Pokeetong Beige Version

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Template:StrategyWiki Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition (Japanese: ポケットモンスターピカチュウ Pocket Monsters: Pikachu), often known as Pokémon Yellow Version, and also as Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition, is the third Pokémon game for Game Boy released worldwide, as a solitary version of Pokémon Red and Blue Versions. In Japan, the game was the fourth Pokémon game released, as a second solitary version of Template:Game, intended to buy Game Freak time to work on the then-upcoming Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions.

Similar to Red and Blue, Yellow arrived towards the end of the Game Boy's lifespan. It managed, though, to receive the title of second best-selling non-bundled game for its console, losing only to its predecessors.

Plot

Template:Spoilers Unlike other games, Yellow was inspired by the Template:Pkmn, and thus, instead of having a choice between Template:P, Template:P, and Template:P, Template:Players are forced to start off with a Template:P that Professor Oak caught on Template:Rt. With the Template:Ga beginning with an Template:P, the player journeys from Pallet Town to go through an all-new experience—with no {{Grass}}, {{Fire}}, or {{Water}} types to fall back on until each member of the Kanto starter trio is given to the player later on in Cerulean City, Template:Rt, and Vermilion City, respectively.

Much like before, players journey across Kanto from their hometown, Pallet Town, defeating the eight Gym Leaders (Brock and Misty do not join the player, unlike in the anime) and eventually the Elite Four.

Team Rocket battles feature yet another special, anime-based surprise, as Jessie and James show up, along with their Pokémon, Template:TP, Template:TP, and Template:MTR. Beyond these changes, the plot of Yellow is very similar to that of the Japanese Template:2v2 and Template:Game as well as of the Template:Game.

Blurb

You've finally been granted your Pokémon Trainer's license, and now you're on your way to becoming the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer! The shockingly-cute Template:P tags along behind Template:Player as you search the enormous world for monsters to train and evolve. Face off against Template:P's torrential water cannons. Stand strong when facing Template:P's stormy Template:M. Develop the ultimate Pokémon strategy to defeat the eight Gym Leaders and become the greatest Pokémon Master of all time!

Changes from Red, Green, and Blue

Aesthetic changes

• The front Pokémon sprites have all been updated to resemble how they appear in their then-current Ken Sugimori artwork usually used in promotional images and strategy guides for the Japanese Template:2v2, Template:Game, and the Template:Game, as well as some of them resembling how they appear in the Template:Pkmn. The back sprites are the same as the previous games.
• Some Template:Pkmn sprites were also redone. Template:Ga and Template:Ga now better resemble their stock artwork for Generation I, as the Pokémon sprites do. Brock wears an outfit like his Template:An's and Misty's bikini was changed to a shirt and shorts similar to those worn by Template:An, albeit without suspenders.
• Kanto is slightly redesigned a second time, featuring different designs for doors, signposts, windows, and other minor elements. The biggest overhaul was performed on Cerulean Cave, the game's final dungeon, where the layout was once more changed.

Location changes

Obtaining the starters from the Japanese Template:2v2 and Template:Game as well as from the Template:Game is possible through in-game events:

• A girl in Cerulean City will give the Template:Player a Template:P if the starter Template:Ga's friendship is high.
• A boy at the north of Template:Rt gives the player a Template:P.
• An Officer Jenny in Vermilion City will give the player a Template:P after the Template:Badge has been acquired.

