Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri and originally developed by Game Freak. The franchise originated on February 27, 1996 with the release of Pokémon Red and Green for the Game Boy in Japan — games built around the concept of catching, training, and battling creatures called Pokémon. The franchise quickly expanded into anime, manga, a trading card game, films, and an enormous merchandise ecosystem, becoming the highest-grossing media franchise in history. In 1998, Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc. jointly founded The Pokémon Company (TPC) to manage the brand, originally as Pokémon Center Co., Ltd. to oversee retail stores in Japan, before rebranding in 2000 to take on full franchise oversight. The Pokémon Company International (TPCi), headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, handles brand management, licensing, marketing, and the Trading Card Game outside of Asia. The franchise spans over 1,000 Pokémon species, multiple generations of video games, one of the best-selling trading card games in the world, and a long-running animated series. Landmark extensions include the global phenomenon Pokémon GO (2016, developed by Niantic), the live-action film Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019), and the Nintendo Switch titles Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. 2026 marks the franchise's 30th anniversary.
