The primary defining characteristic that distinguishes a creole from a pidgin is native speakers.
Pidgin: A simplified contact language with no native speakers. It is learned as a second language for specific purposes (trade, colonization, plantations).
Creole: When a pidgin becomes the first language (mother tongue) of a new generation born into a pidgin-speaking environment, it develops into a creole.
As stated in (Wardhaugh, 2006, p. 73): "Pidgin can become a creole when learned as a mother tongue."