The original Pokémon games were released for Nintendo’s Game Boy in 1996.
Pocket Monsters Red and Green were role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. The monochrome handheld’s link-port capability was especially important because Pokémon was designed around exchanging creatures and battling with another player.
International versions arrived later as Pokémon Red and Blue for the same platform. Pokémon Yellow followed as an enhanced version with stronger visual links to the anime and compatibility with the Game Boy Color’s palette.
A common mix-up is to identify the Game Boy Color as the original platform. Pokémon Gold and Silver were designed for the Game Boy Color, but the first Pokémon games began on the earlier Game Boy. Later generations moved to systems including the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch.