(Pocket-lint) - Pokemon Go is undoubtedly one of the biggest success stories of the App Store and Google Play Store this year so far, perhaps even this decade. Millions of smartphone users have downloaded, signed-up and tried to "Catch 'Em All" in the real world. Sometimes that's lead to users ending up in the strangest of places, sometimes in danger, or just lead thousands to crowd up in Central Park.

If you're yet to give the game a spin, but you're a fan of the TV show, you know there's one star, and that's Pikachu. The little half rabbit-half electrical storm is as cute as he is formidable, and he's the lead character Ash's sidekick.

You'll be disappointed (but not surprised) to know that when you sign up to start the game, he's not among the first three Pokemon available to catch and start your collection. Instead, you get three options: Squirtle, Charmander and Bulbasaur. But there is a way to get Pikachu right from the beginning.

First up, you need to download the game, which you can find here in the iTunes App Store for iPhone, or from the Google Play Store for Android. Second, you sign up as normal on the initial screen either using your Google account or a Pokemon Trainer Club account.

Side note - If you've already started the game and chosen one of the first three characters, you'll need to sign out and create a brand new account using another Google account, or just registering a new Pokemon Trainer Club account.

To sign out, hit your red and white Poke-ball, tap the settings cog in the top right corner, scroll to the bottom of the following screen and choose "Sign Out".

Your next step, once you've started from scratch is to go walk outside. You'll notice the three startup characters somewhere waiting for you together, instead of walking towards them, walk away from them until your phone vibrates and they appear again on your screen. Keep walking away from them. At some point around the fifth or sixth time they reappear, you should see a fourth character appear next to the original three. It's Pikachu.

Tap on Pikachu and throw your Poke-ball at him until you've caught him, and hey presto, your first character is the little lightning-bunny. After that, you choose your username as we showed you in the get started guide, and start playing.

Writing by Cam Bunton.