Who created the Pokémon video-game concept and designed Pokémon Red and Green?

Satoshi Tajiri created the Pokémon concept and directed the development of Pokémon Red and Green.

Tajiri founded Game Freak, first as a gaming fanzine and later as a video-game development company. His interest in collecting insects and observing creatures helped inspire Pokémon’s central idea: finding, collecting, raising, and exchanging distinctive creatures.

Tajiri pitched the project to Nintendo, where it developed over many years for the Game Boy. The games were produced with important contributions from people including Shigeru Miyamoto, composer Junichi Masuda, and illustrator Ken Sugimori, but Tajiri is credited as the creator and director of the original games.

Sugimori is therefore a common alternative answer, because he created much of the original artwork and finalized many Pokémon designs. Masuda later became a major director and composer, but neither replaced Tajiri as the franchise’s original creator.