Gameplay changes

• Template:P is the only Starter Pokémon the Template:Player can have and travels with the player on-screen, outside of a Poké Ball like Template:OP. The Template:Ga starts with Template:P, and the previous three Kanto starters can be obtained later in the game.
  • Furthermore, no other wild Pikachu can be found, thus requiring the player to trade a Pikachu from another Generation I game or Generation II game to obtain another one. A traded Pikachu will also not behave like the starter Pikachu, acting as a regular Pokémon instead (even to the point of being able to evolve with a Template:Evostone), unless it matches the Original Trainer and Trainer ID number of the player.
    • Another Pikachu with the same Original Trainer and Trainer ID number as that of the player can be obtained by cheating. However, it will only behave like the starter Pikachu if the original one is released. Furthermore, if one of the new Pikachu is released, the Pikachu behaving like the starter will have a disappointment face for a limited period of time.
  • The cry of the starter Pikachu, or any Pikachu with the same OT and Trainer ID number of the player for that matter, is changed to "Pika!" when going in battle, "Chaaaaa!" if it faints, or "Pikachu!" on the status screen, instead of the original Template:P cry.
  • The rival will eventually evolve his Eevee (and thus affect which are the other members of his party) depending on the player's actions early in the game:
    • If the player beats the rival at both the Oak Pokémon Research Laboratory and the early optional battle at Template:Rt, Eevee evolves into Template:P.
    • If the player loses one of these two battles or passes up the Route 22 battle, Eevee evolves into Template:P.
    • If the player loses at Oak's Lab, and loses or passes up the Route 22 battle, Eevee evolves into Template:P.
• In-game trades are changed to different Pokémon.
• Level-up learnsets and TM compatibility are altered slightly for certain Pokémon. Template:P, for example, can now learn Template:M via HM02.
• A minimal friendship system is implemented to track how Pikachu feels about the player and Pikachu will refuse to evolve. This would later be revamped in Generation II, where the system is vastly improved and applies to all Pokémon.
• Gym Leaders have different teams, some based on those that appear in the Template:Pkmn.
  • Brock's Pokémon have had their levels decreased by 2.
  • Misty's Pokémon didn't change.
  • Lt. Surge team is changed so that he now has a level 28 Raichu.
  • Erika now has a level 30 Tangela, and level 32 Weepinbell and Gloom.
  • Koga now has three Venonat, levels 44, 46, and 48. He also has a level 50 Venomoth.
  • Sabrina now has a team composed up of Abra evolution line at level 50.
  • Blaine has a level 48 Ninetales, a level 50 Rapidash, and a level 54 Arcanine.
  • Giovanni has a level 50 Dugtrio, a level 53 Persian, a level 53 Nidoqueen, a level 55 Nidoking, and a level 55 Rhydon.
• Enhanced compatibility with the Template:Nw is present outside of Japan, providing color palette changes as the player switches locations, whereas the Japanese version is similar to the previous core series Generation I games in where it only has Super Game Boy support. The ability to print out Pokédex entries using the Game Boy Printer was also implemented in every regional release.
  • The Super Game Boy palettes used for the Template:OBP sprites are also lighter.
• Several glitches were disabled, and all glitch Pokémon were altered because the data which was read incorrectly to create them had changed.
• A Template:Ming Pikachu minigame, Pikachu's Beach, is included. However, to play this the player will have to first teach Template:P Template:M, which requires the use of Template:Eng.
• The location and availability of some Wild Pokémon allows the player to experience the game in a manner similar to the anime.
  • In the anime, Template:Ash catches a Template:P and a Template:P in Viridian Forest. This is reflected in-game as Caterpie (but not Template:P) and Pidgeotto are both available in Viridian Forest for the player to catch. This is the only instance in Generation I where a Pidgeotto can be caught at a level earlier than Template:P would evolve into it.
  • The Pokémon that Team Rocket use (Template:P, Template:P, Template:P and their evolutions) are not available to be caught in the wild. It would be unlikely that Ash would catch these Pokémon in the anime as they are the primary antagonists.
  • Wild Pikachu and Template:P are not available, as Pikachu is the player's starter Pokémon (furthermore, it is unlikely that Ash would catch another Pikachu or a Raichu).

Storyline changes

• Jessie and James appear and are involved in Team Rocket's scheme, and typically appear before the Template:Player battles Giovanni. They also replace the three Team Rocket members in the Pokémon Tower that hold Mr. Fuji hostage as well as two Template:Tcs: one close to the exit of Mt. Moon and the other one near the entrance to the President's room at Silph Co. Curiously, they are never referred to by their individual names and share their Trainer class with any other Team Rocket Grunt, possibly due to Double Battles not being implemented until much later in Generation III.

Pokémon unobtainable in Yellow

The following Pokémon are not obtainable in Yellow. In order to obtain any of the below Pokémon, they must be traded from one of the previous Generation I games, or from the Generation II games, which has that Pokémon available, which will be indicated.

Note that "Template:Color" indicates a Pokémon that can be caught in the Template:Game, and thus in the Template:Game as well. "Template:Color" indicates a Pokémon obtainable in the Template:Game.

Yellow
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Connectivity

As well as reprising the ability to allow players to trade Pokémon between two cartridges via a Template:Nw link cable, Yellow also debuted a new link battle mode, Colosseum 2. While battling another player's Pokémon team had been possible since the release of the Japanese Template:2v2 two years before Yellow's release, Yellow introduced several regulations in Colosseum 2 mode. Battle modes introduced include the Pika Cup (for Pokémon between Levels 15 to 20 only; their combined level limit is 50), Petit Cup (for Pokémon between Levels 15 to 20, heights under 6'8" (2m), and weights less than 44.1 lbs (20 kg) only) and Poké Cup (for Pokémon between Levels 50 to 55 only, and the sum of all entered Pokémon's Levels cannot exceed 155. Template:P is not allowed). These three cups would later become standard cups in Template:Eng.

Comparison to the anime

The game is loosely based on the original anime series, but has several differences:

• Brock does not surrender during the Pewter Gym battle and does not accompany the Template:Player thereafter.
• Misty is first encountered in the Cerulean Gym. In the Template:Pkmn, she had left the Gym when Template:Ash met her.
• Template:P, Template:P, and Template:P are acquired from tasks. In the anime, Charmander is rescued from heavy rain, Squirtle merely follows Ash, and Bulbasaur was caught.
• Template:TR can use Template:M and does not speak in the game.
• Bulbasaur and Squirtle are able to evolve in the game.

