What Japanese name was used for the Pokémon franchise?

The Pokémon franchise was originally known in Japanese as Pocket Monsters.

The Japanese title is Poketto Monsutā, written as ポケットモンスター. The shortened international name Pokémon was derived from this phrase and uses an acute accent to show the intended pronunciation of the final syllable.

The original Japanese games were titled Pocket Monsters Red and Green. The anime and many early products also used Pocket Monsters in their Japanese branding, while international releases adopted Pokémon as the global name.

The name is sometimes mistaken for a description created by overseas translators, but Pocket Monsters was the original franchise title. The English word Pokémon became so recognizable that it eventually replaced the longer phrase in most international markets. The accent in Pokémon is part of the official spelling and helps distinguish the brand’s pronunciation from the ordinary English word “pokemon.”