Who conceived the original Pokémon concept that became the Game Boy games?

Satoshi Tajiri conceived the original Pokémon concept that became the Game Boy games.

Tajiri drew inspiration from his childhood hobby of collecting insects and exploring nature. As urban development changed his surroundings, he imagined a game that could let children discover and collect creatures digitally. The Game Boy's link cable gave the concept a social feature: players could trade creatures between systems.

Tajiri pitched the idea to Nintendo around 1990. The project was initially known as Capsule Monsters, but trademark problems led to several name changes before Pocket Monsters became the Japanese title. Game Freak then spent years developing the game with Nintendo's support.

Ken Sugimori served as the principal illustrator and finalized the visual designs, while Junichi Masuda composed music and contributed to programming. Shigeru Miyamoto mentored the project and helped shape its version-based structure, but Tajiri remained the concept's originator.