The game involves talking to Pikachu, the game's main character, with the Nintendo 64's Voice Recognition Unit. The Voice Recognition Unit is an add-on microphone for the Nintendo 64 controller. It allows the Nintendo 64 to recognize and understand the human voice. The player talks to Pikachu in order to complete tasks given by the game. The player can also pick up and use items.
The player's goal is to befriend a wild Pikachu using a device made by Professor Oak to befriend wild Pokémon. Through earning the Pikachu's trust, the Pikachu will eventually live in the player's house. There are three different activity days, each with a different goal. The player keeps the Pikachu for 365 days. If the player reaches the 365th day, the Pikachu is released back into the wild.
