacked-on short cutscene that takes less than a minute to process. I'm not sure if the anime or manga actually broached the subject or not. See, where your chosen protagonist is the strong, silent type and Cheren's a smart kid who wants to battle and be a champion, Bianca is... she's a klutzy, clumsy overly-excited girl who constantly trips over herself and is the 'casual' of the bunch, picking the weaker option to your starter and builds an arguably less-competitive team than Cheren. But apparently, despite Bianca being mostly just kind of a ditz all over the place, she's actually hiding a secret -- she's basically running away from home against her stern father's objections to pursue her dream of becoming a Pokemon trainer. It's her 'truth', and I really do like that a lot... but, again, Bianca's story isn't necessarily handled particularly well in the game storyline. Her father eventually mellows out, though.

In B2/W2, Bianca ends up ditching that overly-long pencil skirt for something more practical, and she ends up becoming Professor Juniper's aide! As of the time of writing, in generation 8, it's a bit of a story beat that has been repeated a couple of times over -- even more if you count Gary Oak in the anime and Crystal in the manga -- but while she (and Cheren) aren't quite as memorable in the second set of games, Bianca finding a place for herself in Pokemon academia because she really isn't suited to (and didn't like) the battling stuff in the first set of games is a neat progression for her. Design-wise... I don't have much to say here. First-game Bianca is basically a huge amount of character tropes for a clumsy girl, and the second-game Bianca is a more confident getup. I really do like the combination of orange and green as colours, though.


N

• Position: Team Plasma King
• Japanese Name: N

I originally put N a lot lower on this coverage, alongside the rest of Team Plasma, before realizing that he actually fills the function of a rival as well. One of the biggest problems people had with the fifth-generation games is that your protagonist seems to be more or less along for the ride and it's N that is undergoing all of these huge character revelations and development, a perfectly reasonable criticism of the fifth-generation games. I don't think there's a lot of middle ground for N, really. You either really like him because you really like his story (I do) or you really hate him because he rambles on and on and on about over-the-top metaphysical discussion about truths and ideals and his place in the world and stuff. And, again, with better writing I feel like N would've been a lot more tolerable to the fandom as a character. It is Gamefreak's first real big attempt at making a more story-driven narrative, after all.

See, the villains of Black and White are Team Plasma, a cult-like organization that is preaching about Pokemon freedom and how Pokemon would be happier if they are released back into the wild. (A very interesting concept for the franchise that the games don't really delve deep into after introducing the concept) The apparent figurehead of this cult is the enigmatic N, a young man who truly believes that most humans will only abuse Pokemon. Most notably, in the four or five battles that you fight N in, he never really has a permanent team and seems to befriend and use any Pokemon from the nearby area, which is a very cool concept. Of course, as writers, you can't really condemn one of the central concepts of the game, so near the end of the game it turns out that N has been brainwashed and basically raised to be a 'puppet king' by his evil adoptive father Ghetsis, who's just trying to use N's message to put Team Plasma, and therefore Ghetsis, in power. The essential story of N, read through plot synopses or fan art comics (there are a lot of great Nuzlocke comics of the fifth generation that really made N feel great) end up being so interesting... but, again, in the games, N's story is bogged down with unnecessarily long-winded monologues.

N also ends up catching the opposite-game legendary, which I think is the first time the opposite-game legendary is actively involved in the other game? They do this again in Sword and Shield. Which means that the final boss fight against N (which replaces the first champion battle of the game) a lot more epic. In the second round of games, N and his legendary partner ends up basically sort of just being there as a plot device, not really doing a whole ton but show up in plot-relevant scenes. Ultimately, I do think that N's story in the first round of Black/White games is still a very solid one, and while his character design would be absolutely boring without that green hair, at least there's a neat bit of effort that went into him.

N's team, as mentioned above, varies depending on where you meet him since he uses 'buddies' he befriended from the nearby routes... but he also serves as the first champion you fight since he beat up the actual official champion, Alder, to prove his 'truth/ideal' is stronger. N uses the opposite-version mascot legendary against you, but also uses the region's two fosils, his childhood partner Zoroark and a bunch of utterly random boys like Klinklang and Vanniluxe. Again, if the game was a bit less confusing about N's stance on Pokeballs or trainers keeping Pokemon or whatever, I feel like it would've been a much better story.

Also, N's official name, which is absolutely mockable, is "Natural Harmonia Gropius". Yep, he's named "Gropius". I'm not going to make the obvious joke. 


Hugh

• Position: Rival (B2/W2)
• Japanese Name: Hyu

In B2/W2, you only get a single rival, Hugh. And I really want to say more about him, but I honestly don't remember a whole ton about him -- he started off his journey basically being an ill-mannered boy who is trying to hunt down his sister's stolen Purrloin, basically going on the closest thing that Pokemon can get to a journey of vengeance. It's an interesting way to bring back a more active, dickish rival that still remains more or less civil with your character. I don't really remember much of him, after being a dick to Team Plasma and helping you against them, I think you just help him get the Purrloin back and he sort of mellows out? Design-wise he's also kind of generic. If not for the clear lack of hat, I would've mistaken him for a first draft for a male protagonist. I know a lot of my friends like Hugh, though, so maybe it's just a matter of me really not paying attention to the plot of B2/W2 enough, or just latching on to Cheren and N a bit better? I still don't think much of him design-wise, though. 

