Who created the Pokémon franchise and first pitched its core concept to Nintendo?

Satoshi Tajiri created the Pokémon franchise and first pitched its core concept to Nintendo.

Tajiri was born in Tokyo in 1965 and developed an early fascination with collecting insects. That childhood interest later became the inspiration for Pokémon's central idea: finding, collecting, trading, and battling creatures. He founded the video game company Game Freak, initially known as a fanzine and later as a game-development studio.

Tajiri presented the Pokémon concept to Nintendo after seeing the possibilities of the Game Boy's link cable. The cable allowed two handheld consoles to exchange data, which suggested a game built around trading creatures between players. Game Freak developed Pokémon Red and Green with Nintendo and Creatures, and the games launched in Japan in 1996.

Tajiri is often confused with other major Pokémon creators. Ken Sugimori led the visual design and artwork, while Junichi Masuda composed music and later held major development roles. Tajiri, however, is credited as the franchise's creator and original concept designer.