The original Pokémon Red and Green games were released for the Nintendo Game Boy. Their monochrome handheld graphics, turn-based battles, and Link Cable trading became central to Pokémon's early identity.
The Game Boy was important because players could carry the adventure and connect with friends. Trading was not merely an extra feature: version-exclusive Pokémon encouraged players to link two cartridges and complete the Pokédex together.
Pokémon Yellow later appeared for the Game Boy and gave Pikachu a more prominent role inspired by the anime. The games could also be played on later compatible systems, including the Game Boy Color, but their original platform was the Game Boy.
The franchise subsequently moved to systems such as the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch. Those later platforms should not be mistaken for the hardware that hosted the 1996 debut.