Is "Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition" a canon main series game?

[Totodile158]

I just want to hear the comments, reactions, and opinions of the fandom regarding the controversial (well not really, I guess) "Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition" or commonly known as "Pokémon Yellow Version". So, do you guys consider the said game to be a part of the canon main series Pokémon games?

I know that most of you people think that Yellow was just a game Game Freak made to buy time for finishing Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions since it was related to the anime, and that FR/LG already replaced all the Generation I games on the canon since the former is obviously the updated version, but we can't deny the fact that some Yellow elements were still included in FR/LG and even in HG/SS plot-wise.

So, what can you say guys?

 

[Joshawott]

And this sparks a wider thought: Which Pokémon games are "canon"? Are the more "updated" versions canon? For example, are FireRed/LeafGreen, Emerald, HeartGold/SoulSilver, Platinum and B/W the canon entries (until BW's third version comes out) whereas Red/Green/Blue/Yellow, Gold/Silver, Crystal, Ruby/Sapphire and Diamond/Pearl are not?

The only bits of evidence I can find to support is first, a comment made by Cynthia in Black and White:

"That was beyond my expectation! What an exceptional battle! You certainly bear a resemblance to that Trainer who faced Giratina... Oh, pardon me. I was just thinking out loud. I love being here in spring and summer. I can't stay all year, because there's so much to investigate in Sinnoh, as well. You're a great Trainer, and it would make me happy to see you again sometime."

Notice the direct reference to Giratina, instead of a reference to a generic dragon-type that could cover Dialga, Palkia and Giratina.

And secondly, Looker's appearance in Black and White; yet his only previous appearance was in Pokémon Platinum Version, not Diamond or Pearl.

As for Pokémon Yellow though; aside from the Pokémon following you and happiness, what was kept in later games? The only references to Generation I in the games cover Red, Green, Blue and Yellow as they merely refer to Red and how he defeated Team Rocket and became the champion - an event that happens in all games. The only other hint I could see is his team in Generation 2 and their remakes - having Pikachu and the final evolutions of all the starters. Although that could easily be argued to be because Pikachu is the mascot of the franchise as a whole and the game has no way of knowing which one the player actually chose in Gen I or their Gen III remakes, so they just gave Red all of them.

 

[Totodile158]

What I mean is that some Yellow elements are included in FR/LG and HG/SS, but FR/LG is of course the canon version representing Generation I. Although most of the features and the plot from Yellow wasn't incorporated in the actual FR/LG game (aside from the happiness formula and the updated moveset of some Pokemon that was first introduced in Yellow), it was then confirmed in HG/SS (which was a direct sequel to FR/LG) that Red and Blue retained their team from G/S/C (aside from Red's Lapras replacing Espeon) that was, of course, based on their team in Yellow, since Red's team are all obtainable in Yellow, and the fact that Pikachu is his main Pokemon. My point is that since some Yellow elements were included in the two remakes when it comes to plot, this confirms that most of it are included in the canon story of Generation I, which represents FR/LG, just like when HG/SS had Crystal's plot and features aside from the version-exclusive Pokemon, and they updated it more.

By the way, if some people are confused and for clarification, this thread asks if we can consider Pokemon Yellow a part of the main games or we could just say that it's a semi-spin-off game since it's based on the anime.

 

[Blue Dragon]

Yes it is officially part of the Pokemon main series games and cannot be denied. Even though the storyline was orientated towards the original anime aspects of the storyline still stayed the same as within the original in-game storyline.

Pokemon Yellow was not a quick fix up for the wait of the G/S release and was an important part of the main series. Also it was the first third edition (in US and Europe et.c) made and the pattern continued through to C/E/PL in future generations. Like all "official" third versions it's features were updated and Pokemon sprites were updated.

Also the trading system and PC system are all the same as the original games. The only way you could call it unofficially part of the main series is if all of the features and storyline I have stated above were taken away from the game and it was completely different.

 

[Almonds]

I'm getting confused though... is Yellow version actually based on the anime?

 

[davis.g105]

The deal is that if they never released the Yellow (Special Pikachu Edition) then they would have had no justification for Crystal/Emerald/Platinum, the third games in the following generations, though Yellow followed the Anime in ways Red and Blue didnt does not mean its purpose was to buy time until Gold and Silver.

