Pokémon Yellow

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Pokémon Yellow
Developer(s)	Game Freak
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Satoshi Tajiri
Release date(s)	JPN September 12, 1998 NA October 1, 1999 EUR July 7, 2000
Genre(s)	Console role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone USK: Free for all OFLC: G PEGI: 3+
Platform(s)	Game Boy
Media	cartridge

Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition is the fourth game in the Pokémon video game series in Japan, and the third in North America and Europe. It was released on the Nintendo Game Boy and features Super Game Boy and Game Boy Color enhancements. The game follows Pokémon Red, Blue and Green versions. Yellow, like the other 8-bit Pokémon games (Red, Blue, Gold, Silver, and Crystal), is not compatible with the newer Advance generation games.

The game was released in Japan on September 12, 1998 and is known as Pocket Monsters Pikachu (ポケットモンスターピカチュウ, Poketto Monsutā Pikachū^?). It was released in North America on October 1, 1999 and was called Pokémon: Special Pikachu Edition by Nintendo. In both regions, the games are often referred to by fans as simply Pokémon Yellow, Pokémon Yellow Version, or Pokémon Pikachu. Along with the release of Pokémon Yellow, a special edition yellow Pokémon Game Boy Color was also released.

Like Ash Ketchum in the animated series, Trainers in the game get Pikachu as their starter Pokémon. The game was very successful; it became the top-selling handheld game for weeks and entered the Guiness Book of Records in 2001.

Pokémon Yellow was followed by Pokémon Gold and Silver for the Game Boy Color.

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Differences from previous versions 1.2 Battle 2 Story 2.1 Setting 2.2 Characters 2.3 Plot 3 Trading & compatibility 3.1 Yellow’s Pikachu 3.2 Version-specific Pokémon 4 Reception 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Gameplay

See also: Pokémon game mechanics

As in previous Pokémon titles, in Pokémon Yellow the player assumes the role of a young boy who sets off to become a Pokémon trainer. Like many console role-playing games, Pokémon Yellow uses a third-person perspective; the player directly navigates the protagonist around the fictional universe of Kanto, interacting with objects, people, and Pokémon. The player explores different areas, in which different Pokémon species reside.

The goal of Yellow version is to train Pokémon to do battle with wild Pokémon and other trainers, gaining experience and leveling up the player's creatures. This in turn makes Pokémon stronger: they learn new moves and may eventually evolve into new forms. Eventually, the player must defeat eight Gym leaders around Kanto, earning badges which allow access to Indigo Plateau, where he may challenge the Elite Four. The player is also tasked by Professor Oak to fill up a Pokédex by capturing all 151 kinds of Pokémon,^[1] either by capturing, evolving, or trading them.^[2]

[edit] Differences from previous versions

Unlike previous Pokémon titles, Yellow version made the player use a Pikachu instead of offering a choice between three Pokémon. This change makes the game harder at the beginning stage than the previous two games, because Pikachu’s electric attacks are ineffective against the first Gym-leader, Brock.

Several Pokémon had their move lists altered, giving them different attacks or allowing them earlier access to some of their more powerful attacks. For example, while in earlier games Pikachu would learn the move Swift, in Yellow it would learn Thunderbolt, its trademark attack in the anime. Previously, Thunderbolt could be learned only through a Technical Machine.^[3] All Pokémon games after Yellow would have Pikachu learn Thunderbolt instead of Swift.

There are also graphical improvements from Pokémon Red and Blue. When Pokémon Yellow is played on a Game Boy Color, certain graphics will change color whenever a player goes into a town, cave, or field. All towns are named after colors, and the respective color is used for the graphics within that town. Pokémon also appear in color. In addition, all 151 Pokémon had new character drawings and sprites making them resemble the official Pokémon artwork of the time, including Pikachu, Geodude, Mewtwo, and Mew.

Team Rocket members Jessie and James, characters in the anime, and their Pokémon make appearances in Yellow, although they are never named in the game.^[4] Unlike the other Team Rocket members in the game, who can be seen from a distance and usually avoided, Jessie and James ambush the main character.

