When were Pokémon Gold and Silver first released in Japan?

Pokémon Gold and Silver were first released in Japan on November 21, 1999.

The games are the first installments of Pokémon’s second generation. They introduced 100 new Pokémon, the Johto region, Pokémon breeding, held items, and an internal real-time clock. They were developed for the Game Boy Color while remaining compatible with the earlier Game Boy hardware.

Gold and Silver were originally intended for an earlier release, but development took longer than planned. Game Freak was a small team, and work was affected by projects connected to Pokémon Stadium and the international localization of the first generation.

The games later reached North America in October 2000 and Europe in April 2001. Their 2009 Nintendo DS remakes, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, revisited the same Johto adventure while adding updated graphics and features.