What pair formed the first Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games?

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon began with Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team.

The paired games were released in Japan in 2005 and worldwide in 2006. Red Rescue Team was made for the Game Boy Advance, while Blue Rescue Team was made for the Nintendo DS. Their stories and gameplay are closely related, but each version has some exclusive Pokémon and platform-specific features.

Unlike the main Pokémon role-playing games, the player character in these titles is transformed from a human into a Pokémon. Exploration takes place in randomly generated, turn-based dungeons, reflecting the Mystery Dungeon series’ roguelike design.

The pair launched a long-running Pokémon spin-off line that later included Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness, Explorers of Sky, Gates to Infinity, and Super Mystery Dungeon. A remake, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, was released for Nintendo Switch in 2020 and combined material from the original rescue-team games.