Poliwag and Psyduck (Pinball)

Poliwag (Japanese: ニョロモ Nyoromo) and Psyduck (Japanese: コダック Koduck) function as game mechanics in the Blue Field from Pokémon Pinball. They are able to start the Map Mode, which causes the player to travel to another area.

Their counterparts in the Red Field are Diglett and Dugtrio.

Mechanics

Both Poliwag and Psyduck are located at the bottom screen, one in each side.

• Poliwag is at the left, outside the main field; it cannot be touched by the ball. There is a red button at Poliwag's side, which may be pressed by the ball, interacting with Poliwag. Poliwag is usually looking at the player, except it quickly looks up (in the direction of the numbers "1 2 3") when the button is pressed.
• Psyduck is always mostly buried at the right side of the field. The top of its head is seen popping out, as well as its arm touching its head. The rest of its body is not visible. Psyduck is usually with its back turned to the player, and with a speech balloon written "...", except it quickly turns toward the player when it is hit, with the text "?". When Psyduck's counter reaches 3 (as described below) or the Map Mode is active, Psyduck looks at the player with blank eyes and its spoken text changes to "!!".

Each of them has a counter with three numbers "1 2 3": Poliwag's counter is above it; Psyduck's counter is below it. All three numbers are always visible, but they start faint and small, and then each of them becomes larger and more emphasized when the player interacts with the respective Pokémon. Whenever the ball hits either Poliwag's red button or Psyduck's head, the respective Pokémon's counter increases by 1. Then, the respective Pokémon remains inactive for 2 seconds (if it's Poliwag, the red button remains, pressed; if it's Psyduck, it remains looking at the viewer), during which time it can't be hit again. The player has 10 seconds to hit the same Pokémon again—which can't be done during the first 2 seconds because of the Pokémon's inactivity, but it is doable during the next 8 seconds—or else the counter decreases by 1. If the counter of either Pokémon reaches 3, the counter of the other Pokémon resets and the Map Mode starts. The counter that caused the Map Mode to start remains at "3" for the whole duration of the Map Mode. When the Map Mode ends, the counter that has reached 3 also resets.

As long as the Map Mode, Catch 'em Mode, or Evolution Mode is currently active, then Poliwag and Psyduck are unable to start the Map Mode. Specifically, when the Map Mode is active (with the "Hurry Up!" or "Go to Next" text in the Pokémon Panel), Poliwag's button remains pressed and Psyduck's head remains with a blank stare, and therefore it is impossible to hit them for the purpose of increasing their counters. When the Catch 'em Mode or the Evolution Mode is active, the ball is able to hit them and increase the counter as usual, but once the counter reaches 3, it goes back to 0 without starting the Map Mode.

If the player loses a ball, both counters are reset.

Scores

Action	Poké Ball (×1)	Great Ball (×2)	Ultra Ball (×3)	Master Ball (×5)
Hit Poliwag's red button or Psyduck's head, increasing their respective counter	5,000	10,000	15,000	25,000

Gallery

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Missing the various Sprites of Poliwag and Psyduck

Screenshots

The Poliwag and Psyduck are seen at the sides of both images.

Game Boy Color	Game Boy

This article is part of Project Sidegames, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Sidegames.