The following is a translation of an interview with four members of Game Freak’s staff as they discuss Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. The interviewer’s question are indicated by ━━, while each of the staff members responses are color coded to match what is in the magazine.
This is technically part 1. The second part of this interview was published in the following issue (10/2012).
[This article was originally posted on Gear Station Archives on June 21, 2026.]
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 Development Staff Interview
An adventure only possible because it’s ‘2’!!
First up, an interview with the development staff! We spoke at length with Game Freak, the company well-known as the developer of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2! From the development process to stories about the characters two years later, starting with N, and even the secrets of Kyurem… Plus, in conjunction with the release of the game’s soundtrack, we’ll bring you a large helping of information about “Pokémon music”!
The interview took place in a conference room at Game Freak’s office. Perhaps the planning for Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 began here?
Game Freak Producer
Junichi Masuda-san
Head of Development. As the producer on this project, he is responsible for coordinating the entire project and allocating internal staff.
Game Freak Director
Takao Unno-san
Serves as both director and art director. He determines the overall direction of the game while also coordinating all aspects of the graphics.
Game Freak Sound Designer
Go Ichinose-san
Sound designer. He collaborated with Satō-san to create all the music for this game. He also participated in brainstorming ideas during the early stages of development.
Game Freak Sound Designer
Hitomi Satō-san
Sound designer. Joined the production team midway through the development of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, and worked with Ichinose-san to create all of the music.
Game Freak does not set boundaries between job roles
━━ Unno-san, you were the 3D art director for Pokémon Black and White, but this time you’re taking on the role of director for the first time. What has that been like?
Unno
This is a unique characteristic of Game Freak as a company, but when it comes to striving to make games fun, we don’t set boundaries between job roles. Even if someone is in a different role than myself, we’ll exchange opinions and ask, “Wouldn’t it be better to do it more like this?” I was in charge of graphics, but sometimes I was involved in the core parts of the game too, so I wanted to try my hand at being a director. After we finished making Pokémon Black and White, I had been saving up some ideas, so I asked Masuda if I could be director.
Of course, it was my first time as director, but Masuda provided me staff like Ichinose and Satō, who have been involved with Pokémon for a long time. So in a positive sense, I was able to rely on the staff and concentrate on steering the ship. It was tough, but I’m proud to say that it all worked out in the end.
━━ Earlier, you mentioned that “Game Freak does not set boundaries between job roles,” which is quite an interesting company culture.
Masuda
That’s how it is here. When it comes to a project plan, it’s not like the planner just prepares the documents and that’s the end of it. We also get the opinions of the programmers and graphic designers, and that can lead to improvements. For example, Morimoto, the director of Pokémon HG/SS, was a programmer for Pokémon Red/Green, and he’s actually the one who illustrated Mew’s graphic [sprite]*. I was also a programmer back then, but I composed music too. Game Freak was originally a very small company, so the company culture became based around the idea that each person should try their hand at all sorts of things. Of course, it’s great to master one job, but experiencing many different jobs and sharing ideas from various perspectives is a unique characteristic of Game Freak as a company.
[*Note: Masuda is talking about Shigeki Morimoto. You can read more about his involvement in Mew’s creation here.]
The reason why it’s a sequel with two versions on the DS
━━ Based on past examples, I thought the next game after Pokémon Black and White would be a new color like “Gray”… So the “2” was quite a surprise.
Masuda
During the development of Pokémon Black and White, we did think about creating a new version, but at that point, we weren’t considering making a “2” or releasing two games. However, we were thinking about making it for the DS.
━━ That’s a bit surprising.
Masuda
We had anticipated that the 3DS would become the mainstream hardware, but also wanted to further expand Pokémon Black and White. Above all, the DS is incredibly widespread. The most important thing about Pokémon is for everyone to have fun playing together, after all. This time, we added a new feature called “Funfest Missions” that allows up to 100 people to play at the same time, but of course, 100 people can’t play unless they all each have a game console.
━━ I see. So that’s why you decided from the beginning to release it on the DS.
