Pokemon Black and White walkthrough and supplemental guide

Let's be real – almost anyone could manage to make it through Pokemon Black and White's main story campaign without consulting a guide or FAQ. So why would you need a walkthrough for getting all eight gym badges and facing the Elite Four? You don't, as such.

So consider this less of a traditional walkthrough and more of a supplemental guide to enhance your journey through the Unova region. If Pokemon Black and White were books, this would be your book club's discussion notes, which enhance and expand your reading experience, rather than just the Cliff's Notes that help you speed through it.

That said, please feel free to leave your comments below if you have anything to add about your own experiences with Pokemon Black or White.

Let's begin our journey… Nuvema Town Picking a starter Your starter choice is obviously entirely up to you, and it really comes down to personal preference (but if you're unsure you can consult our Pokedex for info on each one). Remember though, if your starter is male, you won't have an opportunity to breed it until after you beat the game, so at this point it might be worth it to soft reset for a female starter. Being able to breed your starter before you beat the story can be a serious boon, because it makes it easy to put up your starter on the GTS to get the other two starters.

Unless you have a friend who's willing to hook you up with female starters, it's worth considering soft-resetting despite how tedious it can be – you only have a 12.5% chance of getting a female starter, so it can take more than a few resets. Save your game right before you approach the present in your bedroom to save time.

Visiting Professor Juniper You don't have your running shoes yet, so it's not worth exploring the rest of the town yet unless you really want to. Head to Bianca's house in the southwest corner to see a scene with her father, then head to the lab in the northwest to receive your Pokedex. As you exit, your mom gives you the Town Map too. Onward to Route 1!

Route 1 Wild Pokemon (~level 2-4): Lillipup, Patrat Audino (shaking grass)

It's always exciting to step into your first tall grass in each Pokemon game, isn't it? Grass in B&W has two additions from the grass you're used to from previous generations: shaking grass patches and doubles grass. You may notice a shaking grass patch every so often as you wander around leveling up and catching Pokemon, and it should look familiar to you if you ever used the PokeRadar Poketch app in Diamond, Pearl or Platinum (see our Shiny Pokemon guide). It's very similar, in that shaking grass patches usually have a different kind of Pokemon then you'd normally find in the surrounding grass, usually a rare species. The difference in Black and White is that the shaking grass now occurs randomly on its own whenever grass in on-screen. Even if you've never encountered shaking grass before, you'll know it when you see it.

If you're looking for a particular Pokemon that's only found in shaking grass, walk around the perimeter of the grass until you see a patch shake. Use a repel and enter the shaking grass patch. Repels don't work on shaking patches, so this ensures that you won't be interrupted by a regular wild Pokemon battle on your way to the shaking patch. A wild battle resets the shaking grass, so if you're interrupted by a wild Pokemon, the shaking patch will be gone when the battle is over. We're not sure yet if these shaking patches have any application in hunting shiny Pokemon, like the patches using the PokeRadar do, but it looks doubtful.

The Pokemon most commonly found in shaking patches is Audino, who can be found almost everywhere shaking grass is found. Fainting Audino awards quite a bit of EXP, so after you've caught a few you might consider just battling the rest.

Accumula Town Meet Professor Juniper in front of the Pokemon Center and she gives you a tour inside. The PokeMart is inside the Pokemon Center now – quite convenient. Only two items are available at this point: Poke Balls and Potions, plus a ton of mail if you'd like. None of the wireless/Wi-Fi options are available upstairs yet, but you can now access your PC to manage your Pokemon.

After you exit the Pokemon Center, you'll be forced to battle N after watching a scene, so make sure your Pokemon are ready to battle before leaving the Center. After battling you can explore Accumula further or proceed directly northwest to Route 2.

Route 2 Wild Pokemon (~level 4-7): Lillipup, Patrat, Purrloin Audino (shaking grass)

After you pass through the gate your mom will appear and give you running shoes as a present. As you make your way through Route 2, be prepared for a trainer battle with Bianca.

