Time to catch them all...again...

Since the late 90's the Pokémon franchise has always followed a pattern – release a pair of games every two years that introduce new characters, locations and creatures, then a year or so later release a single “revamped” edition that acts as a kind of definitive special edition to that particular generation. While references to other characters, places and events in the Pokémon world have been plentiful throughout the generations, none of the games in the past 15 years have been direct sequels to any of the others. Until now, anyway.

A few months ago Nintendo announced Pokémon: Black Version 2 & White Version 2, another pair of games based in the series fifth generation that follow directly on from the events of their predecessors. Developers Game Freak went out on a limb with Pokémon: Black & White in an attempt to revitalise the series, and it seems they're not done subverting fans' expectations just yet. While most were anticipating a Pokémon: Grey Version announcement that would redo the previous two games and tie up the fifth generation, Pokémon: B2&W2 will be based a few years after the events of the first games and will include some new locations and characters, while scrapping others.

While this announcement confused many fans, Game Freak's strange new direction became even more outlandish when May's edition of Japanese manga magazine CoroCoro was leaked (containing a plethora of new information on Pokemon: B2&W2). While previous Pokémon games have seen players all starting their journeys in back-end-of-nowhere towns, the new games' protagonist and his/her childhood rival will both be city-folk, and a good portion of the fifth-generation region of Unova has been enveloped by an encroaching ice sheet from the north and east. Pokémon: B&W set a precedent on its release by making none of the series' previous Pokémon obtainable until after the main story was completed, but the sequels seem to be rescinding that by making over 300 Pokémon available for capture throughout the game – more than can be caught in any previous game without trading and importing from previous titles; and more than twice the Pokémon available in the first-generation games Red & Blue back in 1997.

A few days after the CoroCoro leak Nintendo released a debut trailer for Pokémon: B2&W2 on the official Pokémon website, showcasing some of the new content. It's in Japanese, so we personally have no idea what they're saying, but it seems to show some of the new characters and locations, including the new Pokémon gyms and leaders hinted at in the leak and the extent of the geographical changes to the game world. The full two-minute trailer can be watched below:

Pokémon: Black 2 & White 2 will be released in June this year, with an international release just a few months later. We'll keep an eye on what further unusual developments come out closer to release date.

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