The Unova Region: The First Non-Japanese Region, Its Bridges, Its Subway and Its Four Seasons

Unova is the first Pokémon region not based on Japan. It is also the only one with a subway, the only one whose entire landscape changes with the seasons, and the only one where you never run into a wild Pikachu. Built around a megalopolis, it served as the testing ground for the most radical reboot the series has ever attempted.

Contents

• A Megalopolis, a Desert and Five Bridges
• Nineteen Towns and Two Starting Points
• Gyms That Change from One Era to the Next
• The Unova League, in the North of the Region
• Team Plasma and the Question It Raises
• Truth, Ideals and a Dragon Split in Two
• 156 Species, and Not a Single Old One
• Unova in the Anime
• Where to Explore Unova Today
• The Unova Region at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

A Megalopolis, a Desert and Five Bridges

Unova lies very far from the previous regions, and that distance isn't just for show: it explains why its wildlife is entirely new and its culture is different. Its routes are numbered 1 through 23, like those of Kanto, precisely to signal that it shares no road network with the others.

The region is laid out as a ring around Castelia City, its megalopolis, and swings between extremes: several forests, a vast desert, mountains, a magnetic cave and a seabed you explore with Dive. Unova's technological edge is real, but it stops at the city limits.

Unova holds two infrastructure records: it has the most bridges of any region — five — and it is the only one in the entire series with a subway network. It is also the only one to put a shopping mall on a route rather than in a town.

Its most visible quirk, though, is the calendar. Where other regions at best see a few routes change their weather, all of Unova shifts through the four seasons — spring, summer, fall, winter — each lasting one month. The player therefore goes through three full cycles a year, and the distribution of species follows suit.

🍂 One season per month in Unova, and the whole landscape shifts with it: three full cycles a year. Your wardrobe only goes through one — our Pokémon clothing see it through from spring to winter.

Nineteen Towns and Two Starting Points

Unova has nineteen towns and cities, from the most rural to the most densely packed. Castelia City is the metropolis, with its skyscrapers, its port and its business districts; Nacrene City, Nimbasa City and Opelucid City round out the list of major cities.

It is the only region in the main games with two starting towns. Nuvema Town, the smallest and quietest, opens Pokémon Black and White; Aspertia City opens Black 2 and White 2. Aspertia City is also the only starting town in the series with a Pokémon Center and a Gym, led by Cheren.

Two locations depend on the version you pick: Black City, exclusive to Pokémon Black, and White Forest, exclusive to Pokémon White. One is a city of Trainers, the other a nature reserve — the clash between nature and civilization that the whole saga explores from start to finish.

The region kept growing after its own games. Blueberry Academy, a school specializing in battles, was built out at sea off the coast of Unova; it is the sister school of the academy in Paldea, and serves as the setting for a ninth-generation expansion.

Gyms That Change from One Era to the Next

Unova is the only region with more than eight Gyms in total, because its two games don't offer the same circuit. Two years separate Pokémon Black and White from their sequels, and the Gym map changed in the meantime. How each circuit works is detailed in our Gym Leader guide.

In Black and White, the circuit opens with a three-headed Gym: in Striaton City, Cress, Cilan and Chili share the Trio Badge, and which one you face depends on the starter you chose. Next come Lenora in Nacrene City (Normal), Burgh in Castelia City (Bug) and Elesa in Nimbasa City (Electric).

The second half moves on to Clay in Driftveil City with the Ground type, Skyla in Mistralton City with Flying, Brycen in Icirrus City with Ice, then Iris or Drayden in Opelucid City with Dragon — the Leader once again depending on the version.

Black 2 and White 2 reshuffle half the circuit. Cheren sets up in Aspertia City with the Normal type, Roxie opens a Poison Gym in Virbank City, Marlon runs a Water-type one in Humilau City, and Drayden takes over Opelucid City. Burgh, Elesa, Clay and Skyla, for their part, stay in place.

The Unova League, in the North of the Region

The Unova Elite Four brings together Shauntal, Grimsley, Caitlin and Marshal — specialists in the Ghost, Dark, Psychic and Fighting types. The League stands in the north of the region, at the end of Victory Road.

The Champion changes between the two eras: it's Alder in Pokémon Black and White, and Iris in Black 2 and White 2 — Opelucid City's Gym Leader having moved up the ranks. Few regions show time passing over their institutions so clearly.

Above all, the Unova League is the only one to be interrupted. In Pokémon Black and White, Team Plasma makes a castle rise up around the building just as the player is about to face the Champion, and the final battle never happens as planned. It is one of the rare moments when the series breaks its own structure.

Team Plasma and the Question It Raises

Team Plasma doesn't steal Pokémon: it asks people to set them free. Its message is public, reasoned and delivered in town squares: if humans truly love Pokémon, why do they lock them up in Poké Balls? It is the first antagonist in the series whose argument targets the player directly.

🔑 In Unova's town squares, Team Plasma asks why we lock Pokémon up in Poké Balls. Our Pokémon keychains settle the question differently: yours travels out in the open, hanging from your key ring.