Striation City As you visit each new city or town, it's helpful to pull up the Town Map and check out what services are available in each location. When you enter Striation City, the Town Map lists:

Striation City Gym Pokemon Center Fennel's Lab Trainers' School

So right away, you know the important places to check out while exploring the area. Fennel's Lab is in the second building on the right as you enter Striation City, but there's no point in visiting until after you defeat the first gym leader.

At the Trainers' School you must fight Cheren, so be careful because he has whichever starter your starter is weak to. Once you've defeated him, you can either head straight to the gym or slightly past it to the east to check out the Dreamyard.

It's smart to go to the Dreamyard first, because the third NPC you encounter there as you walk east will give you one of the monkey trio – Panpour, Pansage or Pansear – whichever element your starter is strong against. This is another moment where it might be prudent to soft reset for a female monkey if you're concerned about being about to breed offspring to trade. To save time, save right before you speak to her (she's right outside the entrance to the abandoned building), and make sure there's a spot in your party to receive the monkey so you can check the gender right away and reset as needed. And if soft-resetting isn't your thing, don't worry – it's not the

end of the world if you have to wait until you beat the game and obtain a ditto to breed certain Pokemon. Plus, you can also find the other monkeys in shaking grass patches in Pinwheel Forest or Lostlorn Forest later on.

Not much else you can do here for now, so head back to gym if you haven't already and get your first badge. Once you've defeated the gym leader and exited the gym, Fennel will meet you and lead you back to her lab where she presents you with HM01 Cut. Make sure you talk to the other woman in the room before you leave too.

Now that you have your first badge, when you revisit the PokeMart you'll notice a lot more items are now available. Stock up on whatever you need, then head back to the Dreamyard and use Cut to access the abandoned building.

Dreamyard Wild Pokemon (~level 8-11): Munna, Patrat, Purrloin Audino (shaking grass) Musharna (shaking grass, extremely rare)

You'll notice in the Dreamyard that certain items in the ruined building area are obscured depending on where you're standing, so make sure you walk around a bit to find every item you can. Because of the semi-3D visuals in B&W, you'll notice this happens quite a bit, so be on the lookout for little hidden Poke Balls as you explore.

The Dreamyard has a basement level that's off-limits for now, so after you've finished your business with Team Plasma and caught yourself a Munna, head back to Fennel's house and she'll give you the C-Gear and Amanita will give you the Pal Pad. The C-Gear sort of takes the place of the Poketch from Diamond and Pearl, but instead of having lots of little apps, it's the hub for various multiplayer and online functions.

Route 3 Wild Pokemon (~level 8-11): Pidove, Patrat, Blitzle, Lillipup, Purrloin Audino (shaking grass)

Route 3 is the first Route with doubles grass, but you'll get to that later after your next encounter with Team Plasma. You'll know it when you see it because it's a dark color, and of course Cheren waiting there to explain all about it. It's exactly what it sounds like – grass patches where two Pokemon appear at once instead of just one. Be prepared for doubles battles by making sure that the first two Pokemon in your party are strong enough to handle the nearby wild Pokemon.

Pokemon Day Care You're only allowed to deposit one Pokemon into the Day Care for now, so you won't be able to breed quite yet. Also take note that moves can be overwritten automatically as Pokemon level up inside the Day Care, so use caution with Pokemon whose movesets you don't want messed up.

The woman in the building directly west of the Day Care will heal your Pokemon whenever you talk to her. As you make your way west, Cheren will appear to challenge you again, so make sure you're healed up as you head past the Day Care area. After the battle and scene, head northwest to follow Cheren into Wellspring Cave.

Wellspring Cave Wild Pokemon (~levels 10-13): Roggenrola, Woobat Drilbur (swirling dust patches)

Our first cave! Just like the shaking grass patches outside, caves have swirling dust patches that pop up here and there, but these patches can contain either wild Pokemon or items. If you see a patch you want to enter, use a repel to make sure you aren't interrupted by another encounter.