Masuda
This game also employs a new system called the “Key System”. Clearing the game will unlock a key that allows you to add various gameplay elements from the other version of the game. We actually wanted to include this in Pokémon Black and White, however the idea came up quite late in development, so affecting another player’s software in any way was too risky. That’s why we decided against it in Pokémon Black and White, but we definitely wanted to include it in the next game. We wanted to challenge ourselves with this Key System to re-examine the value of having two versions of Pokémon. When someone plays one version, they can then play the other in a different way. To make that a reality, we made the new game two versions as well.
━━ So it became clear it was releasing on the DS, and in two versions.
Masuda
When I was discussing the next project with President Ishihara and others in The Pokémon Company, the conversation turned to “since we’re doing it on the DS instead of the 3DS, we need some kind of ‘innovation’.” That’s when we came up with the idea of making it the series’ first numbered title. In all honesty, during the development of Pokémon Black and White, we weren’t thinking about making a “2” at all. My apologies to the fans, but we intended for N to remain missing and live on in everyone’s hearts.
━━ Is that so?!
Masuda
In fact, since we had never made a numbered title in the Pokémon series before, we wanted to bring the fact that it was “2” to the forefront. Because it’s “2,” it takes place two years later. Because it’s “2,” there are two versions. The idea of “2” is incorporated into many aspects of these games.
Unno
“Resonance” is a key theme in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. Funfest Missions involve resonance between players, and the Key System involves resonance between the two versions. Furthermore, there is a system called “Memory Link”, which you could say is a resonance between Pokémon Black and White and Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. Memory Link is an episode that fills in the two year gap, and I think that having it will allow you to enjoy the story more deeply, not only in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 but also in Pokémon Black and White.
“What happens to N” was never intended to be revealed
━━ When I played Pokémon Black and White, I was absolutely certain that N would appear in the next game, but it seems that wasn’t the plan.
Masuda
That wasn’t the plan at all. After all, I just wanted to leave things in a way so that he would remain in the hearts of everyone who played the game. I was the one who came up with N’s character, but he was a pretty unique genius type, so to be honest I didn’t think he would become this popular. But he became more popular than I could have ever imagined, so when it came to making “2”, it would have been strange not to include him.
━━ So if it wasn’t for the support of the players, N wouldn’t have appeared in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2?
Masuda
Yes. I didn’t specifically ask Director Unno to include N.
━━ But Unno-san, you still wanted to include N after all, right?
Unno
When you think of N from Pokémon Black and White, the final scene right before the ending is what really sticks in your mind, right?
━━ The way it flows into the end credits is simply divine.
Masuda
I created the storyboard for that scene. In the middle of the game, there’s a scene where N asks the protagonist if they have a dream, and the answer to that question is crucial to the ending. N is someone who can foresee the future, so it follows that he sees the future of the protagonist, or in other words, the player. For example, if their answer is “Yes, I have a dream,” N replies, “Make it come true!” I wanted that to be the final line, but it was difficult to end the game like that… So, at the very last moment, we created a new song and made very meticulous adjustments, from the pauses between lines of dialogue to the final timing, and that’s how we arrived at that last scene.
Unno
To tell you the truth, while I was working on it, I didn’t know it was the last scene. So later, when I was playing around with debugging, the scene ended with a “da-dan!!” and I was like, “Whaaat?!” (laughs).
━━ So you had the same reaction as a regular player (laughs).
Unno
I think that last scene is excellent in that it sparks the player’s imagination and allows them to think for themselves. When we were making “2,” I did consider whether or not we should give away too many answers… But I had some unresolved feelings about N, so I considered various things on my own, like “maybe he had these thoughts” or “maybe he did this during those two years,” and made some character details for him. I then presented those to the scenario writer, (Toshinobu) Matsumiya-san, and that’s how the story came to be.
━━ It might be more of a “what happens to N” as envisioned by Unno-san as a player, rather than by Unno-san as the director.
Unno
This might sound misleading, but I think that in Pokémon Black and White, while N advocated for the liberation of Pokémon, there was also a part of him that was trying to liberate himself from Pokémon as well. How would he break free from the expectations and various motivations of those around him? That was something I wanted to know, and something I wanted to depict in this work.
It depicts the conflict and coexistence of people with differing viewpoints
Unno
For me, this story is about “what happens to N,” but even more than that, it’s also about “what happens to Team Plasma.” Team Plasma is united under the banner of “liberating Pokémon,” but there are people with all sorts of differing viewpoints within it. I think they had very high expectations of N, and in a sense, they relied on him. What will they do next after N is gone? I thought about that a lot.
