What was the first Pokémon game to give the player Pikachu as a starter?

Pokémon Yellow was the first Pokémon game to give the player Pikachu as a starter.

Released for the Game Boy in Japan in 1998, Pokémon Yellow is an enhanced version of the first-generation games. It was designed with noticeable influence from the Pokémon anime, especially in its treatment of Pikachu as the player’s initial partner.

Unlike Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue, Yellow begins with Professor Oak giving the player a Pikachu rather than allowing a choice among Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. Pikachu also follows the player outside its Poké Ball and refuses to evolve during the game, echoing Ash’s Pikachu in the television series.

The game still takes place in the Kanto region and retains the original generation’s broad structure. Later titles, including Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu!, drew inspiration from Yellow, but they were not the first game to use this anime-inspired starting arrangement.