Who is credited with creating the Pokémon video-game series?

Satoshi Tajiri is credited with creating the Pokémon video-game series.

Tajiri founded Game Freak, the Japanese video-game company that developed the original Pokémon titles. His childhood interest in collecting insects helped inspire the idea of creatures that players could find, collect, and exchange. The concept also drew on the link cable of the Game Boy, which allowed players to trade creatures between systems.

Ken Sugimori was also central to the series, but in a different role: he created much of the original Pokémon artwork and character design. Shigeru Miyamoto, a major Nintendo designer, served as an important adviser during development, while Junichi Masuda later became a leading composer, director, and producer.

The first Pokémon games took many years to develop. Tajiri’s original concept evolved through repeated technical and creative changes before Pocket Monsters Red and Green reached Japanese stores in 1996. That long development period makes the series’ eventual worldwide success particularly notable.