Which handheld system originally hosted Pokémon Red and Green?

Pokémon Red and Green originally appeared on Nintendo’s Game Boy.

The Game Boy was Nintendo’s monochrome handheld console, released internationally in 1989. Although its hardware was modest compared with home consoles, its large installed audience and low cost made it an ideal platform for Game Freak’s role-playing game.

Pokémon used the Game Boy’s Game Link Cable to support trading and battles between players. That link feature became a defining part of the series because some creatures were exclusive to particular versions, encouraging players to connect two systems and exchange Pokémon.

Pokémon Yellow later added limited Game Boy Color support, and the international Red and Blue versions also remained Game Boy games. The original releases therefore predated the dedicated Game Boy Color hardware, even though later Pokémon products took advantage of color.