Pokemon Black and White was a game like no other.
Throughout the story, there is constant clashing of morals and values, and some characters come to realize that the answer they have to a problem is no more right that the person theyāre fighting against.
[To the Seven Sages] āI can empathize with some of what you say, but I canāt forgive the way you reject everything else!ā ~Drayden
āIt is the way of the universe to take from excess and fill emptiness. Taking PokĆ©mon from people is restoring balance to nature!ā ~Zinzolin
āOriginally, Pokemon lived in the wild. So is it right to contain them like this?ā ~The Ace Trainer
āYou have two options. Challenge me to a fight you canāt win, or leave this place and watch the birth of a new world where PokĆ©mon are free of people!ā ~N
āSince I couldnāt become the hero and obtain the legendary PokĆ©mon myselfā¦I prepared someone for that purposeāN! Heās nothing more than a freak without a human heart.ā ~Ghetsis
āPokĆ©mon cannot speak. People may hurt PokĆ©mon even more by imposing their selfish thoughts on them. But, no matter what, PokĆ©mon and people believe in each other, need each other, and will continue to live togetherā¦ā ~Drayden
āIf the king of team plasma rules the world, battles will disappear, and disputes will end! Isnāt that a great vision?ā ~a Team Plasma Grunt
A lot of them understand this in the end
[At Ghetsis] āHE is the one without a human heart!ā ~Cheren
āThose who left Team Plasma and are behaving with respect and understanding toward PokĆ©monā¦ Them, please forgive! However, those who wonāt interact with PokĆ©mon in a kind and honest wayā¦ Even I will never forgive them!ā ~Bronius
āNo matter how many battles I fight, I donāt know what strength is. Perhaps you can find the answer.ā ~Brycen
āThe legend of Unova is about PokĆ©mon and people working together to build a new world! The message is that simple and that strong. If changing the world makes you a hero, anyone can become a hero. As each of us changes what is in our power to change, so the world itself changes.ā ~Giallo
āStrength and strength alone is what matters in this world. So I believed, until I met Alder here [on Route 5]. But, winning in PokĆ©mon battles isnāt all there is to life. Once I learned that lesson, my eyes were opened to many different things. We all have our own brand of strength, people and PokĆ©mon both. The strength to make our dreams a reality, the strength to protect what we hold most dearā¦ Why do I think this way now?ā ~Cheren
āThe longer my journey continued, the more unsure I became. All I kept meeting were PokĆ©mon and people who communicated with one another and helped one another. That was why I needed to confirm my beliefs by battling with you. I wanted to confront you hero-to-hero. I needed that more than anything.ā ~N
Thereās symbolism hidden in almost every quote, even down to the most minute details
āThis lighthouse shines with the light of freedom. Only authorized personnel may enter.ā ~sign outside the Liberty Garden
āThat room was the world that was provided to our lord Nā¦ I donāt feel anything, even when I go into the roomā¦ But you may feel something.ā ~Shadow Triad
āāEyes brimming with dark flame, this man rejected everything other than himself in order to bring about one singular justiceā¦ā Thatās part of a novel Iām writing. I was inspired by the challenger who was just here, and somehow I got a little sadā¦ā ~Shauntal
Game Freak was working on generation five before HGSS, before Platinum. They wanted to make a Pokemon game that sent a message to fans, and made them think about the Pokemon world - and even ours - on a philosophical level. Unfortunately though, most people failed to notice the theme behind every word spoken in Black and White, to see the lesson taught in this masterpiece of a Pokemon game.
āWeāre all different and we should do the things that we can do. There are as many truths and ideals as there are people and PokĆ©mon.ā ~Cheren
āChange your perspectiveā and the reality changes.ā ~Child on Route 3
[To Bianca] āYou know, there are many people in this world. There are people whose way of thinking may be completely different from yours. Sometimes, this means you may get hurt.ā ~Elesa
āI couldnāt understand it. I couldnāt believe there were PokĆ©mon that liked people. Because, up until that moment, Iād never known a PokĆ©mon like that.ā ~N
āN has been separated from people since he was young. He was brought up with PokĆ©monā¦ PokĆ©mon that were betrayed, mistreated, and hurt by bad peopleā¦ Ghetsis deliberately brought only those poor PokĆ©mon closer to N. N was touched by their plight, and started pursuing his ideal/truth, thinking only of PokĆ©mon. Nās heart is pure and innocent. But there is nothing more beautiful or terrifying than innocence.ā ~Concordia
If youāre one of those players who disliked generation five, go back and play now that you know what to look for. Go back and see that there is brutality in beauty, pain inside truth, difference within ideals, and that one simple question has many correct answers. Even something as simple as a Pokemon game has complexity.
Because when you face reality, nothing is ever truly Black and White.