Cilan, Chili, Cress

• Position: Gym Leader
• Japanese Name: Dent (Cilan); Pod (Chili); Corn (Cress)
• Type Specialization: Grass (Cilan); Fire (Chili); Water (Cress)

We're done with the main rivals, and we're starting off with the gym leaders now. In Black and White, the first gym leaders you meet are these three triplets of Striaton City. They're colour-coded waiters, and I feel like there's a significant emphasis in Unova's gym leaders in showing that they have a visual design that really communicates their non-Pokemon-trainer profession. It's not entirely a factor that's new here, but it's something that I felt was pretty heavily emphasized in this generation.

Sadly, though, Cilan, Chili and Cress are a lot less interesting than you would think in having three people hold the position of a gym leader simultaneously. They could've been a triple battle (which Black and White actually has as a feature) or a gauntlet where you have to defeat all three of them without resting or something... but you just fight whichever one of them corresponds to the type that's strong to your starter. They use the corresponding elemental monkey, and I believe that art director Ken Sugimori has gone on record on saying that the waiter triplets and the three elemental monkeys were more or less designed simultaneously. Cilan is most prominent for being one of Ash's traveling companions in the anime's Unova season, most memorable to me by his insistence of being a 'Poke-somellier' who describes every Pokemon with food-review terms. Otherwise these three are extremely forgettable to me -- they are reduced to irrelevant cameos in B2/W2 or the original Black and White's climax, and the most memorable thing about them to me is that there used to be a conspiracy that they're actually Team Plasma's Shadow Triad. (They're not). Ultimately, they could've done something interesting but they just gave us the bare basics for these guys.


Lenora

• Position: Gym Leader
• Japanese Name: Aloe
• Type Specialization: Normal

The second gym leader you face in Black/White is the Normal-type gym leader Lenora. She's an archaeologist and her gym is a museum, and to reach Lenore you actually have to solve a bunch of riddles and clues in her gym. I always thought it's a bit weird that the archaeologist gym leader doesn't actually use Rock or Ground types, and instead uses her pet dog and her pet meerkat, but other than that she's pretty cool. By the time of B2/W2, Lenora has retired from being a gym leader to focus on being an archaeologist, and the role of a Normal-type gym leader is taken up by good ol' Cheren. 

Lenora is great for being one of the first NPCs in the Pokemon franchise to be a bit more diverse in terms of ethnicity, being black instead of maybe-tanned, but ended up being the subject of a bit of controversy because her apron (which was intended to be part of her archaeologist getup) ended up sparking concern about her design alluding the mammy stereotype, leading to Lenora getting revise artwork showing her slinging the apron over her shoulder and having the apron edited out of the anime and manga altogether. Okay. 

Burgh

• Position: Gym Leader
• Japanese Name: Arty
• Type Specialization: Bug

Oh, I like Burgh. He's a weirdo, being the gym leader of Castelia City, the 'big city' in Unova, and I do like his colour palette of green and bright pink. Burgh is a huge lover of bug Pokemon, and in Unova it means his team is made up of neat-looking buggies like Whirlipede and Leavanny... and he's also an artist, and I think he uses bug Pokemon as models. I really love that his bugs aren't even conventionally pretty bugs. His gym has these actually gross-looking giant honey walls, and I remembered them looking pretty gross. Like most of the gym leaders in Unova, you actually meet Burgh a couple of times outside of his gym, and you have to either find Burgh when he's looking for inspiration in Pinwheel forest, and all the gym leaders (bar the waiter triplets) actually show up to help you fight Team Plasma at the end. I really don't have much of an opinion on him, but he's neat.


Elesa

• Position: Gym Leader
• Japanese Name: Kamitsure
• Type Specialization: Electric

Here's one of what I think is the fandom's favourite gym leaders from this generation, and unlike the rest of the gym leaders, Elesa actually receives two separate artworks because she radically changed her image between the events of Black/White and Black 2/White 2. Elsa's also a supermodel, which is her huge occupation thing for the game. And... and I like both of her designs! I'm not the most well-versed with women's clothing, but her original B/W design is one of those very flashy, chic outfits that look good on the runway but probably wouldn't be something you see in the street a lot. Which works great for a gym leader whose whole deal is being a model. Elesa's revamped design, though, is a fair bit more practical, I feel, and I do love how different her two styles look -- the original design with the yellow-and-black theme just really screams 'electric', whereas her second outfit is a bit more... derivative, I guess? She's always got the red-and-blue headphones, but her B2/W2 outfit added a lot more reds and blues onto her clothes and shoes. Either way, pretty neat-looking outfits.

I'm not entirely sure what those weird dangly wires on Elesa's first design is supposed to be, though. earphone jacks, I guess? It makes her look vaguely inspired by Electivire, which isn't a Pokemon you can find in Unova. Elesa's the gym leader of Nimbasa City, which is the big entertainment city and Unova's equivalent to Coney Island. And in Black and White, her gym is this insane roller-coaster ride... but in B2/W2 she's torn it all down and converted it into just a regular ol' runway. And while she looks like she's a cool, serious lady, turns out that she's actually the mentor figure that ended up intervening between Bianca and her father and convinces Bianca's dad to give her daughter's dreams a chance, and in an exclusive 'memory' scene in B2/W2, we learn that Elesa's actually trying really hard to change her image between B/W and B2/W2 to be a lot less reserved and like what people expect a lightning-wielding supermodel bombshell to be and end up exuding a new image that's more 'her' and make her career more fun. That's some character development I can get behind, and before doing this and reading up on these 'memory scenes' or whatever, I didn't even know that they had any real reason behind Elesa's change in appearance beyond 'she's a supermodel so of course she has a new outfit'. Okay!


