Pokémon Changes
The main difference between Red and Blue are the differences in the Pokémon available. Each game has a bunch of exclusive Pokémon which forces players to trade between one another to complete their Pokédex. Pokémon Yellow has a bit of overlap in both games but still has a number of the pocket monsters that cannot be captured. You can check out each game’s list of exclusive Pokémon here.
In addition to each game’s list of exclusive monsters, Yellow also mixes up where some Pokémon can be captured. Take Abra for example, in Blue and Red you can grab the little psychic creature on Route 24 in the grass just north of Cerulean City. In Yellow, however, you have to go south of Cerulean to grab it from Route 5. These are only small changes but it’s enough to make your quest to catch ‘em all a little bit trickier.
Some Pokémon in Yellow can learn moves that they could not in Blue and Red. For example, Charizard can learn Fly in Yellow to fit more in-line with the anime. Pikachu can also learn Surf, but only when linked up to Pokémon Colosseum. Some in-game trades with NPCs also had the Pokémon on offer and desired changed, too.
Starter Pokémon
In Pokémon Blue and Red, the starter creatures that are available to you remain the same. You’re given the choice between Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle and whichever one you choose, your rival will choose its weakness. For example, if you choose the fire-type Charmander, your rival will choose the water-type Squirtle.
If you pick up Yellow, however, you will be given Pikachu from the start and do not get the choice of the other three Pokémon. Your little electric mouse Pokémon will follow you around Kanto and you can speak to him often to see how your relationship with the creature is. At the start you’ll find that Pikachu isn’t very happy with you, however, just like in the anime, it’ll become your best friend in due time.
As for the starter Pokémon from Red and Blue, you will acquire them from other Pokémon trainers throughout your adventure in Yellow. Your rival will also be given an Eevee and the evolution that your rival chooses for their cute Pokémon will be dependent on your success or failures in defeating him during your adventure.
Story
The only difference in the story between all three games comes in the one that is in Yellow. The story in Red and Blue are identical. In Yellow, some Team Rocket grunts will be replaced by the anime favorite rebels, Jesse and James. These guys will have the Pokémon that the characters have in the anime, Ekans, Koffing, and Meowth, with the first two evolving into their final forms as you progress through the story.
Gym Leaders also see their teams of Pokémon change in Yellow to fall more in-line with their teams in the anime. If you’re after the game that remains truer to the anime, then Yellow is the one for you.
Game Corner Prizes
This is a very slight tweak between the different versions of the game but a difference all the same. In Celadon City, you can find the Rocket Game Corner allowing you to play on slot machines with the chance of winning big and raking in all those sweet coins. If you spend enough time in here and are lucky enough, you can grab some pretty rare Pokémon from the Game Corner in this building.
In each version of the game, the Pokémon that you can buy with your winnings vary. You can check out the full list of different Pokémon and their prices in each game here.
Sprites
One final slight tweak that Game Freak made to Pokémon Yellow in comparison to Red and Blue were the sprites for Pokémon and trainers. While the sprites of the back of your Pokémon remain the same in Yellow as they were in Red and Blue, some Pokémon sprites of their front were updated to increase the amount of detail or switch the pose that the Pokémon was in.
Trainers got a similar tweak to their sprites also. This once again won’t dramatically change your experience playing through the game, but Yellow offers the ‘superior’ graphical edition of the first generation games.
Check Out More Pokémon
- How to Get Mew in Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow
- 5 Changes Pokémon Sun and Moon Seriously Need to Make
- 7 Pokémon Anime Scenes that Gave Us All the Feels
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