The original English title of the franchise is Pokémon.
The name Pokémon is the internationally used shortened form of the Japanese title Pocket Monsters. The English branding retained the accented é, which helps distinguish the pronunciation and became one of the franchise’s most recognizable visual marks.
In Japan, the games and anime use Pocket Monsters, or Poketto Monsutā, as the longer title. International versions generally adopted Pokémon instead of translating the full phrase. The word refers both to the franchise and to its fictional creatures.
The acute accent is not merely decorative. It was included to guide English-language pronunciation and to give the name a distinctive identity in overseas markets. The spelling remains the same in singular and plural usage: one Pokémon and many Pokémon.
The franchise began with the Japanese Game Boy games Pocket Monsters Red and Green in 1996. Its name then appeared across video games, animation, films, trading cards, manga, merchandise, and mobile titles, helping the brand remain consistent across many forms of media.