Clay

• Position: Gym Leader
• Japanese Name: Yakon
• Type Specialization: Ground

Y'know, while I did bitch about not really remembering anything about the Striaton triplets, at least their gimmick of being three waiter boys is memorable. I genuinely forgot Clay existed at all. He's a cowboy businessman whose gym has you descend down a bunch of levels into his mine. And... and that's honestly all there is about him, really. He's a bit more active in the events of the game, it seems, and he uses a bunch of ground-type Pokemon like Excadrill and Krokorok to presumably help him in the mining business, but he really is a character and a design that is wholly unmemorable to me, I'm sorry.


Skyla

• Position: Gym Leader
• Japanese Name: Huuro
• Type Specialization: Flying

It's really hard to tell because her outfit doesn't actually emphasize her job as well as the other Unovan leaders, but Skyla's meant to be a pilot. And her gym in Mistralton City is an airport that she converts into this completely over-the-top, unsafe-looking hellscape of giant fans and cannons that shoot you around. Pokemon has had a history of gyms that feel like they would be a massive safety hazard, but among those I feel like Skyla's probably takes the cake. I guess those weird crisscrossing darker blue straps are like, a weird modified flight harness? I'm not sure how pilots work in the Pokemon world, so sure. She's a neat design, although I think her personality boils down to basically being kind of bubbly and energetic. I did remember finding her likable, and she's nowhere as forgettable as Clay. Oh, and her team's full of Flying-types... which I remembered to be a real pushover. Sorry, Skyla, when you're the sixth gym leader and a Flying-type expert, you get compared to Winona and where she's packing a dragon and a metal bird, all you bring are three of the region's weaker birds.


Brycen

• Position: Gym Leader
• Japanese Name: Hachiku
• Type Specialization: Ice

On the surface, Brycen is really boring. He's an ice-type trainer wearing an ice-themed kimono and he has a weird mask. He's the super-stoic type, so his dialogue is stilted and pretty short. He doesn't really have any huge interaction with your character outside of his gym, and his Pokemon team is pretty forgettable, literally just consisting of the most obvious Ice-types in the ice-themed area.

But then come B2/W2, and the barely-noticeable detail that Brycen is a movie star that retired from acting after an injury ends up being expanded a lot. See, turns out that the super-serious, badass-but-boring martial arts master appearance that Brycen exuded in Black and White is actually more of a persona he hones to conceal his 'true identity' from others, something that is implied is because of him feeling really vulnerable and confused after his forced retirement. Which is when he comes back in Black 2/White 2, where Brycen retires from being a gym leader and goes back to acting to make movies in order to demonstraet the bond between humans and their Pokemon. And look at just how utterly hammy his in-game sprites for B2/W2 are! Brycen shows up in the "Poke-Star Studios" feature, which admittedly is one that I didn't play too much of, but I played enough to get to the point of seeing Brycen-Man. He shows up hamming it up, and his "Brycen-Man" role is totally like a superhero movie villain or like something out of Super Sentai. Whatever the case, I really do like the far more subtle yet relatable theme of characters like Bianca, Elesa and Brycen finding a place where they seem to be far, far more comfortable in between the time-skip, something the fifth generation games actually manage to tell a lot better than their supposed 'truth-and-ideals' high-concept principle or whatnot


Drayden

• Position: Gym Leader
• Japanese Name: Shaga
• Type Specialization: Dragon

In order to make the two competing games a bit more different, the eighth city in the original Black/White is actually different. Sure, it's both called 'Opelucid City' and all the NPC's are the same, but depending on the version of the game you play, Opelucid City is either going to be a very technological-driven, futuristic city or a homely, traditional one. The gym leaders are also different, although unlike its successors, Black/White's just clearly testing the waters since Drayden and Iris's actual teams are the same.

You face off against Drayden as your final gym leader if you play Pokemon Black, and he's an old dude in a business suit with suspenders, but you never really notice all of that because of that mustache. Seriously, I can't ever take that trap-jaw mustache seriously, and whether it's the anime or the manga, that mustache is hilarious! It's not until the Pokemon Generations specials that Drayden's mustache actually ends up looking badass instead of goofy. Personality wise he's a likable badass old grandpa, particularly in Black 2/White 2 where he's the Opelucid gym leader regardless of which version you play, and being an old dragon master he ends up fighting Neo Team Plasma a lot in his city and giving a bunch of lore about the legendary dragon-type Kyurem.


Iris

• Position: Gym Leader (B/W); Champion (B2/W2)
• Japanese Name: Iris
• Type Specialization: Dragon

In White, you fight Drayden's granddaughter Iris instead! Which isn't really that different from a game-play perspective, since both Drayden and Iris had the exact same Fraxure/Druddigon/Haxorus team, but you actually do meet Iris a lot earlier, around the time you were mucking around Burgh's city, and Iris ends up helping you and Bianca fight one of Team Plasma's dastardly plots. She's also extremely prominent in the anime where she joins up with Ash as one of his companions, and she has a cute Axew that 'nests' inside that huge hair of hers. I'm not sure how I feel about that aspect of her character. Again, it's neat to see some characters that are a bit more diverse in these games.

In Black 2/White 2, Iris had defeated the reigning champion Alder at some point between the games and has became a champion, and has gone full-on in making herself a pretty elaborate princess outfit. Apparently her grandpa Drayden picked it out for her, which I think is a lot funnier. I also think her hair looks a lot more sensible in this artwork too. I felt like it's kind of hilarious considering that the very next generation would include Fairy-types as the nemesis of Dragon-types, but even without that Iris has the whole storybook princess-and-dragons thing going on, except instead of a princess being held hostage by dragons Iris is the queen of her own dragon army.

