THE LIBRARY

Generation V: a second new generation on the same DS hardware, a region based on New York, 156 new Pokémon, and none of the old ones until the end.

Deliberate amnesia: the designers wanted veterans to feel like beginners again, in a faraway region where every silhouette was a question mark.

Four regions had mapped Japan prefecture by prefecture. For its fresh start, the series crossed the Pacific and rebuilt the New York metropolitan area.

Unova's calendar turns with the real one: a new season every month, changing the scenery, the wild Pokémon, the music's mood and the length of the day.

Unova's bottom-screen command centre: infrared, local wireless and online channels woven into the game at all times, with a doorway to friends' worlds.

Black and White's launch event: a Wi-Fi ticket to sail to Liberty Garden and catch Victini, the Pokémon numbered 000, before anyone knew its name.

Every generation before had answered a pair with one enhanced version. Unova answered with two full sequels, set two years later in a changed region.

A stadium south of Driftveil where the Gym Leaders and Champions of five regions queue up to fight you, in an eight-person knockout, for Battle Points.

By download, at launch: the last Pokémon in the Unova Pokédex arrived over Wi-Fi in the sequels' first five weeks, at level 15, wearing Team Plasma's name.

Yes: the same dragons, deliberately swapped against their boxes' colours, in both regions. Reshiram fronts Black, Zekrom fronts White, worldwide.

A shopping street you manage, on the road to Nimbasa City, staffed by the avatars of real players you have connected with, and by fans who adore you.

A browser game on the Pokémon Global Link: tuck a Pokémon in with the C-Gear, then visit its dream to befriend rare Pokémon and grow berries.

Generation V gave most species a third ability, hidden from normal play, dealt out mainly by the Dream World. Two weather abilities rewrote competitive battling.

A 3DS eShop app, ¥300 (about $3.75 at the time), where you shot dream clouds in your own room to catch the Therian Formes for Black 2 and White 2.

May 20, 2014. The free online service behind every DS and Wii game died with its host, GameSpy, and took the GTS, Wi-Fi battles and Mystery Gift with it.

The Mystery Dungeon sequels where you wake up as a Pokémon and join a rescue guild, in a story about time stopping. Sky is the expanded edition.

No Poké Balls and no badges: you calm wild Pokémon by drawing circles around them with the stylus, borrow their help once, and let them go.

Finish Ranger, unlock its hidden Ranger Net, and clear one mission to win an egg no Diamond or Pearl could ever produce. One egg per cartridge, ever.

Pokémon meets Nobunaga's Ambition: a tactical war game where Sengoku warlords conquer 17 kingdoms beside partner Pokémon, in feudal Ransei.

Diamond and Pearl lead at 17.67 million, with the DS era's core games and spin-offs together moving well over 70 million copies.

Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, in 2012: the final core games of the DS era, launched when the 3DS was already on shelves, for the older machine.