Pokémon Yellow introduced Pikachu as the player’s starting partner.
Released in Japan in 1998 as Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition, the game is an enhanced version of the first-generation Pokémon titles. It was designed partly to reflect the popular anime, where Pikachu is Ash’s companion. At the beginning, Professor Oak gives the player Pikachu rather than allowing a choice among Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.
Pikachu follows the player outside its Poké Ball and reacts to the player’s actions. The game also places greater emphasis on Team Rocket’s Jessie and James, who were anime characters rather than central figures in the original Red and Green storyline.
Pokémon Yellow did not replace the original games; it complemented them as a revised edition. It retained the Kanto setting and much of the first-generation structure while making presentation changes inspired by the television series. Later remakes, including Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!, revisited the idea of a Pikachu-centered journey.