Black (Adventures)

Black (Japanese: ブラック  Black) is a main character in the manga series Pokémon Adventures.

Character
Black is a young man who aspires to be the Champion of the Unova Pokémon League. He has been dreaming of this since childhood, nine years to be exact. However, these dreams fill his head to the point where he cannot think about anything else and any attempts to cause him to pass out from mental exhaustion. With his Munna, Musha, Black can have him eat his dreams, which he refers to turning his mind from "blank white" to "solid black". This technique, known as (Japanese: 推理タイム Detective Time), allows him to think much more clearly, become smarter, and improve perception. Also, when he does this, he apparently sees in hexagons. Due to his dreams causing him to forget about other things, Black has the tendency to do things without considering the consequences of his actions and their effects on other people. As the series goes on, Black slowly begins to consider the feelings of others and even manages to be able to think about other things for brief periods of time.

He has been described as "hot blooded" by several characters due to his loud nature and tendency to do things on his own. He doesn't understand show business like White does and many aspects of it surprise him, such as Gigi and Tep getting to stay in a hotel room while he and White have to camp out. He is very familiar with libraries and went there frequently as a child, allowing him to complete Lenora's Gym puzzle very quickly, setting a new record in the process. Black's tendency to dream also causes him to miss the things happening around him, such as when he completely forgot his promise with his friends and  once he received the package holding the Pokémon and Pokédexes they were going to receive. For his skills, he is given the title of "Dreamer" ( Dreamer), which he shares with.

History
Black debuted in Choices, where he received a package from Professor Juniper containing a, , , and three Pokédexes. Having developed a cold from standing in the rain all night waiting for the package caused Black to sneeze and release the Pokémon from their Poké Balls. A fight broke out between the starter Pokémon, causing Tepig to run off with Black chasing after it. Black later found Tepig trapped on a tree, being attacked by a hidden Pokémon. With Musha's help, Black deduced the culprit to be a wild, which Tepig quickly defeated. Afterward, Tepig joined Black's team and was nicknamed Tep.

In Black's First Trainer Battle, Black met Andy, a Trainer that once dreamed of competing in the Pokémon League, but failed multiple times and eventually gave up. After helping Andy put out a fire his accidentally started, Black encouraged the man to try and continue challenging the Pokémon League again.

In Lights, Camera...Action!, Black arrived in Accumula Town, where he accidentally interrupted the filming of a Xtransceiver commercial. There, he met, the president of the BW Agency, a Pokémon talent agency. When some of the film crew were knocked unconscious, Black was blamed for the incident, but he proved his innocence by unveiling the true culprit, a wild, and catching it. Despite his success, Black accidentally destroyed the recording equipment in the process and had to pay it back. Wanting to use Tep as an actor alongside her Tepig, Gigi, White forced Black to work for her while she paid off his debt.

In An Odd Speech, Black and White camped out for the night, but were forced to change locations when a pair of s revealed they had a permit to build a stage in the area. The next day, Black and White witnessed Ghetsis, one of Team Plasma's Seven Sages, give a speech that convinced several people to release their Pokémon. Angered, Black went to try and stop Team Plasma from making more speeches, but lost them and was challenged to a battle by, a young man able to understand what Pokémon are saying. N claimed that Pokémon and humans should be kept separate, but learned from the voices of Black's Pokémon that some Pokémon actually want to be with humans. Though Black lost the battle, N left while mulling over what he had just learned.

In Welcome to Striaton City!!, Black was approached by and  at the Striaton Gym. They chastised Black for leaving home without them and causing their Pokédexes to get damaged and need repairs. Seeing the conversation, the Gym Leaders, Cilan, Cress, and Chili, allowed Cheren and Bianca to participate in the Gym battle alongside Black. Together with his friends, Black defeated the triplet Gym Leaders and earned the. Afterward, Black apologized for his impatience and gave Cheren and Bianca a Xtransceiver each so they could keep in touch with him.

In Battle at the Dreamyard, Black and White met Fennel, a scientist researching the power of dreams. When Musha flew off to the Dreamyard, Black and others followed after it. There, they discovered a trio of Plasma Grunts had captured Musha. Using his dreams, Black lured Musha back, allowing him to use his deduction skills to defeat the Plasma Grunts', forcing them to flee. Afterward, Black allowed Fennel to take a sample of Musha's Dream Mist

In Wheeling and Dealing, Black and White arrived at Nacrene City. There, Black faced Lenora, the Nacrene Gym Leader, and defeated her, winning the in the process. Later, Black assisted Hawes in retrieving several stolen museum exhibits, one of which was a Dragon fossil. With help from Burgh, another Gym Leader, Black discovered the thief was Gorm of the Seven Sages and defeated him. Just before fleeing, Gorm revealed Team Plasma's goal is to find a certain Pokémon to aid their ideals.