In Yellow, Pikachu can't be evolved with a Thunderstone, a situation which resembles the anime.

Pokémon Yellow also allows the player the chance to acquire the three rare Pokémon Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle without having to trade them from Red or Blue, where they were offered as a choice of starter Pokémon. They are obtained in ways that closely follow the storyline of the anime, depending upon the number of badges received or the objectives the player completed. Bulbasaur is awarded after the player gets Pikachu to like him,^[5] Charmander is given to the player after defeating the trainers on Nugget Bridge near Cerulean City, and Squirtle can be obtained from Officer Jenny after winning the Thunderbadge.

The game also had smaller changes to closer reflect the anime’s first season. The receptionist in each Pokémon Center is now Nurse Joy, a change that would carry through to later games. Many of the Trainers the player meets have their Pokémon lineups and dialogue altered to represent characters Ash met in the anime. Many Gym Leaders were similarly altered: Lt. Surge uses Raichu as his lone Pokémon, Koga uses 3 Venonats and a Venomoth, Sabrina uses Abra, Kadabra and Alakazam, and Giovanni uses Persian instead of Rhyhorn in the Viridian City Gym.^[6]

Yellow also attempted to fix major glitches in the Red and Blue versions. Some elements were re-coded, and in certain areas, Yellow-exclusive glitches occur, such as a Yellow-exclusive Glitch City tied to the Saffron City gym.

[edit] Battle

Main article: Pokémon game mechanics#Pokémon battles

Yellow version features the same basic turn-based strategy elements as the previous Red and Blue titles. When the player is challenged by a rival trainer or encounters a wild Pokémon, the overworld blacks out and is replaced with an up-close view of the battle. The player has the options of attacking with the Pokémon in play; using an item, such as recovery or statistic-enchancing potions; changing Pokémon; or, if facing a wild Pokémon, running from the battle altogether. The player must use his Pokémon to defeat all his opponent's Pokémon, by reducing their health to zero and making them faint. The Pokémon who attacks first is determined by speed, but items or Pokémon swapping occurs first. Once each Pokémon has attempted to perform its attack, the cycle continues.

Besides HP and level, other factors determine the outcome of a battle. Pokémon type is vital to a successful outcome for any player. Certain Pokémon deal more damage to other Pokémon of a weaker type to them; conversely, they in turn are weaker to other types. The process is comparable to a game of rock-paper-scissors, albeit on a larger scale. For instance, Squirtle, a water-type Pokémon, has an advantage over fire-type Pokémon, such as Charmander. However, water-type Pokémon are weak against grass-type Pokémon, such as Bulbasaur. Grass-type Pokémon are in turn weak against fire. Knowing what types are stronger and weaker is important, because a player can only carry six Pokémon in the field at a time.^[7]

One of the few changes to the battle mode is that, on the Game Boy Color, a Pokémon's health meter turns red and makes a beeping sound when the Pokémon is at less than 50% of full health. This feature was improved upon in later games.

[edit] Story

[edit] Setting

Pokémon Yellow takes place in Kanto, one distinct region of many later shown in other games. The region features a total of twelve cities, with roads connecting most locations to one another. Some areas are only accessible once the player learns a special ability or gains a special item; for instance, the player must acquire the HM Flash in order to light up a dark cave leading to Lavender Town, and he must use the Surf ability, which allows the character to ride certain Pokémon across the sea, in order to reach Cinnabar Island.

[edit] Characters

See also: List of Pokémon characters

The silent protagonist of Pokémon Yellow is Red, a young boy whose name the player can choose upon game start. Red's rival, who the player encounters numerous times, is Blue, the grandson of Professor Oak, a Pokémon researcher with a lab in Pallet Town. Due to the similarities between Yellow version and the Pokémon anime, it can be assumed that Red is Ash Ketchum and Blue is Gary Oak. The player encounters numerous characters that were previously only seen in the anime, such as Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and the two Rockets Jessie and James.

During his travels, Ash encounters many agents of Team Rocket, a shadowy criminal organization that sees Pokémon as means to power and profit. Ash also fights all eight leaders of the Pokémon gyms scattered throughout Kanto, meeting and battling numerous aspiring trainers along the way.

