Black & White

[Phoenixsong]

Pokébeach has amended its update to clarify/add more stuff:

• The region's name is Isshu (イッシュ) and is located very far away.
• The main characters are older than ever before; they are not children.
• The Pokemon's names are Tsutaaja (ツタージャ), Pokabu (ポカブ), and Mijumaru (ミジュマル). For Tsuutaaja, "tsuta" means "ivy" and "ja" is one way of saying the word "snake." For Pokabu, the name could derive from "po" for "pork," "ka" from the Japanese kanji for "fire," and "bu" is the sound a pig makes in Japanese culture (here it's "oink"). As for Mijumaru, "mijuku" means "immature" and "maru" means "round" or "ball."
• It appears the starters are an ivy snake, a fire pig, and a sea otter.
• The city shown in the top-left of the scan is Hiun City.
• Zoroark's ability is called Illusion (イリュージョン). The ability allows it to take on the appearance of other Pokemon.
• Two new attacks are Trickery (イカサマ), which outputs damage depending on the opposing Pokemon's stats, and Claw Sharpen (つめとぎ), which raises your Attack and Accuracy.
• If you trade over the shiny Entei, Suicune, or Raikou from the the Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark movie ticket preorders, you can battle and capture a Level 25 Zoroark. During the battle, the Monster Fox Pokemon will take on the appearance of the Pokemon you traded over, and at several points it will revert to its original form (probably when weak). When it does, you can attempt to capture it.

Also, there are larger scans of the protagonists and a few screens in the updated post. I like how the girl looks a little more rough-and-tumble than previous female protagonists. The larger shots of the protagonists in that one screen look cool, too--even higher quality than the VS images, which were cool to begin with.

(which reminds me I want animated VS images for this gen plz)

EDIT: Thoughts on the protagonists being older:

I doubt that they'd change the canon age for becoming a trainer from 10-11 (they could, given that this "Isshu" place is apparently "far away" and could have different customs/regulations, but I don't think they will; if ten-year-olds running around with fire-breathing dragons didn't bother GF before, it doesn't bother them now), so it's unlikely that these guys are newbie trainers. Why, then, are they only just now receiving a starter pokémon? Was there a delay of some sort? Were they already trainers but then something happened and now they're starting afresh? Are they lazy, unambitious freeloading bums who have finally been unceremoniously kicked out of the house by Mom and Dad? I don't think BW's story will be dark, per se, but I think that definitely hints at something more involved.

For example, it might actually be kind of cool if the protagonists were "pulling an Ash", so to speak: they've already finished at least one league and have decided to challenge themselves by moving away and starting from scratch. (I've been playing Pokémon for over ten years, Game Freak; I'm clearly not a rookie trainer anymore, and it'd be nice if a new game finally acknowledged me as such!) Maybe you're famous, and your reputation precedes you on your journey through Isshu: people recognize you, tell you they'd be honored to battle a champion trainer from another region, try to pick fights with you to prove they're better. The villains are desperate to recruit you, or else to chase you out as soon as possible--they know you're a huge threat and they can't allow you to get comfy. Or maybe no one recognizes you: they've never heard of you before. Who cares about some so-called "champion" from some backwater region like Johto? Why don't you prove just how tough you really are, hotshot? (Less likely, but still might be fun.) And so on.

Oh, and ten bucks says the girl's English name will be either Blanche or Bianca. Bianca sounds less dated than Blanche, but there's already a Bianca in one of the movies; then again, there are two Drakes, so.

 

[spaekle]

ohhh man, they need to hurry up and show gym leader pics. I really hope all the character designs are this awesome. :v

 

[Yarnchu]

I'm really diggin the female character. The only thing I don't really like about her is the hair, but it has only been a few hours and it has already grown on me. She's...I don't know if I want to say cute or hot, but I really love the design. Easily my favorite one so far.

And I'd love to have hair like the male character does.

Anyone else notice the watches that appear to be updated Poketches?

 

[Phoenixsong]

Additional thought: The shape of tsutaaja's head and the fact that PokéBeach says its name could translate to "ivy snake" implies that it is a vine snake. Vine snakes are venomous. I wonder if this means that the evos will be grass/poison? (Hopefully not and they'll just give them poison fang as a move and leave it at that.)

