Editing Pokémon (section)

===1989–1995: Development of ''Red'' and ''Green''===
{{Further|Pokémon Red and Blue#Development}}
[[File:Duo gameboy.JPG|thumb|Two original [[Game Boy]]s connected with a [[Game Link Cable]]]]
<!-- First inspiration -->
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 [[Computer port (hardware)|link port]], and with the corresponding [[Game Link Cable]], two Game Boys could be linked together.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=484}}.</ref> 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.{{efn|In ''[[Dragon Quest II]]'', the item is called ふしぎなぼうし, ''Fushigina Bōshi'', i.e. Mysterious Hat. The Japanese ''Pokemon'' RPGs feature an item called ふしぎなアメ, ''Fushigina Ame'', i.e. Mysterious Candy. This item raises the level of a Pokemon by one. In the English games, it is called Rare Candy.}} 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.{{efn-ur|Attributed to multiple references:<ref>{{Cite book | first=Satoshi | last=Tajiri | title=新ゲームデザイン | trans-title=New Game Design | date=1 December 1995 | publisher=[[Enix]] | page=156}} ([https://archive.today/20250207171259/https://lavacutcontent.com/satoshi-tajiri-new-game-design/ Translation])</ref><ref name="Encylo_p140">{{Cite book | title=Pocket Monsters Encyclopedia | date=5 April 1996 | publisher=[[:ja:アスペクト (企業)|Aspect]] | page=140 | isbn=978-4893664945 | ref={{harvid|Pocket Monsters Encyclopedia|1996}}}} ([https://archive.today/20220706223226/https://lavacutcontent.com/satoshi-tajiri-pokedex-interview/ Translation])</ref><ref>{{Harvp|Tomisawa|2000|p=20-21}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvp|Interview with Satoshi Tajiri|2004}}. Event occurs at 28:04 – 29:54.</ref>}} He noted that, until then, the Game Link Cable was only used for competing, but not for something else.<ref>{{Harvp|Pokemon Business Study Group|1998|p=35}}.</ref> 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,<ref>{{Harvp|Tomisawa|2000|p=23}}.</ref> and an attempt to "regain the world that he had lost".<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=133-135}}: "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."]</ref> He would later state that the game represents "the story of a boy's summer day".<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=316}}.</ref>

[[File:Gachapon.jpg|thumb|''[[Gashapon]]'' capsules have been cited as an inspiration for ''Pokemon''.]]
<!-- Further influences, name is coined (*without* acute accent) -->
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.<ref name="Tajiri_Time_interview">{{Cite web <!-- Citation bot bypass; this article is online exclusive. --> | first1=Tim | last1=Larimer | first2=Takashi | last2=Yokota | title=The Ultimate Game Freak | format=online exclusive | website=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=22 November 1999 | url=https://content.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,2040095,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421073919/http://content.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,2040095,00.html | archive-date=21 April 2017 | url-status=live | quote=Ultraman with his capsule monsters—they all became ingredients for the game.}}</ref> [[Ultraseven (character)|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.<ref name="Encylo_p140" /><ref>{{Cite book | first1=Hidekuni | last1=Shida | first2=Tomoo | last2=Matsui | title=ゲーム・マエストロ〈VOL.4〉デザイナー/イラストレーター編 | trans-title=Game Maestro, Volume 4: Designers/Illustrators | date=1 May 2001 | publisher=Mainichi Communications | isbn=978-4839903879}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20191109024601/https://shmuplations.com/pokemon/ Translation])</ref> Other influences that have been cited by Tajiri include: ''[[gashapon]]'', capsules with toy figures in them that can be drawn from vending machines;<ref>{{Harvp|Miya|Tajiri|2004|p=130}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160916211112/http://www.glitterberri.com/pokemon-red-blue/early-concept-art/2/ Translation])</ref><ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=75-76}}.</ref> [[collectible card]]s, such as [[baseball card]]s, ''[[Ultraman]]'' cards and ''[[menko]]'';{{efn-ur|Attributed to multiple references:<ref>{{Harvp|Tajiri|1995|p=154 + 155}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title=開発スタッフインタビュー/ゲーム内容が決まるまで | trans-title=Interview with development staff / Making the Game | work=Nintendo Online Magazine | publisher=nintendo.co.jp | date=July 2000 | url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0007/gfreak/page01.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021215234444/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0007/gfreak/page01.html | archive-date=15 December 2002 | url-status=dead}} ([https://archive.today/20241218191437/https://lavacutcontent.com/sugimori-masuda-developer-interview/ Translation])</ref><ref>{{Harvp|Pokemon Business Study Group|1998|p=112}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=43 + 136}}.