The first Pokémon ever created by the designers was Rhydon.

Short answer

  • Rhydon is widely cited as the first Pokémon design Ken Sugimori finalized for the games, making it the “first Pokémon created” in a development sense.
  • It even held internal index number 001 in the game data for early builds, despite being #112 in the Pokédex.

Different ways “first Pokémon” is used

When people ask “who was the first Pokémon created,” they sometimes mean different things:

  • First designed by the artists:
    • Rhydon was the earliest completed Pokémon design and is recognized in records and fan discussions as the first Pokémon character ever made for the games.
  • First in the Pokédex order:
    • Bulbasaur is #001 in the Kanto and National Pokédex, so some fans casually call Bulbasaur the “first Pokémon,” but that is about listing order, not creation time.
  • First in lore / mythology:
    • In the lore, Arceus is often described as the creator of the Pokémon universe and is treated as the “first Pokémon” from a mythological standpoint.
* Some discussions also bring up Mew as the genetic ancestor of other Pokémon, but that is about ancestry, not design order.

Quick Scoop recap

  • “Who was the first Pokémon created?” → Rhydon from a development and design perspective.
  • Pokédex #001 is Bulbasaur, which is “first” only in the index.
  • In-universe creation god is Arceus, often called the first Pokémon in myth.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.