I described the third generation of Pokémon as fundamental for the enduring legacy of the series. While that is still true, it is not the game I return to the most. Gen 3 is the world upon which the Pokémon series has been built. But without question, its peak can be found two generations later with Pokémon Black, White, and especially, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. The transition from the GBA to the DS was rough in quite a number of ways. The desire to move away from the pixel-art was certainly there, but the infrastructure within Game Freak wasn’t yet ready to make that full jump. A workflow needed to be created in order to help Pokémon reach the third dimension. But until that time arrived, the graphical artists at Game Freak simply perfected their craft of pixel art and design they had been honing since 1996. And what a masterpiece they delivered with the Pokémon game that has stood the test of time and to me, has gotten better with age every time I play it.

So let’s gush for a little bit about that visual style. Where Diamond and Pearl felt a bit like an awkward mash of styles, in Black and White they are a lot more coordinated. The non-interactive environments are often stylized in a way that they don’t interfere with the grander design of the routes. Whether it is the Desert Resort or the enormous trees in White Forest, the palettes have been much more pronounced to fit the cohesion of the Unova region. It just makes sense for a region with such a diverse set of areas to emphasize its extremes with these faux-3D elements. The towering buildings in Castellia City or the several theme park attractions in Nimbasa City are in such a sharp contrast to the light drizzle in Icirrus City or the beachside town of Undella. In every aspect, Unova feels like a living, breathing world. The addition of seasons is just that dash of immersion that never fails to make the world come to life.

But it’s the Pokémon and battles in particular that elevate this game to a whole new level. I never thought the Pokémon themselves looked static in earlier games, but frankly Gen 5 blew that door off its hinges. Using clever animation tricks like rotations, twisting, and segmented sprites, every Pokémon jumps with energy the moment you enter a battle. It gives so much character to the creatures, especially when you realize that low HP or status effects actually change the way in which they move around. When the transition to the 3rd dimension finally did take place in the following generation, it was shocking to me to see how static the creatures were again. Emolga is just hanging in the air in Pokémon X & Y, whereas in Pokémon Black and White he occasionally touches down and jumps up again to get back to his floating animation. The devil is really in the details, but gen 5 makes it feel like these details matter. Especially given how much thought has been given to this set of Pokémon. The largest addition to the Pokédex across all generations as of writing this piece obviously has some mediocre ones. I will not try and break a lance for Tranquill, the elemental monkeys, Alomomola, Watchog, or Basculin but there are so many killer designs and fantastic Pokémon in this generation that it often baffles me how easily they are ignored by the absurdity of the Trubbish or Vanilite lines. Volcarona, Hydreigon, Scraggy, Ferrothorn, Zekrom, Reuniclus, Krookodile, Archeops, Haxorus, Golurk, Volcarona, Bouffalant, Braviary, Darmanitan, Chandelure, Cofagrigus, and my personal favorite Pokémon of all time, Excadrill are all amazing. Wildly expressive Pokémon with unique play styles that tie back into their design. I love how Cofagrigus has Munny, which changes the ability of an opposing Pokémon when it comes into contact with it, as if an ancient curse has been unleashed and spreads throughout the party. Or take Eelektross, as a monotype electric Pokémon that levitates and therefore has no super-effective weaknesses. Combined with Excadrill’s sandstorm and earthquake, they are a fearsome duo in double battles, or even the new rotation and triple battles. To this day I’m still disappointed that this was truly the last time that the standardized battle format was really experimented with (if you’re gonna claim sky battles from X/Y were innovative, please get out of here).

In spite of all these perfect additions and lively changes to the world and creatures, what makes me truly keep coming back to Unova is that underneath it all, this is a really great traditional RPG. Pokémon, for as much as it has taken from the genre, has rarely ever been part of that genre conversation. I will not go so far as to put it on the same level as Final Fantasy, but I do think that Black and White and its direct sequels make for a great and enjoyable RPG. Especially for those who left Pokémon behind them after their childhood interest waned. The story is often boiled down to Team Plasma wanting to liberate Pokémon from their trainers. While that is most certainly an enticing hook for the story, it's the cast of characters across these games that are so endearing to me. Your rivals, Bianca and Cheren change drastically through their adventures and interactions. They learn from not just each other, but from other gym leaders as well, making them not just great rivals, but great characters. Say what you will about Blue or Silver, but most of their thoughts and emotions are open for interpretation. Black and White feel like there was a clear script and direction for having you go on this journey alongside Bianca and Cheren and it makes the game all the better for it.

Even with Black 2 and White 2, direct continuations, your rival Hugh has a deeply personal reason for pursuing the remains of Team Plasma. Yes, the foundation is absolutely still Pokémon and it adheres to the rules established with Red/Blue, but it is also profoundly experimental to cross the boundaries of what a Pokémon game can and cannot be. This is why I have replayed these games dozens of times. It is just so much fun to explore this world, get reunited with these characters and see them grow and change over the course of both games. You can connect Black/White with Black 2/White 2 and get unique story cutscenes that show what happened in the two years since the conclusion of the story in the first game. There’s a secret hard mode that can be unlocked in Black 2/ White 2 that feels appropriate for those returning to the world of Unova. And while a lot of the online services are no longer available, there were so many changes to being able to trade, battle and chat with other players online that it blows Gen 4 out of the water. Black and White weren’t this first to make a lot of these changes, but they perfected them. Black 2 and White 2 added a ton of additional content, features and story elements to it that makes them in my eyes the perfect Pokémon games. There is a freaking roguelike mode in Pokémon White 2 with the White Forest dungeon and nobody is ever talking about this.

I do not despise modern day Game Freak as much as other vocal Pokémon fans. But I do agree that the company responsible for making the games has lost something along the way. For me there is a clear gap between generation 5 and the games that followed. The experience, the talent, and the understanding of what Pokémon was and could be has never really been matched since in my eyes. Perhaps it is the commercial juggernaut that the series became in the mid-2010s when Pokémon Go re-captured a lot of lapsed fans, perhaps it was that transition to full 3D with generation 6. I still love Pokémon as a series with all my heart. But generation 5 is for me, without question, the best the series has ever been. It’s the top of the mountain and the standard to which I hold all the other games. Maybe there will be a day when that peak comes into sight again. But until then I urge anyone who dismissed these games based on arguments like ‘there’s a trash pokémon’, or ‘black and white aren’t colors’ or ‘I’m too adult for this now’ to try these games and give them some love. If the newer games have left you wanting more, I can assure you that going back to Black and White might be that warm bath you have been searching for. If only these games were more accessible and available for modern audiences, because I am frightful of what an eventual remake of these games might look like.