Bianca: The Unova Rival Who Gave Up on Being the Strongest

The game puts her at a disadvantage from the very first minute, starter included. The player's childhood friend in Black and White, Bianca is the third member of the Nuvema Town trio. She's clumsy, she cares more about sharing everyday life with her Pokémon than sending them into battle, and her adventure runs into an idea the series usually sidesteps: strength isn't within everyone's reach. Two years later, she comes back with a job.

Contents

• The Nuvema Town trio, and the short end of the stick
• What the game entrusts her with
• Two years later, on the other side of the desk
• The manga gives her a calling
• On screen, the girl who knocks people over
• Bianca at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

The Nuvema Town trio, and the short end of the stick

Along with the player and Cheren, Bianca completes the trio of young Trainers from Nuvema Town tasked with helping Professor Juniper with her research, at the very beginning of Black and White.

Her starter Pokémon isn't left to chance: she gets Snivy, Tepig or Oshawott depending on your own choice, and always the one whose type is at a disadvantage against yours. The handicap is written into the code before the first battle even starts.

Her temperament follows suit. Bianca is clumsy, and she's more interested in her Pokémon's company than in the battles you fight with them — her lines give her away, starting with the "Mais, euh d'abord !" (roughly "But, um, first!") she keeps repeating in the French version. One anecdote brings her close to Wally: in both cases, someone close to them refuses to let them travel their region.

🌿 The three Unova starters have their own section: see the Pokémon starters.

What the game entrusts her with

Her gameplay role in Black 2 and White 2 speaks volumes. You call her on the Xtransceiver to gauge the friendship between you and a Pokémon: her answer tells you how attached that team member is. The region's least combative rival serves as an emotional barometer.

She also lends a hand in the field. On Reversal Mountain, where she assists the player, she fields a Musharna, a Mienfoo and a Stoutland. To really battle her, you have to go through the Memory Link: there she brings back the team she ends her journey with, whose lineup once again depends on your starter.

One line on her record, though, contradicts everything else. Bianca competes in the Pokémon World Tournament, and she's the only Trainer admitted to a tournament reserved for Gym Leaders without ever having run a Gym. The Mix Tournament has her field three Pokémon in Single Battles, four in the Double and Rotation formats, then her full six in Triple Battles. The competitive side lifts her to the rank the story denies her.

Two years later, on the other side of the desk

Black 2 and White 2 find her with a job. Bianca works there as Professor Juniper's assistant, and it's from her hands that the player receives their very first Pokémon. The girl who was once handed a starter has become the one handing them out.

The change shows, too. Her hair has grown out, her beret now sports a white bow, and red glasses have appeared, along with an orange jacket and green pants. She's accompanied by a Lillipup, which she sends out for a catching demonstration.

The mobile game extended this double life by adding her on November 14, 2020, with two distinct outfits. Her Black 2 and White 2 version teams up with Musharna, and later with a Chandelure obtained as an alternate sync pair; in her Neo Champion attire, it's the Legendary Virizion that partners with her.

The manga gives her a calling

The manga adaptation starts from the same point — Professor Juniper gives her an Oshawott and a Pokédex — but dwells on what the game rushes through. Black's childhood friend and no natural battler, she still helps him win a Triple Battle at the Striaton City Gym, earning her first Badge there.

What follows revolves around a theft. In Castelia City, she catches a Litwick that a Team Plasma grunt immediately steals from her, and which she later gets back with some help. From one stop to the next, the same question nags at her: her path keeps slipping away from her.

The answer comes from an instrument, not a battle. Overheard playing the flute in Anville Town, she's taken to a café in town, where she saves Meloetta from a flock of Vullaby by awakening its Pirouette Forme. This Mythical Pokémon sparks a curiosity in her that decides what comes next: she becomes an assistant and hands her Pokédex over to White.

On screen, the girl who knocks people over

In the anime, Bianca makes her entrance as a messenger: she brings Ash a Badge case on behalf of Professor Juniper. Along the way, you learn that a Pignite was her very first Pokémon.

Her running gag is a catalog of collateral damage. She crashes into people, Ash above all, and sends him into the water every time — a habit she shares with Barry, along with the blond, orange and green color palette of their two looks.

A promotional short later puts her back in her role as the one who hands out Pokémon. In Aspertia City, she's the one who gives Nate and Hugh their first Pokémon, exactly as she does for the player in the games of the same generation.

Bianca at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Which starter Pokémon does Bianca choose?
  Snivy, Tepig or Oshawott, depending on yours: the game always gives her the one whose type is at a disadvantage against your own starter.
• What happens to Bianca in Black 2 and White 2?
  She works as Professor Juniper's assistant, and she's the one who gives you your first Pokémon. A Lillipup accompanies her for a catching demonstration.
• What does calling Bianca on the Xtransceiver do?
  You call her to check a Pokémon's friendship: her answer tells you how strong the bond is between the player and the team member in question.
• Is Bianca a Gym Leader?
  No, and that's what makes her unique: she's the only Trainer to compete in a Gym Leaders-only tournament at the Pokémon World Tournament without ever having run a Gym.
• What does Bianca do in the manga?
  She receives an Oshawott, wins her first Badge in Striaton City alongside Black, has a Litwick stolen by Team Plasma, then saves Meloetta with her flute before becoming an assistant.

In short

Bianca is the Unova generation's useful counterexample. Her adventure is about accepting that she won't become the strongest, and the game handicaps her in concrete terms to remind her of it, starter included. Her switch to an assistant's role isn't a way out but an answer: she ends up handing out the adventure starts she couldn't turn into victories.