Bumper

A Bumper (Japanese: バンパー Bumper) is a feature found at the top of all fields in Pokémon Pinball and Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire.

Terminology

The word "Bumper" was introduced in the manual of Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire. In the manual of the previous game, Pokémon Pinball, the Bumpers are referred to as the Pokémon species ("Voltorb" and "Shellder") instead.

List of Bumpers

In the Ruby Field, the game starts with three Chinchou as the Bumpers. They may be occasionally replaced by three Lotad. Sometimes, there is only a single Chinchou circling around. At other times, the Bumpers in this field may be replaced by a Whiscash that brings the ball to the Spheal Field where the player plays a minigame.

In the other fields, the Bumpers are simply three Pokémon of the same species.

Game	Field	Bumpers
Pokémon Pinball	Red Field	Voltorb
Pokémon Pinball	Blue Field	Shellder
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire	Ruby Field	Chinchou
	Ruby Field	Lotad
	Sapphire Field	Shroomish

Mechanics

In both games, when the ball hits any of the Bumpers, the ball bounces back with some added force. The ball may often bounce back and forth between multiple Bumpers.

Catch 'em Mode

In both games, hitting the Bumpers is required to reveal the identity of the Pokémon to be caught in the Catch 'em Mode. The Pokémon is initially displayed as a black silhouette in the Pokémon Panel. Six square pieces are revealed at a time, until whole image of the Pokémon is formed.

In Pokémon Pinball, the player is required to hit the Bumpers six times. Each hit reveals one of the six square pieces.

In Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, the player is required to hit the Bumpers three times. The first hit reveals one piece, the second hit reveals two more pieces, and the third hit reveals the last three pieces. If the player hits the Bumpers three times in succession without falling, a large horizontal bar with the image of the Bumper Pokémon appears and the Pokémon to be caught is revealed at once.

Evolution Mode

In the Evolution Mode of Pokémon Pinball, the group of Bumpers is one of multiple places that may or may not cause an Evolution Item to appear somewhere in the field. A small arrow points at the group of Bumpers when it is ready to be hit. The arrow disappears after any of the three Bumpers is hit.

In Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, the Evolution Items appear automatically, without the need to hit any places to make them appear as in the previous game.

Scores

Pokémon Pinball

Action	Poké Ball (×1)	Great Ball (×2)	Ultra Ball (×3)	Master Ball (×5)
Hit a Bumper	5,000	10,000	15,000	25,000
Hit a Bumper, revealing a piece of the Pokémon to be caught during the Catch 'em Mode	1,000,000
Hit any of the multiple places (including a Bumper) which may reveal an Evolution Item during the Evolution Mode	3,000,000

Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire

Action	Poké Ball (×1)	Great Ball (×2)	Ultra Ball (×3)	Master Ball (×4)
Hit a Bumper	500	1,000	1,500	2,000
Hit the Bumpers three times without falling during the Catch 'em Mode (which reveals the Pokémon faster)	300,000	600,000	900,000	1,200,000

Gallery

Screenshots


3× Voltorb (Red Field, GBC)	3× Voltorb (Red Field, GB)	3× Chinchou (Ruby Field)	1× Chinchou (Ruby Field)

3× Shellder (Blue Field, GBC)	3× Shellder (Blue Field, GB)	3× Shroomish (Sapphire Field)	3× Lotad (Ruby Field)