I really didn't think much of Iris, really, in the first set of games, beyond being a likable supporting character, but I really like her team in B2/W2! She's still a Dragon-type trainer, and her team is still comprised of all the most powerful non-legendary dragons in Unova -- Hydreigon, Haxorus and Druddigon -- but the rest of her team are comprised of Pokemon that vaguely look draconic but are not dragon-types. The metal godzilla Aggron, and the dinosaur-based Archeops and Lapras. Very Generation I Lance, I approve! Iris's anime counterpart, by virtue of being a main character in the show, has this whole storyline of trying to work into being good enough to meet the standards expected of her as the Opelucid gym's successor, which sounds interesting, but I didn't really watch enough of the Best Wishes era of the anime.


Roxie

• Position: Gym Leader
• Japanese Name: Homika
• Type Specialization: Poison

Aw yiss Roxie! I loved Roxie. So in Black 2 and White 2, instead of starting in a pathway similar to the original Unova games, you start off in a completely different part of Unova, working Unova in a bit of a different direction, which is something that I actually found is absolutely cool and isn't something that has ever been done in the other 'enhanced editions' of the other Pokemon games. So you end up fighting Cheren first, and then you go into Virbank City and you fight Roxie, who is this little teenage kid who dresses in loud neon blue and pink, has an underground grunge band and you fight in the stage of said band. And I wouldn't have associated 'loud music' with poison-types, but it's just something that really fit, aesthetically if not thematically. Roxie's Pokemon are Koffing and Whirlipede (and in rematches, she's associated a lot with Garbodor as well) and I really can't articulate why a roly-poly centipede and a grinning gas-bag fits so well with a teenage punk rock star, but they do. Also, she has this hilarious little theme playing in the background of her gym. It's glorious.

I also actually like Roxie's little 'quest' in the game that you have to do to progress. See, Roxie's arguing a lot with her dad when you meet her in Virbank City, because one of them is very, very angry at the other's job. Is it the dad being angry that his little girl is being a rockstar, a stereotypically frowned-upon job by traditional parents? Nope, it's actually Roxie that's giving her father an earful because her father, who's the captain of the boat that's supposed to take you to the mainland, is shirking his duties to try and audition a role as a movie star, and Roxie's angry that her dad's childish attempt at trying to 'double dip' like her is causing problems for the people of Virbank.


Marlon

• Position: Gym Leader
• Japanese Name: Shizui
• Type Specialization: Water

Marlon is the final gym leader you face in Black 2/White 2, the gym leader of Humilau City. (The order goes Cheren-Roxie-Burgh-Elesa-Clay-Skyla-Drayden-Marlon in B2/W2) And the whole ponit of his character? He's such an airhead that he genuinely doesn't realize what's going on in the rest of Unova. And in B2/W2, the bad guy team is flying around in their flying ship, using their legendary-pokemon-powered giant ice cannon to freeze cities and cause havoc in the streets. Marlon doesn't really understand what's going on, and is baffled on whether Team Plasma are 'bad people' when they do come knocking on Humilau City. He's like, so carefree that even when he helps you to find Team Plasma's frigate, he shrugs it and buggers off because it's 'not his style' to judge whether people are bad or not. Okay, then. I guess he's supposed to be modeled after some sort of like, crab or clam-hunting fisherman? Sure. I didn't really care for him that much, and his boss fight is extremely easy for an eighth gym leader, but I did really like just how airheaded he is.


Shauntal

• Position: Elite Four
• Japanese Name: Shikimi
• Type Specialization: Ghost

And here we are with Unova's Elite Four. Black/White is the first Elite Four where instead of a row of four rooms, you end up in a 'lobby' and you can challenge them in any order you want. I did find that Unova's Elite Four is probably one of my favourite ones to fight, due to the fun, rather spooky typings showcased in their members. The first one we're going to be talking about is Shauntal, the Ghost-type Elite Four, and the third Ghost-type Elite Four member we've seen after Agatha and Phoebe. Agatha was a stereotypical old hag and Phoebe was a surprisingly-not-what-you-expect hula dancer, and Shauntal's... one that's not as stereotypical as Agatha, but still very much themed in Ghost-types. She's got a vaguely Goth-inspired outfit, wears purples and blacks all over, looks like Velma Dinkley's cousin, and her profession as a writer even sort of fits with a 'spooky' theme, even if it's not strictly horror that she's writing. Unova's got a very fun selection of ghost-types, and honestly, Jellicent, Golurk, Cofagrigus and Chandelure all share a similar quality of looking spooky and goofy at the same time, exactly like Shauntal. 

I really love it that every time you face her, she's reading and writing a random excerpt from her  novels, which are written with some obviously over-the-top descriptions and stuff... and later on, we realize that Shauntal's actually writing novels about her friends and other famous people in Pokemon, like writing a James Bond style novel about Looker, a manly tragedy about Alder, and the conspiracy theory behind why Agatha and Bertha are two old women that looks so similar... God dang, Shauntal's a fanfiction writer. That's hilarious. 

Marshal

• Position: Elite Four
• Japanese Name: Renbu
• Type Specialization: Fighting

Sadly, the Fighting-type Elite Four is... just another martial arts dude. Marshal is easily the most interesting out of the martial arts dude training martial arts Pokemon, by simple virtue that he's got real baggy pants and a very fun orange-and-blue colour vibe going on. It's a bit hard to tell since his collar's obscuring it, but Marshal's even got blue lipstick on! I'm not even sure if this appearance is supposed to be a homage to a certain Pokemon or not. Marshal's otherwise pretty boring, though, and his team of Fighting-pokemon are also boring (doesn't help that I'm not the biggest fan of Unova's Fighting-types). He's Alder's student, apparently, and several lines of dialogue in the games compares Marshal with Cheren because they are both obsessed with the search for power, but nothing really comes out of it. 

