'Pokemon Black 2' and 'White 2' coming to North America October 7th

Pokemon Black Version 2 and White Version 2 will touch down in the U.S. October 7th, Nintendo announced today.

The sequel to last year's monster-catching RPG — and the first direct sequel in the franchise's history — arrived in Japan last week. Though its roster of collectible creatures is mostly identical to the original, it will allow players to catch classic Pokemon from previous installments in the series. It will also feature new Gym Leaders, and a Pokemon World Tournament mode, where the protagonist can go toe-to-toe against trainers from older entries in the franchise, like Misty and Brock.

Launching alongside the games on October 7th is Pokemon Dream Radar, a 3DS application which allows players to catch Pokemon using the handheld's motion controls and AR capabilities. Captured monsters can then be transferred directly into Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, and then honed into fearsome fighting machines.

Check out the games' first English-language trailer below.