You can train a Neural Network — basically a machine that learns — to do all kinds of things. The best thing you can train it to do, though, is to create a list of its own fake Pokemon. Please welcome Stangute, Tortabool and Ronch to the Pokedex.
Image: Iguanamouth
“I decided to train [a] neural network to randomly generate Pokemon names and abilities based on this list as a training set – and found that it was good at generating Pokemon”, writes research scientist Janelle Shane on her blog. “Annoyingly good at it – by the time it had gone through the training set 50 times, it was already fluently plagiarizing Pokemon word for word.”
Here’s a list of some of the pocket monsters it has come up with:
Quincelax
Abilities: Sturdy, Secene Grace
Hidden ability: Tunged Leus
Tortabool
Ability: Healy Stream
Strangy
Abilities: Wharmwbra, Darp
Hidden ability: Magic Guard
Staroptor
Ability: Stench
Hidden Ability: Stick Hat
Stangute
Ability: Banger
Hidden Ability: Drang
Tyrnakine
Ability: Beak Eye
Minma
Abilities: Buttery armour, Shell Armour
Hidden ability: Weak armour
Ronch
Abilities: None
Mawuh
Ability: Rum Power
We are all Ronch.
The only thing that would make the list better would be if we knew what these Pokemon looked like, so big thanks to Lauren “Iguanamouth” Dawson for illustrating a bunch of them.
Image: Iguanamouth
If you’re interested in the neural network and what else it can do besides Pokemon, Shane is also teaching it superhero names and a Lovecraft/cookbook mashup.
Comments
6 responses to “Computer Learns To Create Its Own Pokemon, And They’re Great”
This needs to go further. Surely you could also build a list of stats, typings, etc as well. Perhaps with the right kind of neural net generate the images also (might be pushing it on that one, though).
Generate 150 of them, and build a rom hack around them. Or build a custom pokemon game that procedurally generates new ones constantly with a pre-trained network
To all those who don’t understand the interest in machine learning – forward them this link.
At least they’ll get it 🙂
Ronch best pokeman 2017.
I lost it when I saw Agumon with a Glock.
Something about that Mawuh doesn’t seem right… Maybe it’s the colour…
I can’t decide what ability I want more in the actual games; Banger, Rum Power or Buttery Armour.
It’s the same tech that Kotaku uses to randomly generate all those Overwatch stories.