[edit] Plot

In Pokémon Yellow, the main player represents Ash Ketchum, a young boy living in Pallet Town with his mother. One day, Ash is summoned by Professor Oak, a Pokémon researcher, to come to his lab. Not finding Oak, the player ventures out into the grass near Pallet Town. Oak appears, warning Ash that it's too dangerous to leave the town, because there are many wild Pokémon lurking in the grass. At that moment, a wild Pikachu appears. Oak captures it with a Poké ball, then leads Ash back to his lab. Here, Ash meets Gary Oak, Oak's grandson and Ash's rival since the two were little.^[8] Oak offers Ash a Pokémon, Eevee, but Gary takes it before Ash. Oak then gives Ash the Pikachu he caught earlier.

With a Pokémon of his own, Ash now leaves Pallet Town and travels to Viridian City. Here he fetches a special delivery for Oak, returning to the lab. Gary is once again there, and Oak tells the two that he has created a high tech encyclopedia, Pokédex, in order to catalog all the types of Pokémon. He is too old to do it himself, so he charges the two youth to do it for him. Gary tells Ash he doesn't need his help and quickly leaves.^[9]

Over the course of the rest of the game, Ash travels to the other cities of Kanto, helping people and Pokémon he encounters along the way. He encounters Gary several times and foils the machinations of Team Rocket. After earning seven of the eight gym badges needed to reach Indigo Plateau and fight the Elite Four, Ash travels back to Viridian to face the final gym leader, who had just returned from parts unknown. He reveals himself to be Giovanni, the mastermind behind Team Rocket. Angry at Ash for foiling his plans several times, he fights Ash, but is defeated. Through this final defeat, Giovanni finally learns that Pokémon are not simply creatures to be used, and that his pursuit for power has been wrong; he disappears, leaving Ash with the final badge.

Ash then fights his way through Victory Road to Indigo Plateau, where he faces the Elite Four, the most powerful trainers in all of Kanto. After defeating in succession Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha, and Lance, Ash has rightfully become the new champion. However, Lance informs Ash that someone else has already become champion, and he must fight that person to determine who is the true master trainer. The champion turns out to be Gary, who is eventually defeated. Gary is despondent about losing, but Oak informs him that he lost because he did not learn to appreciate his Pokémon, and that without love he will never be a good trainer. Ash's Pokémon lineup and name is recorded in the Hall of Fame, at which point the ending credits roll.

[edit] Trading & compatibility

Pokémon Yellow was originally designed to be tradeable with the Red and Blue versions, but players can also trade with Pokémon Gold, Pokémon Silver, and Pokémon Crystal. However, the 100 new Pokémon introduced in the Gold, Silver and Crystal versions cannot be traded to Pokémon Yellow, Blue or Red. Both Pokémon Stadium games offer support for Pokémon Yellow, allowing the Pokémon in the game to be uploaded into the Nintendo 64 for three-dimensional battles and new features. Using the Yellow Pikachu in the Stadium games makes it sound like Pikachu from the Pokémon anime.^[10]

The graphics are slightly improved over the original Red and Blue games. Although it was released in Japan as a monochrome Game Boy game, prior to the Game Boy Color, Yellow was colorized to a limited extent when it was released elsewhere. For example, the Pokémon’s art is colored a single color for each Pokémon, and each city shades everything in its own particular tint. Because of the additional coloring beyond the usual single palettes of GB games when played on a GBC, this title actually acts as a dual mode Game Boy Color title (i.e., the default palette can’t be changed at start-up), even though it was packaged as a monochrome Game Boy title.^[11]

Pokémon Yellow can be played on any of the handheld Game Boy units, as well as the Super Game Boy (which features palettes nearly identical to those of the Game Boy Color) and the Game Boy Player. On the Nintendo 64, Pokémon Yellow could be played on the television through Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2 with the use of Nintendo 64 Transfer Pack.^[10]

