What were the two Japanese Pokémon games released in 1996 that began the video game series?

Pocket Monsters Red and Green were the two Japanese games released in 1996 that began the Pokémon video game series.

Developed by Game Freak for the Nintendo Game Boy, the games introduced the original 151 Pokémon and the series’ central gameplay loop of catching, training, battling, trading, and completing a Pokédex. They were released in Japan on February 27, 1996.

The naming can cause confusion because most international players first encountered Pokémon Red and Blue. Japan received Red and Green, followed by a revised Blue version. Nintendo used the Japanese Blue version as the basis for the international Red and Blue releases, and the original Green was not released overseas at that time.

The pair’s success transformed a relatively unusual handheld role-playing project into a global multimedia franchise. By 2026, the original Japanese release stands thirty years behind the Pokémon 30th anniversary celebrations.