Who created the Pokémon concept?

Satoshi Tajiri created the Pokémon concept.

Tajiri grew up collecting insects, and that hobby helped inspire a game about finding, collecting and trading creatures. He presented the concept to Nintendo after establishing Game Freak with artist Ken Sugimori.

The original project was known in Japan as Pocket Monsters. Tajiri served as the designer of Pokémon Red and Green, while Sugimori created the distinctive artwork and other collaborators handled programming, music and production.

The idea took years to develop because the games required a link-cable trading system and ambitious creature data for the Game Boy. Tajiri’s collecting concept became the foundation for the games, anime, trading-card game and merchandise that followed.