In A Direct Attack and a Daunting Defense, Black and White passed by Pinwheel Forest, where an unseen Pokémon attacked them. They later found out from Geoff that the attacker was the Legendary Pokémon,. After defeating Geoff in battle, Black and White said their farewells and arrived at their next destination, Castelia City.

In Big City Battles, Black noticed that Tep was about to evolve, but White forcibly stopped it, worried that Tep's new form would be bad for business. Black later challenged the Castelia Gym, where he faced Burgh in battle. Despite White's earlier protests, Black allowed Tep to battle, where it evolved into a and won, earning Black the. Afterward, Black helped Iris retrieve a Pokémon that Team Plasma had stolen from Bianca. With Tep's new sense of smell, they tracked the thieves, who were being led by Bronius of the Seven Sages, and defeated them. Afterward, White chastised Black for letting Tep evolve before revealing she had already thought of some new character dynamics for Tep and Gigi to act in. As they left, Black decided to change Tep's name to Nite to better match his new form.

In Sandstorm, Black and White arrived at while on their way to Nimbasa City. White went off to buy equipment to get past the sandstorm, leaving Black alone to study for his next Gym battle. There, he met Grimsley of the Unova Elite Four and watched the man defeat a Plasma Grunt disguised as a. Grimsley offered to have a battle with Black, but only on the condition they both give up something important if they lost. Black chose to bet his Badges, but the risk of losing his one chance at competing at the League stressed Black to the point where he passed out. Black later awakened at a hotel in Nimbasa City, where he was taken to by White with Brav's help. Black was taken to the Pokémon Musical Theater, where he met the Nimbasa Gym Leader, Elesa, who promised to have their Gym battle later. In Battle on a Roller Coaster, Black faced Elesa in a Gym battle. Due to a malfunction, Black was forced to battle while trapped in a roller coaster car. Despite this setback, he eventually managed to win the battle and obtained the.

In Unraveling Mysteries, White went missing, forcing Black to search for her. He eventually found her in the arms of the Elite Four member, Marshal, who had found White unconscious near the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel. After White was taken to a hospital to recover, she revealed that N was actually the king of Team Plasma and that he convinced Gigi to go with him and join his cause. Angered by this, Black attempted to interrogate the N gave to White and get it to lead him to N, but failed. Soon after Black and White met Chris, who told them about the Battle Subway, another Nimbasa tourist attraction that was still in development. At the Battle Subway, they met with Marshal, who was testing the area with Alder, the Pokémon League Champion. Wanting to understand why Gigi left her, White decided to ride the Battle Subway and learn how to battle in the process. The next day, Black helped White catch her first Pokémon, a, by catching a as a demonstration. Later, Black and White went their separate ways as White boarded the Battle Subway train. As she needed three Pokémon to participate, Black lent Brav to White so she could have a third party member to use.

In Drawing Bridges, Black attempted to cross the Driftveil Drawbridge, only to be hindered by a wild and its  Ability. When Zorua tried to confuse Black's Pokémon by taking their Trainer's form, Black used Musha's ability to detect his dreams to uncover the fake and force Zorua to run away. Afterward, Black met Clay, the Driftveil Gym Leader, who explained that Zorua had been causing trouble for him and kept the drawbridge up, preventing anyone from crossing it and getting into Driftveil City.

In Fight in a Cold Climate, Black met with Cheren again. When Cheren's was stolen by a pair of Plasma Grunts, Black and Cheren teamed up at the Cold Storage to get it back. Later, Black challenged Clay for a Gym battle, which he won despite Costa initially refusing to listen to him. Clay revealed that Team Plasma had been spying on the Nacrene Museum as part of a plan to steal the Dark Stone, the dormant form of the Legendary Pokémon. Black agreed to help Clay and the other Gym Leaders stop Team Plasma and together, they headed off to Mistralton City.

In Up in the Air, Black and Clay met with the other Unova Gym Leaders at the Celestial Tower. While they waited for Lenora's signal to begin their plan, Skyla, the Mistralton Gym Leader, noticed that Black was nervous about something and took him to the Mistralton Gym for a battle. During the battle, Black revealed that he was worried that Team Plasma's actions would lead to the Pokémon League being canceled. Deciding to use his stress as motivation to stop Team Plasma, Black regained his resolve and managed to defeat Skyla, earning the. Afterward, Skyla and the Gym Leaders took off on Skyla's plane to confront Team Plasma while Black followed after them on Skyla's.