After the battle with Team Plasma, there's not much else to do for now but grab TM46 Thief and leave. Keep heading south and then west through Route 3 to eventually reach Nacrene City.

Nacrene City You can use the upstairs portion of the Pokemon Center now, so if you'd like to use the Union Room, Wi-Fi Connection, or Global Terminal, go for it. The GTS has a new feature that's worth checking out too, called GTS Negotiations, where you're matched up with random players and you can negotiate trades based on what Pokemon you each have.

Aside from the major locations of note within Nacrene City, there's also a girl in the house to the west of the Pokemon Center than will trade you a Petilil for a Cottonee or vice versa depending on the version of the game you have.

To prep for you gym battle, it's worth it to head west into the outer portion of Pinwheel Forest for a while to snag some Fighting-type Pokemon and level up your current team a bit. The woman standing near the border of Nacrene and Pinwheel has TM94 Rock Smash.

Pinwheel Forest (outer area) Wild Pokemon (~level 12-17): Tympole, Pidove, Timburr Audino (shaking grass) Sawk (common in Black; shaking patches in White extremely rarely) Throh (common in White; shaking patches in Black extremely rarely)

For all intents and purposes, it's probably easiest to just consider Sawk a Black exclusive and Throh a White exclusive, and just trade for one or the other depending on the version you have. Unless you live in a remote area with no Wi-Fi access, it's not worth the hassle of trying to find the one you need in the shaking grass patches (even among shaking grass patches, they only appear about 5% of the time – it's not worth the tedious search).

When you're ready, you can head back to the gym inside the Nacrene Museum and face Lenora, the Normal-type gym leader. Afterwards, more scenes to watch, and you get the Dowsing MCHN.

Pinwheel Forest (inner area) Wild Pokemon (~level 15-17 normal grass, 22-25 doubles grass): Normal grass: Sewaddle, Pidove, Venipede Doubles grass: Swadloon, Tranquill, Whirlipede Shaking patches: Audino (common), Pansage, Pansear, Panpour (rare)

Black only: Cottonee (normal grass, doubles grass), Whimsicott (shaking patches) White only: Petilil (normal grass, doubles grass), Lilligant (shaking patches)

Not much to discuss here. Make your way through the maze, fighting Team Plasma trainers all the way through. Have the nurse standing just outside the inner area of the forest heal you whenever you need it. You'll notice a moss rock too, at the beginning of the winding road through the forest – that should come in handy post-game for evolving Eevee into Leafeon.

Pinwheel Forest is also a great place to use your new Dowsing MCHN. You can have more than one item Y registered now too, making it easier to pull up lesser-used key items whenever you want.

Castelia City

Once you've taken in the majesty of Skyarrow Bridge, your next stop is Unova's biggest urban center, Castelia City. Of course, the gym leader, Bug-type aficionado Burgh, isn't quite ready for you yet, so once you've dropped by the gym, head over to the dock just west of the Pokemon Center to deal with another Team Plasma situation. Follow Burgh back toward the gym and you'll see some Team Plasma goons in front of the building just north and opposite the gym. You know what you must do.

Burgh and his trainers are pushovers, so after the gym battle make sure you explore the rest of Castelia if you haven't already. The dock here is where you can set sail to Victory Island to

obtain your Victini if you have the event-only Liberty Ticket too. When you're ready, head north to Route 4.

Route 4 Wild Pokemon (~level 15-18): Sandile, Darumaka, Scraggy

The perpetual sandstorm on Route 4 is a bummer, since your Pokemon will fatigue much faster with the constant buffeting, but at least there is a prefab house slightly northwest as your make your way through the route where you can heal your Pokemon.

If you feel up to it, you can also check out the Desert Resort west of Route 4 before making your way to Nimbasa City. Lots of trainers and wild Pokemon should go far to beef up your team if you feel a bit underleveled.

