Which Pokémon game first gave Pikachu a starring role as the player’s partner?

Pokémon Yellow was the first Pokémon game to give Pikachu a starring role as the player’s partner.

Released for the Game Boy in Japan in 1998, Pokémon Yellow was based on Pokémon Red and Blue but drew heavily from the animated series. Instead of choosing Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle at the start, the player receives a Pikachu that follows them outside its Poké Ball.

Pikachu reacts to the player and refuses to evolve with a Thunder Stone in the ordinary way. The game also lets the player obtain the three original starter Pokémon during the adventure, making it a revised version of the first-generation experience rather than a completely new generation.

Pokémon Yellow is sometimes confused with later games such as Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu!, which also center on Pikachu. However, Yellow was the earlier title that first adapted the anime’s Pikachu partnership into the main game format.