Which company manages Pokémon franchise licensing and merchandise?

The Pokémon Company manages Pokémon franchise licensing and merchandise. It coordinates much of the brand’s business across games, cards, animation, products, and promotional partnerships.

The company’s ownership structure connects Nintendo, Creatures, and Game Freak, the three businesses most closely associated with the core franchise. The organization was established in 1998 as Pokémon Center Co., Ltd. and was later restructured and renamed The Pokémon Company in 2000.

The Pokémon Company is not the same as Game Freak. Game Freak develops the main role-playing games, while Creatures has been involved in areas such as the Trading Card Game and Pokémon CG production. Nintendo publishes or supports many Pokémon products and owns important rights, but it is not the sole operational manager of every franchise activity.

Outside Asia, The Pokémon Company International handles the brand in many regions. This division helps explain why Pokémon’s games, cards, shows, and merchandise can be coordinated globally despite having different developers and publishers.