In Museum Showdown, Black arrived at Nacrene City, where he watched the Gym Leaders battle the Shadow Triad. Black went inside the museum to prevent the Plasma Grunts inside from getting to the Dark Stone. After the Grunts were defeated, Black went outside, where he found the Shadow Triad defeated the Gym Leaders with the power of the Legendary Pokémon and trapped them in a swirling vortex of wind, lighting, and dirt. Despite Nite evolving into an, Black was completely helpless against the Shadow Triad, who took the Gym Leaders to Team Plasma's castle. When Brycen managed to escape, he and Black went to the Dark Stone's safe room, only for Ghetsis to appear and knock Black unconscious with his. Brycen revealed himself to be a Plasma Grunt in disguise and delivered the Dark Stone to Ghetsis. Later, Black was found by the real Brycen, who actually did escape. Brycen informed Drayden about what happened, revealing that Lenora was also in possession of the Light Stone, the dormant form of Zekrom's counterpart,. The Light Stone rolled next to Black, choosing him to be the Hero of Truth. Brycen took Black and decided to train him so he could use the Light Stone.

In Decisions, Decisions, Black awakened on the Tubeline Bridge, where he trained with Brycen. After learning how to use Nite's new form, he changed its nickname to Bo. Once he defeated the Black gang and their leader, Jeremy, Black finished his training. Brycen's personal, Logan, took Black to the Icirrus Gym so Black and Brycen could have their Gym battle. During the battle, Costa evolved into a defeated Brycen's, winning the battle and earning Black the. Afterward, Black received the Light Stone, though he was unable to summon Reshiram from it. With only one Badge left, Black set out to get the last one, only to see a news report where Drayden revealed the League was going to be pushed up from three months to a week. Worried that he wouldn't be able to get his last Badge in time, Black panicked and ran off.

In A Week to Go and Old Wounds, Black decided to convince Drayden to let him participate in the League by capturing a Legendary Pokémon. At the Mistralton Cave, he met Shoko of the show. They went in the cave to rescue Shoko's friend, Trish of family, from Virizion,, and , who defeated her after Trish tried capturing them. Black managed to free Trish, but Trish and Shoko's Pokémon were taken by the Legendary Pokémon, who intended on freeing them from their Trainers. After following them, Black managed to convince Cobalion the Pokémon wanted to stay with their Trainers.

In The Lesson Ends Here, Black reunited with White, who had finished her training and obtained a Pokédex as well. Shortly after, Black, White, and Iris witnessed Alder losing a battle to N. Noticing that N awakened Zekrom, the Light Stone briefly transformed into Reshiram before reverting to its dormant state. When N tried leaving, Cedric Juniper appeared and asked Black to team up with him and get N to reveal the whereabouts of the kidnapped Gym Leaders. With Bo,, and Cedric's , they managed to easily defeat N's Zorua and Gigi, but N revived the rest of his Pokémon, bringing them back to square one. Black tried getting Musha to clear his head, but it recoiled in fear instead. N told Black that his dreams changed over the course of his journey and were no longer appealing to Musha, meaning it no longer had a reason to stay with Black. As Musha floated away, Black fainted from the shock that the bond he shared with his longtime friend never truly existed.

In Dream a Little Dream, Black found himself at a hospital, where he learned the League's opening ceremony had already started while he slept. Feeling defeated, Black chose to go back home, but decided to stay after seeing how sad his Pokémon were to not be able to compete in the League. He went to Drayden and challenged him to a last-minute Gym battle, stating that he still had time until the tournament actually began. Drayden agreed and faced Black in a one-on-one battle in a hallway. Musha's betrayal still had Black in shock, preventing him from properly focusing. When Caitlin arrived and used her psychic powers to relay a message of encouragement from the Gym Leaders to Black, he regained his focus and defeated Drayden, earning the and a place in the League tournament.

In ''Into the Quarterfinals!, Black battled through the tournament and made it to the Best 8 alongside Cheren, Iris, Gray, Leo, Looker, and Hood Man. In the first round of the quarterfinals, Black went up against Looker, disguised as a man named Lou Karr. Despite Looker's use of, a Pokémon not native to Unova, Black managed to defeat him and advance to the next round. In the semifinals, Black went up against Iris, who wanted to defeat N and restore Alder's honor. Though both were determined to win, Black ended up the victor and advanced to the finals. Sympathizing with Iris's desire to avenge her master's teacher, Black promised that he would defeat N for both them.

