---
# nuzlocke-tracker-q5vd
title: Explore automated data sources for encounter data
status: todo
type: task
created_at: 2026-02-10T08:58:47Z
updated_at: 2026-02-10T08:58:47Z
parent: nuzlocke-tracker-rzu4
---

Research and evaluate automated or semi-automated options for populating encounter data, especially for games where PokeAPI has no data (Gen 8+).

## Potential sources to investigate:
- **PokeAPI CSV/database dumps** — the raw data behind PokeAPI may have more than the REST API exposes
- **veekun/pokedex** — community-maintained Pokémon database with encounter data
- **Bulbapedia / Serebii** — structured wiki data that could be scraped (check terms of use)
- **pkNX / game data extraction** — tools that extract data directly from game files
- **Community GitHub repos** — search for curated encounter datasets (e.g. for romhack tools, fan wikis)

## Goals:
- Determine which games can realistically be populated via automation vs. manual entry
- If a viable source is found, prototype a script/tool to import data into the existing seed JSON format
- Document findings even if no automated approach is viable, so we know what's available

## Notes:
- The existing Go tool (`tools/fetch-pokeapi/`) could serve as a template for new data fetchers
- Output format must match the existing `{game}.json` structure (routes with encounters, children for sub-areas)