Who created the Pokémon concept that became the franchise celebrated in 2026?

Satoshi Tajiri created the Pokémon concept that became the franchise celebrated in 2026.

Tajiri founded Game Freak and conceived Pokémon after developing an interest in collecting insects as a child. He imagined creatures that players could capture, train, and exchange with one another through the Game Boy’s Link Cable.

The original games were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. Tajiri served as director of the first Pokémon games, while Ken Sugimori created much of the visual artwork and Junichi Masuda worked on programming, music, and later direction.

Tajiri’s collecting idea became the central design principle behind Pokémon. Trading was not merely an optional feature: different versions contained exclusive creatures, encouraging players to connect their games. The franchise expanded from video games into animation, films, cards, merchandise, and mobile games, but the original collecting-and-trading concept remains its foundation.