We're very pleased to announce another major addition to the Skillshot Pinball line-up Pokémon Pro by Stern Pinball. Released in 2026, Pokémon is one of Stern's newest titles and brings one of the biggest entertainment franchises in the world to pinball. The game is built around becoming a Pokémon Trainer, travelling through four different habitats, discovering Pokémon, battling rivals and building your collection. It should be a particularly good addition to Skillshot because it is a theme almost everyone recognises, whether they are regular pinball players or picking up the flipper buttons for the first time

The playfield is packed with Pokémon features, including themed ramps, targets and spinners, along with Pikachu, a Pokédex captive ball and the interactive Meowth Balloon. Players work their way through battles against rival Trainers and Team Rocket, with Giovanni also making an appearance. There is plenty going on for someone simply having a fun game, but underneath that is a deeper ruleset for players who want to learn the shots, improve their strategy and start chasing bigger scores.

One of the features we particularly like is the emphasis on actually catching Pokémon as you play. The game is integrated with Stern's Insider Connected system, so players signed into their account can add Pokémon caught during games to their own persistent Pokémon Collection. That gives Pokémon Pro a strong "one more game" element: rather than just trying to beat your previous score, there is another reason to come back and continue your collection. We think that will work extremely well in an arcade environment like Skillshot.

Stern has also made plenty of use of the licence rather than simply putting Pokémon artwork on a pinball machine. The game incorporates clips from the original animated series, custom voice work for Pikachu and Giovanni, and, naturally, the famous Pokémon theme song. Combined with the colourful cabinet and playfield artwork, it makes for a machine that should stand out immediately amongst the other games at the club.

Most importantly, we bought Pokémon Pro to be played. We try to keep the collection at Skillshot varied, with everything from electromechanical and early solid-state machines through the great games of the 1990s to the latest modern Stern titles. Pokémon represents the newest end of that collection and gives our players something completely different to get stuck into. Whether you grew up with Pokémon, are a serious pinball player looking to master a brand-new game, or just fancy trying to catch them all with a silver ball, Pokémon Pro is joining the machines at Skillshot and, as always, it will be on free play.