Blue Field
The Blue Field (Japanese: Blue[1]; 青台[2] Blue Table) is a pinball table in Pokémon Pinball. Its counterpart is the Red Field.
Overview
The field is divided into the top screen and the bottom screen, like the Red Field. The game displays either screen at a time, which is the one where the ball currently is.
| Top | ||
| Bottom | ||
| Game Boy Color | Game Boy |
Field Features
Catch 'Em Mode
Catch 'Em Mode can be activated by sending the ball through the right loop twice, lighting up two Catch 'Em arrows, then sending the ball into Slowpoke's mouth. Some Pokémon will only appear when all 3 Catch 'Em arrows are lit.
EVO Mode
Sending the ball through the left loop three times will allow the player to activate EVO mode by hitting the ball into the Cloyster. After choosing a Pokémon to evolve, green arrows will appear pointing to locations on the field. Hitting them places evolution items somewhere on the field, and collecting all three (within the two-minute time limit) and getting the ball in the hole that appears will allow the selected Pokémon to evolve.
If the chosen Pokémon is already fully evolved, the player will instead get a 10 million point bonus upon collecting all three items.
Travel Mode
Hitting the head of Psyduck or the button next to Poliwag three times on a single side will allow you to instigate travel mode once sending the ball through the directed loop and landing it in the hole in the field's center.
Bonus Fields
Meowth Bonus Stage
A Meowth runs around the field. When the player hits Meowth with the ball, it will pause briefly and drop a pile of coins. Up to six piles of coins can be on the field at a time; if there are six, hitting Meowth any more will not cause more coins to appear. Collecting a pile of coins will earn points and cause a coin icon to appear at the top of the screen. Collecting coin piles consecutively without hitting Meowth will apply a multiplier to both the number of coin icons added to the top of the screen and the points earned. This multiplier is equal to the current number of coin piles consecutively collected, and thus can go no higher than 6×. Once the player has 20 coin icons on top of the screen, the bonus stage is completed; however, the player is allowed to continue the bonus stage until time runs out or until he loses his current ball to gain more points. There is a time limit of 1:00 on the stage, with unlimited extra balls (unless the stage is completed). Losing the ball before the stage is completed causes all the coin piles to disappear and incurs a four-coin penalty.
Seel Bonus Stage
Three Seel swim around underwater, visible by their silhouettes. Periodically, one will bring its head above water for a short time. Hitting a Seel's exposed head with the ball will cause it to duck back underwater, earning points and causing a circular icon to appear on top of the screen. Hitting multiple Seel consecutively without letting one duck underwater on its own will apply a multiplier to both the icons added to the top of the screen and the points earned. The multiplier for the icons is equal to the current number of consecutive hits, while the score multiplier doubles with each Seel hit, but can go no higher than 256×. Once the player has 20 icons on top of the screen, the stage is completed, but the player is allowed to continue and earn more points until either time runs out or he loses his ball. There is a time limit of 1:30 on the stage, with unlimited extra balls (unless the stage is completed). Losing the ball before the stage is completed resets the multiplier and incurs a four-point penalty.
Mewtwo Bonus Stage
Mewtwo stands in the back center of the otherwise open stage, surrounded by six black circles moving around it in a circular pattern. Hitting these circles will earn 1,000,000 points and cause them to disappear momentarily. Hitting Mewtwo will earn 50,000,000 points per hit. As the player hits Mewtwo more, the number of circles on the field will decrease gradually. Hitting Mewtwo 25 times will complete the stage. There is a time limit of 2:00 on the stage, with unlimited extra balls.
Once the Mewtwo stage is completed, the rotation will cycle back to the first bonus stage for the table being played.
| Meowth Bonus Stage | Seel Bonus Stage | Mewtwo Bonus Stage |
Field mechanics
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This article is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this article to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Still missing a few mechanics. |
Loops
The Loops (Japanese: ループ Loops) are the two main passages found in this field:
- The Left Loop (Japanese: レフト・ループ Left Loop) is the passage at the left side.
- The Right Loop (Japanese: ライト・ループ Right Loop) is the passage at the right side.
Each loop has a small yellow rectangle at the bottom and another at the top. The Left Loop has three Evolution Arrows at the bottom and the Right Loop has three Catch 'em Arrows at the bottom. These arrows may be on or off during the course of the game. The Spinner is located at the Right Loop.
