At the core of the multi-billion ollarPokémon media franchise of various electronic games, ongoing anime, several manga series, collectible trading card games, and other media are 493 distinctive fictional species classified as the titular Pokémon. Created by Satoshi Tajiri, Pokémon is one of Nintendo's flagship game franchises, which has sold over 143 million copies worldwide as of 2007. These creatures and entities reside throughout various locations of the fictional Pokémon universe and can be caught by humans designated as Pokémon Trainers often using devices called Poké Balls. These trainers use Pokémon for a variety of purposes, such as being pets and loyal companions and/or being pitted against other trained Pokémon in competitive Pokémon battles. Pokémon are potentially powerful and magical creatures that can employ a variety of talents such as generating fire or heat, martial arts, telekinesis, and so on. Through age and experience many of these species undergo a metamorphosis and transform into a similar but stronger species in a process referred to as Pokémon evolution.