New details revealed on cancelled Pokemon Pinball DS

Did You Know Gaming has managed to uncover new details about the cancelled Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Pinball project for DS.

We first heard about the title in July 2021 as part of an internal Nintendo leak. Fuse, the studio behind Metroid Prime Pinball, was in charge of development. Did You Know Gaming spoke with Matthew Nightingale, who was an artist working on the game.

After wrapping up Metroid Prime Pinball, Fuse made a demo for the new Pokemon Pinball. It had three tables: travel (countryside), city / town, and gym. The first table represented Sinnoh’s countryside as it had nature-themed bumpers reminiscent of plants, bushes and trees. Also, the time spent playing there represented the amount of time it took to travel from one city to the next.

Players would progress along the route and different Pokemon would pop up on the table, including Diglett bumpers and Pikachu on a tree. After hitting a Pokemon with the ball to stun it, you’d use the touch screen to tap on the Pokemon to catch it. You’d have to be quick about it, otherwise it’d recover and escape. There’d be a timer that’d eventually hit zero, meaning you’d reach the next city.

The city was more traditional. It had ramps, loops, and bumpers. In the third table, you’d take on a Gym Leader after deciding which Pokemon you want to take into battle.

Here’s how Nightingale described the Gym battle:

“The Gym was a double-ended table with your Pokemon between your flippers. As you completed ramp shots you would charge up your Pokemon’s powers, get the ball into the lock shot and it would then blast the gym owner’s Pokemon that was between his flippers at the top of the table.

Had Fuse’s work gone beyond the demo, Nightingale believes there would have been rumble support and an evolution system.

You can find the full video from Did You Know Gaming below.