On which video game system did the first Pokémon games appear?

The first Pokémon games appeared on the original Game Boy.

Pocket Monsters Red and Green were released in Japan for Nintendo’s monochrome handheld on February 27, 1996. The games used the Game Boy Link Cable to let players battle and trade Pokémon with another nearby Game Boy.

That trading feature was central to the design. Red and Green contained different Pokémon, so players needed to connect two systems and exchange creatures to complete the original Pokédex. The hardware’s link port therefore became one of the franchise’s defining features.

Many players remember Pokémon as a Game Boy Color series because Pokémon Yellow used color features and later games were marketed for the Game Boy Color. However, the franchise began on the original Game Boy, several years before later Pokémon titles moved to newer Nintendo handhelds.