Pokémon Versione Rossa and Pokémon Versione Verde were the first Pokémon video games ever released, released in Japan on February 27, 1996. They introduced the main concepts that would be retained in later main series titles. It was the first pair of mainline video games of the First Generation, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld system. After the release of Red and Green, Pokémon Blue was also released in Japan, in which the graphics of the previous games were improved and various glitch fixes present in the original titles were added; and Pokémon Yellow, whose story is partially inspired by that of the anime.

Outside of Japan, these games were released as Pokémon Red and Blue, using the enhanced Japanese Blue engine, but keeping the Pokémon exclusive to Red and Green.

In 1999, sequels to these games, Pokémon Gold and Silver, were released for the Game Boy Color. In 2004, however, were released remakes for the Game Boy Advance known as Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.

On November 12, 2015, it was announced in a Nintendo Direct that Red and Green will be released in Japan on February 27, 2016 on the Virtual Console for Nintendo 3DS, in celebration of Pokémon's 20th Anniversary. In a subsequent Direct on February 26, 2016, it was confirmed that these digital versions, along with their international counterparts, will be compatible with Pokémon Bank services, making it possible to port Pokémon to Pokémon Sun and Moon.