Who created the Pokémon video game series with assistance from Ken Sugimori?

Satoshi Tajiri created the Pokémon video game series with assistance from Ken Sugimori.

Tajiri founded Game Freak, first as a video game magazine and later as a development studio. His childhood interest in collecting insects helped inspire Pokémon's central idea of finding, collecting, and exchanging creatures.

The Game Boy's Link Cable was especially important to the concept. Tajiri imagined players transferring creatures between systems, turning a technical feature into a social collecting mechanic. Nintendo approved the project, and Game Freak spent years developing it.

Ken Sugimori contributed key artwork and character designs, while Nintendo published the games. Junichi Masuda composed the music and helped with programming, but he was not the series creator. Tajiri's original concept eventually became Pocket Monsters Red and Green, released in Japan in 1996.