Pokémon was built around a disappearing childhood.
Satoshi Tajiri grew up collecting insects in the fields around Machida, Japan. By the time he designed Pokémon in the early 1990s, those fields had been built over. He wanted children living in cities to explore and trade as he had. Pokémon is now the highest-grossing media franchise in history, with lifetime revenue well above $100 billion.
Pokémon on Brandseum