Pokemon Black and Pokemon White are fast approaching North American release. Fans of the horrendously popular franchise can hardly wait to choose their starter Pokemon and set off on a brand new adventure.

Black and White are set to drastically change Pokemon games for the better. Unlike previous updates to the series, these games won't just add another 100 Pokemon to the Pokedex. In fact, every Pokemon that players have ever encountered before (even the Top 5 original badasses) can't be found in Black and White until after the main quest has been beaten. This also means that old Pokemon won't be receiving any new evolved forms.

Some may consider this a bad thing, but it should be extremely beneficial to fans who want a fresh start in the all too familiar world of Pokemon. Black and White will make use of a new roster of Pokemon totaling an impressive 156, which just so happens to be the largest number of new Pokemon ever introduced in a single set of games.

That's why Game Rant felt that it might be beneficial to brief players on what Pokemon they will need to catch once Pokemon Black and White finally hit retailers this March.

The following top 5 is a list of the coolest, most utterly badass Pokemon that can be found in the new Pocket Monster titles. We've also taken the liberty of including pics of the pre-evolved forms of some of the Pokemon fortunate enough to make our list, in order to ensure that players will be able to add them to their teams.

A little heads up to avid Pokeholics, such as myself: some of the Pokemon listed below haven't been given official North American names yet, so we've stuck with the Japanese names. Without further delay, here's the latest Top 5.

We'll start off our top 5 with this stone-cold monster. Gigalith is what every Pokemon Master can look forward to hunting down once they get their respective copy of P-Mon Black or White. The smallest pre-evolved form, Dangoro, can only be found at the opening of an Underground Water Vein, while it's next evolutionary step, Gentoru, can be found in various caves throughout the region of Unova. The only way to obtain this master of ass kicking is to trade a Gentoru over to another DS.

Weighing in at over 570 pounds, this monstrous slab of unadulterated rock is sure to earn more than its fair share of knockouts. There's no disputing that Gigalith is a welcome powerhouse to any and everybody's roster, and with powerful attacks like Earthquake, Stone Edge, and the ever-popular Explosion, nobody can go wrong by adding this Pokemon to their team.

Ringing in at number 4, this Pokemon looks like a cross between a dinosaur and an axe, with the end result being a terrifyingly awesome dino-axe...thing. It's hard to believe this titanic creature evolves from Axew, a little thing that looks kind of like a mutated beaver. Onondo is the second in the Ononokusu evolutionary chain, but trainers everywhere are going to be training him until level 48 before they're able to get this Dragon.

Ononokusu is a 100% Dragon type, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, it doesn't capitalize on some of the benefits that come with being a duel-typed Pokemon. It does still have some wickedly powerful attacks. Guillotine, Outrage, and Giga Impact can all eventually be learned by this fearsome fighter, making it one of the coolest and strongest Pokemon around. You know you're going to add it to your roster anyway, so don't even try to deny it's awesomeness.

This tyrannosaurus-esque Pokemon is a welcome change from some of the lame ground Pokemon that already plague the series. Waruvial is easily one of the coolest characters added to the games in recent years, and it's easy to see that even after merely glancing at the thing. The starting evolution is a tiny crocodile called Sandile, and while it's not the most intimidating thing on the battlefield, it has massive potential. The next evolution is Waruvile, and it looks perpetually unimpressed throughout it's lifetime, until level 40 when it will evolve into the holy terror known as Waruvial.

Waruvial brings Intimidation ability to the arena, which will drop a Pokemon's attack based solely on its menacing appearance. Even though Waruvial only measures 1.5 meters in height, it still weighs in at a whopping 212lbs. Powerful attacks like Foul Play, Earthquake, and Outrage can all be learned by this Pokemon, making it a valuable ally. Be careful though, because he may just put'cha in a death roll.

Crimgan may sound and look like a Godzilla monster, but we can assure you that he's a Pokemon. Crimgan has no pre-evolved forms, which seems a little unfortunate, but clearly he's just too incredibly badass to take any other form than that. If you couldn't tell by looking the photo of the creature above (or the blatantly obvious description in the photo) Crimgan is a Dragon type. It can only be found in a place called Spiral Dragon Tower, which seems to helm a lot of powerful Pokemon other than Crimgan, as well.

Crimgan will eventually be able to naturally learn attacks such as Rock Climb, Superpower, and Outrage. Any Pokemon that physically assaults Crimgan will also take damage via it's Rough Skin ability, so there's fair warning if you plan on pursuing this dragon. That's why Crimgan proudly sits at the number 2 spot in our top 5.

Finally, the number 1 spot is revealed and it belongs to the one and only Zekrom.

This creature is the main legendary Pokemon that can be found on the cover of Pokemon White. He certainly deserves his spot on the cover, but it's a shame that those who decide to purchase the Black version will NOT have an opportunity to catch him. This Pokemonster has what appears to be a giant electric turbine for a tail, which is where it undoubtedly generates it's electricity.

Zekrom can be captured at N's Castle (N are the new bad guys), where it's battled at level 50. It can learn Thunder, Hyper Voice, and Lightning Strike, which are all more than solid maneuvers. Zekrom is a legendary Pokemon for a reason, and he helps bring our Top 5 Coolest Pokemon in Pokemon Black and White to a legendary close.

It seems like this generation's coolest went to the Dragon types this time around, with three out of the top five being at least partially Dragon types. There are certainly a ton of other awesome, and some not so awesome, Pokemon that are set to make their North American debut when Pokemon Black and White finally hit retailers in less than two months.  I'm sure that you'll all enjoy most of them when you finally get your hands on the game.

What do you think of our Top 5 Coolest Pokemon in Pokemon Black and White? Which Pokemon do you think should have made the cut?

Pokemon Black and White launch in North America on March 6, 2011, only on the Nintendo DS.