What was the first Pokémon game’s original hardware platform?

The first Pokémon games were released for the Game Boy.

Pocket Monsters Red and Green debuted in Japan in 1996 as Game Boy role-playing games. They established the series’ core structure, including exploration, turn-based battles, Pokémon evolution, and the ability to trade creatures between compatible cartridges.

The Game Boy’s Link Cable was especially important to Pokémon’s design. Because each version contained different Pokémon, players were encouraged to connect two systems and trade in order to complete their Pokédex. The same connection also enabled battles between players.

Outside Japan, the original pair was released as Pokémon Red and Blue. Pokémon Yellow later added Pikachu as the player’s companion and incorporated more elements from the anime. These releases are sometimes associated with later Nintendo hardware because the franchise expanded rapidly, but the series began on the monochrome Game Boy before moving to systems such as Game Boy Color and Nintendo 64.