━━ I was quite surprised by how meticulously the enemy organization was portrayed.
Unno
The members of Team Plasma, who held differing ideologies from the start, have split into two factions, and now what will become of them…? In the real world, people with differing beliefs sometimes work towards a common goal, only to end up going their separate ways. The Unova region itself has always been a place where people from various regions have come together. Among them there is coexistence and conflict. This is also one of the themes of Pokémon Black and White.
━━ A new character named Colress has appeared in Team Plasma as well.
Unno
The difference in thinking between Colress and N plainly illustrates the conflict within Team Plasma. Also, in order to show how N’s ideals of liberating Pokémon and becoming friends with Pokémon would be accepted, I felt it was necessary to have the same setting but with different perspectives. That’s why we created a new protagonist and started the story in a different city than in Pokémon Black and White.
━━ The rival character is also a little different from those in previous installments.
Unno
The rival’s characterization wasn’t something we planned from the start. It emerged as we developed the scenario. Initially, he was a literal “rival,” like Green is to Red, but that would’ve been more of the same, so instead we made him a character who more strongly emphasized his feelings towards Pokémon. If you play the game to the end, you may feel that his existence offers one answer to the theme of “how should we engage with Pokémon?”.
In Pokémon Black and White, Kyurem was not in its true form
━━ Nintendo Dream did a major feature called “The Secret Story of Pokémon’s Creation” when Pokémon Black and White were released… but the designs for Kyurem were actually being kept off the record at the time. The explanation was that “Kyurem’s true power is being suppressed and restrained,” but now that I’ve heard that it absorbs and fuses with Zekrom and Reshiram in this game, it finally makes sense. Was this absorption and fusion idea in the works since the development of Pokémon Black and White?
Masuda
Yes, it was. During the development of Pokémon Black and White, we hadn’t decided whether the next game would be a numbered title or a third version, but I think it was fairly easy to imagine that Kyurem would play an important role after Zekrom and Reshiram. However, it wouldn’t be very interesting if Kyurem just appeared as is, right? We prepared that element in order to surprise everyone. However, at the time, we didn’t have designs for Black Kyurem or White Kyurem, just the concept of “absorption and fusion.”
━━ So there was the possibility that it could have fused with another Pokémon.
Masuda
Well, there’s no point in fusing with a Pokémon that isn’t very strong (laughs). Based on the events of the story, those two are the most natural choice.
Ichinose
I created Kyurem’s cry, but I made it flashy at first, and was told, “Kyurem is supposed to be incomplete and lacking in power, so make it weaker,” and I remember having to remake it. That’s why, despite its appearance, it makes a weak “shaa” sound.
There’s meaning in the things that remain unchanged – the characters two years later
━━ Since it takes place two years after “Pokémon Black and White,” did you put a lot of thought into how to portray the same characters two years later?
Unno
This is something I discussed with Yusuke Ohmura-san, who was in charge of character design this time, but realistically, middle-aged men don’t change that much even after two years, right? So, for the younger characters, like Cheren and Bianca, we created new illustrations to show how they’ve grown over those two years.
━━ Elesa also has a new illustration.
Unno
She represents not so much growth as a shift in what’s popular in the Unova region. While both are female characters, Skyla’s outfit remains the same as in “Pokémon Black and White,” as it’s her pilot costume. But Elesa, being a model, has undergone a dramatic change to keep up with the latest trends. I suppose that must be the current fashion in Unova (laughs).
━━ That fluffy coat?!
Unno
Well, you can’t just wear the outfits from fashion shows as they are. I suppose they take inspiration from them, and that’s how the trends in Unova are born.
━━ I see. So that’s why Alder is the same as he was in Pokémon Black and White…
Masuda
Yes. He makes his entrance from the top of the cliff, accompanied by that music, as always (laughs).
Unno
Rather than everyone having changed just because two years have passed, I think it would be better if, like a real class reunion, there was a mix of “You’ve changed so much!” and “You haven’t changed at all!”. It would feel more realistic that way.
━━ Speaking of changes, Iris has become Champion!
Unno
Iris has seen a lot in Pokémon Black and White, and she will be involved in the story in various ways in this game as well. To show how much she has grown in the past two years, we thought that the position of Champion would be more appropriate than having her remain in Opelucid City Gym.
