Pokémon Red and Green first released in Japan in 1996.
Game Freak developed the role-playing games for Nintendo’s Game Boy. They introduced the original Pokémon adventure: exploring a region, catching creatures, training them, battling other Trainers, and trading with other players.
The Japanese releases were called Pocket Monsters Red and Green. International versions later used Pokémon Red and Blue, because the original Japanese Green version was not released abroad in its original form. Pokémon Blue was first released as an enhanced Japanese version and then helped form the international editions.
The 1996 launch marked the beginning of the core Pokémon video-game series and established mechanics that remain central decades later. The games also introduced the first 151 species, although the name “Kanto” for their setting became explicit only in the second generation.