In the Red Field, there are three Loops: the Left Outside Loop, the Left Inside Loop, and the Right Loop.
Arrows
List of Arrows
There are 9 stationary Arrows (Japanese: ライト Lights) available in this field. In Japanese, each of them is a "Light", while in English 8 of them were adapted with the word "Arrow" and 1 kept the word "Light" (the Bonus Cave Light). Additionally, there is one Dash Arrow (Japanese: ダッシュプレート Dash Plate) which moves in place. The stationary Arrows (including the Bonus Cave Light) are triangle-shaped lights, located in the bottom screen, that point to various places in the field. They may be on or off, depending on various circumstances.
On each side of the field, there is a set of three Arrows:
- The Evolution Arrows (Japanese: 進化ライト Evolution Lights) are located at the bottom of the Left Loop. They are used to activate the Evolution Mode. (which evolves a caught Pokémon)
- The Catch 'em Arrows (Japanese: ゲットライト Get Lights) are located at the bottom of the Right Loop. They are used to activate the Catch 'em Mode. (which catches a Pokémon)
Additionally, there are three inner Arrows:
- The Slowpoke Arrow (Japanese: ヤドン・ライト Yadon Light) is located near the Evolution Arrows at the left side. It turns on whenever there is some benefit to hitting the Slowpoke at the left side with the ball.
- The Cloyster Arrow (Japanese: パルシェン・ライト Parshen Light) is located near the Catch 'em Arrows at the right side. It turns on whenever there is some benefit to hitting the Cloyster at the right side with the ball.
- The Bonus Cave Light (Japanese: ボーナスホール・ライト Bonus Hole Light) is located near the middle of the bottom screen. It points to the Bonus Cave whenever it is open.
See also the Dash Arrow below.
| Arrows (on) | Arrows (off) |
Turning Arrows on
The three Evolution and the three Catch 'em Arrows may be turned on by the player, from top to bottom. When the ball goes upward through the Left Loop or the Right Loop and reaches the yellow rectangle at the top of the same Loop, an arrow of the same side turns on:
- If the ball goes upward through the Left Loop, then an Evolution Arrow (which is also located at the left side) turns on.
- If the ball goes upward through the Right Loop, then a Catch 'em Arrow (which is also located at the right side) turns on.
A common misconception is that the ball needs to go all the way from one side to the other, making a circle around the top screen, in order to light an Evolution or Catch 'em Arrow. However, the ball does not need to go any further than the small yellow rectangle at the top. The ball can, for instance, travel up to the yellow rectangle and then fall through the same Loop or through the area with the three Shellder at the top screen.
If there is one or more Evolution or Catch 'em Arrow turned off, then the topmost off Arrow of each side constantly blinks, drawing the attention of the player to throw the ball into the direction of the Left Loop or the Right Loop and turn the next Arrow on. If all three Evolution Arrows at the left side are on, the Dash Plate is able to throw the ball into the Slowpoke, starting the Evolution mode. If at least two of the three Catch 'em Arrows at the right side are on, the Dash Plate is able to throw the ball into the Cloyster, starting the Catch 'em Mode.
At the start of the game, all Evolution Arrows are off, while 2 Catch 'em Arrows are on. Therefore, the Evolution Mode is unavailable at this point, but the Catch 'em Mode is available from the start. Losing a ball does not affect whether the Evolution and Catch 'em Arrows are on or off.
| 1 Evolution Arrow and 1 Catch 'em Arrow turned on |
Arrows in other modes
As long as the Catch 'em or the Evolution Mode is active, all three Catch 'em and Evolution Arrows are turned off and cannot be turned on again. Once the current mode ends, the Arrows associated with it remain turned off, but the Arrows associated with the other mode remain like they were before the current mode started.
As long as the Map Mode is active, almost all arrows are temporarily turned off and the player becomes unable to turn on any of the Evolution and Catch 'em Arrows. However, there are always two arrows blinking during the Map Mode, either on the left or the right side, which are pointing to the places where the ball may go to open the Bonus Cave:
- If the player has started the Map Mode by hitting the Poliwag at the left side three times, then the top Evolution Arrow and the Slowpoke Arrow (both arrows located at the left side) are turned on. This indicates that the ball should enter the Left Loop or in an upward motion until it reaches at least the small yellow rectangle at the top, or the ball should hit the Slowpoke.