</ref>}} ''[[The Final Fantasy Legend]]'' (1989), the first RPG for the Game Boy;<ref name="taidan1_page02">{{Cite web | title=スペシャル対談： 田尻智さん（ゲームフリーク）VS 石原恒和さん（クリーチャーズ）対談 — 2ページ目 | trans-title=Interview: Satoshi Tajiri (Game Freak) vs. Tsunekazu Ishihara (Creatures) — Page 2 | work=Nintendo Online Magazine | publisher=nintendo.co.jp | date=July 2000 | url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0007/taidan1/page02.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030410091045/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0007/taidan1/page02.html | archive-date=10 April 2003 | url-status=dead}} ([https://archive.today/20250207172452/https://lavacutcontent.com/ishihara-satoshi-tajiri-interview/ Translation])</ref> and [[Pet culture in Japan|petting in Japan]], with Tajiri noting that having Pokemon is similar to having pets.<ref>{{Harvp|Tomisawa|2000|p=70}}.</ref> Tajiri initially named his project ''Capsule Monsters'', which GF's staff [[Japanese abbreviated and contracted words|commonly shortened]] to ''Capumon''.<ref name="Tomisawa_(2000)_p65-66">{{Harvp|Tomisawa|2000|p=65-66}}.</ref> 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''. Former GF staff member Akihito Tomisawa wrote that the phrase "Capsule Monsters" was already registered.<ref name="Tomisawa_(2000)_p65-66" /> According to journalist Kenji Hatakeyama, the word "capsule" could not be used in the trademark.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=99-101}}.</ref> Tomisawa wrote that the Game Freak staff then came up with several alternatives, before someone within the team suggested "Pocket Monsters".<ref name="Tomisawa_(2000)_p65-66" />

<!-- Tajiri brings the idea to Ape and Nintendo -->
In March 1989, Nintendo co-founded Ape, Inc. with Itoi. Ape's principal work was ''[[Mother (video game)|Mother]]'' (1989), a role-playing game written by Itoi, but it was also founded with the intent to give outside talent a chance to pitch new, innovative games.<ref name="Tomisawa_(2000)_p30" /><ref name="Kawaguchi_interview" /> At the time, Ape was housed in the same [[Kanda-Sudachō]] office building as Nintendo, located in Tokyo.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=77-78}}.</ref> Ishihara, a friend of both Itoi and Tajiri, was involved with Ape's management (and would become its vice-president in 1991).<ref name="Tomisawa_(2000)_p30" /><ref name="Hatakeyama_Kubo_(2000)_p97-98" /> Tajiri's relationship with Ishihara prompted Tajiri to present his idea for ''Pocket Monsters'' at Ape's office.<ref name="taidan2_page01">{{Cite web | title=スペシャル対談/後編1・田尻さんと石原さんの6年 | trans-title=Special Conversation, page 1 – Six years of Mr. Tajiri and Mr. Ishihara | work=Nintendo Online Magazine | publisher=nintendo.co.jp | date=July 2000 | url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0007/taidan2/page01.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030205164821/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0007/taidan2/page01.html | archive-date=5 February 2003 | url-status=dead}} ([https://archive.today/20250207172452/https://lavacutcontent.com/ishihara-satoshi-tajiri-interview/ Translation])</ref><ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=97-99}}.</ref> Present during Tajiri's pitch was Takashi Kawaguchi, who worked at Nintendo's General Affairs Department and was also a manager at Ape.<ref name="Kawaguchi_interview" /><ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=15 + 96}}.</ref> Kawaguchi brought the idea to Nintendo president [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]], who reportedly said: "This is it. This is the idea I've been waiting for."<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=97}}.</ref> By pure coincidence, Ishihara had come up with an idea for a game similar to that of Tajiri, and around the same time was discussing it with Ape. This game, ''Toto'', involved "using the Game Boy as an insect cage". Ishihara emphasized, however, that the idea of trading creatures with the link cable was Tajiri's. GF and Ape agreed to merge their projects together.<ref name="Tomisawa_(2000)_p31-32">{{Harvp|Tomisawa|2000|p=31-32}}.</ref> According to Tajiri, the two teams initially collaborated on the game, but the work proved difficult, one of the reasons being that Ape was busy developing ''[[EarthBound]]''.<ref name="Miya_Tajiri_(2004)_p104">{{Harvp|Miya|Tajiri|2004|p=104}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=487}}.</ref> Tajiri eventually figured that "rather than working with Ape, we had to do something on our own, or the project would never get finished".<ref name="Miya_Tajiri_(2004)_p104" /> Ape, Inc. is not credited on the final product.

