Yellow was the one that didn't really put Pikachu in a pokeball, and that was mostly because it wasn't her pikach -it was red's. Red didn't take lip from his pokes, yellow needed Pikachu hangin' out to help her find Red.
And the pikasicle is likely a reference to when Red was frozen (Pikachu wasn't though, which makes this perplexing and not worth wondering about and just enjoying for what it is).
My guess is that he used Pikachu against Articuno. He's grinning cause he caught it totally ignoring the fact Pikachu got Frozen. Its just like in the game, once the legendary is down, who really care about the status effect of the Pokemon you have out?
Pikachu is Frozen in ice! Red: Big deal, Articuno is Paralized, has one hp left, and I got about fifty Ultra Balls to go.
In Red, Blue, and Green versions (the games) Pikachu work normally. You catch them, they're in balls. The guy is called Red by default with suggested names Jack and Ash in Red version and Blue/John/Gary in Blue version. In Japanese the default names are Red, Satoshi, Jack, Green, Shigeru, John, Blue, Tsunekazu, and Jean, all spelled in katakana. I.E. レド not Akai.
In Yellow version (the game) AKA Special Pikachu Edition, Pikachu is given as a starter Pokémon. It follows you around like the Pokémon in HG/SS. It also has a customized battle entry animation, in which it slides onscreen from the side instead of emerging from a ball bursting open like all the other mon. It also has a special cry, a "Pi-ka!" voice sample instead of the normal buzzing sort of sound normal Pikachu have. The Player character has the suggested names Yellow, Ash and Jack with Yellow as the default. The JP names are the same, except with Satoshi instead of Jack and again, all in phonetic katakana.
Gold/Silver/Crystal versions made the name "Red" canonical for the series. His party is also based on Yellow version, where he can obtain Pikachu, Eevee, Lapras and the starters as gifts. (Only Eevee and Lapras are given in Red and Blue) Snorlax is also fought as a storyline boss in RBGY. This suggests that the Yellow Version storyline is the true one, which means Pikachu might prefer being outside the ball. Of course there exists the possibility that Red traded himself the other starters and didn't evolve a random Pikachu he caught instead leveling it to the highest level on his team. Makes sense in HS/SS with Light Ball, but seems silly in the originals.
It's been a while since I read the Pokémon Special/Adventures manga but that has nothing to do with the games even if it follows their storyline much closer than the anime.