Desert Resort Wild Pokemon (~level 19-22): Sandile, Darumaka, Scraggy, Maractus, Dwebble, Sigilyph (inner area only)

You can't go all the way inside Relic Castle yet, but if you decide to check it out, make sure you pick up one of two fossils from the backpacker near the entrance. The Cover Fossil will revive into a Tirtouga and the Plume Fossil gives you an Archen. You could trudge back to Nacrene now to revive your fossils if you're a huge fan of fossil Pokemon, but it's easier to just wait until you get HM02 Fly and take care of all your backtracking then.

Nimbasa City

As you enter Nimbasa City you're greeted with another Team Plasma battle, of course – this time they're harassing the poor old Day Care man. He rewards you for protecting him by bestowing you with a bicycle. Hooray! Y register that sweet ride immediately!

Nimbasa City is full of flash and glamour, and there are lots of attractions to check out, including the Battle Subway. One of the cashiers at the PokeMart inside the Pokemon Center sells a bunch of expensive TMs, so that's worth checking out to fill out your growing collection. Around the corner, in the building directly north of the Battle Institute, you'll find an NPC that gives you HM04 Strength too.

Before you head to the gym, stop by the Musical Theater (sigh) and talk to Bianca briefly (don't worry, you don’t actually have to participate in a musical if you don't want to). After that's out of the way, you're free to head southeast to the amusement park area where the gym is located. After an intense scene with N, you're free to face Elesa, the Electric-type gym leader of Nimbasa.

Route 5 Wild Pokemon (~level 19-22 normal grass, 22-25 doubles grass): Normal/doubles grass: Minccino, Liepard, Trubbish Shaking patches: Audino (common), Emolga, Cinccino (rare) Black only: Gothita (normal/doubles grass) White only: Solosis (normal/doubles grass)

Once you've earned your Bolt Badge and you're done exploring Nimbasa, you can head northwest to Route 5, where you meet the League Champion for the first time. After a scene (Cheren is kind of a jerk, isn't he?) you can proceed across the Driftveil Drawbridge toward Driftveil City.

On Driftveil Bridge you can battle and catch wild Ducklett if you fancy, as well as pick up a variety of Wings, like Pretty Wing, Swift Wing, Health Wing, Clever Wing, Genius Wing and Resist Wing. Wings for everyone, really.

Driftveil City

The most notable spots in Driftveil City proper are the Driftveil Market (stock up on MooMoo Milk!) and the Move Tutor's House, where each starter Pokemon can learn one of the Pledge

moves, Water Pledge, Fire Pledge and Grass Pledge, which work in conjunction during doubles and triples battles.

Of course, before heading to the gym, you must dispatch the local Team Plasma scourge, so head south toward Cold Storage.

Cold Storage (outer area) Wild Pokemon (~level 20-23 normal grass, 24-27 doubles grass): Normal/doubles grass: Herdier, Vanillite, Timburr, Minccino Shaking patches: Audino (common), Cinccino (rare), Stoutland (rare)

You know the drill by now. Make your way through the icy floors of the Cold Storage Building, battling Team Plasma grunts as you go. Once you've vanquished them all, Driftveil Gym Leader Clay will thank you in his own way and invite you to challenge him at his gym in the northeast corner of town.

This Ground-type gym is one of the easiest yet if you chose either Snivy or Oshawott as your starter, so power through to get your Quake badge. The elevator arrangement in the gym can be a bit confusing though. Once you've claimed your victory, Clay, being the unreliable cowboy that he is, admits that he misplaced the TM he was planning to give you, so head out to meet him on Route 6 and pick it up.

