Your starter isn't in a ball. He's the one walking behind you — and whether he likes you is up to how you treat him.
Most kids met Pokémon through the cartoon before they ever touched a cartridge. So in 1998 the game came to meet them: Jessie and James, Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, Pikachu crying out 'Pika!' instead of a beep — the screen finally looked like the show on the wall. You don't pick Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle here. You get the Pikachu who refuses the Poké Ball and trots along at your heels, and you can turn around and talk to him. His face that pops up — happy, sulking, looking away — is reading a hidden number that only your hundreds of footsteps and small kindnesses can move. Long before any stat sheet told you so, you understood you were being judged by a friend, and that you could earn your way back.
About this game
Pokémon Yellow is a 1998 role-playing video game for the game boy, developed by Game Freak, directed by Satoshi Tajiri, with music by Junichi Masuda. It belongs to the Pokémon series.
Tricks & Tales
Pikachu's friendship in Yellow is a hidden value from 0 to 255 that starts at 90. Walking 255 steps with him in the lead can raise it; leveling him up or giving medicine raises it; letting him faint or trading him away lowers it. Talk to him in the overworld and his pop-up face changes with that number — the franchise's friendship mechanic was born here, attached to one Pikachu. You start with Pikachu instead of choosing a starter, but all three classic starters can still be obtained from NPCs during the game; the Squirtle comes from Officer Jenny, nodding to the anime's Squirtle Squad. And this Pikachu cannot evolve into Raichu, mirroring Ash's Pikachu refusing to evolve in the show.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
The original Game Boy is fully region-free. A cartridge manufactured for Japan, North America, or Europe will run on any DMG unit from any region with no adapters, no modifications, and no lockout chip to defeat. The game's language is determined entirely by the software on the cartridge — the console hardware applies no restriction. The only notable caveat is that cross-region link-cable multiplayer may not function correctly in all titles. If you are buying Japanese-market Game Boy software to play on a non-Japanese DMG, or vice versa, hardware compatibility is simply not a concern.
Maintenance Tips
Vertical lines on the LCD are the Game Boy's signature aging defect. The cause is delamination of the ribbon cable that connects the LCD panel to the board. The standard repair is to apply heat along the ribbon cable near the LCD edge -- a soldering iron (at low temperature) run slowly along the ribbon cable reflows the connection and usually clears the lines. This repair has a documented success rate and requires no replacement parts. The speaker can be replaced with any 8-ohm 0.5W speaker of similar dimensions; audio quality often improves noticeably with a new unit. Clean battery terminals with vinegar and a cotton swab if corrosion is present. The contrast dial uses a potentiometer that can be cleaned with contact cleaner if the image is unstable at certain positions. Use fresh alkaline AA batteries -- rechargeable NiMH cells run at lower voltage and may cause erratic behavior.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Pokémon Yellow copies regularly.
Will a Pokémon Yellow cartridge still save, or will my progress vanish?
Yellow saves using a small coin battery soldered inside the cartridge. Every copy is now over 25 years old, and those batteries were rated for roughly ten years, so many are dead. If the battery is exhausted, the game plays fine but loses all save data the moment you power off. Before buying, ask whether the battery has been replaced, or test by saving and power-cycling.
Will a Japanese copy work on a Game Boy bought elsewhere?
Yes. The original Game Boy has no region lock, so a Japanese Yellow cartridge plays on any Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Color, or Game Boy Advance worldwide. The difference is the language on the label and in-game text. On a Game Boy Color it even displays in colour.
My cartridge won't start or freezes — is it broken?
Usually not. The most common cause is dirty contacts on the cartridge's edge connector. Clean the gold pins gently with a cotton swab dampened in high-strength isopropyl alcohol, let them dry fully, and try again. Don't blow into the cartridge — breath moisture corrodes the contacts. If it boots but the save resets, that's the dead battery, not a broken game.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Pokémon Yellow
A short checklist for buying a used Game Boy cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Good news — Game Boy is region-free
Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges are not region-locked, so a Japanese copy plays on any Game Boy worldwide.
Just confirm the hardware family — original GB, Color, or Advance — matches the cartridge.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
See what it's selling for on eBay →Unexpected Discoveries
Games you weren't looking for — but might be glad you found.
Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Pokémon Yellow sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
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