<!-- Initial development phase and suspension, GF works on other games -->
The development contract was signed at the beginning of 1990, with a planned delivery of the game in October.<ref name="Tomisawa_(2000)_p32-33">{{Harvp|Tomisawa|2000|p=32-33}}.</ref> Tajiri directed the project, working under Ishihara.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=102}}.</ref> Ishihara was the producer – he managed the budget, staff, and work schedule, monitored the game's overall progress, and served as a liaison between Game Freak and Nintendo.<ref name="Tomisawa_(2000)_p31-32" /><ref>{{Harvp|Pokemon Business Study Group|1998|p=43}}.</ref> Ishihara also contributed ideas to the development,<ref name="Masuda_2019_interview" /> and helped with [[debugging]].<ref>{{Cite web | title=Secrets of Pokémon: How A Game Captured The World's Kids | date=8 February 2000 | website=ABC News | publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] | url=http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/pokemon_000208_chat.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817051831/http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/pokemon_000208_chat.html | archive-date=17 August 2000 | url-status=dead | quote=Exeggutor is my favorite. That's because I was always using this character while I was debugging the program.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | first=Takashi | last=Mochizuki | title=How Pokémon Became a Monster Hit | date=21 September 2016 | work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] (Online) | url=http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-pokemon-became-a-monster-hit-1474437211 | url-access=subscription | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004202141/http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-pokemon-became-a-monster-hit-1474437211 | archive-date=4 October 2016 | url-status=live | quote=Mr. Ishihara said that Exeggutor became his friend while he checked the programming of the game, and together they explored many places within it and captured characters.}}</ref> Sugimori was in charge of the graphics and character design.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=105-106}}.</ref> Masuda created all music and sound effects, and did part of the programming.<ref>{{Harvp|Tomisawa|2000|p=74 + 76–77}}.</ref> The budget that Nintendo granted to Game Freak was low;<ref name="Tomisawa_(2000)_p32-33" /> thus, ''Pocket Monsters'' was initially planned as a small, compact game, based primarily around Tajiri's core idea of exchanging.<ref name="taidan1_page02" /><ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=488}}.</ref> However, as development progressed, GF's ideas and ambitions for ''Pokemon'' grew.<ref name="taidan1_page02" /> They soon realized that the game they were beginning to envision would not be easy to make. Sugimori admitted that, at the time, no one at GF had much knowledge of RPGs. "We thought we could handle it, but as we began working, we realized it was going to be tough", he acknowledged.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=108}}.</ref> ''Pocket Monsters'' was suspended indefinitely, and GF turned their focus on other titles (see {{Section link|Game Freak|Games}}).

