What working title did Satoshi Tajiri initially give the Pokémon project?

Satoshi Tajiri initially gave the Pokémon project the working title Capsule Monsters.

The concept grew from Tajiri's interest in collecting insects and from the possibilities of Nintendo's Game Boy Link Cable. He imagined players finding creatures, raising them, and exchanging them with one another rather than simply completing a conventional single-player adventure.

The name later changed because Capsule Monsters could not be trademarked. The project became Pocket Monsters, which was shortened to Pokémon for international branding. The accented é helped guide pronunciation in overseas markets.

Capsule Monsters is therefore an early development name, not an alternate title used for the finished games. The released Japanese products were called Pocket Monsters Red and Green, while the international games used Pokémon in their titles.