Where it comes from
Interview: Tajiri and Ishihara on Pokemon's Beginnings (Part 2) Lava Cut Content · 2016 Open the original ↗
The line in the source
But that was the point in time when Game Freak was struggling the most with resources and money for development.
In English
Ishihara on Game Freak's finances before Pokémon; no royalty or fee terms stated.