The first Pokémon video games launched in Japan on February 27, 1996, beginning the franchise whose 30th anniversary falls in 2026.
The releases were Pocket Monsters Red and Green for Nintendo's Game Boy. They were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. Players explored the Kanto region, captured creatures, trained them, battled other Trainers, and traded Pokémon through the Game Boy Link Cable.
The original games were not released in exactly the same form worldwide. Japan received Red and Green, while the international versions were based largely on the enhanced Japanese Blue version and were titled Pokémon Red and Blue. This regional difference is why anniversary histories often mention Red and Green rather than only Red and Blue.
February 27 is now commemorated annually as Pokémon Day. The date is therefore both the franchise's original Japanese launch date and the anchor for its 30th-anniversary celebrations.