Masuda
She must have defeated the Elite Four and the Champion! In the past, characters like Wallace have become the new Champion in subsequent games, but considering the roles and contributions of everyone in Pokémon Black and White, we were thinking about who would make the biggest impact as Champion.
━━ Speaking of which, Rood and Zinzolin from Team Plasma play an active role in this game, but were detailed character settings for the Seven Sages already established beforehand?
Masuda
In Pokémon Black and White, each of the Seven Sages was only described as “roughly this kind of person,” and there weren’t any specific character details.
Unno
This game retains the general setting of the previous installment, while putting Rood and Zinzolin front and center as representatives of Team Plasma’s two ideologies.
While based on Pokémon Black and White, it also has an “action-adventure” feel
━━ The soundtrack CD for this game, “Nintendo DS Pokémon B2/W2 Super Music Complete,” will be released on July 25th, so we’d like to ask a lot of questions about the music. First of all, could you tell us about the concept behind the music for Pokémon Black 2 and White 2?
Ichinose
In Pokémon Black and White, we completely broke away from the previous “Pokémon-ness” and reworked the music, and we’ve carried that over into this project as well. The Unova region is a place where people of various races and ideas gather, so we incorporated world music and heavily featured interactive music (sound-based play and effects)*. On top of that, Unno requested that we include the action-adventure feeling that was present in previous installments, so during production we used that in appropriate ways depending on the situation.
[*Note: “Interactive music”, also called adaptive music, is when the music in a video game changes depending on the player’s situation, like increasing the tempo or intensity during combat.]
━━ I believe both Ichinose-san and Satō-san have been involved in past third versions in the series. Are there any aspects of composing that are unique to those kinds of projects?
Ichinose
I was mainly in charge of the music for Pokémon Emerald, and Satō was mainly in charge of the music for Pokémon Platinum. In the case of these third versions, since they are parallel worlds in the same timeline, the kinds of sounds and atmosphere don’t usually evolve from the original work. We treat them as parallel entities and create the audio in parallel as well. However, this time the game is set two years later, and a lot of new locations have been added. For those places, we created new sounds and new music without being influenced by Pokémon Black and White. Conversely, for places that were also in Pokémon Black and White, we considered that only two years have passed, and there are many places that we haven’t changed at all.
━━ The title screen music certainly has a very different feel from that of Pokémon Black and White. Earlier, Unno-san’s request mentioned the term “action-adventure,” and the opening of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 has an action-adventure feeling. Rather, it’s reminiscent of classic kaiju movies, and very impactful!
Ichinose
Thank you. Black Kyurem and White Kyurem hide a great power and give off a ferocious impression, so I tried to incorporate the image of traditional Japanese kaiju into the song. I think that was the very first song I created for this game. The most intense part was originally intended to be used in a battle theme. I used it on the title screen thinking that it would stick in the player’s mind and then later have a big impact when it plays again as a battle theme.
━━ I see. I’m looking forward to hearing it in an actual battle!
Ichinose
In a similar sense, the music in the opening movie incorporates many songs used throughout the story. I think your impression of it will change if you listen to it again after clearing the game.
Created rapidly in collaboration, like a shared diary
Ichinose
Also, the keyword here is “resonance,” which was mentioned earlier. I put my all into creating these songs, hoping that at least one will resonate with the players. I have a niche personality (laughs), so it’s a challenge for me to resonate with a large number of people.
━━ Then I guess I have a niche one too, since I was so impressed by the opening (laughs). By the way, Satō-san, did you also create your music with “resonance” in mind?
Satō
Well, whether you can call it resonance or not is another matter… This time, a lot of the sound production was a collaboration between me and Ichinose. We exchanged files like a shared diary, and each of us contributed bit by bit, gradually creating the songs together.
Ichinose
This game has a huge number of songs, so we didn’t have much time to carefully plan everything. So, whoever came up with an idea first would create it, and if they got stuck, they’d hand it over to the other person saying, “Do something about this!” That’s how we did it.
Satō
Every few days, we passed unfinished files back and forth with messages like, “I’ll leave the rest to you!”. There were times the song had only changed by about one measure since last handing it over (laughs).
