Poll: What Was The First Pokémon Game You Played? Nintendo Wants To Know

Blue. I started with the first game and it was a blast. Also hard to find that one friend with a trade cable

I remember reading about Pocket Monsters in Nintendo Power…it was just a tiny article about this rpg from Japan. I remember thinking, this game has to come out in the US-it will be huge! I got Pokémon Blue shortly after it’s release

Colosseum. Which isn’t on the list! Then it was XD, before my first main series game was Pearl. What a time to become a fan, the spin-offs were just as good as the main series.

I bought yellow intending to own it and not play it. I was already 20 and felt I was too old for Pokemon. I still have that copy!

I remember playing Red, but I think I borrowed it along with the original GameBoy. I may be wrong, but I think once I got my own GameBoy with the Color, I got Gold...? Maybe I did get Red for myself, whatever, it's either Red or Gold. lol

Red for me, I remember playing it in '98 or'99 under the kitchen table and my Charmander evolving into Charmeleon. It was the craziest thing

Pokemon X in year 2013 after I saw some kids in my hometown was playing Pokemon X/Y on their 3DS.

Blue here. Everyone I knew had Red so I got the other, for trades. I even got a GB Pocket especially for it. Was so worth it.

i started with Pokémon Blue my beloved late maternal grandfather game in my birthday, um school me and my friends has traded some pokemon, we have to do in the recess

Technically it was browser ones made by fans, but first real one was Sapphire or Ruby can't remember fully, but one of those for sure.
PS: Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl didn't made it to vote while other Remakes made it...

My mom randomly bought the game guide for Pokemon Red/Blue, because she thought there would infos about every game in these, after finding out that wasnt the case, she bought us the games so we had the games to the matching game guide

Thats how me and my sister became owners of red and blue in the 90s.

When I was about 7-8, my sister and I would go over to play with the kids next door. The youngest had a GBA with a copy of Yellow she'd been gotten as a hand-me-down from one of her older brothers. She'd gotten stuck at the very beginning of the game because professor Oak tells the player not to leave Pallet Town, which she didn't. She gave it to me to have a go and I walked out into the tall grass, triggering the encounter with Pikachu. After that she said I could keep the game and the GBA; she'd just gotten a shiny new pink GBA SP. Thus started a lifelong Nintendo obsession. I owe that girl a lot.

I got a copy of Pokémon Red with my Game Boy Color as a present from my grandparents.

After that I got Blue and then Yellow. And then Silver. And then Diamond. Then Shield. I’ve got Scarlet preloaded.

I don't know for sure, but the first Pokémon game I'd ever owned was the Slowking disc from the PokéROM series (I later bought Lugia, Ledyba, Elekid, and Hoothoot).

In terms of main series games,the first one I received as a gift was Pokémon Pearl by a friend (on launch day; he gave me dibs, so, he kept Diamond), and that same day, I went out and grabbed Pokémon Emerald. Shining Pearl was my main version between the remakes as a throwback to that.

I played all of the GB/GBC/GBA games via emulator (a discovery that seemed revelatory to me at the time) as I didn't have the money for a Game Boy Color, nor did I have the audacity to ask for what I considered to be an extravagant item from my parents. The bootleg "Vietnamese Crystal" was one of, if not the first Pokémon ROM I had played (before the official English version was available), but I fondly remember playing Gold while my sister played Silver on PC. I didn't much care for Gen I, so, I can't remember if I ever completed it on PC, but I definitely completed all of the Gen I/II games on 3DS.

Started with Yellow and been a fan ever since.

Fire Red/Leaf Green. Used to play it with a friend. Dabbled with a couple afterwards. Never got into another Pokemon ever again.

Started with Red. Though I was watching the anime for a bit before I actually got the game, remember the anime started around September while the game was a Christmas present.

What about an option for those of us who have never played a Pokemon game? I just never got one as a kid, and now that I have grown up, they seem quite shallow gameplay wise, so I never bought one.

@liljmoore Blue… Blast…
Sweet Blastoise pun!

For me it all started with Red, then:
Yellow > Black > Alpha Sapphire > Sun > Ultra Sun > Sword.
As you can see, I missed quite a bit in between.
Of all those, Sun/Ultra Sun were my absolute favorite with Alpha Sapphire VERY close behind. Disliked Sword. Really still enjoy Red/Yellow! I still always have my team almost all comprised of the original 150.

The first one I owned was Ruby (though I played bits of silver thanks to my sister). Saved up my £3 pocket money for months, did jobs to get extra and then on the final week.... I gave in and bought an ice cream... That Saturday my parents gave in and said they'd lend me the last £3 and of course I accepted! I choose Mudkip first, what a time!

