Pokémon, short for "Pocket Monsters," is a globally renowned multimedia franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori. It was first introduced by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc. in Japan in 1996 through a pair of video games for the original Game Boy: Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green. Since then, Pokémon has expanded into a massive phenomenon, encompassing video games, trading card games, animated television shows, movies, toys, books, and merchandise, becoming one of the highest-grossing entertainment franchises in history.

At its core, Pokémon revolves around fictional creatures called "Pokémon," which humans, known as Pokémon Trainers, catch and train to battle each other for sport. Each Pokémon belongs to one or more types (such as Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, etc.), and they possess unique abilities and characteristics. Players are often tasked with the objective of capturing as many Pokémon as possible to complete a "Pokédex"—an electronic encyclopedia of Pokémon species. Another core goal is to train these creatures to become strong enough to defeat other trainers and reach the pinnacle title of "Pokémon Champion."