<!-- Development restarts, Pikachu is designed -->
After the game's initial development phase in 1990 and 1991,<ref>{{Harvp|Kawaguchi interview|2000}}: "最初の1年半くらいは田尻くんが試作などを持ってきていたんですが、そのうちパッタリととだえてしまった。" ("For the first year and a half, Tajiri-kun brought in prototypes, but then he stopped working on it.")</ref> the staff "tinkered with it from time to time", as Sugimori put it.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=118}}.</ref> For instance, by October 1992, a large number of Pokemon had been designed, and a poll was held that month among all staff members to gauge the popularity of the different species. Several more such votes followed to determine collectively which Pokemon should be included.<ref>{{Harvp|Tomisawa|2000|p=106-107}}.</ref> Still, development had mostly come to a halt until the summer of 1994, after the release of the platform game ''[[Pulseman]]'', upon which Tajiri decided it was time to make a serious effort towards finishing ''Pocket Monsters''.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=131}}.</ref> By this point, Game Freak's experience had grown considerably. Over the years, a number of new staff members had been added to the company. One of them was [[Atsuko Nishida]], a graphic artist who created [[Pikachu]], among others.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Atsuko Nishida interview | year=1997 | website=gamefreak.co.jp | url=http://www.gamefreak.co.jp/POKEMON/INTER/ATSUKO/INTER_AT.HTM | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980121112202/http://www.gamefreak.co.jp/POKEMON/INTER/ATSUKO/INTER_AT.HTM | archive-date=21 January 1998 | url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title=Creator Profile: The Creators of Pikachu | date=26 July 2018 | website=pokemon.com | url=https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/creator-profile-the-creators-of-pikachu/ | archive-url=https://archive.today/20200825031541/https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/creator-profile-the-creators-of-pikachu/ | archive-date=25 August 2020 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | author=Sato | title=Pikachu Originally Had A Second Evolution Called 'Gorochu' With Large Fangs And Two Horns | date=3 May 2018 | website=[[Siliconera]] | url=https://www.siliconera.com/pikachu-originally-second-evolution-called-gorochu-large-fangs-two-horns/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122201827/https://www.siliconera.com/pikachu-originally-second-evolution-called-gorochu-large-fangs-two-horns/ | archive-date=22 November 2019 | url-status=live}}</ref> Ishihara used his knowledge of card games to add more depth to the battle system, and among other things suggested Pokemon types. Ishihara also came up with the idea of the Pokedex, a portable encyclopedic device which players can use to keep track of the Pokemon they caught.<ref name="Masuda_2019_interview" /> Throughout the years, Tajiri had several conversations with [[Shigeru Miyamoto]],<ref>{{Harvp|Tomisawa|2000|p=35}}.</ref> Nintendo's top game designer who Tajiri described as a mentor figure.<ref name="Tajiri_Time_interview" /> Although, in a 2018 retrospect, Miyamoto downplayed his role in advising Tajiri, and stated that his contributions to ''Pokemon'' were in fact limited.<ref>{{Cite book | first=Shigeru | last=Miyamoto | chapter=Retrospect by Shigeru Miyamoto | editor-first=Hiroyuki | editor-last=Kikuta | title=Satoshi Tajiri: A Man Who Created Pokemon | date=16 May 2018 | publisher=[[Shogakukan]] | pages=150–156 | isbn=978-4092701304}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20191109024601/https://shmuplations.com/pokemon/ Translation])</ref> Miyamoto did, however, suggest the use of different colored cartridges for the game, in response to Tajiri's and Ishihara's musings about making each playthrough slightly different, as to 'individualize' the player's experience.<ref name="Hatakeyama_Kubo_(2000)_p152-154">{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=152-154}}.</ref> According to Tajiri, "five or seven colors" were considered,<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=503}}.</ref> but they eventually settled on two: ''Red'' and ''Green''. Otherwise identical, each had Pokemon not found in the other, encouraging players to socialize and trade to complete their collection.<ref name="Hatakeyama_Kubo_(2000)_p152-154" />

<!-- Creatures Inc. is founded, Pokemon's ownership structure explained -->