@nessisonett same! Remember getting it as a kid and really wondered why I couldn't find any wild pokémon lol.

I stated with blue. Then red. On my og GameBoy and on the super GameBoy. Because we had 2 gameboys we could trade. In the first 3 generations I played all 3 games multiple times.

those were great times

Silver was my first, but gen 3 & 4 have the best Pokémon.

Blue, US release, because I didn't want to wait for the EU release.

I’d played the originals a fair bit, but the first one I actually got into and finished was X. I think I beat Ultra Sapphire and Let’s Go Pikachu but I’ve never completed a Pokédex (too much work) and most of the other ones I’ve bought I’ve not finished.

I keep saying I’ll go back to Arceus but too many side quests involved completing Pokédex entries and it kind of put me off.

Bit of an outsider but my first game was crystal actually. Not my favorite and not too many fond memories but at least that's where it all started for me

Boy most people here must be decades long fans. Nice to know i'm not alone

@nessisonett Colosseum was my 1st Pokémon game too! Too bad it isn't on the list

Got a bright yellow GB color along with Pokemon Blue for my birthday. My brothers bday was before mine so he always got to choose which version first. He's not getting the new one but I asked him which one he would get and he said violet so I'm getting Scarlet.

The dates are off red and blue were 1998 and Yellow was 1999.

Gen 1.
And then because it was Gen 1, I didn't play another game until Gen 4. (though I'd stand by my opinion that 4 and 5 were the best)

I couldn’t remember if it was crystal or blue, but I voted for crystal.

@Zonned Those look like European release dates.

I was 17 when the first game came out so I was out getting drunk and it completely passed me by, so have never played one and have no interest in Pokemon to be fair

This poll also works as a Nintendo Life visitor age group indicator.
Oh, and Blue for me!

It amuses me that as of right now we seemed to have played red/blue equally (28% each).

Red. Because dragons.

Gen 2
Then played Gen 3, 4, 6 with diminishing returns. Gens 2-3 remain my favorite, though I always hear good things about 5.
Started Let’s Go but couldn’t stay interested.

Blue and Red at 28%. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

I played a friend's version of Red🔴 in mid-2001 to see if I'd like Pkm.

Once I knew I did, I would wait three years to buy Sapphire🔵 on the same day I got my metallic blue GBA:SP (Sunday 4th January 2004).

Crystal. Here in Hungary, much fewer kids had Game Boys (or any Nintendo systems for that matter), so I didn't really see others before that with the games. The anime and merch was pretty popular though, but all that only came here in 2000.

But I remember learning about Pokémon in Super Smash Bros before that. You know, I gravitated to that game because it had Mario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Link, and even Kirby, and then there was this yellow rodent thing and this Kirby-like singing guy and there were these balls you could throw that would release some other fantastic monsters. It really intrigued me. Then it was a revelation to me when I saw that it had an anime series about it when randomly switching the TV to some random German channel. Then when they announced that it would come to Hungary, I was really hyped from the start, and pretty much became the biggest Pokémon know-it-all in my class and friend circle. Then when I got Crystal (and later the other games as well) I was instantly hooked even though my English skills were not too great when I was around 10. Actually I learned so many new words and stuff from those games.

Red. I would play it on my GBPocket on the bus to middle school.

Technically it was a half translated version of the Japanese blue I think it was a friend had on a pc on an emulator about a year before the actual games arrived. He actual brought a full old school pc to my gaff to show me it. After that got both red and blue for Christmas once they released here. It was a long couple of months wait but worth it

Blue.
I still have the game, box and instructions.

Blue for me, after having bought Blue and Red from Toys R Us at launch, and "saving" a fiver for buying them both together.

SoulSilver, still vividly remember getting it at the store and walking out to immediately play with the poke walker.
It was a time back when pokemon was still good.
To this day it's still my favorite game in the series.

Goodness, no wonder these comment sections get so hostile sometimes

I borrowed my friend's copy of Red, but my first game that I owned was Gold

Whoa, Blue and Red tied at the time of posting, 28%.

Red way my first, I remember because I really wanted Sandshrew who was Blue only, that was my first trade as well.

Pokken Tournament. First and so far only. I toyed with getting Sun or Moon, and then again with Sword or Shield. Ever since Red/Blue, the games have always looked rubbish to me though. I know they must be good as many people seem to like them, including friends whose opinions I trust. Maybe one day I'll take the plunge. Too many great games and too little time to play them all as it is though.

A friend from school borrowed me the blue or red version. I will choose the blue version for this poll, so please forgive me if it is wrong. The first game I owned was the yellow version. To this day gold is my favourite version. Words can not describe how awesome that game felt for a little boy.

Pokemon was really big from the start were I lived. Everyone played the games, watched the anime and had some cards or other merchandise. It was a great time and I am so glad I grew up in the 90s.

