The original Pokémon Red and Green games were released for the Game Boy.
Nintendo's monochrome handheld provided the technical foundation for the first Pokémon adventure. Its portability also matched the series' central ideas of collecting creatures and trading them with other players.
The Game Boy's Link Cable allowed two players to connect their systems. Pokémon used that connection for trading and battling, turning a usually single-player handheld game into a social experience.
Pokémon Yellow later appeared for the same hardware family, while Pokémon Gold and Silver were designed for the Game Boy Color. This can cause confusion because the first games are often remembered alongside later color releases.