The first Pokémon games, Pocket Monsters Red and Green, debuted on the Game Boy.
Nintendo's monochrome handheld was the platform for the Japanese releases on February 27, 1996. The games used the Game Boy's link cable to support trading and battles, an unusual feature that made two versions work together.
Outside Japan, the original Green version was not released in the same form. International players received Pokémon Red and Blue, based largely on the Japanese Blue version and its revised programming. Pokémon Yellow later offered an enhanced version inspired partly by the anime.
The Game Boy was technically modest compared with later consoles, but its portability and link-cable connectivity suited Pokémon's collecting theme perfectly. A frequent mistake is naming the Game Boy Color, which arrived later and supported Pokémon titles including Gold, Silver, and Crystal.