What was Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri’s original working title for the project?

Satoshi Tajiri originally called the Pokémon project Capsule Monsters.

Tajiri began imagining the concept during the development of Game Freak's early work. The idea centered on collecting creatures inside capsules and releasing them to battle, a concept that later became the Poké Ball system.

The title changed during development because Capsule Monsters could not be trademarked. The project went through forms such as CapuMon and KapuMon before settling on Pocket Monsters, the Japanese name that became Pokémon in international branding.

The concept also drew on Tajiri's childhood interest in insect collecting. The Game Boy's link cable gave the project an important additional feature: players could exchange creatures between two systems. That combination of collecting, discovery, and communication became central to Pokémon's identity.