But wait – Bianca stops you as head toward Route 6 to give you HM02 Fly. Can you feel the sky opening up to your whim? Clay can wait if you feel like backtracking to take care of anything else before proceeding. The Day Care accepts up to two Pokemon now, so if you want to go back and breed your starter for trading purposes, now is a good time. You could also go back to Nacrene and revive that fossil if it doth please you, or go show Professor Juniper your Pokedex

in Nuvema. Or would you rather revisit Nimbasa and take a ride on the Battle Subway? The sky isn't even the limit now that you have Fly, so spread your wings… and Fly.

Route 6 Wild Pokemon (~level 22-25 normal grass, 26-29 doubles grass): Normal/doubles grass: Deerling (color varies by season), Karrablast, Foongus (also appears as fake Poke Ball item), Swadloon, Tranquill (Spring, Summer, Fall only), Vanillite (Winter only) Shaking patches: Audino (common), Emolga, Unfezant (rare), Leavanny (rare)

When you make it through Route 6 to Chargestone Cave, the entrance to the cave is blocked with Galvantula webs, but Clay shows up to clear a path and give you TM78 Bulldoze as promised. Before heading into the cave, make sure you use the healing house nearby to refresh your party.

Chargestone Cave Wild Pokemon (~level 24-27): Joltik, Klink, Ferroseed, Boldore, Tynamo Swirling dust: Drilbur

This is your first fairly large cave to traverse, and it has quite a few paths to explore as you track down Team Plasma. There's one doctor trainer about halfway through that will heal your Pokemon whenever you ask, but don't be afraid to use a Repel or two if your Pokemon are running low on PP. Once you make it through to the other side you'll be in Mistralton City.

Mistralton City

Remember when that first map of the Unova region was released, back when we were still referring to it by its Japanese name of Isshu? We saw an airport on the map and got super excited thinking of the possibility that we'd be able to fly to previous regions or at least fly somewhere cool on a plane. Mistralton City is home to that airport, although alas, the town's Gym Leader, Skyla, quickly explains that the airplanes are for cargo only. Professor Juniper's dad also stops by to upgrade your Pokedex so that it can display a Pokemon's various forms.

When you're done exploring Mistralton (make sure to check out the Move Deleter and Relearner's house, head straight north on Route 7 until you reach the Celestial Tower.

Celestial Tower Wild Pokemon (~levels 26-29): Litwick, Elgyem Ah yes, a Pokemon game would not be complete without a creepy mausoleum full of Pokemon graves and Ghost-type Pokemon. The Celestial Tower isn't spooky like the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town though – it's more of a peaceful place of respect. Head up through its four floors battling trainers and wild Litwicks and Elgyems – the nurse trainer heal you at about the halfway mark. There are also two TMs to pick up along the way, TM61 Will-O-Wisp and TM65 Shadow Claw.

Once you get to the top and ring the bell, you can Fly off the top of the tower if you don't feel like traipsing all the way back down. Now let's go throw some rocks at Skyla's Flying types. Rollout!

Route 7 Wild Pokemon (~level 26-29 normal grass, 30-33 doubles grass) Normal/doubles grass: Deerling (color varies by season), Tranquill (Spring, Summer, Fall only), Cubchoo (Winter only), Watchog, Zebstrika, Foongus Shaking patches: Audino (common), Emolga, Unfezant (rare, Spring/Summer/Fall only)

This time, head northeast past the Celestial Tower to continue on Route 7.

As you approach the base of Twist Mountain, Cheren challenges you to a battle, and afterwards Alder shows up and gives you HM03 Surf. There's a ton of new areas to backtrack and explore now that you have Surf. You can revisit places you've been before and find newly

accessible items and new Pokemon to catch, but there are two major detours worth discussing in detail. TWO POST-SURF DETOURS (Optional - Skip to next page to continue with the main story) Detour 1: Legendaries Cobalion and Virizion

Hunting legendaries can be a daunting task, but you might as well get these two out of the way. Cobalion and Virizion are the first two in the legendary trio of Black and White. You need to catch Cobalion before you can encounter the other two, so it's worth it to at least take care of that one before you head to Victory Road, where Terrakion resides.

