Pokemon Yellow Intro

Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition (ポケットモンスターピカチュウ ,Poketto Monsutā Pikachū?, "Pocket Monsters Pikachu") is the fourth game of the Pokémon video game series in Japan, and the third in North America, Europe, and Australia. The game is a slightly updated version of the previous two games, Pokémon Red and Blue, and features Pikachu as its mascot. It was released for the Game Boy in Japan on September 12, 1998, in North America on October 1, 1999, in Europe on June 16, 2000, and in Australia in 2000. Along with the release, a special-edition, yellow, Pokémon-themed Game Boy Color was also available for purchase.

The plot and gameplay of Pokémon Yellow is largely the same as in Red and Blue, although it features changes to make the game more similar to the animated series. Like Ash Ketchum in the anime, players receive Pikachu as their starter Pokémon. Unlike other Pokémon encountered in the game, Pikachu walks behind the player and will display emotion, reacting when the player enters certain buildings or rooms. If the player faces Pikachu and talks to it, a box will appear showing Pikachu's face and current mood, ranging from angry, to curious, to bursting with love. Other minor gameplay changes include a different selection of Pokémon available to catch, all three Red and Blue starter Pokémon being available from NPCs, and the anime characters Jessie, James, and Meowth making appearances.

Despite being an upgraded variant of Pokémon Red and Blue, Yellow proved to be extremely popular. In North America, the game debuted at #2 in sales and claimed the #1 spot a week later. It was nearly impossible to find during its release as people grabbed every available copy. The game became the fastest selling handheld game of all time when it was released; the standard cartridge sold over 600,000 units in its first week and more than one million copies in its first fortnight, remaining the top selling handheld game for many weeks. It entered the Guinness Book of Records in 2001 for selling one million copies within a span of one month. Overall, Yellow was well-received by critics, with an aggregate score of 85.5% on Game Rankings. GameSpot gave it a "Great" rating, with a 8.9/10 score, and IGN gave it a "masterful" 10/10, noting "The game is super easy to pick up and play, yet it's challenging in its own right. And it's addictive." It ranks among the top Game Boy games ever released.