Pokémon Pinball
Pokémon Pinball is a video game that consists of 0 releases
In a shocking move from Nintendo, Pokemon Pinball is a pinball game featuring the lucrative Pokemon franchise. It skillfully combines the "gotta catch 'em all" gameplay of Pokemon with the addictive high-score battles of pinball over two different tables.
Pokemon Pinball is a pinball game released for the Game Boy Color in 1999 that is based on Pokemon Red and Blue. It came in a special cart that had an extra battery to power the built-in rumble pack, one of the few Game Boy games to support rumble in any way.Gameplay
A very pick-up-and-play game, the controls used left on the d-pad and the B button to control the flippers. Once the player gets a handle of the controls, there's a certain amount of depth that opens up to help strategize further (for example, the game allows you to tilt the table, altering the balls path and, much more useful, saving you from a ball-out).Most of the features on the board are Pinball staples. There's a multiplier counter, screen in the center, score counter, a ball save light, things that light up when your ball goes over them and a kick-back on the side to throw the ball back when it goes down the side. However, it adds something new to the familiar pinball formula of scoring on bumpers, holes, tunnels and rails.
The Pokemon Effect
Naturally, having Pokemon in the game means one thing-collection. The game features a full roster of all 150 Pokemon from the games, a 'location switch' button that transports the board to different locations (and, as a result, different Pokemon to catch, with special zones that house rarer and more special Pokemon), and a reskin, turning bumpers into Shellders and throwbacks into Pikachus, and the ball into an upgradeable Pokeball (for example). The game uses the idea of catching every Pokemon and beating a high score to break itself up into 4 different modes. - Free-play. This is the part of the game that's in no special mode and just allows the player to bat their ball around the table and add up multipliers, upgrade their ball (all the way up to a Master Ball, for a field multiplier), open the bonus hole by spelling the word "cave" at the bottom of the table (to get bonuses from free balls, extra scores and infinite throwback), and change location (by hitting the "1 2 3" bumper on the side, such as the Diglett and the Psyduck). Doing a loop left of right over the top of the table builds up both the throwback-meter (good for one free shock back from Pikachu when you fall over the side) and the 'catch' or 'evolve' meter. Filling those, and then getting the ball into the correct slot, will start a new mode.
- Catch 'em Mode. When the right arrows are filled by doing two or three loops through the right side of the table, Catch 'em Mode kicks off. It starts out with a silhouette at the bottom of the screen, and you must hit the bumpers at the top of the level to reveal the Pokemon. Once they are revealed, they manifest onto the board and must be hit with the ball four times to catch it. This adds them to your cache, which leaves them for evolution or just to help get to the bonus round.
Knock that Spearow OUT! - Evolution mode. Evolution mode is unlocked by looping 3 times to the left and then getting it into the correct slot. This is a mode slightly similar to the above mode, only that instead of revealing and beating a Pokemon, it scatters 3 evolution markers over the level. All three must be collected within the time limit to evolve the Pokemon, with one marker appearing only after the marker before it has been collected. Once all are collected, the player must fall into the slot and the Pokemon will evolve. The evolution marker changes by Pokemon. For example, while Abra may have experience points as the necessary collectible, Kadabra needs to collect miniature link cables to evolve, in a similar fashion to the game. Also seen are fire stones, thunder stones, water stones and moon stones. This ups the score quite a bit and adds 2 Pokemon to the counter to allow faster access to the bonus room.
- Bonus room. Each table has its own room that is opened up every time you collect 3 Pokemon (catching counts as a single collection, evolving counts as 2).
Gengar likes to eat balls.
Both basically revolve around the same idea- beating the tar out of a plus-sized Pokemon until you win and are sent back to the main table. The Red table takes you to a room where a Meowth scatters money and runs around the room. Money could be collected for bonuses, and the Meowth had to be attacked in order for the level to be won. The blue table takes you to a room where there is a large Gengar that can such the ball in and spit it out, causing you to fall out of the bottom and lose bonuses. Both have been naughty and must be beaten to learn them a lesson. When succesfuly completed, the next time you have 3 Pokemon collected a new bonus round, featuring a new Pokemon (eg. Seal, Mewtwo) and a different look'n feel, will be available which give the player the opportunity to score more points.
Meowth! Don't hurt me!
The Tables
The tables aren't just a simple palette swap of each other. Each holds new obstacles, challenges and 
The Blue Table
The red table, though, is a
This is a picture of what I'm talking about.
The final difference is, of course, what Pokemon are found and what areas you can go to. While both may have a Mount Moon, for example, some Pokemon may only be on one table, while some Pokemon may only be on the other. The game has the full roster of the original 150 Pokemon, so to catch them all, you must switch tables and gain proficiency in both, as well as get good at evolving. It's also possible to trade data with another player using the link cable, helping you get more that way (like a REAL Pokemon game).
General Information
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| Game Name | Pokémon Pinball |
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| Original US Release |
June 28, 1999
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| Original US Release | know the real date? |
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