To find Cobalion, head back to Driftveil City and north onto Route 6. Now that you can surf, you can jump off one of the bridges near the entrance and surf along the river (where you can find YM84 Poison Jab, by the way). Near the house where you can heal, head east into the grass past the rocks blocking the river and then use surf, continuing east until you reach the entrance to Mistralton Cave.

Mistralton Cave Required: Surf, Strength, Flash Wild Pokemon (~level 28-31): Boldore, Woobat, Axew Swirling dust only: Drilbur Cobalion (only one)

Lots of boulders to move around in here, but if you use TM70 Flash (you can find this in Castelia City from the man behind the dumpster in the alley) you'll see the path is straightforward. Head along the path moving boulders and fighting trainers until you read the steps leading up to the next level. Proceed through that level and up into the Guidance Chamber. An old man is standing to the east – listen to his story about the legendary trio before proceeding. Move the two boulders, and save your game before approaching Cobalion, who appears at level 42, and is Water/Fighting type. Dusk Balls are your best bet.

To catch Virizion, head back to Pinwheel Forest. On the main road just past the bridges, a small gap in the fence has opened on the eastern side. Head east until you reach a clearing, then go through the trees to enter Rumination Field and face Virizion (again, remember to save!).

Virizion is tougher to catch than Cobalion because it has a recovery move, Giga Drain, that makes it difficult to keep its HP low enough to catch. Using Sleep or Paralyze against legendaries is always recommended, but in this case it's particularly helpful because it'll prevent Virizion from recovering.

Detour 2: Route 17, 18 and P2 Laboratory

Note: before setting off on this detour, make sure you have at least one empty space in your party so that you can receive an egg. Leave even more spaces empty if you're planning on catching wild Pokemon too. If you fly all the way back to Nuvema Town and head north on Route 1, you'll notice some surfable water to the west. Surf southwest a little bit (the only Pokemon in this water is Basculin) and you'll eventually reach the gate to Route 17.

Route 17 Wild Pokemon (~level 5-20): Surf: Frillish Bubble spots: Alomomola, Jellicent (rare)

Not much dry land on Route 17, but you can surf around and walk in shallow areas, battling swimmers as you continue west. The water is full of currents that push you along a set path, and you can ride each one to explore the area.

When you're ready to continue, head southwest and you'll see a set of three currents. Ride the southernmost one to reach dry land on Route 18.

Route 18 Wild Pokemon (~level 28-31 normal grass, 32-35 doubles grass) Normal/doubles grass: Scraggy, Dwebble (normal grass only), Crustle (doubles grass only), Watchog, Sawk (Black only), Throh (White only) Shaking patches: Audino (common), Throh (Black only, rare), Sawk (White only, rare) Surf: Frillish Bubble spots: Alomomola, Jellicent (rare)

Head up the stairs to the house and a ranger inside will offer you a Larvesta egg if there's room in your party. The woman will also heal your party if you talk to her.

Head down the steps to the west and you'll find HM05 Waterfall at the end of a long, narrow, grassy ridge. Then head north up more steps, east across a bridge, and down to the water to surf again. Surfing along the currents leads you to another part of Route 17, this time on dry land. There's only one thing to check out here - P2 Laboratory.

P2 Laboratory/Route 17 (outside) Wild Pokemon (~levels 28-31): Herdier, Watchog, Klink, Scraggy

The only thing inside the lab right now is a Dubious Disc, so go ahead and pick it up and we'll be on our way back to the main quest.

Twist Mountain Wild Pokemon (~level 28-31): Boldore, Woobat, Gurdurr, Cubchoo (more common in Winter), Cryogonal (rare in Winter, extremely rare in other seasons) Swirling dust: Drilbur

When you're ready to continue your quest, head back to Mistralton City and through Route 7 to Twist Mountain. When you come out into the area with the bulldozers and the house, make sure you check out the cave entrance in the lower southwest corner for TM91 Flash Cannon and take note of the icy rock that will help you evolve an Eevee into a Glaceon should you ever desire.

