Pokémon
Pokémon began with Satoshi Tajiri's childhood insect collecting in suburban Tokyo, and the original design intent shows: the games are about finding, keeping and trading creatures rather than about combat. The trading was the commercial masterstroke — releasing two versions with different exclusive creatures made the physical link cable, and therefore other children, a required part of completing the game.
About Pokémon
Pokémon began with Satoshi Tajiri's childhood insect collecting in suburban Tokyo, and the original design intent shows: the games are about finding, keeping and trading creatures rather than about combat. The trading was the commercial masterstroke — releasing two versions with different exclusive creatures made the physical link cable, and therefore other children, a required part of completing the game. By total revenue across games, cards, animation and merchandise, Pokémon is generally reported as the highest-grossing media franchise ever created, ahead of any film or comics property.
The two-version release strategy was deliberate: it made trading with other players necessary to complete the collection.
Rights holder: The Pokémon Company (Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures Inc.). CharacterTshirts.com is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with, authorized by, endorsed by, or connected to any character rights holder, publisher, studio or network named on this site. All character names and titles are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to identify the products described.
Key eras
| Era | Years | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | 1996–1999 | Red and Green in Japan, then the animated series and global release. |
| Expansion | 2000–2015 | Successive generations widen the roster past a thousand creatures. |
| Mainstream | 2016– | Pokémon GO brings the franchise to a mass non-gaming audience. |