Ishihara aspired to create video games of his own.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=231-232}}.</ref> As ''Pocket Monsters Red'' and ''Green'' were nearing completion, Ishihara founded [[Creatures, Inc.]] on 8 November 1995. Upon founding, the company was housed in the same office building as Nintendo in Tokyo.<ref name="Creatures_profile">{{Cite web | title=COMPANY – 株式会社クリーチャーズ | website=creatures.co.jp | url=http://www.creatures.co.jp/company/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704195257/http://www.creatures.co.jp/company/ | archive-date=4 July 2017 | url-status=dead | quote=株式会社クリーチャーズ設立(千代田区神田須田町) | trans-quote=Establishment of Creatures Co., Ltd. ([[Kanda-Sudachō]], [[Chiyoda, Tokyo|Chiyoda]])}}</ref> Co-ownership of the ''Pokemon'' property, which Ishihara helped create, was subsequently assigned to Creatures. This resulted in ''Pokemon'' having three legal owners: Game Freak, the main developer; Creatures, representing producer Ishihara; and Nintendo, the publisher. [[Anne Allison]] wrote that Nintendo also bought the property after ''Red'' and ''Green'' were finished.<ref>{{Cite book | first=Anne | last=Allison | author-link=Anne Allison | date=30 June 2006 | title=Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination | publisher=[[University of California Press]] | isbn=978-0520245655 | pages=197–198 + 239}}</ref> Kenji Hatakeyama noted that the ownership structure of ''Pokemon'' is uncommon.<ref name="Hatakeyama_Kubo_(2000)_p474-475" /> They wrote that "Pokemon is probably the only property in the world today for which the original rights are not concentrated in a single company", like [[The Walt Disney Company]] does with their [[Intellectual property|IP]]s.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=474-476}}.</ref> Tajiri and Ishihara did consider merging Game Freak and Creatures at one point. However, Tajiri decided against it because he feared it would erase what he had built up since he was a teenager. "I felt threatened by the idea of changing how Game Freak was operating, and starting back over with Mr. Ishihara", he said. "It was an identity problem. If Game Freak ceased to exist, then so would I". Tajiri noted that, since Game Freak and Creatures both focus on ''Pokemon'', it sometimes felt more like different departments than different companies.<ref name="taidan2_page01" />

<!-- Final note about Pokemon's curious copyright year -->
''Pocket Monsters Red'' and ''Green'' were finally finished in December 1995.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=157}}.</ref> A release date of 21 December that year was announced,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/6/6b/RG_prerelease_flyer_original_release_date.jpg |title=Pre-release flyer |access-date=27 June 2023 |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417065134/https://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/6/6b/RG_prerelease_flyer_original_release_date.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref> but missed. After sufficient cartridges, manuals and packages had been manufactured, the pair of games ended up being published on 27 February 1996. However, the property was copyrighted in 1995, and " 1995" is shown on the title screens<ref>{{Cite AV media | title=Pokemon Green Lavender Town (not an emulator) | publisher=BlueOctopede | date=23 February 2011 | via=YouTube | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvD5vFSwAlY | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403222342/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvD5vFSwAlY | archive-date=3 April 2023 | url-status=live}}</ref> and cartridges.<ref>Cartridges of [https://web.archive.org/web/20230516180252/https://www.mobygames.com/game/38723/pocket-monsters-akai/cover/group-143854/cover-407960/ ''Red''] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20230516180312/https://www.mobygames.com/game/38673/pocket-monsters-midori/cover/group-50120/cover-135095/ ''Green'']. ''[[MobyGames]]''.</ref> This year is since used on the [[copyright notice]]<ref name="Legal" /> seen on many ''Pokemon'' products, even though no actual ''Pokemon'' product was released in 1995.<ref>{{Cite web | first=Scott | last=Baird | date=31 January 2021 | title=Why The Pokémon Red & Blue Intros Have The Wrong Date | url=https://screenrant.com/pokemon-red-blue-wrong-release-date-delay-intro/ | website=ScreenRant | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123163157/https://screenrant.com/pokemon-red-blue-wrong-release-date-delay-intro/ | archive-date=23 January 2022 | url-status=live}}</ref>