- If the player has started the Map Mode by hitting the Psyduck at the right side three times, then the top Catch 'em Arrow and the Psyduck Arrow (both arrows located at the right side) are turned on. This indicates that the ball should enter the Right Loop until it reaches at least the small yellow rectangle at the top, or the ball should hit the Cloyster.
If the ball goes to any of the places indicated in both cases above, the Bonus Cave opens (which turns the Bonus Cave Light on). If the ball then enters the Bonus Cave, the player travels to another area.
| 1 Evolution Arrow and the Slowpoke Arrow turned on (left-side Map Mode) |
1 Catch 'em Arrow and the Cloyster Arrow turned on (right-side Map Mode) |
Dash Arrow
The Dash Arrow (Japanese: ダッシュプレート Dash Plate) is an arrow at the top screen that may point up, down, left, or right. If the ball touches the arrow, the ball is sent to the direction where the arrow is pointing.
| Image | Direction | Field mechanics found |
|---|---|---|
| Left | Slowpoke (which is able to start the Evolution Mode to evolve a Pokémon, or to open the Bonus Cave in the Map Mode) | |
| Right | Cloyster (which is able to start the Catch 'em Mode to catch a Pokémon, or to open the Bonus Cave in the Map Mode) | |
| Up | 3× Shellder (which are hit during the Catch 'em Mode to reveal the Pokémon to be caught) 3× Field Multiplier Lanes (which upgrade the Poké Ball for the purpose of multiplying points received during the game). | |
| Down | None (return to the bottom screen) |
Some circumstances change the direction where the Dash Arrow is pointing:
- The arrow constantly changes direction.
- If the ball is above the arrow, in the area with the three Shellder, the arrow may sometimes point up and block the ball from falling. The arrow will often point down, which allows the ball to go to the bottom screen. Other circumstances may cause it to point left or right to reach the Slowpoke or the Shellder.
- If the ball is at the left or right of the arrow, in one of the spaces with Slowpoke or Cloyster, the arrow points down.
- If the ball is coming up from the bottom screen, the arrow will usually point up. Other circumstances may cause it to point left or right to reach the Slowpoke or the Shellder.
- If at least two of the three Catch 'em Arrows below the Right Loop are lit, the Dash Arrow often points right to allow the ball to reach the Cloyster and start the Catch 'em Mode.
- If the three Evolution Arrows below the Left Loop are lit, the Dash Arrow often points left to allow the ball to reach the Slowpoke and start the Evolution Mode.
- If the Map Mode is active, the arrow often points to the side needed to make the Bonus Cave appear, which is either left or right. The player travels to another area if the ball enters the Bonus Cave during the Map Mode.
- Specifically, if the player has activated the Map Mode by hitting the Poliwag at the left side three times, then the arrow points left because hitting the Slowpoke activates the Bonus Cave.
- Likewise, if the player has activated the Map Mode by hitting the Psyduck at the right side three times, then the arrow points right because hitting the Cloyster activates the Bonus Cave.
- Even if the Bonus Cave is already active during the Map Mode, the arrow still often points to the side that would be needed to make the Bonus Cave appear.
- If the Catch 'em Mode or the Evolution Mode are active, the arrow randomly points to left and right, which may cause the ball to hit Slowpoke and Shellder. They are unable to start the Catch 'em Mode or the Evolution Mode if one of them is already active.
| The ball sent to the left side | The ball sent to the right side |
Slowpoke and Cloyster
The Slowpoke (Japanese: ヤドン Yadon) and Cloyster (Japanese: パルシェン Parshen) are located at the left and right sides of the Dash Arrow, respectively. The Slowpoke is able to start the Evolution Mode (to evolve a caught Pokémon) and the Cloyster is able to start the Catch 'em Mode (to catch a Pokémon). Both of them are also able to open the Bonus Cave during the Map Mode (to travel to another area).
