Who created the original Pokémon concept and served as the designer of the first games?

Satoshi Tajiri created the original Pokémon concept and served as the designer of the first games.

Tajiri grew up collecting insects, an interest that helped inspire Pokémon’s central idea of finding and collecting creatures. He imagined a game in which players could exchange creatures through Nintendo’s Game Link Cable, turning a technical accessory into a social part of the adventure.

Tajiri founded Game Freak, which began as a video-game magazine and became a development studio. He directed the original Pokémon games, while artists, programmers, composers, and producers helped turn the concept into a finished Game Boy project.

Ken Sugimori is often confused with Tajiri because Sugimori created much of the original artwork and Pokémon character designs. Shigeru Miyamoto was an important Nintendo producer associated with the project, but he did not create the Pokémon concept. Tajiri’s collecting-and-trading idea became the foundation of the franchise’s name and gameplay.