Grimsley

• Position: Elite Four
• Japanese Name: Giima
• Type Specialization: Dark

The Dark-type gym leader is an absolutely stunning pretty-boy in a vaguely Dracula-esque outfit, with a lot of sharp hair bits and stuff. A very cool looking design, and while at this point a cool design is a dime a dozen, Grimsley also comes with an interesting backstory -- he's the son of a distinguished family that fell into ruin, and ended up developing a gambling addiction (which I don't think actually made it into the English localizations) before bouncing back up and ending up exuding this 'dark pretty-boy' aura. He uses Dark-type Pokemon, and while I didn't really pay too much attention to him when I played through generation 5, he does talk a bit about how 'a win is a win, a loss is a loss' no matter how you achieve it. Grimsley shows up two generations later in Alola, where he ditched his Castlevania cosplay for a kimono and he tosses coins and acts like a mysterious dude that helps you at one point in your journey in Sun and Moon. He's neat, but I really don't have much more to say about her.


Caitlin

• Position: Elite Four
• Japanese Name: Cattleya
• Type Specialization: Psychic

Caitlin, though, is far, far more memorable! See, because unlike the rest of the characters in this game, Caitlin debuted a generation earlier! Remember Sinnoh's Battle Frontier? Where one of the facilities is a mansion where a rich, posh butler battled for you because the lady of the mansion can't be bothered to battle with mere peasants? Lady Caitlin here is that lady! And while in Sinnoh, she's reserved and quiet and had to rely on Darach to battle for her because she's afraid that her psychic powers will "erupt" if she gets angry after losing a battle. By the time Black/White rolls around Caitlin's grown into an extremely powerful psychic, having honed her skills in Unova. Again, it fits with the whole 'find your true self' theme that I feel is running through a lot of these characters.

I do really like Caitlin's dialogue, too. She doesn't suddenly turn out to be super-sweet and super-nice, and there's still a streak of upper-class twit snobbiness by calling you 'uncouth' or 'impudent' and hmph-ing all over the place, but she's otherwise very polite and accepts her loss with grace. Her design is also pretty hilariously over-the-top, with her having a dress, one of those poncho-capes or whatever... and then her hair, held up by those psychic butterfly hair-clips, acts as a larger poncho-cape.


Alder

• Position: Champion
• Japanese Name: Adeku
• Type Specialization: N/A

I did remember not thinking too much about Alder when I first played through the game. He's a dude with a giant spiky hairdo, a very distinctive design and is clearly someone important, but mostly he just acts like a mentor to your character and Cheren. Basically, Alder is a carefree champion who is absolutely powerful, but frowns at the young Cheren and his own student Marshal's obsession with strength for strength's sake, and tells them to also enjoy the journey and the experience of becoming a trainer. Because, well, the uber-powerful Alder... had his first partner Pokemon die when he was a lot younger, with Alder blaming their 'mad pursuit of strength' for his partner's death... and he's clearly had his whole life-view turned around after that. It's not something that the game actually brings up all the time, and I think they only say it once or twice, but it really ends up giving Alder's words to Cheren and the like a lot more oomph. It's just such a shame that Alder's ultimate role in the story is basically to be a decoy champion -- in your first very story-driven run through the Elite Four, you go through the Elite Four... but turns out that Team Plasma has already taken over, Alder's been defeated, and you fight N instead, with Alder only really being available on rematches. That's a neat thing from a gameplay perspective.

I've also always found it interesting that while Alder doesn't have a type specialization per se, the most common type among his team is bug. His ace Pokemon (and the one he borrows the design of his hair from) is the mighty Volcarona (the offspring of his original, now-deceased Volcarona), he has the pair of evolves-when-traded bugs Escavalier and Accelgor... then the rest of his team is kind of random. Bouffalant and Druddigon are kinda menacing-looking single-stages, but then he's got the absolutely hilarious-looking Vanilluxe. In B2/W2, he swaps out Druddigon and Vanilluxe for Braviary and Conkeldurr. There's no real rhyme or reason to Alder's team, and I do like that -- I guess he's just really fighting with the Pokemon he likes and befriends the best. Ultimately, I didn't think I would have much to say about Alder, but turns out that I really did like him a fair bit. I just never really thought about him that much.


Professor Aurea Juniper & Cedric Juniper

• Position: Pokemon Professor
• Japanese Name: Araragi-hakase

Good lord, have we just finished the gym leaders and Elite Four? I didn't think I would have this much to say about Unova's characters, which goes to show that there's actually a fair bit about them, huh? I... I really don't have much to say about the actual regional professors. Which, to be fair, Itend to not really have much to say about any of them, but Professor Juniper is our first lady professor! She's not the only professor in Unova, because her dad, Cedric Juniper, also shows up a bit later in the story. Aurea is basically the Professor Juniper as far as the game is concerned, but otherwise I didn't really find the two of them particularly memorable. The game tosses us into the stories of Cheren, Bianca, N and the rest of the cast almost immediately that the professor basically sort of fizzles into the background. 

Team Plasma
And here we are with the evil team. Team Plasma, on paper (and in the manga, and in some fanfiction), is an amazing concept. We've always joked about PETA and Pokemon and the questionable ease that trainers can essentially 'enslave' a Pokemon. And Team Plasma's whole credo, of course, is to free Pokemonkind and humankind, because humans are terrible and stuff. And done well, they might actually be something that causes some interesting thought-provoking stories. But... in Black and White, a vast majority of Team Plasma's antics are just general stealing and hoodlum activity that they do in the name of 'liberation', which I suppose might be something that's meant to be a critique of a cult that thinks it's working for a higher cause. The thing is, the actual values posited by Team Plasma is actually intriguing and under a better writing team, the story of Team Plasma and N could actually be something interesting.