Whenever the ball hits one of them in any context, that Pokémon shortly holds the ball (Slowpoke holds it in the mouth; Cloyster holds it in the shell) and then returns it. There is a benefit to hitting them in the situations listed below:
- The Cloyster starts the Catch 'em Mode if the ball hits it when at least two of the three Catch 'em Arrows at the Right Loop are on. (the Catch 'em Arrows are turned on each time the ball passes through the Right Loop from the bottom screen and reaches the small yellow rectangle at the top of the Right Loop)
- The Slowpoke starts the Evolution Mode if the ball hits when all three Evolution Arrows at the Left Loop are on. (the Evolution Arrows are turned on each time the ball passes through the Left Loop from the bottom screen and reaches the small yellow rectangle at the top of the Left Loop)
- If the player has activated the Map Mode by hitting Poliwag, then hitting the Slowpoke opens up the Bonus Cave (since both are on the left side). Likewise, if the player has activated this mode by hitting Psyduck, then hitting the Cloyster opens up the Bonus Cave (since both are on the right side).
In all cases above, either the Slowpoke Arrow or the Cloyster Arrow (the triangles pointing at Slowpoke and Cloyster, located at the sides of the Bonus Cave, in the bottom screen) starts blinking. Additionally, the Dash Arrow starts to often point at the correct side to hit either Slowpoke or Cloyster. (the Dash Arrow is able to send the ball to whatever direction it is pointing when the ball touches it)
If the Catch 'em Mode or the Evolution Mode are active, the arrow randomly points to left and right, which may cause the ball to hit Slowpoke and Shellder. They are unable to start the Catch 'em Mode or the Evolution Mode if one of them is already active.
Slowpoke's counterpart in the Red Field is the Evolution Cave blocked by Ditto. Cloyster's counterpart in the Red Field is a Bellsprout.
| Slowpoke (normal) |
Slowpoke (hit by the ball) |
Cloyster (normal) |
Cloyster (hit by the ball) |
Shellder
There are three Shellder (Japanese: シェルダー Shellder) at the middle of the top screen. When the ball hits a Shellder, this Pokémon shortly closes its shell.
In the Catch 'Em Mode, the player is required to hit the Shellder six times to reveal the silhouette of the Pokémon to be captured. In the Evolution Mode, the group of Shellder is one of the places the ball hits which may or may not make one of three evolution symbols appear in order to evolve a Pokémon.
The three Shellder's counterparts in the Red Field are three Voltorb.
| Shellder (normal) |
Shellder (hit by the ball) |
Field Multiplier Lanes
The Field Multiplier Lanes (Japanese: フィールド・マルチプライヤー・レーン Field Multiplier Lanes) are three passages at the top, each with a light that can be turned on or off. They are used to temporarily upgrade the ball into the next stage: a Poké Ball becomes a Great Ball, then an Ultra Ball, then a Master Ball.
The three lights are turned off by default. Each of the lights is separately turned on or off when the ball touches it. If the three lights are on at the same time, the ball is upgraded to the next stage and the three lights turn off. At this point, the three lights quickly blink 6 times, during which time they are unaffected by the ball and the player is shortly unable to upgrade the ball again. If one minute passes without any new ball upgrades, the ball reverts to the previous stage. If the player "upgrades" a Master Ball, it won't change its appearance or effect because it is the highest-ranking ball, but it won't revert to the previous state until one minute passes as usual.
If the player presses the button associated with the Left or the Right Flipper, all the Lane lights are moved to that direction, except the last light goes to the other side. For instance, pressing the Right Flipper button moves the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd lights to the 2nd, 3rd, and 1st places, respectively. The lights move normally even if they are not visible because the game is currently displaying the bottom screen. However, some circumstances effectively pause the whole game and thus prevent the player from moving the lights, such as the ball being inside the Bonus Cave, the list of evolvable Pokémon being displayed at the start of the Evolution Mode, or the Pikachu Kickback preparing to return the ball with electricity. Moving the Flippers inside a bonus stage (such as the Seel Stage) does not cause the lights to move in the main game.
If the player loses a ball, then all Field Multiplier lights are turned off. The next ball will be a regular Poké Ball, undoing any ball upgrades.
