Games
Yellow: Kanto with a Pikachu that follows you
Pokémon Yellow, Special Pikachu Edition in English, is the Game Boy revision of the first generation, released in Japan on 12 September 1998, North America on 19 October 1999 and Europe on 16 June 2000. A Pikachu follows you around Kanto and shows its mood when you talk to it, new events join a story that otherwise follows Red and Green, and the game prints stickers on the Game Boy Printer. All 150 species within reach still need trades. Today it runs on an original cartridge or on a 3DS that already holds the 2016 Virtual Console download, and the Switch route to this story is the 2018 Let's Go pair, which pokemon.com says is based on Yellow.
Editorial record, read 8 Nov 2026.
Yellow keeps the Red and Green story and adds Pikachu
The official Japanese page describes Yellow as another version of Red and Green with almost the same story, new events added, and a Pikachu that walks behind the player for the whole game. pokemon.com adds that the graphics were updated slightly from Red and Blue and that Yellow brings new challenges and battle modes. The map is Kanto, with Gyms, the Elite Four and Team Rocket working through the story as before. Talking to Pikachu shows its current mood and plays its cry, and the Japanese Virtual Console page notes that the cry is the one from the anime series. A returning player will find every town where it was in Red and Blue; the differences sit in the events and in Pikachu itself.
Yellow is one version and trades for the rest
Yellow sells as a single version, so it has no partner with a mirror list. The official Japanese page says it trades with Red, Green and Blue and asks players to work with friends and family to collect all 150 species, so a full Pokédex depends on trades. The four trade evolutions are the same as in Red and Blue: the PokéAPI cache records Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler and Haunter evolving into Alakazam, Machamp, Golem and Gengar by trade. On the original cartridge, trades use a Game Link Cable between two Game Boy systems. On the 3DS Virtual Console, pokemon.com says the game uses the system's wireless for trades and battles, the first time Yellow worked without a cable.
Pikachu starts the run, and type matchups decide the first Gyms
In Yellow the partner is a Pikachu, which the Japanese Virtual Console page describes as always following behind the player. An Electric lead shapes the opening hours. The Generation I type data in the PokéAPI cache gives Electric moves no effect at all on Ground types, so a Ground opponent can sit through every Electric attack. Rock types take double damage from Water, Grass, Fighting and Ground moves, so catch a second species of one of those types before any Gym that uses Rock or Ground Pokémon. Water and Flying types, by contrast, take double damage from Electric moves, and there Pikachu has the edge. Keep a team of three different types by the third Gym and few battles will stall.
Pokémon Stadium and the Game Boy Printer extend Yellow
Two accessories reach beyond the cartridge. pokemon.com says Yellow works with the Game Boy Printer, which prints stickers of favourite Pokémon. Pokémon Stadium on Nintendo 64 connects through the N64 Transfer Pak, imports Pokémon from Red, Blue and Yellow for 3D battles, and plays the Game Boy games on a television. The PokéAPI cache records a learn method called stadium-surfing-pikachu in the Yellow version group, and the one move it covers is Surf for Pikachu; the same method appears in the Red and Blue group. After the Elite Four, the completion work matches Red and Blue: the Pokédex, trades with the other games and the four trade evolutions.
Pikachu shows how it feels when you talk to it
Talking to Pikachu shows its mood, which the official Japanese page calls its ごきげん, and plays its cry, the anime's own. The mood is the one hidden relationship in the game that a player can see. Yellow otherwise runs on the Generation I rules of Red and Blue: the PokéAPI type data gives Ghost moves no effect on Psychic types and leaves Bug as the only type that hits Psychic for double damage. Chansey has base Special Defense 105 and Special Attack 35 in the current species data, so on a modern sheet it resists special moves far better than it uses them. The species sheets on this site show those numbers with the source and read date.
