Who created the Pokémon franchise before its 1996 debut?

Satoshi Tajiri created the Pokémon franchise before its 1996 debut. Tajiri developed the original concept from his childhood interest in insect collecting and his fascination with the Game Boy's communication features.

He first proposed the project to Nintendo in the early 1990s. The central idea was to let players collect creatures, raise them, and exchange them with other players through the Game Link Cable. That trading concept became one of Pokémon's defining features.

Tajiri founded Game Freak, the company that developed the first Pokémon games. Artist Ken Sugimori helped shape the creatures' visual designs, while Nintendo published the games. Because several important creators worked on the project, Tajiri is sometimes confused with Sugimori or Shigeru Miyamoto, but Tajiri is credited as Pokémon's creator.

The first games, Pocket Monsters Red and Green, launched in Japan in 1996. Their success turned Tajiri's original collecting idea into a worldwide video-game, animation, card-game, and merchandise franchise.