In the Red Field, the lights are blocked (that is, unable to be seen and to be touched by the ball) or unblocked when the ball hits a Staryu below them. This is not possible in the Blue Field, where the lights are always available. In the Red Field, nothing happens if the ball touches a light that is already on, while in the Blue Field, the ball turns the lights on and off when it touches them.
| Field Multiplier Lanes (lights off) |
Field Multiplier Lanes (lights on) |
Poliwag and Psyduck
Poliwag (Japanese: ニョロモ Nyoromo) and (Japanese: コダック Koduck) are able to start the Map Mode (to travel to another area).
In the bottom screen, there is a Poliwag at the left side and a Psyduck at the right side, which can be hit by the ball. On each side, there is a counter displaying how many times the ball hit the respective Pokémon, up to 3 times. Whenever the ball hits the Pokémon, the player has 10 seconds to hit it again, or else the counter will go down by 1. If the ball hits the same Pokémon 3 times according to the counter, the Map Mode starts.
As long as the Catch 'em Mode, Evolution Mode or Map Mode is currently active, then Poliwag and Psyduck are unable to start the Map Mode. If the player loses a ball, the counter of both Pokémon is reset.
In the Red Field, their counterparts are two Diglett and two Dugtrio.
Pikachu Kickback
The Pikachu Kickback (Japanese: ピカチュウ・ボールセーバー Pikachu Ball Saver) is a Pikachu that delivers an electric shock to return a ball that has fallen through an Out Lane. It requires the Thunder Meter to be completely charged with electricity, which is a result of spinning the Spinner at the Right Loop. It also requires Pikachu to be in the correct place—either the Left or the Right Out Lane. If the player presses the button associated with the Left or the Right Flipper, Pikachu moves to the Out Lane of that side.
The Super Pikachu Kickback (Japanese: スーパー・ピカチュウセーバー Super Pikachu Saver) is an improved version in which Pikachu is always available in both Out Lanes without requiring input from the player, and the Thunder Meter is always charged. In this mode, Pikachu keeps indefinitely flashing in both Out Lanes and the player is not able to control Pikachu anymore. This mode is one of various prizes available in the Slots. If the player loses a ball, they lose the Super Pikachu Kickball as well.
Both the Pikachu Kickback and the Super Pikachu Kickback are equally available in the Red Field and the Blue Field.
| Pikachu Kickback | Failure to use Pikachu Kickback due to lack of electricity |
| Pikachu (normal) |
Pikachu (hit by the ball) |
Pikachu Kickback | Super Pikachu Kickback awarded at the Slots |
Spinner
The Spinner (Japanese: スピナー Spinner) spins when the ball moves through it as a result of passing by the Right Loop. This charges the Thunder Meter with electricity, enabling the Pikachu Kickback to be used. This is not required as long as the Super Pikachu Kickback is active, which causes the Thunder Meter to be permanently charged.
| Spinner (vertical position) |
Spinner (horizontal position) |
Thunder Meter
The Thunder Meter (Japanese: 電撃メーター Electric Shock Meter) displays how much electricity is stored for the Pikachu Kickback. The Thunder Meter is charged when the ball spins the Spinner by passing through the Right Loop. The Pikachu Kickball is only available if the Thunder Meter is completely charged.
The Thunder Meter is empty by default at the start of the game. It is also completely emptied if the player loses a ball. The Thunder Meter becomes permanently charged as long as the Super Pikachu Kickback is active.
| Thunder Meter (empty) |
Thunder Meter (middle) |
Thunder Meter (full) |
Areas
This is a listing of the areas on the Blue Field and the Pokémon that appear there. They are listed in the in-game order:
Area 1
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Area 2
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Area 3
Mew can appear as a catchable Pokémon in Indigo Plateau once the player has completed the Mewtwo bonus stage twice (it then has a 1/16 chance of being encountered when all three GET lights are lit). However, it is virtually impossible to be caught by normal means, because a special routine requires the player to hit Mew a total of 1024 times (256 times for each of the 4 steps in the "catch!" sequence).[3] Mew's Pokédex entry will be unlocked when it is encountered instead of when it is obtained. Should the player lose their ball prematurely before time runs out and Mew runs away, the Pokédex entry will not be fully unlocked as it will be considered seen and not "caught."
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References
- ↑ Table select screen and hi-score screen.
- ↑ Japanese game manual.
- ↑ ポケモンピンボール ! - POKeMONaSeNSE (Japanese)
