Who created the Pokémon franchise, including the concept behind the original games?

Satoshi Tajiri created the Pokémon franchise and its original game concept.

As a child, Tajiri enjoyed collecting insects, an experience that inspired Pokémon’s central idea of finding, collecting, and exchanging creatures. Seeing the Game Boy’s link-cable technology helped him imagine players trading creatures between handheld systems.

Tajiri pitched the project to Nintendo, and development of Pokémon Red and Green took about six years. Shigeru Miyamoto acted as an important mentor during production, while Ken Sugimori became the artist associated with the original Pokémon designs.

Tajiri remained involved with Game Freak and later Pokémon projects, although his role changed over time. The franchise’s concept therefore came from Tajiri, while many other creators shaped its art, programming, publishing, and later media.