Which platform hosted the first Pokémon games, Red and Green?

The first Pokémon games, Red and Green, were released for the Game Boy.

Nintendo’s handheld system provided the hardware for the original Pokémon role-playing games, which were developed by Game Freak. The Game Boy’s Link Cable was especially important because it allowed players to trade Pokémon and battle one another using two connected systems.

The games were designed for the original monochrome Game Boy, although they could also be played on later compatible hardware. Pokémon Yellow was subsequently released with improved color support for the Game Boy Color, but it was not the platform on which the series began.

Trading was more than a novelty: Red and Green divided Pokémon between versions, so players could not ordinarily obtain every species in one game. The Game Boy and Link Cable combination therefore made communication between players part of Pokémon’s core design from the start.