Pokémon[a] (English: /ˈpoʊkɪˌmɒn, -ki-, -keɪ-/),[1][2][3] also known as Pocket Monsters[b] in Japan, is a media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, a Japanese consortium between Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures.[4] The franchise copyright is shared by all three companies, but Nintendo is the sole owner of the trademark.[5] The franchise was created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1995,[6] and is centered on fictional creatures called "Pokémon", which humans, known as Pokémon Trainers, catch and train to battle each other for sport. The English slogan for the franchise is "Gotta Catch 'Em All".[7][8] Works within the franchise are set in the Pokémon universe. The franchise began as Pokémon Red and Green (later released outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue), a pair of video games for the original Game Boy that were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo in February 1996. It soon became a media mix franchise adapted into various different media.[9] Pokémon has since gone on to become the highest-grossing media franchise of all time,[10][11][12] with $90 billion in total franchise revenue.[13][14] The original video game series is the second best-selling video game franchise (behind Nintendo's Mario franchise)[15] with more than 340 million copies sold[16] and 1 billion mobile downloads,[17] and it spawned a hit anime television series that has become the most successful video game adaptation[18] with over 20 seasons and 1,000 episodes in 169 countries.