 

[Yarnchu]

Actually, I'd be happy with a Grass/Poison. We haven't had that type combo on a starter since Gen 1, and the last true Grass/Poison type was Roselia, back in Gen 3. (I'm not counting Budew and Roserade because they are G/P due to their relationship with Roselia.)

 

[Arylett Charnoa]

I loved the Grass starter ever since I saw its outline. Really dug the shape of its head. And since I always pick the Grass starter first in every game (tradition!), I'm so glad they didn't make it all ugly like that Water one. Although I'm never really fond of any of the Water starters. As for the Fire pig, I'm cool with that guy. I don't really like pigs, but I love the colour scheme.

As for the main characters, one thing I can say: Hell yeah. I love their designs and I completely agree with Kratos about it being a fresh change of pace having a girl who's more "rough-and-tumble." She might possibly be my favourite female character now. And I'm loving that hair. I mean, when I see her, I just think of some epic badass truck driver from the 80's.

As for the guy, he's really neat too. He's not all girly-looking like DP's guy, and has some pretty nice hair. He's kinda cute. But yeah, I think I'm going to like these games. They seem as though they might be that fresh change of pace the series has needed. Especially the fact, like most people, that these protagonists are older. It'll be easier to put myself in their roles now. And I'm eager to see what this foreign place will be like.

And I really hope the girl's name isn't Bianca, because I really dislike that name.

I also wouldn't mind a Grass/Poison, really. Although the whole weakness to Psychic and no resistance to Ground would be a bit annoying.

 

[Phoenixsong]

I wouldn't mind grass/poison either; it's more that I don't want to hear the same INDIGNATION OUTRAGE AAAAA that happened when infernape and blaziken ended up having the same typing. Oh god no starters can never have the same typing. Oh, no, feraligatr stole blastoise's typing it's automatically a bad blastoise clone (except not >>;) let's rage about that too.

 

[Autumn]

... I like them all. I don't know which one to get. D: The fire pig is the cutest but I'm not a big fan of pigs in general so... D: conflicts

 

[Dave Strider]

Oh wow, these guys are awesome. I love the fire pig, it seems so happy. The snake seems sort of weird though, I really can't think of it as a snake to be honest. The otter though... hm. I just really don't like the design. I still might pick it if there's a third game or if it has some awesome evo's.

 

[Shadow Serenity]

The grass type guy totally looks the most creative to me. Looks like I've found my starter. \o/ Since I'll probably get both versions regardless, the fire pig will be choice #2. Not too fond of the water starter, but I think I approve of it more than bloody Piplup.

As for the trainers, I really don't have much to add to all the approval going on here. Best male design so far, possibly the best female too if you ask me. I had issues with the hair a little when I first saw it, but I expect I'll adapt.

I personally hope the grass starter isn't grass/poison, unless they do something really creative with it. It's not that I don't want starters to have the same typings. We have enough of those as it is.

@ Kratos: Where do you get those names? o.O Or did I just miss that tiny bit of information?

 

[spaekle]

Vine snakes are venomous. I wonder if this means that the evos will be grass/poison?

YES PLEASE /just wants poison starter again

Heh, I can see the resemblance to the oxybelis with the curvy nose. c:

 

[Phoenixsong]

SS: Just feminine names that mean "white". There are plenty of other possibilities, of course, but most of them sound too foreign for American names ("Eirawen" sounds kind of cool, but really...). Now I look more carefully I guess Fiona or Gwen wouldn't be bad, but they still sound a bit more obscure, as opposed to something like Blanche (i.e. to blanch) that better follows the deliberately obvious puns English Pokémon character names go for. I guess if the girl turns out to be "Black" it'd be something else, but I dunno. I just don't see it, personally.

Of course, I would also be down with the guy being Albus Severus. :V Hell, I'll probably call him that myself in whichever game I play him in.

 

[Green]

I swear to god that water starter is the best thing ever.

(I mean besides Zapdos)

 

[hopeandjoy]

I've made a fast decision on what the protagonists' personalties will be in the AI series.

They will be Ax Crazy Shell Shocked Seniors!

Because Red and Leaf are already the Only Sane Men.

It'll make fun of the Darker and Edgier Plot/the people who thought the plot would be Darker and Edgier!

Not that I ever used any reasoning but the Rule of (Strange) Funny.

Now to actually get off my butt and write...

 

[#1 bro]

* The main characters are older than ever before; they are not children.

Uggh. I don't like this. The fact that you played as a ten year old was always really cool to me, as it allowed for maximum wish-fulfillment potential for the target audience. Why would they change this?

(Not like it really matters anyway - the character sprites never looked like children in the first place, and iirc there was no real mention of the trainers' age in-game. But anyway.)

* It appears the starters are an ivy snake, a fire pig, and a sea otter.

From left to right, here is my opinion of the starters:

Tsutja - Cool design, but wow, this guy looks like an asshole. What are you smirking about, guy? :|

Pokabu - At first glance, this guy is pretty ugly looking, but think how badass the fully evolved fire pig is going to be! Its ugliness is probably partially the fault of the artwork - maybe its sprite will be a bit more flattering.

Mijumaru - Adorable! I will probably pick this one, but I guess I'll have to see their final stages. Considering that all of the final stages of the D/P starters were pretty awesome, I have kind of high hopes.

* Zoroark's ability is called Illusion (イリュージョン). The ability allows it to take on the appearance of other Pokemon.

* If you trade over the shiny Entei, Suicune, or Raikou from the the Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark movie ticket preorders, you can battle and capture a Level 25 Zoroark. During the battle, the Monster Fox Pokemon will take on the appearance of the Pokemon you traded over, and at several points it will revert to its original form (probably when weak). When it does, you can attempt to capture it.

Huh.

To me, these snippets together form probably the most interesting bit of information we've been given. My thoughts now are that the Illusion ability is entirely aesthetic - that is to say, Zoroark takes on none of the opposing pokemon's qualities, just takes its sprite, because, if you notice, the wording is "the ability allows it to take on the appearance of other Pokemon", not "the ability allows it to turn into other Pokemon". Plus, Zoroark is the "master of illusions", not the master of... I don't know, imitation, which only supports this theory.

But there are a few problems with this idea:

1. What would be the point?
2. Why would they even bother giving Zoroark a cool design with claws and stuff and a pre-evolution? It seems like an ability like this would call for a more minimalistic design, like that of Ditto.
3. Why would you not be able to capture Zoroark while it is transforming, if it is is more or less unchanged?

So, as a partial solution, I think maybe Zoroark only imitates a few aspects of the pokemon it imitates - maybe just its moveset, but not its stats or typing, or maybe its stats, but not its moveset or typing, or maybe both the moveset and stats, but not its typing... you get the idea. :\

Or maybe (and this is a weird idea) it can "store" illusions in its move slots. So, when you choose "Fight" in a pokemon battle, you get the choices of "Lv. 56 Tyranitar, Lv. 34 Whiscash, Lv. 10 Murkrow, Lv. 100 Regigigas", all pokemon you previously imitated, and you can choose who to turn into. However, this would give Zoroark an exclusive move, not an exclusive ability, so I guess I take this back? Still, it might be a possibility.

Either way, I think we can enjoy a lot of fan wank over this.

 

[Aisling]

I feel like a bitch for liking the water starter. >n> They're all so cute, though. This is the first time I've felt so conflicted about which I'll get. This is definitely the first time I've liked the grass starter without it needing like ten years to grow on me first (ie Bulbasaur, Chikorita). The fire is probably my least favorite and the one I was looking forward to most... :/ So either Tsutaaja or Mijumaru for me.

The protagonists are pretty sexy too. This is the first time I've ever considered playing as the dude since Crystal was released.

 

[Karkat Vantas]

Okay, I won't lie.

I hate the water-type starter.

The vine snake thing looks cool, and the pig is also adorable. The water-starter, on the other hand, is an uninteresting... thing. It doesn't even look like a fucking otter! I was hoping it might be a platypus or a beaver or even a water bear, but no. It had be an... otter! They pulled it off well with Buizel. Why couldn't they get it right this time?

I like the older trainers, though. I doubt it will be "BLOOD GORE DARK", but it looks like it might be a bit more mature.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Light-colored head, relatively fluffy, large nose, the shape of the mouth... dude it totally looks like an otter. :/

 

[Karkat Vantas]

Eh. Doesn't look like an otter to me. Either way, I don't like it.

 

[Blastoise Fortooate]

*agrees with Kratos*

I love it. They're all pretty decent, in fact, and I'd have to say my least favorite is the little firepig, and I still like it.

:) Let's all thank nintendo, everybody.