What is Pokémon Yellow?

Pokémon Yellow, fully titled Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition, launched in Japan on September 12, 1998, and in North America on October 18, 1999. It is a third take on Kanto rebuilt in the image of the television series, which had premiered in Japan in April 1997 and made Pikachu the face of the franchise.

The structure mirrors Ash's story. The player receives a Pikachu instead of choosing a starter, all three original starters are given away by characters during the journey, Jessie and James appear with their anime team, and Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny populate the world as they do on screen.

Pikachu itself is the feature. It follows the player on foot, refuses to stay in its Poké Ball and cannot be evolved or released, speaks with voice samples performed by Ikue Ōtani, and carries a friendship system: how it is treated changes how it reacts when examined. A Pikachu that knows Surf, in the original release obtainable through Pokémon Stadium or events, unlocks the Pikachu's Beach minigame at the Summer Beach House on Route 19.

Physically, Yellow is a bridge cartridge with a regional quirk: it is a Game Boy game playable on the original hardware everywhere, but only the international versions carry a Game Boy Color palette, adapted from its Super Game Boy colors. The Japanese version predates the Game Boy Color's launch and has no Color support at all, defaulting to a single yellow palette on the newer machine. It sold 14.64 million copies, the first proof that a Pokémon edition could be built around a character instead of a region.