Two years ago I fulfilled a childhood dream of mine. I bought red and blue and collected all 151 Pokemon. I used a little trick to catch Mew. Catching them all was really satisfying.

Red version on my then brand new gameboy pocket. It’s black and still going strong. I’ve played every gen since, played one version of each gen up until X/Y and since then I get both versions. I have also got all the other previous versions I didn’t get now so I have a hard copy of every mainline game. Yes I’m one of those suckers haha but does wonders for my OCD/completionist sitch I have.

Officially, it was Pokemon FireRed. Unofficially, I probably played a Gen 1 or 2 game before then at a friend's house.

Blue for me, around 2005/2006, borrowing a friends gameboy colour! The first Pokemon game I owned was Diamond though, which probably is why gen 4 is my favourite

Mine was Blue.
Nothing will ever top playing and/or experiencing Pokemon becoming a global phenomenon.
Truly a great moment in my childhood.

Definitely Pokemon Red back on the old black and white Game Boy but Pokemon Silver is definitely my favorite.

Blue, followed by Yellow, after that Silver and Ruby.

Gold. I started that quite late in 2005, but I remember, I enjoyed every moments of it.

Don't remember if it was Red or Blue specifically as I ended up owning both so I put Red.

Gold/Silver/Crystal was my favourite by far though and the remakes on 3DS are amazing.

Oh and out of all gens, my favourite is still emerald or soulsilver. I kinda miss the 3rd “complete” versions (crystal, emerald, platinum) that would come out so you could spend the same amount of money all over again for basically what is now DLC. Some things don’t change at all by changing them (sword/shield DLC)

Blue, albeit emulated (then eventually restarted and beaten on 3DS). One of the only two I've beaten to date as well, the other being Ruby/Sapphire Pinball (which still has me in the market for a new Pokemon Pinball on Switch).

My brother had blue or red so I must have given that a go but I was 16 and more interested in other things… other than that, Pokémon Go 😂

Blue, Tried it at my friends house.
Then I went and bought Red so that we could play together.

Back then, Pokemon was huge. Almost everyone in school were talking about it. Many were playing the gameboy games. And if they wasn't then chances was still big that they were into trading cards (Not actually playing the TCG).

Started with Red. Looking at the picture shows how funny my purchases have been over those generations. Most of the games i buy are the ones on the left, apart from X and Y which I went for Y and now going to be Violet for my second on the right.

Yellow and it's still the best. Downhill ever since.

First Pokémon I…
Played: Red
Owned: Ruby
Beat: Soul Silver

My sister had yellow and I tried it but I was an idiot teenager at the time obsessed with madden and nba games…. The first Pokémon I actually played was Pokémon Emerald. I still think it’s the best Pokémon experience I’ve had

Gen 1 represent! My original save file still works too.

The first Pokemon game I ever owned was Pokemon Blue.

Blue. It was also my first videogame. I didn't know how to exit the starting house until my sister showed me and I had no idea that you could save your progress which meant I kept starting the game over and over. Fun memories indeed!

Gold was my first. Still remember getting it bundled with the lime green Gameboy Color.
I was HOOKED! And the reveal of Kanto being playable ontop of Johto was just mindblowing at the time. Game felt massive!

I do have fond memories of first playing Pokemon Blue all the way back in middle school. ^_^

I don't remember THAT well, but if I had to take a guess, I'd pick Omega Ruby.

Ah it warms my soul to see so many other Gen 1 veterans. Red was my first, I received it and a Game Boy Colo(u)r as a gift when I was 10.

Pokemon Stadium 2...
nobody tell nintendo that 5 year old me played it on an emulator

I call BS on this vote. No way the base user age of this site is 35.

I already gave nintendo access to my camera for pokemon go, isnt this getting a bit personal?

My first Pokemon game was obtained on a memorable day. It was on my tenth birthday. I received a silver Special Pikachu Edition Game Boy Color complete with Pokemon Gold, Tweety's High-Flying Adventure (platformer; supposedly based on a movie), and Scooby-Doo: Classic Creep Capers. Why was this significant? Besides the momentous "age 10" occasion in Pokemon, the GBC was the first console I ever owned. I loved Gold, and eventually also picked up Crystal, Silver, and Blue (the Gen 1 games were still in circulation then). I obtained Yellow secondhand from a cousin later.

So yeah, I'm technically not a Genwunner, but I've certainly played the games in their original format!

I wanted Red, but my uncle bought me Yellow instead. But glad he did. When I finally got to play Red, I was surprised at how visually bad the pokemon looked compared to Yellow

Been playing since Red. Pokemon is one of my favourite game series of all time.

