An electric-type Pokémon has no business learning Surf, the water-type HM that allows your Pokémon to carry you across the water. Let alone a tiny electric rat. As a child, I was a stickler for rules and structure. I refused to use a GameShark to get a Mew, which led to me battling a stranger on an airplane to earn one. But when using one became my only option to access one of the greatest mini-games ever, I gave in.

Not long after I got the limited-edition Pokémon Game Boy color bundled with Pokémon Yellow in October 1999, my sense of dignity and honor began to evaporate. In many ways, Pokémon Yellow is a weird experiment: it’s a remake of Red and Blue designed to simulate the experience of playing as Ash in the anime. You’re forced to use Pikachu as your starter. It refuses to go inside a Poké Ball. Like Ash, you encounter all three of the original games’ starters pretty quickly. This was only possible in Red and Blue via trading, so getting all three in my party already felt........

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