Title: Timeline of Pokémon
Content: February 27: Pocket Monsters Red & Green, the first ever Pokémon games and the primary games of Generation I, first released in Japan for the Game Boy ; June 23: Nintendo 64 first released in Japan ; October 15: Pocket Monsters Blue, upper edition of Pocket Monsters Red & Green, first released in Japan for the Game Boy ; October 20: Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) first released 
Title: Timeline of Pokémon
Content: March 27: Pocket Pikachu released in Japan ; April 23: Pokémon Center Co. Ltd established ; April 25: First ever Pokémon Center, Pokémon Center Tokyo, opened in Tokyo, Japan ; July 18: First ever Pokémon movie, Pokémon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back, first released in Japan ; August 1: Pocket Monsters Stadium (Japanese version), a spinoff game, released in Japan ; September 8: First English dub anime season, Pokémon: Indigo League, released in the United States ; September 12: Pokémon Yellow, upper edition of Pocket Monsters Red & Green (1996), first released in Japan for the Game Boy & Game Boy Color ; September 18: Pokémon Red and Blue, the international version of Pocket Monsters Red & Green (1996) and the first Pokémon games released internationally, released in the United States ; October 21: Game Boy Color first released in Japan ; December 12: Hey You, Pikachu!, a spinoff game, released in Japan for Nintendo 64 ; December 18: Pokémon Trading Card Game for Game Boy released 
Title: Timeline of Pokémon
Content: March 18: Poképark, a theme park, opens in Japan ; July 16: Eighth Pokémon movie, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, first released in Japan ; August 4: Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, a spinoff game, first released in Japan ; September 13: Game Boy Micro first released in Japan ; September 17: Eighth English dub anime season, Pokémon: Advanced Battle, released in the United States ; October 20: Pokémon Trozei!, a spinoff game, first released in Japan for the Nintendo DS ; November 17; Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team, first games in the spinoff Mystery Dungeon series, first released in Japan for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, respectively 
Title: Timeline of Pokémon
Content: January 29: Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, remakes of Pocket Monsters Red and Green (1996) for the Game Boy and first ever remakes, first released in Japan for the Game Boy Advance ; July 17: Seventh Pokémon movie, Destiny Deoxys, first released in Japan ; August 22: First ever Pokémon Trading Game World Championships held ; September 11: Seventh English dub anime season, Pokémon: Advanced Challenge, released in the United States ; September 16: Pokémon Emerald, upper edition of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (2002) and final main games for the Game Boy Advance, first released in Japan for the Game Boy Advance ; November 21: Nintendo DS first released in North America ; December 2: Pokémon Dash, a spinoff game, first released in Japan for the Nintendo DS 
Title: Pokémon (video game series)
Content:  Pokémon (ポケットモンスター) is a series of video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company under the Pokémon media franchise. Created by Satoshi Tajiri with assistance from Ken Sugimori, the first games, Pocket Monsters Red and Green, released in 1996 in Japan for the Game Boy, later released outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue and the main series of role-playing video games (RPGs), referred as the "core series" by their developers,  have continued on each generation of Nintendo's handhelds. The most recently released core series games, Pokémon Sword and Shield, were released worldwide on the Nintendo 
Title: Timeline of Pokémon
Content: January 21: Super Smash Bros. 64, crossover game, first released in Japan for Nintendo 64 ; January 28: Pocket Monsters Episode: Orange Islands Adventures (Orange Islands anime saga of the original series) first aired in Japan ; March 21: Pokémon Snap, a spinoff photography game, first released in Japan ; April 14: Pokémon Pinball, a spinoff game, first released in Japan ; April 30: Pokémon Stadium (known in Japan as Pokémon Stadium 2), a spinoff game, first released in Japan ; July 17: Second Pokémon movie, Pokémon The Movie 2000: The Power of Us, first released in Japan ; October 14: Pocket Monsters Episode: Gold and Silver (Johto anime saga of the original series) first aired in Japan ; December 4: Second English dub anime season, Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands, released in the United States 
Title: Pokémon 25th Anniversary
Content:  The Pokémon franchise began as Pocket Monsters Red and Green (later released outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue) for the Game Boy, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, on February 27, 1996. The Pokémon franchise is divided into groupings known as generations. In each new generation, a new set of Pokémon and a new region are introduced for the first time. The first generation began in Japan with the release of Pocket Monsters Red and Green on February 27, 1996. As of 2021, there are currently eight generations of main series video games. Pokémon has since become the highest-grossing media franchise of 
Title: Timeline of Pokémon
Content: February: Pokémon USA established ; February 27: Fifth anniversary of the Pokémon franchise ; March 21: Game Boy Advance first released in Japan ; July 7: Fourth Pokémon movie, Pokémon 4Ever Celebi: Voice of the Forest, first released in Japan ; August 18: Fourth English dub anime season, Pokémon: Johto League Champions, released in the United States ; September 14: Nintendo GameCube first released in Japan ; October 3: Pokémon Mini first released in Australia ; November 16: Pokemon Center New York opened in New York City ; November 16: Pokémon Puzzle Collection first released in Japan ; November 21: Super Smash Bros. Melee released for the Nintendo GameCube ; December 4: Pokémon Zany Cards, a spinoff for Pokémon Mini, first released in Japan 
Title: Timeline of Pokémon
Content: September 28: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, primary games of Generation IV and first main games for the Nintendo DS, first released in Japan for the Nintendo DS ; September 28: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the Sinnoh anime saga & 3rd Japanese anime series, first released in Japan ; November 19: Nintendo Wii first released in North America ; December 14: Pokémon Battle Revolution, a spinoff game, first released in Japan for the Wii 
Title: Timeline of Pokémon
Content: January 26: Pokémon Crystal (2000), originally released for the Game Boy Color, re-released worldwide for the Nintendo 3DS via Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console ; March 23: Detective Pikachu, spinoff game first released for Nintendo 3DS ; March 28: Twenty-first English dub anime season, Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Adventures, released in the United States ; May 30: Pokémon 2018 Video Game Press Conference announces Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, untitled future core game for Nintendo Switch, spin-off game Pokémon Quest for the Nintendo Switch & mobile devices ; May 30: Pokémon Quest, a spinoff game, released for mobile ; July 13: Twenty-first Pokémon movie, The Power of Us, first released in Japan ; November 16: Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, remakes of Pokémon Yellow (1998) for the Game Boy Color and first main Nintendo Switch games, released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch in celebration of the Twentieth anniversary of Pokémon Yellow (1998) ; December 7: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, crossover game, released for the Nintendo Switch 

Question: when did the first pokemon game come out?
Answer: October 2000.
1996.