Yellow laid the groundwork for the following generations "thirds" (for lack of a better term) by making it have to trade with both Red and Blue, some pokemon only catchable in the respective version, and some common in both.

Yellow also laid the groundwork (or lack there of) for the remakes, they did not do a remake of it for the GBA and they did not do a remake of crystal for the DS.

While some may consider Yellow controversal, it is the decision maker for the third in each make of each generation.

 

[Totodile158]

I'm getting confused though... is Yellow version actually based on the anime?

Yes, it seems to be, but I guess the correct term of it will be that "it is a tribute to the anime", since they only incorporated Pikachu as the starter, Pikachu following you, getting all the Kanto starters, etc., but the plot still remain to be the same as that in Red, Green, and Blue.

Yellow also laid the groundwork (or lack there of) for the remakes, they did not do a remake of it for the GBA and they did not do a remake of crystal for the DS.

HG/SS was actually an updated version of Crystal instead of an updated version of Gold and Silver (except on the version-exclusive Pokemon which still followed that of Gold and Silver's instead of Crystal's). They used most of the elements, features, and the plot that was in Crystal, and they updated it more, so I guess there's no need for a Crystal remake already. That's why it's surprising why the actual FR/LG game didn't included the elements from Yellow and when HG/SS came out, Red still had the same team that he had in Gold, Silver, and Crystal, which is based on Yellow, despite HG/SS being a direct sequel to FR/LG instead of Yellow.

 

[Glitchipedia]

When it comes to the Pokémon games, I take the plot of each generation in broad strokes. So I consider parts of each game to be canon, and other parts not to be. I say Yellow may be partially canon in that Red's Pikachu was probably his starter, not some random thing he caught in the forest. I mean, you've gotta feel some real attachment to want to put a Pikachu at the head of your team.

 

[Silktree]

Although that could easily be argued to be because Pikachu is the mascot of the franchise as a whole and the game has no way of knowing which one the player actually chose in Gen I or their Gen III remakes, so they just gave Red all of them.

It may be the mascot of the franchise, but you still only see it being used by joke trainers in most of the games. There is no way Game Freak didn't think of Yellow when they made Pikachu Red's signature (highest-leveled) team member, even though that Pikachu wasn't actually following it (probably because it would have ruined Red's mystery).

The part of Red's story that involves his obtaining Pikachu and the starters wasn't seen in any of the games. I think this calls attention to the fact that the games in general are incomplete as far as the canon story is concerned. For that reason I wouldn't use HGSS to conclude which elements from the older games are no longer canon, either.

HG/SS was actually an updated version of Crystal instead of an updated version of Gold and Silver (except on the version-exclusive Pokemon which still followed that of Gold and Silver's instead of Crystal's). They used most of the elements, features, and the plot that was in Crystal, and they updated it more, so I guess there's no need for a Crystal remake already.

It may not have been necessary to remake Crystal, but to say that HGSS used most the of the Crystal elements is inaccurate, and I would certainly not say the plot was more polished. Contrary to popular belief (because most people nowadays haven't played Crystal in years if at all), there was more to Crystal's Suicune sidequest than all the moving around with Eusine that was kept in HGSS. In Crystal, the sidequest had a climax that wasn't just about catching Suicune: It was about unraveling the story of Ecruteak and understanding why Ho-Oh left the town 150 years ago and why it was important that it would return, which it did after the player proved themselves through their encounters with the legendary beasts. For this reason, Crystal also introduced three sages called the Wise Trio, who unlike Eusine could provide exposition on Ecruteak's legends, giving the events some much-needed depth. Those characters didn't return in HGSS and the Suicune sidequest was completely isolated from the climax with Ho-Oh/Lugia, and even the Kimono Girls were fairly luckluster in comparison because their motivation to summon Ho-Oh/Lugia was never explained. As a matter of fact, there is a sole reference to the Burned Tower story in HGSS (by an insignificant NPC), and since it doesn't even mention the legendary beasts explicitly, many HGSS players may not even know that the beasts are connected to Ho-Oh.

