Who co-founded Game Freak with Satoshi Tajiri before Pokémon became famous?

Ken Sugimori co-founded Game Freak with Satoshi Tajiri.

Sugimori first encountered Tajiri through the Game Freak gaming magazine, which Tajiri had created and edited. Sugimori joined as an illustrator, and the two later transformed the magazine project into a video-game development company.

Game Freak was formally incorporated in Tokyo on April 26, 1989. Sugimori became the company’s principal artist and played a crucial role in defining Pokémon’s visual identity. He drew and finalized much of the original roster of 151 Pokémon.

Sugimori is sometimes described only as Pokémon’s illustrator, but his work extended beyond artwork. He served as character designer, art director, director, and co-director on multiple Game Freak projects. Junichi Masuda was another major early contributor, especially in music and programming, but he was not Tajiri’s co-founder of Game Freak.