On what date did the Pokémon franchise debut with its first video games in Japan?

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

Those Game Boy role-playing games introduced the central Pokémon formula: exploring a region, catching creatures, training them, battling other Trainers, and trading with other players. Game Freak developed the games, while Nintendo published them.

The date is celebrated annually as Pokémon Day. International releases followed later: Pokémon Red and Blue reached North America in 1998, while the original Japanese Green version was not released overseas. This distinction often causes confusion when people describe the franchise’s first games, because many players outside Japan began with Red and Blue rather than Red and Green.

The 1996 launch eventually expanded into animation, manga, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, films, merchandise, and mobile games. In 2026, the anniversary of that Japanese debut marks three decades of Pokémon history.