Pokemon, short for "Pocket Monsters," is a multimedia franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori, launched by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures in 1996. It began as a pair of video games for the original Game Boy and has since evolved into a vast empire encompassing video games, a trading card game, an animated television series, movies, merchandise, and more. Its strengths lie in its broad, multigenerational appeal, iconic characters like Pikachu, and its successful adaptation to various entertainment mediums. Pokemon's global brand awareness is exceptionally high, with a significant cultural impact that spans across age groups and geographies, making it one of the most universally recognized and enduring franchises in the entertainment industry.