[edit] Yellow’s Pikachu

Pokémon Yellow is the only game in the video game series that does not allow the trainer to choose between three different starter Pokémon. There are no other Pikachu in the game, and Pikachu cannot be directly evolved into Raichu as in other Pokémon games. Trainers that had Pikachu in Red or Blue had their rosters modified to remove or replace Pikachu in Yellow.^[11]

One of Pikachu's unique features is that, unlike other Pokémon Ash encounters in the game, Pikachu will display emotion. Pikachu will react when the player enters certain buildings and rooms. If the player faces Pikachu and talks to it, a box will appear showing Pikachu’s face, and it will say its name Pikachu! with various inflections. This, along with its facial expression, tells the player about Pikachu’s current mood. Pikachu’s mood ranges from murderous (a skull and crossbones appears above its head if a player loses his first battle) to curious to bursting with love (Pikachu smiles with several hearts around its head).

Pikachu occasionally becomes upset or overjoyed by an outside event. Attempting to use a Thunderstone to evolve it makes it complain and shake its head; this is similar to the anime, where Ash tries to give Pikachu one, but Pikachu refuses. If the player trades to Pokémon Red, Blue, Gold, Silver, or Crystal, evolves it and trades it back, Raichu won't obey the player. Depositing it in a Pokémon Center makes it cry out, and upon withdrawing it, Pikachu cheers, but will be mad for a short while. In the Pokémon Center in Pewter City, like in the anime, the player encounters a Jigglypuff which uses Sing; Pikachu falls asleep and stops moving until it is examined or the player leaves the Pokémon Center.

[edit] Version-specific Pokémon

There are a total of 151 Pokémon programmed into Pokémon Yellow. However, there are only 137 total Pokémon that can be found and captured by the player in Yellow alone. For 13 of the missing Pokémon, players must trade with Pokémon Red, Blue, Gold, Silver or Crystal.^[12]

These 13 Pokémon are:

Ekans Arbok Raichu Meowth Persian

Koffing Weezing Weedle Kakuna Beedrill

Jynx Electabuzz Magmar

The 14th missing Pokémon is Mew, which is normally unobtainable unless the player receives one from Nintendo. It is possible to obtain all 151 Pokémon, including Mew, by exploiting the Mew glitch or gaining Mew as a reward for completing the Pokédex in the Japanese version of Pokémon Yellow. It is also possible to get a Missingno. without trading from Pokémon Red and Blue using variations of the glitch; however, due to the fixing of some glitches from Red and Blue versions, a Missingno cannot otherwise be captured in Yellow.^[13]

[edit] Reception

Despite the game being merely an upgraded variant of previous titles Pokémon Red and Blue, Yellow proved to be extremely popular. When it was released in North America in late 1999, it was available to consumers in a dual package containing a Game Boy Color, which debuted at #2 in sales and claimed the #1 spot a week later.^[11] The standard cartridge sold over 600,000 units in its first week and more than one million copies in its first fortnight. At the time, it became Nintendo’s most pre-ordered game in history, a record previously held by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.^[14]

Overall, Yellow was well-received by critics. GameSpot gave it a "Great" rating, with an overall 8.9/10 score;^[15] IGN gave it a "masterful" 10/10, noting "The game is super easy to pick up and play, yet it's challenging it its own right. And it's addictive."^[16] It ranks among the top Game Boy games ever released.^[17]

Pokémon Yellow was similar to the other first-generation Pokémon games, and its successors featured numerous gameplay, graphical, and technical improvements. However Pokémon Yellow was one of the most influential contributions to the franchise. It became the fastest selling handheld game of all time when it was released,^[14] and directly influenced such aspects of later games as custom sprites and Happiness/Friendliness indicators for Pokémon. These changes would be incorporated in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, remakes of the original Red and Blue versions.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site at Pokémon.com
• Pokémon Yellow at IGN.com
• Pokémon Yellow at GameRankings.com
• Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition at MobyGames

v • d • e Pokémon video games

Red and Blue • Yellow • Gold and Silver • Crystal • Ruby and Sapphire • FireRed and LeafGreen • Emerald • Diamond and Pearl Stadium • Stadium 2 • Colosseum • XD: Gale of Darkness • Battle Revolution