Let's Go on Switch is based on Yellow
The 2018 Let's Go pair for Switch is based on Yellow, according to pokemon.com, and reimagines it for the Switch hardware. At the start you meet either Pikachu or Eevee, depending on the version, as your partner. Catching borrows the motion and button controls of Pokémon GO, and Meltan, a Mythical Pokémon first reported in Pokémon GO, reaches the Switch games through it; Meltan evolves into Melmetal only in Pokémon GO. In the PokéAPI cache, the species with Let's Go move data are numbers 1 to 151 plus Meltan and Melmetal. FireRed and LeafGreen, back on Switch since 27 February 2026, are the other current way to play this map. Yellow itself came to the 3DS Virtual Console on 27 February 2016.
Yellow in 2026 means a cartridge or an owned 3DS copy
The official Japanese page lists Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance as the systems for the Yellow cartridge; Nintendo's support page rules out the DS and DS Lite, which play only Game Boy Advance games. On 3DS, the Virtual Console copy can still be redownloaded by anyone who bought it before eShop purchases ended on 27 March 2023. Nintendo's Yellow page notes that 2DS systems sold with Pokémon games pre-installed can update to the current version from the eShop, and that owners with a Pokémon Bank account should run a system transfer first. Its Pokémon reach Pokémon Bank through Poké Transporter and from there Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon or Pokémon HOME; Bank closes on 25 February 2027. Switch offers no copy of Yellow itself.
| Species | Version |
|---|---|
| Weedle | Red, Blue |
| Kakuna | Red, Blue |
| Beedrill | Red, Blue |
| Ekans | Red |
| Arbok | Red |
| Raichu | Red, Blue (evolve a wild Pikachu) |
| Meowth | Blue |
| Persian | Blue |
| Koffing | Red, Blue |
| Weezing | Red, Blue |
| Electabuzz | Red |
| Magmar | Blue |
| Jynx | Red, Blue (in-game trade) |
Unverified. No official page lists which species are absent from Yellow; the Japanese page says only that trades with Red, Green and Blue are needed for 150. The PokéAPI cache holds no encounter tables. Needs an official guide, the manual or a dated in-game check.
| Badge order | Leader | Badge | Type | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brock | Boulder Badge | Rock | Pewter City |
| 2 | Misty | Cascade Badge | Water | Cerulean City |
| 3 | Lt. Surge | Thunder Badge | Electric | Vermilion City |
| 4 | Erika | Rainbow Badge | Grass | Celadon City |
| 5 | Koga | Soul Badge | Poison | Fuchsia City |
| 6 | Sabrina | Marsh Badge | Psychic | Saffron City |
| 7 | Blaine | Volcano Badge | Fire | Cinnabar Island |
| 8 | Giovanni | Earth Badge | Ground | Viridian City |
Unverified. Leaders, badges, types and cities rest on game knowledge; no official page read on 8 Nov 2026 lists them.
5 checks before you act
- Talk to Pikachu often to check its mood.
- Catch a second species of a different type before the first Gyms; Ground types ignore Electric moves.
- Plan trades with Red, Blue or Green for the species Yellow cannot catch alone.
- On a 2DS bundle, update the pre-installed copy from the eShop.
- Move Virtual Console Pokémon to Pokémon Bank and then HOME before 25 February 2027.
Read next
Sources read for this page
- Readpokemon.co.jp, ポケットモンスター ピカチュウ product pageread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon Yellow Special Pikachu Editionread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.co.jp, 3DS Virtual Console 赤・緑・青・ピカチュウ official siteread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI evolution chains, repository cache (repos/dexvoyage/data/cache/evolution-<id>.json)read 8 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI types with past damage relations, repository cache (repos/dexvoyage/data/cache/type-<id>.json)read 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon Stadiumread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI version groups, repository cache (repos/dexvoyage/data/version-groups.json)read 8 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI Pokémon move lists by version group, repository cache (repos/dexvoyage/data/cache/pokemon-<id>.json, 292 records)read 8 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI species records, repository cache (repos/dexvoyage/data/species/<id>.json)read 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go, Eeveeread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, The Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version Games Are Releasing on Nintendo Switch (20 Feb 2026)read 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo UK, Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition product pageread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Support, Can the Nintendo DS or DS Lite Play Game Boy Games?read 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Support, Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShop Discontinuation Q&Aread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon Bankread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.co.jp, Pokémon Bank: how to depositread 8 Nov 2026