is a Japanese media franchise consisting of video games, animated series and films, a trading card game, and other related media. The franchise takes place in a shared universe in which humans co-exist with the eponymous creatures, a large variety of species endowed with special powers. The franchise's primary target audience is children aged 5 to 12, but it is known to attract people of all ages. Pokémon is estimated to be the world's highest-grossing media franchise, with the video games in particular being among the best-selling.
The franchise originated as a pair of role-playing games developed by Game Freak, from an original concept by its founder, Satoshi Tajiri. Released on the Game Boy on 27 February 1996, the games became sleeper hits and were followed by manga series, a trading card game, and anime series and films. From 1998 to 2000, Pokémon was exported to the rest of the world, creating an unprecedented global phenomenon dubbed "Pokémania". By 2002, the craze had ended, after which Pokémon became a fixture in popular culture, with new products releasing to this day. In 2016, the franchise spawned a second craze with the release of the AR game Pokémon Go, developed by Niantic.
The franchise is managed by the Pokémon Company (TPC), which was established in 2000 by the joint owners of the franchise: original video game series publisher Nintendo, Trading Card Game developer Creatures, and Game Freak. The three companies also own the anime series alongside TV Tokyo, ShoPro, and JR Kikaku, and Pikachu Project, a joint venture between The Pokémon Company, TV Tokyo, and ShoPro, owns the anime films. Since 2009, The Pokémon Company International (TPCi), a subsidiary of TPC, has managed the franchise in all regions outside Asia.
Name The original full name of the franchise is , which has been commonly abbreviated to since its launch. When the franchise was released internationally, the short form of the title was used, with an acute accent (´) over the e to aid in pronunciation.
Pokémon refers to both the franchise itself and the eponymous creatures. As a noun, it is identical in both the singular and plural, as is every individual species name. Thus, it is grammatically correct to say "one Pokémon" and "many Pokémon", as well as "one Pikachu" and "many Pikachu".
General concept
The Pokémon franchise takes place in a shared universe in which humans co-exist with creatures known as Pokémon. The original pair of games feature 151 Pokémon species, with new ones being added in subsequent games; as of early 2026, 1,025 Pokémon species have been introduced. Most Pokémon are based on real-life animals or mythical creatures from folklore. For example, Pikachu are a yellow, mouse-like species with tails shaped as lightning bolts, able to blast powerful electric charges through the air.Ruby and Emerald Pokédex entries on Pikachu:
The player character takes the role of a Pokémon Trainer. The Trainer has three primary aims: travel and explore the Pokémon world; discover and catch a specimen of each Pokémon species in order to complete their Pokédex; and train a team of Pokémon and have them engage in battles.Pokémon Diamond and Pearl instruction booklets. Nintendo of America. 2007. p. 5. Archived (1, 2) from the original on 29 August 2025. "OBJECT OF THE GAME ● Set out for adventure in the Sinnoh region! The Sinnoh region is filled with many strange and mysterious wonders. Your adventure will mature you as a trainer and have you cross paths with many people. (...) ● Catch Many Different Pokémon! Your goal is to complete your Pokédex by collecting lots of different kinds of Pokémon. (...) ● Become the Best Trainer Ever! Another goal is to improve your skills as a Pokémon Trainer."Pokémon Black and White instruction booklets. Nintendo of America. 2011. p. 8. Archived (1, 2) from the original on 5 September 2025. "OBJECT OF THE GAME ⬡ Set Out for Adventure in the Unova Region! In the massive Unova region, you will find everything from a sprawling metropolis, lined with skyscrapers, to a vast wilderness, full of greenery. The ultimate goal of your adventure is to cross paths with many people and cooperate with Pokémon to shine as a Pokémon Trainer. ⬡ Meet and Catch Many Different Pokémon! Something to work toward in the game is to complete your Unova Pokédex by meeting and catching as many different kinds of Pokémon as you can. (...) ⬡ Become the Best Trainer Ever! Also, you'll want to improve your skills as a Pokémon Trainer." Most Pokémon can be caught with spherical devices known as Poké Balls. Once the opposing Pokémon is sufficiently weakened, the Trainer throws the Poké Ball against the Pokémon, which is then transformed into a form of energy and transported into the device. If the catch is successful, the Pokémon is tamed and under the Trainer's command from then on. If the Poké Ball is thrown again, the Pokémon re-materializes into its original state. The Trainer's Pokémon can engage in battles against opposing Pokémon, including those in the wild or owned by other Trainers. Because the franchise is aimed at children, these battles are never presented as overtly violent and contain no blood or gore. Pokémon never die in battle – they faint upon being defeated, and can then be rejuvenated at a Pokémon Center.
