

The Pokémon franchise is set in a world in which humans coexist with creatures known as Pokémon.


Main articles: Pokémon universe and Gameplay of Pokémon

In English, Pokémon may be pronounced either /'powkɛmon/ ( poe-keh-mon) or /'powkɪmon/ ( poe-key-mon). As a noun, it is identical in both the singular and plural, as is every individual species name it is grammatically correct to say "one Pokémon" and "many Pokémon", as well as "one Pikachu" and "many Pikachu". Pokémon refers both to the franchise itself and the creatures within its fictional universe. When the franchise began to be released internationally, the short form of the title was used, with an acute accent (´) for pronunciation. The term Pokémon derives from a syllabic abbreviation of the franchise's full name, Pocket Monsters ( ポケット モンスター, Poketto Monsutā). Since 2009, The Pokémon Company International (TPCi) subsidiary of TPC has managed the franchise in all regions outside of Asia. The Pokémon anime series and films are co-owned by Shogakukan. Game Freak develops the core series role-playing games, which are jointly published by Nintendo and TPC exclusively for the former's consoles, while Creatures manages the trading card game and related merchandise, occasionally developing spin-off titles. The franchise is owned by The Pokémon Company (TPC), a joint venture established in 1998 by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. With the concurrent debut of the animated series, Pokémon became a global phenomenon, and is estimated to be the world's highest-grossing media franchise and one of the best-selling video game franchises. The games were commercial successes, and were released internationally as Pokémon Red and Blue from 1998. The franchise originated as a pair of Game Boy titles, Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green, released in Japan in February 1996. The franchise's target audience is children aged 5 to 12, but has garnered fans of all ages. The franchise takes place in a shared universe in which humans co-exist with creatures known as Pokémon, which are primarily caught and raised by Pokémon Trainers to battle each other for sport. Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri, encompassing video games, animated series and films, a trading card game, and other related media. Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green (1996)
