Pokémon Global Link and the Dream World

A few days ago I got an e-mail in my inbox with a notice that the Pokémon Global Link had been launched. Eager to check it out I made myself an account and after surfing the site for a few hours I can say I was literally godsmacked!

Pokémon Global Link is an online (and not to mention free!) service for Pokémon fans around the world. By connecting your copy of Pokémon Black or Pokémon White to the Pokémon Global Link you can tuck in one of the Pokémon in your game and make it appear in the Pokémon Dream World online, where it can befriend Pokémon, grow Berries, collect items... and the most beautiful part, bring them back to your game! You can also check out the Global Battle Union where your online battle stats are kept and play mini-games for Trainer Tokens, which you can you use to buy items for your avatar.

To enter the Dream World the only thing you need is a Pokémon Trainer Club account, a copy of Pokémon Black or Pokémon White and a wireless internet connection. When you've secured those things you can login to the Pokémon Global Link and the fun can start!

Setting up your Global Link connection
 Beware for an image heavy blogpost!


The first thing that needs to happen is to sync your game with the Pokémon Global Link, this can be done with Game Sync when you start the game. (Game Sync will appear in the menu along with your save file) It will give you a code which you need to fill in on your profile. Be careful because you won't be able to change this once you've submitted it! When you've done this correctly your Game Sync ID will be visible on your profile and you'll be able to track the progress of your game.

This is my profile on Global Link, notice a rather empty Game Pal Roster ;_;

 Ready? Time to go back to the Global Link main page. The main page is quite cool the first time you see it, but after a while it becomes a bit boring since there is little to no interaction. You can see a world map with the most active countries and Pokémon that are tucked in the most, but there are no details available beyond that...Quite a shame. (or maybe I am just too curious about others, hehe)

  1    This is probably your most important screen on the Global Link when you are not in the Dreamworld, it shows you are logged in and if there is any Pokémon ready to enter the Dreamworld.  
  2    You enter the Dream World by clicking here. This is currently impossible because there is no Pokémon tucked in, so let's fix that first.

It's time to start your game. Make sure you've turned on your C-Gear otherwise you won't be able to tuck in any Pokémon! Tap on "Online" on your C-Gear and then on Game Sync. Your game will try to make a connection to the Nintendo Wi-Fi.

Does this look familiar to you? It should! It's the Musharna you saved at the start of your game. By using the Dream Mist you took back from Team Plasma it connects you to the Dream World (or in this case, the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection ^^) 

Once you're connected you'll get to choose one of your Pokémon which have been stored in your PC. For this occassion I'll choose my Fraxure. He's in my party normally, but because he's such a jolly good fellow I'll use him to show you around in the Dream World. :)

Sleep tight Kiba!

After you've tucked in your darling Pokémon the process of syncing will start once more, only this time it will be used to transfer your sleeping Pokémon to the Dream World. Just be a little patient though, it might take 1 or 2 minutes before your Pokémon has fallen asleep and is ready to enter the Dream World.

I swear he snores louder than a Snorlax!

You can save your game and turn it off once you've been disconnected from the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Refresh the page of the Global Link until you can see your Pokémon has been tucked in. Now you're ready to enter the Dream World!

Entering the Dream World

This is the fun part. Once you're connected to the Dream World you get your own little floating Dream Isle. On this Isle you can find your house, a Footprint Mat which keeps track of people that have visited, a garden, an exchange shelf and a gateway to the Island of Dreams. Be wary that you can only play in the Dream World for one hour and it takes 24 hours to be able to play again, so choose your time wisely.

Kiba and his little home.

 The Garden  In the garden you can plant berries that you gain by going through the Dream World, trading, or by growing them yourself. Berries are extremely useful as they are the currency in the Dream World. They allow you to buy new furniture for your house, but also to make a wish at the Tree of Dreams. Make sure to water them once a day. When visiting other players you can water their berries for them, a feature which I'm sure they'll appreciate.

Save someone's furniture, water a berry!

 The Exchange Shelf  On your exchange shelf you can lay items to exchange them with other players, this is especially useful when you have too many of one item or if you want to give a friend an item he or she needs.

Forever alone...

 The Island of Dreams  Quite conveniently you can enter the Island of Dreams through the rainbow in your backyard. The Island of Dreams is without a doubt the most interesting part of visiting the Dream World, as you will find Pokémon with unique abilities you won't find in the game itself. (Not to mention these Pokémon can be of all generations, making it the only way to catch Pokémon of other generations in Black and White!)

See you at the other end of the rainbow!

Depending on how many Dream Points you have, you go to a different area on the Island. What doesn't change is the amount of steps you can take. You get 10 steps before you arrive at the Tree of Dreams.

Every time you make a step you have a chance to encounter two things. One of them is a bush that sparkles. (and no, it's not Edward Cullen hiding behind some foilage, sorry ladies!) In these bushes you can usually find items such as berries, but also pokéballs and potions if you're lucky.

The other thing that might cross your path is a shaking bush. As you might've guessed, a Pokémon is hiding here. Once you've clicked on the bush the Pokémon comes out and asks if you want to play with it.



Follow the instructions and play the game, if you win (which is not that hard) the Pokémon will be happy and will want to become friends with you. Aren't the Pokémon in your dream nice?

After you've played the game you can see the stats of the Pokémon. Quite handy if you're keen on getting a Pokémon with a certain gender.

Happy happy joy joy.

As you can see I befriended some other Pokémon along the way too, I even found a Mareep! Yay! ... Wait a minute... ... ... ... ... ... .... it's a male. *cries*

Why Mareep? Whyyyyy??

After 10 steps you arrive at the Tree of Dreams. If you offer it a berry you can make a wish to see one of the Pokémon you befriended again. This time I chose Poochenya, since it seemed to be very happy and... it had the right gender. (I'm so sorry Mareep, I won't betray you again after this, I promise!)

Once you've made a wish you can see the Pokémon you wished for on the Friend Board in your house and as soon as your Pokémon awakens you can find it in your game in the Entralink forest.

 The Dream Pal Map  From your home you can connect to other people's isles and give them a visit. You can meet them in their house, water their garden or exchange items. If you have taken an interest in someone you can even ask them to become Dream Pals and link your isles to each other to create a whole network!

Time to wake up

When you're done make sure to leave the Dream World and make your Pokémon ready to get up. Start your game once more and connect to the Nintendo Wi-Fi the same way as you did when you tucked your Pokémon in. This time you'll get the option to wake your Pokémon. After your Pokémon is up from his incredible dream, there is one last thing to do: going to the Entralink.






 The Entralink   You can access the Entralink outside the Pokémon Center by tapping on "Wireless" on your C-Gear. Select Entralink and you'll get warped away to the Entralink, which is pretty much empty except for a few NPC's, the Entree forest and a bridge on both sides which enables you to go into other people's game and complete missions together with them.

In the Entree forest you can find the Pokémon you have wished for at the Tree of Dreams. They'll be eagerly waiting hoping you'll give them a place in your party. After you've talked to them you'll get the opportunity to catch them, this can be done with the Dream Ball which magically appears in your bag and guarantees capture if the Pokémon is from the Dream World.




The last thing that's left to do is to go out of the Entralink and cuddle your freshly caught Pokémon. (provided it is cuddable of course!)

Finally got my Poochy!

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The Dream World literally gives an extra dimension to Pokémon Black and White and is loads of fun to play. Hopefully I'll be able to convince some friends to play together with me and roam the Dream World together!