Of course, the whole thing gets bogged down with the Plasma grunts being generic thugs; N being rambling; and concept between Pokemon liberation and the bizarre cult-knights-sages-and-kings fantasy smorgasbord of random concepts end up making Team Plasma just feel like it's... kinda there. They're certainly memorable, and I appreciate them trying to give Plasma its own identity, but ultimately I feel like they could've done a lot more to make Team Plasma's story feel a bit more fleshed out. And, of course, any sort of intelligent debate about the ethics of capturing Pokemon ends when turns out that, hey, stop asking the hard questions, everything from the formation of Team Plasma and the creation of N as this empath has been part of Ghetsis's plans to steal the legendary dragon and rule Unova as king, cause mwa-ha-ha-evil.

In Black 2/White 2, the knight-outfit Team Plasma are led by N and Sage Rood and there's basicalyl this huge 'civil war' ting where the knight-uniform Team Plasma are actually trying to redeem themselves after realizing that their method of 'steal them to free them' is wrong. I've always been neutral about Team Plasma as a whole -- I technically do like N's story of being fooled by his father figure who paints him up as a 'chosen one' and he gathers a cult and all that jazz, but the actual story of Team Plasma itself is kinda boring.

"Neo" Team Plasma
And in Black 2/White 2, the villains are still Team Plasma, but instead of dressing in huge, chunky knight outfits, they are like these ninja-pirates that run around in bodysuits, steal Pokemon, ride a giant flying metal ship and also have those mouth-covering scarves.

And I do mean ninja, because the Shadow Triad (third gif from the left, called "Dark Trinity" in Japan) are the replacements of the 'admins' of previous games. The Shadow Triad showed up in Black and White as basically a way for the game to railroad your character into meeting N or Ghetsis, basically acting as N's bodyguards-cum-handlers, allowing the charismatic N to spread the good word of Team Plasma while actually being loyal to Ghetsis. The Shadow Triad, surprisingly, are the most associated with Pawniard and Bisharp, and only sometimes use ninja-themed Pokemon like Absol and Accelgor. Neo Team Plasma is a sleek team, but ultimately they're basically reduced to generic villains.

Ghetsis

• Position: Team Plasma Leader
• Japanese Name: Gechisu (G-Cis)

And here's Ghetsis, the true big bad of the game. You initially meet Ghetsis as one of the random 'Seven Sages', old men that pretend to be priests of the cult that exists to help out the new king N... but hey, turns out that Ghetsis and his totally unique-looking combination of green hair and cyborg monocle is far more imporant than the other sages, who share the same model. Who knew? Ghetsis is N's adoptive father, picking him up when he realized the kid had an impeccable way with Pokemon and realizes that he can be a figurehead for his cult. Again, turns out that everything Team Plasma did in Black and White is all due to his designs, not to make N king or whatever, but because he's a bad guy who wants to rule everyone by being the only person with Pokemon in Unova. Ambitious... but also kinda dumb. Still, I'm not really going to complain since it's ultimately kind of a solid story, and maybe if/when I get to finishing the Adventures manga's take on the fifth generation, I might have different opinions. He serves as the true final boss of the first Black/White game, using a small army of creepy-looking, fully-evolved Pokemon with his ace being a Hydreigon. 

And then he is revealed to be the mastermind of Black 2/White 2's story, where he plans to combine Kyurem and either Reshiram or Zekrom into this abomination form that he will use as a superweapon to freeze all of Unova. He's... he's not particularly interesting now that the 'evil adoptive dad' twist has been done and played with. An interesting concept, but not one I particularly am fond of. In general I do think that while Black/White does have pacing and monologue problems, it has a solid story it wants to tell whreeas B2/W2 feels a bit more messy and simplified. 

What I am fond of, though, is Ghetsis's look. His original look with that absolutely wacky cloak with eyeballs and the fancy orange-and-purple decals... plus he's got a ring of castle walls around his shoulders. He literally fancies himself a castle! And in B2/W2, his slimmer black cloak is very cool, with those eye designs all over it, and he has a cane-sword for some reason. Very shonen anime main villain with his design. I like him. 

The Seven Sages: Rood, Zinzolin, Gorm, Bronius, Ryoku, Giallo

• Position: Team Plasma Seven Sages
• Japanese Name: Rood (Rood), Vio (Zinzolin), Azula (Gorm), Sumra (Bronius), Ryokushi (Ryoku), Giallo (Giallo)

One thing I feel that could've made this bit better would be making the Seven Sages actual minibosses you fight. You meet all seven of them through your journey as they spearhead different Team Plasma efforts, but they all have the same model with different colours , none of them really fight you, and they all spout the same bullshit that, in this amount of quantity, ends up making Black/White's script extra-cumbersome. Maybe cutting and trimming these down into a single character, or giving most of their dialogue to N and Ghetsis, would've worked a lot better. And, hey, maybe making them boss fights? Make them like an analogue of the gym leaders? They could've been neat, but ultimately they're forgettable, and are basically a fetch quest for the post-game.

In B2/W2, Sage Rood is notable for being the only one to hang out with N's faction of reformed Team Plasma, and he fights you in a mock battle before giving you a Zorua. Zinzolin, meanwhile, ends up being a recurring villain that's basically the main field commander of Neo Team Plasma, and is so much more memorable because he keeps showing up through the game. Hilariously, in B/W, Zinzolin was nearly killed when he got locked in an ice room, but apparently in B2/W2 he has truly embraced iciness and uses a small army of Cryogonals to fight. Okay. 

