Scans from Japanese magazine CoroCoro (via Serebii.net) have revealed a handful of plot details about the upcoming pair of monster-catching games for the Nintendo DS. Lots of old friends, new characters, and different Pokemon will flesh out the latest entries in this aging series.

The main plot of Black 2 and White 2 will kick off with the previous title’s Champion, Alder, requesting the player’s aid on a mission. Throughout the story, more characters from the original games will pop in for cameos or bigger roles. Cheren and Bianca, the protagonist’s best friends in the first Black and White, have moved on to new stations in the world. Cheren is now a Normal-type gym leader, and Bianca works with Professor Juniper who provides the starter pocket monsters.

Besides Juniper, another professor known as Burnett (from the Japanese augmented-reality 3DS eShop game Pokemon AR Searcher) will make an appearance. His presence suggests that the Pokemon AR Searcher title may come to the U.S. eShop.

Developer Game Freak will provide players with the ability to fight gym leaders from previous games in a new Pokemon World Tournament. Returning foes include Janine, Blaine, Brock, Misty, Lance, Blue, Volkner, Giovanni, and Steven.

Finally, Pokemon Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus’s Sacred Beast forms will be playable as the 198, 199, and 200 entries in the Unova region Pokedex.

Previously, Nintendo disclosed that Black 2 and White 2 takes place two years after the end of the first two games. A global ice-cap event has rendered much of Unova unreachable. The citizens have erected new cities and new Pokemon gyms (because that’s what’s important after a global catastrophe). The final roster of the pocketable monsters will reach 300 and will include returning favorites Psyduck and Mareep from previous entries in the series.

Black 2 and White 2 reaches North American shores in the third quarter of this year.