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New Pokémon Experience Headed to Smartphones in Japan

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Unveiled today, Pokémon Co-Master is a board game-style Pokémon title for iOS and Android.

According to The Pokémon Company, the game is Pokémon meets jinkouchinou (人工知能), which is the Japanese word for artificial intelligence. The combination, The Pokémon Company says, makes for a new Pocket Monster experience.

The game, which is free-to-play with online, is a mixture of traditional Pokémon mechanics (capture, train, battle) with strategy-heavy board games like Japanese chess or Go. The game is called “Co-Master” for good reason: The A.I. is also designed to help players as well, apparently making Pokémon Co-Master approachable for beginners.

Pokémon Co-Master was developed by Tokyo-based Heroz, known for creating artificial intelligence that has defeated professional shogi (Japanese chess) players in exhibition matches.

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Service for the game begins this spring in Japan. No word yet about a Western release.

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Top image: The Pokemon Company

To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter@Brian_Ashcraft.

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