Who created Pokémon as a video game franchise?

Satoshi Tajiri created Pokémon as a video game franchise. He founded Game Freak, the company that developed the original Pokémon games, and drew on his childhood interest in collecting insects for the series concept.

Tajiri and his Game Freak colleagues pitched the project to Nintendo. The idea centered on capturing creatures, training them, and exchanging them with other players through the Game Boy's Link Cable. Nintendo supported the project, while Creatures later became a major partner in the franchise.

The first games, Pocket Monsters Red and Green, were developed for the Game Boy and released in Japan in 1996. Ken Sugimori created the original artwork, and Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto advised on the games, but Tajiri is credited as Pokémon's creator. Junichi Masuda later became one of the franchise's most important directors and composers.