Update seeding refactor bean to use PokeAPI/api-data JSON instead of CSV

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

.beans/nuzlocke-tracker-ya2a--refactor-seeding-to-use-pokeapi-csv-data-via-git-s.md

@@ -3,19 +3,23 @@
 title: Refactor seeding to use PokeAPI CSV data via git submodule
 status: draft
 type: task
+priority: normal
 created_at: 2026-02-05T18:01:09Z
-updated_at: 2026-02-05T18:01:09Z
+updated_at: 2026-02-05T18:06:04Z
 ---
 
 ## Summary
 
-Replace the current seeding approach (which uses the `pokebase` Python library to hit the PokeAPI REST API, then writes intermediate JSON files) with direct CSV parsing from the [PokeAPI/pokeapi](https://github.com/PokeAPI/pokeapi) repository's `data/v2/csv/` directory, pulled in as a git submodule.
+Replace the current seeding approach (which uses the `pokebase` Python library to hit the PokeAPI REST API, then writes intermediate JSON files) with reading static JSON data from the [PokeAPI/api-data](https://github.com/PokeAPI/api-data) repository, pulled in as a git submodule.
+
+The `api-data` repo contains a static copy of the full PokeAPI output as JSON files at `data/api/v2/{endpoint}/{id}/index.json`, mirroring the REST API structure exactly.
 
 ## Motivation
 
 - **Eliminates network dependency**: No more hitting the PokeAPI REST API (or running a local instance) during seed generation
-- **Faster**: Reading local CSVs is instant vs. hundreds of HTTP requests (even with pokebase caching)
-- **More data available**: The CSVs contain the complete dataset, not just what we query for
+- **Faster**: Reading local JSON files is instant vs. hundreds of HTTP requests (even with pokebase caching)
+- **Minimal code change**: The JSON structure matches the API responses, so parsing logic stays similar to the current `fetch_pokeapi.py`
+- **More data available**: The full dataset is available locally, not just what we query for
 - **Version-pinnable**: The git submodule can be pinned to a specific commit for reproducible builds
 - **Removes `pokebase` dependency**: One less runtime/dev dependency to maintain
 
@@ -28,29 +32,26 @@ Replace the current seeding approach (which uses the `pokebase` Python library t
 
 ## Proposed Approach
 
-1. **Add git submodule**: Add `https://github.com/PokeAPI/pokeapi` as a git submodule (e.g., at `backend/pokeapi-data/` or a top-level `data/pokeapi/` directory)
-2. **Write CSV parser**: Create a new module that reads the relevant CSVs directly. Key CSV files include:
-   - `pokemon.csv`, `pokemon_species.csv`, `pokemon_types.csv` — Pokemon data
-   - `locations.csv`, `location_areas.csv`, `location_names.csv` — Location/route data
-   - `encounters.csv`, `encounter_slots.csv`, `encounter_methods.csv` — Encounter data
-   - `versions.csv`, `version_groups.csv`, `version_names.csv` — Game/version data
-   - `pokemon_evolution.csv`, `evolution_chains.csv`, `evolution_triggers.csv` — Evolution data
-   - `types.csv`, `type_names.csv` — Type data
-   - `regions.csv` — Region data
-3. **Replace `fetch_pokeapi.py`**: The new CSV parser replaces the API-fetching script. It should produce the same (or equivalent) output that `loader.py` expects, or `loader.py` should be updated to accept the new data format.
+1. **Add git submodule**: Add `https://github.com/PokeAPI/api-data` as a git submodule with `--depth 1` (e.g., at `data/pokeapi/` or `backend/pokeapi-data/`)
+2. **Rewrite `fetch_pokeapi.py`**: Replace API calls with local JSON file reads from the submodule. The data lives at `data/api/v2/{endpoint}/{id}/index.json`. Key endpoints:
+   - `pokemon/{id}/` and `pokemon-species/{id}/` — Pokemon data & names
+   - `type/{id}/` — Type data
+   - `region/{id}/` — Region data with location refs
+   - `location/{id}/` — Locations with area refs
+   - `location-area/{id}/` — Location areas with encounter data
+   - `version/{id}/` and `version-group/{id}/` — Game/version data
+   - `evolution-chain/{id}/` — Evolution chain data
+3. **Keep the same output format**: The rewritten script should still produce the same intermediate JSON files (`games.json`, `pokemon.json`, `firered.json`, etc.) so `run.py` and `loader.py` remain unchanged.
 4. **Keep the override mechanism**: `evolution_overrides.json` should still work for manual corrections.
-5. **Remove intermediate JSON files**: The generated JSON files in `seeds/data/` can be removed from version control since data now comes from the submodule.
-6. **Remove `pokebase` dependency**: Remove from `pyproject.toml` / `requirements.txt`.
-7. **Update documentation**: Update any setup/dev docs and the seed run command instructions.
+5. **Remove `pokebase` dependency**: Remove from `pyproject.toml` / `requirements.txt`.
+6. **Update documentation**: Update any setup/dev docs and the seed run command instructions.
 
 ## Checklist
 
-- [ ] Add PokeAPI repo as a git submodule
-- [ ] Identify and document all needed CSV files from the PokeAPI data
-- [ ] Write CSV parsing module to replace `fetch_pokeapi.py`
-- [ ] Update `run.py` and/or `loader.py` to work with the new data source
+- [ ] Add `PokeAPI/api-data` repo as a git submodule (shallow clone)
+- [ ] Rewrite `fetch_pokeapi.py` to read local JSON files from the submodule instead of calling the API
+- [ ] Verify output JSON files match the current format (so `run.py`/`loader.py` stay unchanged)
 - [ ] Preserve evolution override mechanism
-- [ ] Remove intermediate JSON seed data files from version control
 - [ ] Remove `pokebase` dependency
 - [ ] Test that seeding produces equivalent results
 - [ ] Update dev setup docs / seed run instructions