Hello! I wanted to make my first discussion about something I would like to see here in the forum: guides. The whole reason I made my website was to share all the (mostly useless) knowledge I have, but sometimes I have things that don't merit an entire page or full guide made about them. This is why I would like to maybe start a trend of guides, so we can share things others may not know!

Pokémon Black & White Entralink

This time I want to make a small guide about the generation 5 Entralink, as some people find it a bit confusing. No wonder; it's a badly explained feature, if at all. Hopefully this will make the Entralink a bit more clear for anyone who is interested. Keep in mind that two cartridges and two consoles are needed at minimum.

Just as an introduction, the Entralink system is a feature in Black & White that directly influences the White Forest and Black City. At the beginning of a save file, a set of NPC trainers will show up in those locations, and they will bring wild Pokémon to the area (White Forest) or want to battle you (Black City). These NPCs will eventually leave when their happiness depletes, going to the Entralink. This is where the local multiplayer aspect comes in: other players can visit your Entralink and invite the NPCs to their games. You will also be able to bring theirs to your game. When you enter someone's Entralink, you will be able to walk around to talk with the NPCs.

In order to enter the Entralink functions, you will need to go to the C-Gear's Wireless menu → Entralink. If it's your first time there, an old man will welcome you. By going through one of the bridges on the sides, you will cross to the other game's Entralink. Here you can use the bottom screen's map to teleport.

In the past, I created this summary image meant for a bigger guide I made, but I never ended up using it. I want to share it:

Entralink NPC graphic

There are a few things to take into consideration:

Talking to or battling the NPC, and entering the area increases the NPC's happiness. On the other hand, every time a day passes, it goes down. The negative drop is smaller than all positive actions.
Each trainer has different base happiness levels they start with depending on the version.
You can't bring back your NPCs from the Entralink within the same game.
To generate new NPCs, you will need to reset the save file in one of your games. Access to the Entralink is first unlocked when you reach Nimbasa City. A bit tedious, I know.

This feature is better exploited with the White Forest, as it has new wild Pokémon that don't appear anywhere else. Bellsprout, Shinx, Seedot, Ralts, Porygon, and many more. Something that may spark the curiosity of some shiny hunters.
Shiny Bellsprout sprite Shiny Shinx sprite Shiny Seedot sprite Shiny Ralts sprite Shiny Porygon sprite

Thanks for reading, and I hope it makes things clearer!