On what date did the Pokémon franchise debut in Japan with Pokémon Red and Green?

The Pokémon franchise debuted in Japan on 27 February 1996 with the release of Pokémon Red and Green.

The two Game Boy role-playing games were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. Players explored the Kanto region, collected Pokémon, battled other Trainers and challenged the Pokémon League. Although the games are commonly called Red and Green, international releases used Pokémon Red and Blue.

The date is celebrated annually as Pokémon Day. It marks the beginning of the broader franchise, which later expanded into animation, trading cards, merchandise, films and mobile games. The first games were not released worldwide at the same time: North America received Pokémon Red and Blue in 1998, while Europe received them in 1999.

A common mix-up is treating the anime’s 1997 Japanese premiere as the franchise’s start. The games came first, and the television series followed more than a year later.