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Wolfram Alpha adds a wealth of Siri-accessible Pokémon info to its database

Wolfram Alpha adds a wealth of Siri-accessible Pokémon info to its database

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Siri Pokemon
Siri Pokemon

If you're a Pokémon fanatic, there's a new source to go to get all of the info on the Pokémon universe you could ask for: Wolfram Alpha. The massive "knowledge engine" has just added a huge set of Pokémon data, including physical characteristics, stats, and images. "In many ways, Pokémon are an ideal subject for a computable knowledge engine," writes Michael Feltes on the Wolfram Alpha blog. "They have a set of well-defined characteristics with lots of numbers to which we can apply our analytic capabilities."

There's an extra layer of fun to be had now that Pokémon is part of Wolfram Alpha: since Siri searches Wolfram Alpha, iOS users can now ask their devices for whatever Pokémon info they're looking for. As noted by PocketGamer, a wide variety of queries can bring up in-depth info on 649 different Pokémon that are now part of Wolfram Alpha's database. Of course, Siri's voice recognition can be hit-or-miss — particularly with tough words like the names of Pokémon characters — so it might not always be the most efficient way to access the data. Frustratingly, sometimes Siri just searches Bing or Wikipedia, bypassing Wolfram Alpha's database entirely.

Still, there's no doubt its fun to ask your phone for Pokémon info when it manages to work correctly. Wolfram Alpha says it'll be adding data from the new Pokémon X and Pokémon Y games soon, and it also wants users to write in and share what other kinds of information they'd find useful. "There's a great deal more that we can do with Pokémon," writes Feltes, "so let us know what you would be interested in."