All of you people are old 😂😂😂

1st pokemon was Ruby

Blue back when I was 10 years old

Blue, later got red and yellow as well, yellow still being my favourite one. Heart Gold is my second favourite, and I'm not sure if I want to get Let's Go Pikachu or Eevee or neither, as it is not really clear to me if they are (good) remakes of Yellow or something else. If they are, I might at some point want to try Eevee I think, because it sounds a bit more interesting with Eevee.

I specifically recall playing with my half brother, and we were training Magikarp by putting him first and switching him out. First to get him to evolve won. I joked that it was happening so many times that by the time it was actually happening, he didn't believe me anymore and missed out on seeing it happen.

@hypercoyote well, at least we know what it's like to have to walk for 30 hours to school, every day, and back. Hiding from dinosaurs with our cars that were merely roofs on wheels we had to push ourselves, just to not get struck by erupting vulcano's and be able to camouflage ourselves when a t-rex towered over us. Times were much better then. My first Game Boy was made out of stone, and had to be powered by standing on the roof during a thunder storm. Luckily those happened once a week, and lasted for 10 days. And when lightning struck us, we also got rid of some otherwise deadly diseases in our bodies, so win-win.

It is possible I remember some things slightly different from how they actually happened, but I'm older than you and therefore always right.

Red for me. I still remember heading to Electronics Boutique with a friend and each pre-ordering the game, he went for Blue so we would end up spending the next few months walking home from school joined together by a GB link cable, battling and trading our 'mon.

still have my copy of Red, all these years later! 🥹

Where's the option for "never played Pokemon" or "only thing I've played is Pokemon Snap"

It was Colosseum when I was 5 - my mom rented it from Blockbuster and helped me play through it since it was a bit tougher... in fact we ended up buying it from that Blockbuster to keep eventually. Still have it with the printer-paper manual & non-mini disc game case you'd expect from Blockbuster, but even with the disc's wear 'n tear, she still works just fine.

Pokemon Red. I believe the children of today refer to me as an "OG".

Technically mine was my brother's copy of Blue, but I voted for Yellow because that was the first one bought just for me. (Our older sister got Red).

Pokémon White for me! Still the best game in the series imo.

My twin brother and I asked for red and blue the Christmas they came out. They were impossible to get. Little did we know at the time my father had friends in England and the USA (we live in Ireland) looking out for these games for us. His friend found blue and shipped it to Ireland from Boston in time for Christmas that year. We opened it that Christmas morning with a letter from Santa apologizing for only being able to get us blue and not red. While a little disappointed we were hooked, swapping over ever hour or so taking turns and watching over each others shoulders as we trained, caught and battled our way to be Pokémon masters. Now at 32 my twin brother and I still play and still fight over which versions to get. That Christmas morning not only started our love of Pokémon, but also Nintendo and video games. For that I cannot thank Pokémon enough.

@Shambo Ohhh, so like in Dr. Stone?!

Got my neon green gbc and Pokémon red for Christmas when I was 8. Best Christmas ever. Beginning of the end

Blue was my first.

And actually my last…..damn

Where's the "I never played a Pokemon game before" option?

When I was about 7, me and three of my younger cousins would take turns playing Fire Red on GBA. We would get so annoyed at my youngest cousin, who was about 4, because all she would do during her turn was stay in a house in Cerulean city and call an old man NPC her grandpa.

Yellow, it was magical!! I had to restart the whole thing because I basically one shot everything with Pikachu... And then I reached the elite 4 and my PP ran out! 😂

And yhea, Brock took ages!! 😂🤣

@FishyS Not very surprising that the demographic is... older... We are the ones who grew up with websites and comment boards. In 20 years time, everyone who still uses TikTok is also old, and the new young 'uns will be doing something new.

@Daniel36 if you grew up with websites I'm guessing I'm a whole different type of old in comparison...

Never bought a Pokémon game. The gameplay never looked that appealing. Played some of the TCG back in the early 2000s after somebody gave me a deck but that didn't last long

@Deljo Well, I wasn't 4 when they came about, but you catch my drift. 40 now myself, so...

1st was Red but my second was Platinum!

My first one was Pokémon Ultra Sun

For the first year or so after Pokémon first hit the USA, I thought it was a dumb fad and had no interest. I think my first exposure to it was the anime, which I didn't like.
The first Pokémon game I can remember playing was Snap at an N64 demo kiosk, probably at Toys R Us. Then I got Stadium, and played the multiplayer games with my brother for a couple of months until we got Red and Yellow, respectively.
I don't really remember why we got Stadium first. I think maybe it was a birthday gift, and then I got Red for Christmas?
After that, my brother and I were obsessed with Pokémon for about four or five years. The shine wore off after Ruby/Sapphire.

Black 2 I think.