Who conceived the Pokémon franchise and pitched it to Nintendo?

Satoshi Tajiri conceived the Pokémon franchise and pitched the idea to Nintendo.

Tajiri’s childhood interest in insect collecting inspired the concept of a game filled with creatures that players could find, collect, and trade. As urbanization reduced the insect habitats around him, he imagined giving children a digital version of that collecting experience.

He pitched the concept to Nintendo in 1990. The idea initially seemed ambitious, but Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto recognized its potential and encouraged the project. Tajiri’s development company, Game Freak, then worked with Nintendo on the Game Boy games.

Ken Sugimori, a longtime friend and Game Freak colleague, led much of the visual design, while Junichi Masuda contributed heavily to programming and music. Those collaborators were essential to Pokémon’s creation, but Tajiri is credited as the franchise’s original creator and conceptual founder.