Icirrus City Wild Pokemon (~level 30-32): Puddles (all seasons except Winter): Shelmet, Palpitoad, Stunfisk

Icirrus City may be on the small side, but there's plenty of little tidbits to check out here. The "quiz show" house is directly east of the Icirrus Gym, and you can stop by daily to answer a question and get a prize. Also, don't miss the man in the Pokemon Center near the front desk that will buy your rare ores and such for double what you'd normally get.

Wild Pokemon appear in the puddles around Icirrus City, and except during Winter when everything is frozen, just walking across a puddle can initiate a battle.

Can you believe that you can challenge the gym leader right away this time, without having to dispatch any Team Plasma goons or anything? Yup, it's true – and after defeating Gym leader Brycen you'll earn the Freeze Badge and TM79 Frost Breath. Afterwards, Team Plasma will

summon you north to Dragonspiral Tower. Head directly north past the gym when you're ready and Cedric Juniper will warn you about Team Plasma and give you an Old Gateau.

Dragonspiral Tower Wild Pokemon (~level 30-33): Mienfoo, Golett, Druddigon

Not much to discuss here, but there are lots of Team Plasma battles and items to be had within Dragonspiral Tower. After the scene at the top, Alden asks you to backtrack to Relic Castle, in the Desert Resort area off Route 4.

Relic Castle Wild Pokemon (~level 19-37): Sandile, Yamask, Krokorok, Cofagrigus You're now free to go west across the sand pits (slowly!) and down the stairs to proceed further into Relic Castle. As you descend into its depths, it's a bit hard to keep straight which sand pits lead where, but continue down, following the trail of Team Plasma grunts. Ghetsis gives another speech at the bottom, then you, Cheren and Alder head back up to the surface. Professor Juniper calls to summon you to the Nacrene Museum, and once you get there the gym leaders bestow you with the Light Stone.

Route 8 Wild Pokemon (~level 30-33): Puddles (all seasons except Winter): Shelmet, Palpitoad, Stunfisk Surfing: Stunfisk, Seismitoad (bubble spots only, extremely rare)

When you fly back to Icirrus City after receiving the Light Stone, you have two options. You can hurry directly east across Route 8 to the Tubeline Bridge and Opelucid City, or you can hug the northern edge of Route 8 and explore the Moor of Icirrus. There's nothing too exciting there right now, except for a few trainers to battle and common items to find. It has the same wild Pokemon as the rest of Route 8, so unless you want to grind for a bit it's entirely skippable at this point.

Tubeline Bridge Right as you make to enter the bridge, Bianca stops you to battle. Keep going toward Route 9, but make sure to pick up TM43 Flame Charge from the girl on your way.

Route 9 Wild Pokemon (~level 31-34 normal grass, 36-39 doubles grass): Normal/doubles grass: Garbodor, Pawniard, Minccino, Liepard Black only: Gothorita (normal/doubles grass), Gothitelle (shaking patches, rare)

White only: Duosion (normal/doubles grass), Reuniclus (shaking patches, rare) Shaking patches: Audino (common), Cinccino (rare)

Despite how short it is, Route 9 has more going on that most routes, with tons of trainers to battle and a huge department store called Shopping Mall Nine. The Biker and Roughneck trainers are cool, right? Note the Krookodile embroidered on the back of the Roughnecks' jackets.

Opelucid City

Home of the Dragon-type gym, Opelucid City looks totally different depending on which version of the game you're playing. Black's Opelucid is futuristic and sleek, and White's is natural and rustic. After the scene, you're free to explore or challenge the gym anytime. Go get that Legend Badge!

Upon departing the gym, Professor Juniper stops by to give you the Master Ball.

