On which platform were the original Pokémon games released?

The original Pokémon games were released on the Game Boy.

Pocket Monsters Red and Green debuted in Japan for Nintendo's monochrome handheld in 1996. Pokémon Blue followed in Japan as an enhanced version, and the international releases of Red and Blue were based largely on that improved version.

The Game Boy's Link Cable made a central Pokémon idea possible: players could connect two systems to trade Pokémon and battle one another. This encouraged players to own different versions and interact with friends rather than treating the game as a purely solo experience.

Pokémon Yellow later supported the Game Boy family and was designed with influences from the animated series. Because Yellow used the Game Boy Color's palette while remaining compatible with the original Game Boy, it is sometimes incorrectly identified as a Game Boy Color-only release.