Real-Life Pokémon Pinball Is the Most Visceral Way to Catch ‘Em All

Gizmodo · Feb 18, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Why was I so obsessed with Pokémon Pinball as a child? I went back to the original Game Boy Color game from 1999 and found it was not as packed with creature-catching action as my pubescent brain remembers. There’s a tactile nature to a thrumming, strobing game of pinball that can’t be replicated without a real machine. I finally had the chance to catch a digital Pokémon with a real silver ball. And it was more glorious, and more pricey, than I thought it could be. Stern Pinball brought out its recently announced Pokémon pinball machine to Toy Fair 2026, giving me the opportunity to test it out. This is pinball at its most manic, so full of lights and sounds that combine the stakes of a Pocket Monsters matchup with the juggling act of keeping a silver ball in play through timing and dexterity. Of course, as with all Stern machines, that comes at a price. The Pokémon pinball machine starts at $7,000 and will cost even more if you want the full “premium” experience. Stern CEO Seth Davis told Gizmodo this is the first real-life Pokémon pinball machine ever created despite the franchise’s 30-year history. The company worked with The Pokémon Company to devise the machines, though veteran pinball designer Jack Danger and Stern’s creative lead George Gomez worked to develop the playfield and interactive elements and then refine the overall “flow” of the game. © Kyle Barr / Gizmodo © Kyle Barr / Gizmodo © Kyle Barr / Gizmodo © Kyle Barr / Gizmodo “We’ve been knocking on this door for a very long time,” Davis said. The process of negotiating with The Pokémon Company for a themed machine started several years ago. The launch coincides with Pokémon’s 30th anniversary. “We have a lot of fans at our company that wanted to see something like this come to life.” Pokémon pinball includes voice lines from the show’s narrator © Kyle Barr / Gizmodo The play area is divided into several biomes representing fire, electric, water, and grass-type Pokémon. The electric zone leads up a ramp to an animatronic Pikachu. The water biome enters through a large Poké Ball that swims along a track before it enters a Squirtle whirlpool that deposits the balls in front of the bumpers. The center of the stage houses a Meowth balloon toy that can hinder your shots as you try to spell out the word “Battle.” Taking a hint from the original Game Boy titles, players can hit the Pokédex bumper on the side to trigger the opportunity to catch one of the original 151 creatures from Pokémon Red and Blue. Unfortunately, there’s no option to evolve your Pokémon like you could in either Pokémon Pinball or the Game Boy Advance follow-up Pokémon Pinball Ruby & Sapphire. © Kyle Barr / Gizmodo © Kyle Barr / Gizmodo © Kyle Barr / Gizmodo © Kyle Barr / Gizmodo Davis said the company will add more Pokémon from different generations in the future. Stern’s game takes many of its cues from the original anime that first aired in 1997. Some of the voice actors from the show’s English dub have done new lines for the pinball machine. That includes Ted Lewis, the actor behind James of Team Rocket, and Rodger Parsons, who’s best known as the series’ silky-voiced narrator. The special edition is even pricier for real animatronics Stern’s pinball game is supposed to remind players of anime’s original arc, where Ash catches the three main starting Pokémon. © Kyle Barr / Gizmodo If that $7,000 “Pro” edition machine sounded pricey, the Premium Edition will retail for around $9,700. The Limited Edition, with its unique side panel art and special Master Ball plunger ornament, costs $13,000. There are only 750 of those high-end versions available, though Davis told me those were all already sold out. And there is more than an aesthetic difference between the models. The Pro’s Pikachu is a static statue with custom voice lines. That’s compared to rotating and the full animatronic on the Premium and Limited Editions that will move its head and wave its little arms in your vague direction. I’ve played plenty of Stern’s recent creations, though the Pokémon edition may be the most fun I’ve had with its themed games. It’s the right mix of familiar pinball mechanics with a unique collectibility that made the Pokémon franchise so popular in the first place. I could never afford one. This is the kind of machine for lingering Pokémon fans with a lot of disposable income who just gotta collect ‘em all.