History
Origins
The main idea behind Pokémon was conceived by Satoshi Tajiri. Tajiri was born on 28 August 1965, and grew up in Machida, a suburb of Tokyo.. As a child, he enjoyed discovering and catching insects and other small creatures in the various ponds and fields that surrounded his town. (Translation) During Japan's economic miracle, many cities, including Machida, were significantly expanded. As a consequence, Machida's nature was largely destroyed. In his second year of junior high school,. an arcade hall opened in Tajiri's neighborhood, introducing him to video games. While studying electrical engineering at , Tajiri began publishing a doujinshi magazine titled Game Freak. The title was inspired by the 1932 film Freaks, which Tajiri was fascinated with at the time. He self-published the first issue of the magazine in March 1983, at the age of 17.. At the time, magazines specializing in video games did not yet exist in Japan, allowing Game Freak to fill a gap in the market.: "当時は、現在のようなゲー厶情報が掲載された専門の雑誌はまだ存在していなかった。だからこそ、それを豆本なり小冊子なりにまとめてやれば、ゲー厶プレイヤーたちからの大きな需要があるだろう、と考えたのだ。" ["At that time, magazines specializing in gaming did not yet exist as they do today. Therefore, he figured there would be a great demand among gamers for a kind of pamphlet or small book with gaming information."] "当時はTVゲームの攻略法を解説した雑誌など皆無だった。『ゲームフリーク』は全国のTVゲームファンに口コミで拡がり、定期購読者を増やしていった。読者からの攻略法のリクエストも殺到した。" ["At that time, there were no magazines that explained video game strategies. "Game Freak" spread by word of mouth among video game fans nationwide, and the number of subscribers grew. Requests for game strategies from readers also started pouring in."] Sometime later, Tajiri was contacted by aspiring manga artist Ken Sugimori, who became Game Freaks illustrator.. Game Freak folded in the late 1980s, by which point Tajiri had become a respected game journalist in Japan's fledgling video game industry.. Through his work, Tajiri befriended Tsunekazu Ishihara, a Japanese business man who, among other things, produced game-related shows for Fuji Television...
In 1986, Tajiri, Sugimori, and a few other enthusiasts started an informal development team called Game Freak, named after the magazine it grew out of. Over the next few years, they independently developed the puzzle game Quinty, working on it alongside school or their regular jobs.. However, no one within the group knew how to make the game's music. After consulting all his contacts, Tajiri got in touch with Junichi Masuda, who became the group's composer.. Quinty was finished in 1989, and published by Namco.. Tajiri officially incorporated Game Freak Co., Ltd. on 26 April 1989.
1989–1995: Development of Red and Green
Tajiri started to think of what was to become Pokémon while completing Quinty, and before he officially founded Game Freak. Around this time, Nintendo announced the upcoming release of the Game Boy, a handheld console that would revolutionize the gaming industry. Tajiri learned that the device would have a link port, and with the corresponding Game Link Cable, two Game Boys could be linked together.. Sometime later, Tajiri remembered an incident while playing Dragon Quest II (1987), a role-playing game (RPG) for the Famicom (NES). The game features randomly appearing items of varying rarity, including an extremely rare item called Mysterious Hat. Tajiri did not encounter any, while Ken Sugimori, who was also playing the game, encountered two. Upon recalling this experience, Tajiri realized that the cable now made it possible to transfer things from one cartridge to another. He noted that, until then, the Game Link Cable was only used for competing, but not for something else.. Combining this inspiration with his memories of catching insects and other small species, Tajiri's idea would eventually evolve into a virtual recreation of his boyhood experiences,. and an attempt to "regain the world that he had lost".: "つまり、ゲームを知った日を境界線として、田尻のゲームを知るまでの世界は永遠に失われたわけですが、その失われた世界を、ゲームを知った後の田尻はもう一度取り戻そうとして、ポケモンを作り出したのでした。" ["In other words, the world Tajiri knew up to the day he learned about games was lost forever. But after that, Tajiri tried to regain the world that he had lost by creating Pokemon."] He would later state that the game represents "the story of a boy's summer day"..
Tajiri and his Game Freak staff began pondering over a game centered on capturing creatures of differing rarity. Since the Game Boy is a portable device, these creatures could then be exchanged with other players in real life using the link cable. Once the player has caught a creature in-game, it was to be stored in miniaturized form in a special capsule. This facet of the game was inspired by Ultraseven, a tokusatsu show that Tajiri had enjoyed as a child. The series' titular character owns a number of capsules containing miniaturized kaiju (monsters), which come out and return to their original sizes when the capsule is thrown into mid-air. Kaiju media in general were an important influence on Pokemon, as many Game Freak staff members had grown up with them. (Translation) Other influences that have been cited by Tajiri include: gashapon, capsules with toy figures in them that can be drawn from vending machines; (Translation). collectible cards, such as baseball cards, Ultraman cards and menko; The Final Fantasy Legend (1989), the first RPG for the Game Boy; (Translation) and pet culture in Japan, with Tajiri noting that having Pokemon is similar to having pets.. Tajiri initially named his project Capsule Monsters, which Game Freak's staff commonly shortened to Capumon. However, it later turned out that the term Capsule Monsters could not be trademarked, and it was subsequently decided to call the game Pocket Monsters, which became Pokemon...