Ichinose
But when we do that, the songwriting process goes really fast. By encouraging each other, even songs that we were stuck on start to take shape. In a way, this is probably the part of the music-making process that had the most “resonance” for us this time.
━━ The soundtrack CD is incredibly massive, with 173 tracks and over 4 hours of music. The number of songs is exactly the same as the Pokémon Black and White soundtrack, but it must have been quite a challenge for just two people to create it.
Satō
I only realized that the number of tracks is exactly the same as the Pokémon Black and White soundtrack after someone pointed it out to me (laughs).
Ichinose
This time, as a bonus, we’ve included songs from Pokémon Emerald and Pokémon Platinum that haven’t been released on CD before, so not all of them are songs from Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. That being said, there are still well over 100 songs, so thanks to that, I was working every day of this year’s winter break except for New Year’s Day (laughs).
While the melody is preserved, the arrangement adds individuality
━━ The battle themes and other tracks seem to have changed subtly since Pokémon Black and White. It’s interesting to compare them.
Ichinose
In regards to the battle music, we initially had no intention of changing it from Pokémon Black and White. However, Masuda suggested that we should change it a little to give it a fresh feeling. So we’ve made slight arrangements to the music that plays during trainer and gym leader battles, as well as the music that plays when the last opposing Pokémon is left (“Victory Lies Before You!”), in a way that makes it feel like “has it really been two years…”
Satō
For Pokémon Black and White, with Shota Kageyama-san as sound leader, five people, including the two of us, created the music. This time however, Ichinose and I created all the songs ourselves, so our individual styles may be more strongly reflected in the music.
Ichinose
It’s a bit different, or rather, the poison is strong. In Pokémon terms, it might be a poison type (laughs).
Satō
We made this soundtrack freely and without too much restraint. While a starting point for a new generation like Pokémon Black and White requires a lot of cohesion, this kind of project allows for more individuality.
Masuda
For example, with the Pokémon Center music, if we changed it too much from the previous game just because it’s “2,” people starting with this game would be confused. It’s very important to have a marker so that you know where you are just by listening. If the essential elements are kept in mind, then even if the arrangement is completely changed, as long as the melody is the same as the previous game, people will still recognize it as something different. That’s one of the advantages of “2”. It was great that Ichinose and Satō focused on that aspect.
Ichinose
Satō composed most of the gym arrangements for this game. Only the first gym’s music is the same as in Pokémon Black and White, while the rest were arranged to suit the unique characteristics of each gym. By carrying over the same melodies, we created a kind of marker, while boldly changing the parts that we could.
━━ Cheren’s theme also uses the same melody as in Pokémon Black and White, but the tone has changed, making it sound more mature.
Satō
I’m glad you understand! I included a saxophone and aimed for a cool feeling when I created it.
━━ Team Plasma’s battle theme also has a sharper feel than the one in Pokémon Black and White.
Ichinose
Yes. Team Plasma in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 are very aggressive, so we made the tempo faster and more intense to match. And this is just a side note, but… the truth is, initially Satō had prepared a special song just for Burgh’s room on the top floor of the Castelia City Gym.
━━ That gym with all those cocoons, it’s so insect-like, isn’t it?
Ichinose
Yes. But Unno said the song was “too gross” and it was scrapped (laughs).
━━ (Laughs). I’d like to hear just how gross it is.
That’s all for this month!! Finally, please send a message to the fans!
Ichinose-san
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 will probably be the last “Pokémon” game on the DS, and I think it will truly be a culmination of the series. I worked hard to make the music a culmination as well, so I would be really happy if you play the game and find even one song you like.
Unno-san
This game’s theme is “resonance,” so we’ve included plenty of gameplay that makes full use of communication. Of course, you can play alone, but it’s even more fun with friends, so we hope you’ll enjoy it with as many people as possible. Also, there’s a considerable amount of content after clearing the main story, so I think you’ll be able to play it for a long time without getting bored.
Masuda-san
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 also link with the Pokémon Global Link, and you can play Funfest Missions with strangers at shopping centers and other locations, and of course, with your friends too. I hope you enjoy the various forms of “resonance.” Also, please check out the soundtrack coming out on July 25th!!
Satō-san
This time, there are so many new ways to play, and it was really challenging to compose music for all of them, but I did my absolute best to create a variety of songs. I hope you enjoy the new music along with the new activities.
