The Pokémon Company

About

An affiliate of Nintendo that manages the marketing and licensing of Pokémon media.

The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children's entertainment properties in the world.

The Pokémon Company isn't necessarily involved in the development of Pokémon games, but they are an affiliate of Nintendo set up for marketing and licensing of Pokémon material. Despite The Pokémon Company's involvement, other companies still handle the development of the various Pokémon games. Most often, The Pokémon Company is seen as just "Pokémon," along with copyrights for Game Freak, Nintendo, and Creatures, Inc. in the video games. Since 2009, US and UK management of the Pokémon franchise is handled by the subsidiary The Pokémon Company International.