Game Freak created the original Pokémon role-playing games.
The Japanese developer began as a self-published video game magazine founded by Satoshi Tajiri in 1983. Illustrator Ken Sugimori later joined the magazine, and Tajiri and Sugimori turned Game Freak into a development company on April 26, 1989.
Game Freak pitched Pocket Monsters to Nintendo and developed the first pair, Pocket Monsters Red and Green, for the Game Boy. The games launched in Japan in 1996 and established the series’ core loop of capturing, training, battling, and trading creatures.
Nintendo published the games, which is why the two companies are sometimes confused. Game Freak was the primary developer, while Nintendo handled publishing and platform support. The studio continued developing the main role-playing series across later generations, while other companies worked on selected remakes and spin-offs.