Satoshi Tajiri created Pokémon from childhood memories of insect collecting, founding Game Freak and designing one of the most successful media franchises in history.
Bug collecting became monster catching. Tajiri’s childhood hobby of collecting insects in rural Japan inspired Pokémon’s core loop. He imagined creatures travelling between Game Boys via the link cable. After six years of development that nearly bankrupted Game Freak, Pokémon Red and Green launched in Japan—slowly building into a global phenomenon.