Which company manages the Pokémon franchise and was established in its current form in 2000?

The Pokémon Company manages the Pokémon franchise and was established in its current form in 2000.

The organization was originally founded in 1998 as Pokémon Center Co., Ltd., primarily to operate Pokémon Center retail stores in Japan. It was later restructured and renamed The Pokémon Company, becoming the central business organization for licensing, marketing, and franchise management.

The company is jointly associated with Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the three companies most closely connected with the Pokémon video games. Its responsibilities extend across video games, trading cards, animation, merchandise, licensing, and international brand operations.

The Pokémon Company is not the same thing as Game Freak, which develops many main-series games, or Nintendo, which publishes and owns important rights. The distinction matters because Pokémon is a coordinated multimedia franchise rather than a property operated by only one studio.