Its public face is N, a young man who understands the language of Pokémon, raised to believe in the cause. Behind him, Ghetsis manipulates the organization for a far more ordinary reason: to disarm the population so he can rule over it.

The plan hinges on the legendary dragons. N awakens Reshiram or Zekrom depending on the version, and the hero must awaken the other to stand up to him. Two years later, in Black 2 and White 2, what remains of the organization falls back on Kyurem and on a far less philosophical plan: freezing the region.

Truth, Ideals and a Dragon Split in Two

Unova's myth tells the story of a split. Two brothers, heirs to a single dragon, turned against each other, one pursuing truth, the other ideals — and the dragon split in two: Reshiram, white, and Zekrom, black. What was left of it, the empty shell, became Kyurem.

It is the only myth in the series in which the two game versions argue opposing positions without either one being right. The games' titles, their covers and their legendaries aren't decorative: they carry the argument.

Unova has thirteen Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, including the three Swords of Justice — Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion — joined by Keldeo, as well as the Forces of Nature Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus. Victini, Meloetta and Genesect round out the picture. The full classification is explained in our guide to Legendary and Mythical Pokémon.

156 Species, and Not a Single Old One

Unova did what no region had dared to do: start over from scratch. The fifth generation adds 156 species — the biggest batch in the entire series — and, before the end of the main story, the player comes across not a single Pokémon from earlier generations.

📒 156 brand-new species, and not one familiar face before the end of the adventure: in Unova, you start over with a completely empty collection. Our Pokémon card binders recreate that feeling on your shelf, pocket by pocket.

The three starters are Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott. You'll find the details of each regional trio in our feature on the starters, and the region's lab is run by Professor Juniper.

This clean slate has an often-cited side effect: Unova is the only region in the series where you can't find Pikachu in the wild. It is also the only one whose French name differs from its English one — in French, it is called Unys.

Unova in the Anime

The anime followed the same clean-slate logic. Season 14 brings back none of the previous saga's companions: Ash arrives in Unova with only his Pikachu and heads off with Iris and Cilan. Season 15 runs through five Gyms and two tournaments.

Season 16 closes the saga in three acts: the Unova League, the N and Team Plasma arc, then a long journey back to Kanto via the Decolore Islands. It is the first season of the series in which Ash doesn't win a single Badge.

The anime also altered a Gym circuit. There, the Opelucid City Gym is temporarily closed, and it's Roxie's Gym in Virbank City that awards Ash his eighth Badge. Every season is covered in our guide to all the seasons.

Where to Explore Unova Today

Unova exists in a single generation only, which sets it apart from every region before it: Pokémon Black and White followed by Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, on Nintendo DS. It has had neither a remake nor a playable return.

Its sequels, however, are unique in the series. Black 2 and White 2 are neither a third version nor a remake: they are true sequels, set two years later, with a revised map, relocated Gyms and a plot that assumes you know the previous one.

Still, the region makes an indirect comeback, with Blueberry Academy built offshore and tied to the story of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The complete order of the saga is laid out in our guide to all the games.

The Unova Region at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why is Unova so different from the other regions?
  Because it is the first region not based on Japan, and it lies very far from the previous regions. That distance explains its entirely new wildlife, its urban culture and its route numbering, which starts over at 1 and connects to no existing network.
• Why does Unova have two starting towns?
  Because its two games take place two years apart and don't start in the same place: Nuvema Town in Pokémon Black and White, Aspertia City in Black 2 and White 2. It is the only region in the main games where this happens, and Aspertia City is also the only starting town with a Gym and a Pokémon Center.
• How do the seasons work in Unova?
  Spring, summer, fall and winter each last one month and change the landscape of the entire region, not just a few routes. Each season has its own weather, its own events and its own species distribution. The player therefore goes through three full cycles a year.
• How many Gyms does Unova have?
  Eight in each game, but not the same ones: the Gym map changes between Pokémon Black and White and their sequels. That makes Unova the only region in the series with more than eight Gyms in total.
• What does Team Plasma want?
  Officially, the liberation of Pokémon: it publicly argues that locking them up in Poké Balls is a form of enslavement. Its spokesperson N sincerely believes it, but Ghetsis uses this message to disarm the population and rule over it.
• What is the myth of Reshiram and Zekrom?
  Two brothers, heirs to a single dragon, turned against each other, one pursuing truth, the other ideals. The dragon then split in two: Reshiram the white and Zekrom the black. What was left of it, the empty shell, became Kyurem.
• Is it true you can't find Pikachu in Unova?
  Yes. Unova is the only region in the series where Pikachu doesn't appear in the wild. It's a consequence of the generation's deliberate choice, which has you meet no species from earlier generations before the end of the main story.

In short

Unova is the region of extremes. A megalopolis and a desert, a subway and five bridges, one hundred fifty-six brand-new species and not a single familiar Pokémon: it's the series' most wholehearted attempt to start over from scratch without disowning anything.

It is also the only region whose antagonist asks the player an uncomfortable question — by what right do we lock up the creatures we claim to love? To see where it stands among the others, our overview of the regions of the Pokémon world; to explore it, our guide to all the games.