Two years after Red and Green, Nintendo released Pokémon Yellow, an enhanced version of Red and Blue, in Japan in 1998,[64][65] and in North America and Europe in 1999[66] and 2000.[67] The game was designed to resemble the Pokémon anime series, with the player receiving a Pikachu as their starter Pokémon and their rival starting with an Eevee. Some non-player characters resemble those from the anime, including Team Rocket's Jessie and James.[68]
Pokémon Yellow changes and enhances several aspects of the original games. Pikachu is provided as the player's only starter Pokémon and has a voice and a personality unique from other Pokémon. It follows the player on the overworld, and the player can speak to it. Pikachu can grow to love or hate the player based on their actions; leveling up will keep Pikachu happy, while fainting frequently will make it unhappy. This feature was used again in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the remakes of Pokémon Gold and Silver, and Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the remakes of Pokémon Yellow.[69] Yellow includes a "Pikachu's Beach" minigame that is only accessible to players who either won a Nintendo contest or complete a challenge in another game, Pokémon Stadium, and exchange data between the games using the Transfer Pak.[70] Yellow has slightly improved graphics and can print Pokédex entries onto stickers using the Game Boy Printer.[69][71]
Pokémon Yellow was developed by Game Freak and entered development after the completion of the Japanese version of Pokémon Blue. Nintendo may have been considering a "Pokémon Pink" version of Yellow, based on source code leaked from Nintendo.[72]
Pokémon Yellow's release coincided with the release of Pokémon: The First Movie and was first announced as Pocket Monsters Yellow[f] in Japan.[73] Future Nintendo president Satoru Iwata later said that people likely felt Yellow would be unnecessary due to the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver later that year.[74] It was released in Japan on September 12, 1998, in Australia on September 3, 1999,[75] in North America on October 19, 1999, and in Europe on June 16, 2000.[76] A Pikachu-themed Game Boy Color bundle was released in North America in October 1999.[77] To promote the release of Pokémon Yellow, Volkswagen and Nintendo created a yellow Volkswagen New Beetle with features inspired by Pikachu.[78] Nintendo World Report listed Pokémon Yellow as one of the notable handheld releases in 1999.