Anthea & Concordia

• Position: Team Plasma
• Japanese Name: Verbena & Helena

Ehhhh. They are two ladies, I guess? They're N's caretakers and surrogate sisters or moms or something, and they look peaceful and stuff, but ultimately they're just there as the token good guys in N's life. I kinda think they're a bit redundant to the plot, really.

Colress

• Position: Team Plasma
• Japanese Name: Achroma

I like Colress more than I probably should. He's a weird scientist who shows up in Black 2/White 2, seemingly in a role that's comparable to someone like Charon -- a scientist who uses SCIENCE! to further Team Plasma's ambitions because he's evil. He's basically the fake figurehead of Neo Team Plasma, until it's revealed that Ghetsis is still around and calling the shots, and then it's revealed that Colress doesn't give a shit about Ghetsis (who he thinks is a dick) and just wants to SCIENCE! and ends up helping your protagonist. Again, the idea of a character that's "colourless" or "achromatic" on the sliding scale of morality is an interesting one, but Colress ends up coming off as basically changing sides only when the plot wants him to. Which is kind of what he is. At least his bizarre 'internet explorer logo gone wild' hairdo is probably one of the most memorable designs in Pokemon. 

In a neat bit of character progression, Colress shows up in the Generation VII games in Alola, equipped with a particularly hilariously uncomfortable-looking computer-wrist-gauntlets. While his dialogue was a bit more ambivalent in B2/W2, Colress would tell your character in Alola that he realizes that the true source of power is the bond between Pokemon and humans... and becasue, hey, Z-moves and Mega Evolution and friendship evolutions actually exist in the Pokemon world, as cheesy as it is, it's kind of true. Colress basically ends up being reduced to a smart ally that loses a lot of his morally-ambiguous allegiance, but the writing's a fair bit better and Colress in Generation VII comes off as a lot more fun as an ex-villain who has seen the light. And, well, his memorable design doesn't hurt either. 

Colress sort of specializes in Steel-types, being the most associated with the Magnemite, Klink and Beldum lines... but it's more accurate to say that he's basically using a sci-fi team, since the rest of his Pokemon would include the likes of Rotom, Beheeyem, the Porygon line, Alolan Muk and basically anything that has to do with artificial or sci-fi themes. That's cool.  

Fennel

• Position: Dream World Researcher
• Japanese Name: Makomo

Again, anyone who gets official art is fair game. I don't have much to say about Fennel, you help her out in researching the Munna in a 'dream yard', and she's essentially your entry-way to generation 5's attempt at huge internet connectivity, the Dream World. They actually tried to rationalize what, in-universe, the internet dimension is, that's cute. Fennel's a bit of a scatterbrain, I think.


Ingo & Emmet

• Position: Battle Train Subway Bosses
• Japanese Name: Nobori & Kudari

I remember seeing these two in the manga and going 'oh, huh, they made up new characters for the manga' before looking them up and finding out that, nope, Ingo and Emmet are actual characters in the game, and the bosses of the 'Battle Train', Unova's answer to the various Battle Towers in other games. These twins, the Subway Bosses Ingo and Emmet, have generic 'I will battle, let's have a good time, oh you beat me, that's neat' lines. Their design are vaguely based on train conductors, although I'm not sure train conductors have their coats flay out into this weird shape that Ingo and Emmet has. Their faces are also weird, almost... robotic? Purposefully simple? 

Their team basically consists of mostly powerful Pokemon found in Unova, although briefly glancing at their team tey seem to have a fondness for Pokemon that are Steel-type and Electric-type (Excadrill, Durant, Eelektross, Galvantula), which I guess makes sense on a train. Of course, one of the most often repeat members of their party is good ol' Klinklang, which makes so much sense on a train. Garbodor shows up often, too, so I'm just going to assume the people on the Battle Train are filthy. This is an American subway, after all. 

Benga

• Position: Bonus Boss
• Japanese Name: Banjiro

This dude is Alder's grandkid, and he's the boss of the Battle Tower (or Treehollow, depending on your version), a different Battle Tower facility exclusive to Black 2/White 2. He looks a bit like a punk and I thought he's going to be a generic, annoying hot-head, but he seems like a pretty chill guy. He's basically a small Alder, except instead of a huge traveling Jedi poncho, Benga has a bunch of wooden sticks strapped to his back. He's training, see. It's not obvious from his design, but he actually seems to be a Dragon-type specialist. His team differs between Black 2 and White 2, but he always has a Volcarona (like his dad), a legendary dragon (either Latias or Latios) and a pseudo-legendary (either Dragonite or Garchomp). And when you win, he gives you a shiny baby dragon pseudo-legendary. The only thing he owns that's not a dragon is just the Volcarona, and that's because of his daddy. Not a whole ton to say here other than talking about his team, I honestly get the feeling that they shunted Benga in at the last minute.

That's it for Unova. And... and there's a lot to unpack here. I feel like at its core, Unova probably has one of the strongest stories in a main-line Pokemon game. But the rambling, padded-out Black/White ended up with a story that doesn't live up to its full potential, while B2/W2, while great at showing us what happened to our characters from the first Unova games after a couple of years, didn't quite have a solid story to stand behind. I do find myself really appreciating generation 5 a lot more despite not really liking them when they first came out, and a good chunk of it has to do with really sitting down and appreciating the characters a bit more. Next up, though... generation 6, and I have a feeling that my reactions there will kind of be the opposite of what I had in generation 4 and 5. We'll see.

More trainer classes! I, uh, have to eat my words from the previous part, because there's a lot of new classes in Generation V. A lot of them, I feel, are added in to sell the vibe of the more metropolitan Unova, as well as some tropes that are a bit more American than Japanese, I suppose. 

