Who co-founded Game Freak with Satoshi Tajiri?

Ken Sugimori co-founded Game Freak with Satoshi Tajiri.

Sugimori first joined Tajiri’s self-published Game Freak video-game magazine as an illustrator. The pair later transformed the magazine into a video-game development company, formally establishing Game Freak in 1989.

Sugimori became the company’s principal artist and served as character designer and art director for the Pokémon franchise. He drew and finalized most of the original 151 Pokémon, working with other designers including Atsuko Nishida, Motofumi Fujiwara, Shigeki Morimoto, and Satoshi Ota.

Sugimori is sometimes described only as Pokémon’s illustrator, but his role was broader. He helped found the developer, directed art across major games, and later co-directed several Pokémon titles. Tsunekazu Ishihara and Junichi Masuda were important contributors to the franchise, but neither co-founded Game Freak with Tajiri.