As you pass through the gate north to Route 10, the woman manning the info desk stops you to tell you about a storm brewing on Route 7. What could it mean? Another, legendary to capture, that's what. Fly back to Mistralton City if you want to capture the legendary Tornadus (Black) or Thundurus (White).

Optional detour: Route 7 and Tornadus/Thundurus Once you get to Mistralton, head north onto Route 7. Whoa! That lady wasn't kidding when she said it was storming. The effects are really cool here – take a moment to soak it up. When you're

ready, head to the house east of Dragonspiral Tower (the healing house) and the old woman will come out to talk to you as you approach. She'll invite you in and tell you about the legendary, and when you leave the house, it will appear and then fly away.

Ah, roaming legendaries are a pain, aren't they? The easiest way to encounter Tornadus/Thundurus is to find a spot where you can go back and forth between the border of one Route and the next area, and continue going back and forth until you enter the Route and it's storming. The spot between Route 6 and Chargestone Cave is a good one, for example.

Before you start though, make sure the Pokemon leading your party either knows the move Mean Look (Watchog and Cofagrigus both learn it via level up) or has the ability Shadow Tag, otherwise chances are your target will flee before you can catch it. Roaming Pokemon are always a good candidate for using your Master Ball, too.

Route 10 Wild Pokemon (~level 33-36 normal grass, 38-41 doubles grass): Normal/doubles grass: Herdier, Bouffalant, Foongus (normal grass), Amoonguss (doubles grass) Black only: Vullaby, Sawk White only: Rufflet, Throh Shaking patches: Audino, Emolga, Stoutland, Throh (Black only), Sawk (White only)

You're so close! Head through the grandiose badge check gates and proceed to Victory Road.

Victory Road (outer area) Wild Pokemon (~level 37-40): Heatmor, Mienfoo, Fraxure Black only: Vullaby White only: Rufflet

Victory Road Wild Pokemon (~level 37-40): Durant, Boldore, Woobat, Deino, Mienfoo Swirling dust: Excadrill Legendary: Terrakion

If you've played a Pokemon game before, you're familiar with the final haul to the Elite Four that is Victory Road. It's designed to test the strength and endurance of your Pokemon, as well as test your resolve as a trainer.

The best way to get through an area like Victory Road is to make a note every time you reach a branching path, and cross each one off whenever you reach a dead end to make sure you've explored the whole area eventually. Here's a brief guide for getting through it if you get stuck:

In the first area, you can surf across the water to find some items, but eventually you'll want to head back and go up the stairs to the next level. Head south, and outside you'll see a scene that shows you that you can drop off the ledges where there's no railing. Slide down the cliff to the east.

Go back inside the cave and head up the steps to the west, and the go north up more steps. From there, go outside. The eastern break in the railing will send you on a loop that contains TM12 Taunt. You can also go through the eastern door for another loop with more trainers and items. When you're ready to proceed, head through the western-most door on the level with three doors.

Head up the stairs and you'll fight a doctor that will heal you from now on whenever you talk to him. Head up the stairs and then go north. Heading west nets you some more items, and east leads you back outside. Jump down the eastern-most cliff to proceed. Head along the path up the steps until you reach an area where you can either go outside to the south or downstairs to the west. If you've already encountered Cobalion, you can head down those stairs to the west and find Terrakion waiting to be captured. When you're done, go back and head outside.

You have two options here - you can jump down the ledge by the ranger and net some really useful items, including two TMs (TM02 Dragon Claw and TM93 Wild Charge), but that requires some major backtracking. If you're feeling fatigued, you can head straight into the Pokemon League to heal and regroup.

Elite Four and N's Castle From here on out, you're on your own as you face the final challenge the main quest has to offer. You'll know soon enough if your Pokemon need to go back and level up. You'll have a chance to heal and warp away to finish any unfinished business between the Elite Four and the final showdown in N's Castle, so don't worry if you barely scrape through the Elite Four. If you want to use Reshiram/Zekrom in the final battle, leave a space in your party and the Pokemon will join you after you capture it.