What were Pokémon Red and Blue called in Japan’s original releases?

Pokémon Red and Blue were called Pokémon Red and Green in their original Japanese releases.

Game Freak and Nintendo launched Pocket Monsters Red and Green in Japan in February 1996. The paired games shared the same broad adventure but contained version-exclusive Pokémon, making trading important for players who wanted to complete their collections.

Japan later received Pokémon Blue, an improved version with revised graphics, updated dialogue, and other presentation changes. When the games were localized for North America and Europe, Nintendo used the names Red and Blue rather than Red and Green. The international Blue version incorporated improvements associated with Japan’s Blue release.

The naming difference is one of the most frequently overlooked details in early Pokémon history. Green was not simply an alternate English title for Blue; it was the name of one of the original Japanese versions. The international Red-and-Blue pairing became the best-known form of the first-generation games and helped establish the franchise’s version-trading tradition.