Who created the Pokémon franchise and originated its first video games?

Satoshi Tajiri created the Pokémon franchise and originated its first video games.

Tajiri grew up collecting insects, an interest that helped inspire Pokémon’s collecting theme. He later founded Game Freak, first as a video game fanzine and eventually as a game development company. His early work connected him with Nintendo and led to the proposal for a creature-collecting role-playing game.

The original concept took advantage of the Game Boy’s Link Cable. Tajiri imagined players exchanging creatures between systems, turning a technical accessory into a social feature. Development of the first games lasted several years and involved a much larger team than the initial concept suggested.

Ken Sugimori created much of the artwork and character design, while other collaborators handled programming, music, and production. Those contributors are sometimes mistakenly credited as the sole creator, but Tajiri is the person recognized as Pokémon’s creator. His concept became Pocket Monsters Red and Green, released in Japan in 1996.