English title

File:Pokemon Yellow Version.jpg

An English version game cartridge of Yellow

While the game's title has become widely accepted as simply Pokémon Yellow, its officially recognized name outside of Japan is not entirely certain. On the boxart for most English versions, the expression Special Pikachu Edition replaces the series' then-current slogan Gotta Catch 'em All! below the Pokémon logo, while Yellow Version is at the bottom, near where Red and Blue had theirs. However, the expression Special Pikachu Edition is repeated on the box's opening and spine.

Despite this, the instruction manual refers to the game as "the Yellow version of Pokémon", the Template:Ga has the option of being called Yellow, following the trends of the other versions, and Yellow Version can be seen on the game's title screen. Pokémon.com refers to the game as Pokémon Yellow Special Pikachu Edition in full, but Pokémon Yellow Version and Pokémon Yellow in general usage.

Development

Main article: Pokémon Yellow beta

Reception

Like Template:2v2, Yellow was also well received by the press. Like its predecessors, it received a perfect 10/10 "Masterful" rating from IGN. However, it was criticized as being "just a stopgap to help us wait for the Template:Game". Yellow received a slightly lower average score than Red and Blue of about 85% on GameRankings. Despite this, it was the site's top rated Game Boy game in the year of its release, 1999.

Soundtrack

Main article: Game Boy: Entire Pokémon Sounds Collection CD

The soundtrack for Template:Game2 and Template:Game also applies to Pokémon Yellow. However, Yellow added three tracks that are absent from the official soundtrack, which precedes the release of Yellow by ten months. These additional tracks were composed by Gō Ichinose, while the tracks already present from the previous three games were all composed by Junichi Masuda.

Staff

Main article: Staff of Pokémon Yellow

Trivia

• The opening of Yellow features the fewest number of Pokémon out of all Generation I core series games, fittingly showing only Template:P.
• Template:2v2, which reimplemented the Walking Pokémon mechanic that was introduced in Yellow, were released in Japan exactly 11 years after it was released in Japan.
• This is the only Generation I game in Japanese where a message describing the current progress of a save in course appears, unlike the international versions, where such behavior is present in all games of the generation.
• Yellow is the first game to allow the Template:Player to walk into the grass without any Pokémon, though Professor Oak intervenes after taking two steps into the grass; the second being Template:2v2.
• The two available starter Pokémon of this game, Template:P (Template:Ga) and Template:P (Template:Ga), are the only Pokémon introduced prior to Generation V to evolve with a Template:Evostone.
• Out of all the core series Generation I games, this is the only one where Template:P and Template:P can be caught in the wild; in the Japanese Template:2v2 and Template:Game as well as in the Template:Game, these Pokémon are only available by means of an in-game trade.
• It is the only localized game prior to Generation III to lack the slogan below the Pokémon logo.
• Yellow is the only core series Generation I game to feature a different localized title in all non-Japanese releases rather than using the translation of its Japanese title.

Starter-related trivia

• Yellow is the only core series game in which the player cannot choose their own starter Pokémon.
  • It is also the only game in which all three of the region's starters can be obtained without having to trade.

File:Spr Y Red Pikachu.png

Pikachu's status screen in Pokémon Yellow.

• Pikachu and Template:P are the only core series starter Pokémon not to be {{Grass}}-, {{Fire}}-, or Template:Type.
• Pikachu had its cry changed to that of its anime counterpart for this game. Junichi Masuda details the modification of Ikue Ohtani's voice to a sound capable of being made by the low-tech Game Boy in his Director's Column. In some parts of the game, though, Pikachu's original cry was used.
• Pikachu is the only core series starter Pokémon which cannot be evolved in the game in which it is a starter Pokémon, despite being able to evolve when traded to a different game.
• Pikachu is the only core series starter Pokémon that does not have a 7:1 male to female gender ratio.
• Pikachu is the only core series starter Pokémon that is not in its base evolutionary form. However, this wasn't true during the generation it was a starter in, as Template:P, its pre-evolved form, wasn't revealed until Generation II.
• Eevee is the only core series starter Pokémon to not be part of a three-stage evolutionary family.
• Eevee is the only core series starter Pokémon to have a branched evolution.
• Eevee is the only core series starter Pokémon that cannot be picked by the player.
• Eevee is the only core series starter Pokémon not to be the main starter Pokémon of a main character in Pokémon Adventures.

In other languages

Template:Langtable

References

Template:Core series
Template:Project Games notice

pt:Pokémon Yellow

de:Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition es:Pokémon Edición Amarilla

fr:Pokémon Version Jaune it:Pokémon Giallo ja:ポケットモンスター ピカチュウ pl:Pokémon Yellow zh:神奇宝贝皮卡丘版