Pokemon is using AI powered by Japanese Chess to make its upcoming tournaments more beginner-friendly

The Pokemon Company has announced that it's using AI to make battles more interesting for viewers of its upcoming tournament. 

As highlighted by Automaton, The Pokemon Company recently announced its partnership with Japanese AI company HEROZ Corporation to develop AI that specializes in Pokemon Battles. The new technology, called Pokemon Battle Scope (PBS), is intended to make battles more enjoyable to watch for those not participating in them and is based on a shogi (Japanese Chess) AI.

Pokemon Battle Scope is set to be introduced during the game section of the upcoming Pokemon Dragon King Tournament 2024 - which is taking place on February 25. The AI is designed to help viewers who aren't familiar with Pokemon battles to understand the action in real-time. It will interpret and make predictions during battles, taking into account things like Pokemon types, attributes, moves, items, weather conditions, and fields.

The post also features a screenshot of what the new technology will look like for viewers. As you can see from the "work in progress" image below, there are a lot of statistics on-screen during the battle. According to Automaton, the UI features things like the two contestant's probability of victory, potential next moves for each player, and how successful these moves will be if executed correctly. 

You'll be able to see the new Pokemon AI in action as the Dragon King Tournament is being livestreamed via YouTube at9AM JST / 12AM GMT / 7PM ET / 4PM PT on February 25, 2024, 

This isn't the first time we've heard about AI being used in this way. Last week, Konami revealed it is experimenting with AI for Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel. Although it's "not yet been determined" if the project will ever be rolled out in the online trading card game, it was recently demonstrated at an event and was designed to give players a more challenging duel. 

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