This is hardly it. Aside from Crystal's high-quality animations, HGSS failed to include another feature: The Pokémon Communication Center's News Machine. Few people know this, but for two years the News Machine would be updated every month not only with player rankings, but also with with a news feed that included a mini-game and/or quiz. Obviously, the News Machine text was not pre-programmed and had to be downloaded from the Mobile System server. There was always a prize for successfully completing the mini-game or quiz, but in some months the News Machine text was associated with characters from the game, of whom some were well-known (like Blaine and Blue) and others were more mysterious and had, in my opinion, some interesting questions to ask. While there is unfortunately no document of the vast majority of those news feeds, what I've recently discovered is that there is more to the GS Ball event than what we western players could have imagined. Well, most fans don't even know what actually happened in Ilex Forest, but only the Japanese players who downloaded the GS Ball had access to the News Machine text that set off the event. I have some information that I will write about in my blog, hopefully in the near future.

I think that the HGSS Ilex Forest event was a poor alternative to its Crystal counterpart, mostly because the former had little to do with Celebi and was just a forced way to bring Giovanni back, even though that could have easily happened without time travel. I would have loved to have seen the News Machine text, but the only Wi-Fi events in HGSS were the Pokéwalker ones, which is quite sad.

 

[Gligar13]

Yellow laid the groundwork for the following generations "thirds" (for lack of a better term) by making it have to trade with both Red and Blue, some pokemon only catchable in the respective version, and some common in both.

Yellow also laid the groundwork (or lack there of) for the remakes, they did not do a remake of it for the GBA and they did not do a remake of crystal for the DS.

While some may consider Yellow controversal, it is the decision maker for the third in each make of each generation.

Several things:

1. Yellow was not the first 3rd version, JP Blue was, to Red and Green.
2. They added Crystal's features to HGSS, and FRLG didn't need anything from Yellow added.

 

[acid_whale]

Well in pokémon G/S/HG/SS, when you fight RED on the mountain he has the 3 Kanto starters and a pikachu and an espion in G/S, replaced by Lapras in HG/SS/B2/W2.
In pokémon yellow pikachu is obviously your starter, you can obtain all 3 starters, an eevee (or Lapras).
So to me, Red and Blue was NOT canon and yellow is. Makes more sense.

 

[Pidgeot]

No. It is clear that this game was merely made to promote the anime. Jessie and James were never in the games, neither was Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy's Chansey. FRLG are canon, but RBGY aren't, HGSS is canon, but GSC aren't, and Emerald, Platinum, and BW and BW2 are canon too.

 

[Xenidal]

Yellow was not to promote the anime. The anime at that time was extremely popular and did not need any promotion. If anything, the anime was used to promote Yellow Version... people who played Red / Blue who liked the anime would be more likely to buy an identical game if some cool stuff from the anime was added.

That being said, it wasn't exactly based on the anime either. There's a ton of stuff that they could have changed to make it closer to the anime. Like changing the 8th gym leader to Jessie and James (or giving Giovanni a Mewtwo). And adding a visible volcano to Cinnabar Island and removing the Cinnabar Lab (maybe add a New Island to the game and moving it to there). In fact, they could have made an entirely different game considering the anime has so many locations not in Red / Blue and Red / Blue has so many parts not relevent to the anime (Silph Co., the casino, etc.). It would have taken them longer, but they could have done it (actually, that probably is why they didn't do it...)

Anyway, I see no reason to believe that Yellow is not canon. I also see no reason to believe that Red / Blue were not canon. The only real difference (story-wise) is Red's starting Pokémon... and there is no indication of which Pokémon he started with in any future game. He has all three starters and Pikachu in his party so it could have been Yellow... it also could have been Red / Blue because there is such a thing as trading and you can obtain all 4 of those at the same time in Red / Blue as well.

Anyway, strictly speaking, if Yellow is not canon then neither is Red / Blue. The only canon Generation I games would be Japanese Red and Green, because the Unknown Dungeon is laid out as it was in Red / Green. And even that might not be canon because I think they changed some of the wild Pokémon when making FireRed / LeafGreen. Still, none of this affects the story at all, or the events that happened, so as far as I'm concrned they are all canon.