The Backpacker (Bakkupakka) is one that made a lot of reappearances in subsequent generations, and it's actually ended up as a neat way for the Generation VII and VIII games to have an excuse to have tourists from other regions show up and either fight with or offer to trade Pokemon from other regions. In Unova, the Backpackers are just sort of there because, well, backpacking is something that's a bit more common in the Western world, I believe. they were kind of forgettable before, but in later generations they basically become an excuse or them to have characters show up with Pokemon from other regions. 

The Preschooler (Enji; Kindergarten Kid) is here because... Youngsters aren't young enough, I guess? It's surprising that they actually had a fair amount of mileage out of this, with the Preschooler showing up in all but the latest generation. They basically replace the Poke Kids and usually use unevolved or baby Pokemon. Makes sense. I really like the sixth generation of Preschoolers running around with little Pokemon dolls of their own, that's cute. 

I'm going to group the Clerk / Office Worker (Bijinseuman / OL; Businessman / Office Lady) together. A lot of the Pokemon trainer classes has always been associated with their job, but, again, in Unova I feel like they're just looking down through a list of jobs in a children's 'My First Guide to Jobs' book and checking every single one of them off the list. Clerk and Office Worker are probably the most relatable one, though. I really like how funky the Galarian versions of them behave, and I do like the bit of subversion where it's the middle-aged dude that's doing a selfie in his pose.  This is another trainer class that's basically just 'whatever we want to program the team as', I think. 

Again, we have more jobs. The Janitor (Seisoin; Cleaner) is neat because it has a very themed pool of Pokemon it draws from. Either it's Pokemon that's obsessed with cleaning (Minccino, Trubbish, Alolan Grimer) or Pokemon that can survive the toxic wastes of cleaning (Trubbish and Grimer again; Koffing). I do really like it when there's thought put into these, and, well, in a world where snakes can spit acid and piles of ambulatory sludge exist, I guess the Janitors have to be prepared when someone's Snorlax or Gulpin has an accident, huh? 

Could you guess that there's a sports stadium in Unova? Because, hey, you can fight the Hoopster (Basuke Senshu; Basketball Player), who is a basketball. All the athletes are daily-respawning trainers in Nimbasa's courts, and they use completely random Pokemon. Of course the basketball is red and white. 

Baseball represent with the Infielder (Yakyu Senshu; Baseball Player), who of course is holding a Pokeball. 

Oh, hey, a sport I actually play, the Smasher (Tenisu Pureiya; Tennis Player) plays tennis! With a Pokeball. 

To not offend the international market, the translators cleverly didn't specify 'football' or 'soccer' with the Striker (Sakka Senshu; Soccer Player). Who, of course, is using a Pokeball-themed ball. 

And American Football is represented with the Linebacker (Futubora; Footballer)... and it's hard to tell, but the ball is also Pokeball-coloured. I am very unenthused with sports in real life, so I really have nothing to say here. It's nice to see new sprites, though. 

Oh yeah, we also have Backers (Fan Kurabu; Fan Club). Can I say how nice it is to have it not just be reduced to nothing but female cheerleaders? There are plenty of dudes that also cheer their favourites in the sports field. 

Oh yeah, we have  the Dancer (Dansa). It's not a hard-and-fast rule, but in Unova and Alola especially, they tend to have Pokemon that can be linked to dancing in some way. I do like that they're sort of tailored to the region they show up in. A little stereotypical, perhaps, but it's still neat to get the vibe of the region. 

Unova's Musician (Myujishan) is boring. Galar's musician, on the other hand, looks so over-the-top silly, like someone who's perhaps trying a bit too hard to make it in the scene. He's confident, though, and I feel like I should cheer him on!

Speaking of professions... we've got the Doctor (Dokuta)! Doctors will beat up your Pokemon, too, but if you beat them, they'll become a free healing station for the long route. They make a glorious return in Sword and Shield, with the male doctor looking extremely dead-man-walking which is accurate to real-life doctors. And the female doctor looks absolutely refreshed and on-point, which... is also accurate to some real-life doctors. 

The Nurse (Nasu) basically fits the same role a the Doctor does, using healing Pokemon (mostly Audino) and offering healing services after you've bested her. Hey, it took 5 generations but finally you can fight Nurse Joy!

The Pilot (Pairotto) is yet another job-turned-trainer. Presumably these are Skyla's gym grunts? I do not remember them at all. 

And we have the Depot Agent, later known as Rail Staff (Tetsudoin; Railroad Staff). I certainly don't remember fighting them in Sword and Shield, but they show up there. Makes sense, of course, since Galar and Unova both have trains. 

Aaaare we done yet? We're almost done. Lots of new sprites for new jobs. We've got the Nursery Aide (Hoikushi; Kindergarten Teacher), to round up those preschoolers running around causing a ruckus. Unfortunately, they mostly just use random pink-blob Pokemon and only one of them uses Leavanny. Boo!

More jobs! The Baker (Bekari) gives you like free healing items after you beat her, I believe. 

The Harlequin (Kuraun; Clown) is not to be confused with last generation's Clown (Pierrot in Japanese versions). They are part of a side-quest in Castelia City where you have to track them down to get... something. A HM or a Pokenav equivalent or something. And with that we're done. A lot of Unova's classes don't make it outside the DS era, mostly because... well, Generation VI had to do a lot of work converting assets into 3D, making new Pokemon, trainer and environment models, and for the most part this will mean a significant decrease in the trainer classes. Which is good for me, because the actual characters will get a bit more fleshed out from here on out.