In True Friends, Black faced Cheren, who had been acting strange throughout the tournament. Cheren revealed that after their previous encounter, he met Zinzolin, one of the Seven Sages, who convinced him to follow Team Plasma's ideals and pursue strength. Their battle eventually took them to the roof of the League building, where they had one final clash, ending in Black's victory. After passing out from a large amount of Dream Mist that filled the area, Black and Cheren shared a memory of their childhood when Cheren promised to support Black's dream. Black forgave Cheren and welcomed back Musha, who had evolved into a. Furious over his friend's manipulation, Black called out to Team Plasma and dared they come out of hiding. As he did this, Reshiram fully awakened from the Light Stone.

During the finals, White discovered that Gray was actually Zinzolin in disguise, but Hood Man her away before she could reveal it. In Cold Hard Truth, Black told Zinzolin to tell him where White was taken to, only for the man to activate a remote and summon N's Castle from the depths of the earth. The castle surrounded the League building while several Plasma Grunts came out and cornered everyone. Ghetsis, the other sages, and N had the Gym Leaders hoisted on crucifixes as a means of insulting the League. Ghetsis mocked Black's helplessness, as his remaining allies were too preoccupied with the Grunts to help him. A voice denying that claim revealed itself to be Andy, who was joined by Geoff, Chris, Logan, Jeremy, Shoko, and Trish. The seven Trainers told Black to go on ahead while they stayed behind to free the Gym Leaders.

In Triple Threat, Black sent his Pokémon to help Andy's group while he teamed up with Reshiram to battle N and Zekrom. Due to not being used to fighting with Reshiram, Black struggled against N, but with Cedric Juniper's help, he learned how to utilize Reshiram's abilities properly and dealt a heavy blow to Zekrom with Reshiram's. Zekrom quickly got back up and fled to the inside of the castle with Black and Reshiram following after them. Once inside, they continued their battle, but a second Zekrom appeared to assist the first. Easily seeing through the ruse, Black had Reshiram attack the real Zekrom, defeating it. The second Zekrom revealed itself to be Zorua, who had remained to help N despite him releasing all of his friends prior to the attack on the League. Black told N that Zorua wished to stay with him despite being released. N understood Zorua's wishes, but both ended up passing out.

Having finished their job outside, Black's team returned. The reunion was interrupted by Ghetsis, who revealed himself to be N's adoptive father and stated he was going to kill Black to make sure no one learned of N's defeat. With a team specifically designed to counter Black's, Ghetsis had the advantage. With Musha's help, Black discovered Ghetsis was using a secret weapon, the Sun Pokémon,. After defeating Volcarona, Black quickly turned the tables on Ghetsis and defeated his team all at once, finally ending the battle with Team Plasma. Ghetsis tried escaping, but was trapped in a wall made by Costa's.

In A Difficult Parting, Black and White reunited again. N awakened and thanked Black and White for helping him see the error of his ways. N decided to go find his own path and left on Zekrom's back, leaving Zorua behind. With its counterpart gone, Reshiram began reverting into the Light Stone, the pull being so strong that Black feared he and White would be sucked in as well. This gave Ghetsis the idea to use Hood Man's to throw Black at Reshiram before making his escape. Knowing he was trapped, Black revealed he was wearing the BW Agency logo under his shirt and planned on revealing it to the audience after he won the tournament. Black asked if he paid off his debt, but was absorbed into the Light Stone before White could answer. As she confirmed that he did pay it off, White tried to reach out to the Light Stone, but it flew off to parts unknown as White cried out for Black to return.

Two years later, in PS542, the Light Stone and Zekrom were summoned to Unova, having been pulled there by the growing power of. The Light Stone made a detour and stopped at the Entralink, where it was found by White. After explaining to White about Team Plasma's return, N had White take the Light Stone to safety while he and Zekrom faced Ghetsis and Kyurem. He told White that Reshiram would awaken if Zekrom were absorbed by Kyurem and decided to leave the rest up to Black.

Pokémon
When nicknaming his Pokémon, Black takes the name of the Pokémon's final evolution and makes a name from that. The only exceptions are Bo, whose name is based on his current form and changed every time he evolved and Reshiram, who doesn't have a name.

Badges obtained

 * (Their First Gym Battle)
 * (Defeating Stoutland)
 * (The Case of the Missing Pokémon)
 * (Battle on a Roller Coaster)
 * (Underground Showdown)
 * (The Battle Within)
 * (A Cold Reception)
 * (Hallway Hijinks)

Pokémon League
Black has competed in the following Pokémon Leagues:
 * Unova League - Winner (True Friends)

Trivia

 * Out of all the Pokédex holders who nickname their Pokémon, Black is the only one whose nicknames are based on the names of the Pokémon they fully evolve into.
 * As an employee to the BW Agency, Black never calls by her name and instead refers to her as "Boss" (Japanese: 社長 President).
 * Black is 5'5" (165 cm) tall and weighs 103 lbs (47 kg).