Game Freak
From early 1981 until 1986, Sugimori illustrated a gaming fanzine called "Game Freak", which had been started by Satoshi Tajiri. Sugimori discovered the magazine in a dōjinshi shop, and decided to get involved. Eventually, the two decided to pitch an arcade game design idea to Namco; they reworked Game Freak into a development company and produced "Mendel Palace". Sugimori is best known as the character designer and art director for the "Pokémon" franchise and designed the first 151 Pokémon with Atsuko Nishida, Motofumi Fujiwara, and Shigeki Morimoto. He has worked on the various "Pokémon" movies, trading cards, and other games.