Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire was released in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance. The game contains the 200 Pokémon in the Hoenn Pokédex, as well as Jirachi. Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, and Aerodactyl can also be obtained with the use of e-Reader cards, but cannot be obtained without them.
The game contains two fields: the Ruby field and the Sapphire field. Both fields contain largely the same features and have roughly the same placement of board elements; the difference mainly lies in which Pokémon species are used to represent the board elements.
Each field also has different maps, and some of the shared maps have different Pokémon encounters tied to them. Some Pokémon are exclusive to one field.
| Ruby | Sapphire | Both | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Harbor |
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Beach |
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Forest |
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Volcano |
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Desert |
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Plains |
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Safari Zone |
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Lake |
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Cave |
| N/A | N/A |
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Ruins | ||
| Ruby | Sapphire | ||
|---|---|---|---|
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Treecko |
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Mudkip |
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Torchic |
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Lotad |
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Zigzagoon |
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Surskit |
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Seedot |
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Slakoth |
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Shroomish |
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Makuhita |
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Skitty |
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Goldeen |
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Mawile |
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Magikarp |
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Machop |
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Azurill |
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Plusle |
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Geodude |
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Minun |
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Sableye |
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Illumise |
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Meditite |
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Vileplume |
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Volbeat |
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Doduo |
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Bellossom |
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Wailmer |
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Roselia |
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Numel |
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Gulpin |
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Slugma |
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Cacnea |
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Torkoal |
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Swablu |
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Koffing |
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Seviper |
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Skarmory |
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Lunatone |
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Zangoose |
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Barboach |
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Solrock |
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Corphish |
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Lileep |
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Baltoy |
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Staryu |
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Anorith |
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Vulpix |
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Igglybuff |
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Psyduck |
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Feebas |
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Wynaut |
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Tropius |
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Girafarig |
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Absol |
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Pinsir |
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Clamperl |
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Heracross |
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Chinchou |
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Rhyhorn |
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Latias |
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Latios |
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Kyogre |
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Groudon | N/A | |
When first starting a field, a roulette of maps appears on the field's center, and one is selected at the moment the player presses A to launch the ball. The chosen map affects what Pokémon can be obtained from Catch 'em Mode. The map can be changed during play. If the player hits the left Linoone after activating it with Chikorita (Ruby field) or the button next to the Seedot basket (Sapphire field) three times, the Travel mode will be activated, indicated with the Travel icon. 
In this mode, the player has 1:00 to get the ball around the entire outer loop, in either direction. The hole at the center of the field opens up, allowing the player to hit the ball into it. If the player does so, then the player will be prompted if they intend to travel or not. If they do, the map will be changed to another map. The exact mechanics governing which map they will move to are detailed on the Travel page.
If the player Travels 6 times in a single game, they will move to the Ruins, the only map where Beldum and the Regis can be found, and the only map where the player can get Jirachi.
The first method by which the player can obtain Pokémon is Catch 'em Mode, which can be activated either by hitting the ball into Sharpedo (Ruby field) or Wailmer (Sapphire field), or as an occasional option on the slots. Catch 'em Mode can only be activated when either two or three of the lights on the right loop are lit; what possible Pokémon the player may encounter depends on the number of lit lights. A Pokémon that is available on the current map will be chosen at random and its silhouette displayed on the center of the board. The player must hit the Chinchou or Lotad (Ruby field) or Shroomish (Sapphire field) bumpers 3 times in order to "flip" the silhouette of the Pokémon. The first bumper hit reveals 1/6 of the Pokémon's silhouette, the second reveals 2/6, and the third reveals the remaining 3/6. An animated sprite of the Pokémon then takes the place of the silhouette on the field. The player must hit the Pokémon 3 times with the ball to spell "CATCH!" and catch it. The player will have 2 minutes from the time Catch 'em Mode is activated to complete this, and if they lose the ball, the mode ends.
Successfully catching a Pokémon will add one Poké Ball icon to the center of the field. Pokémon that are capable of evolution can further be evolved via Evo Mode.
The second method by which the player can obtain Pokémon is Evo Mode, which can be activated by hitting the ball into the Poké Mart after all three lights on the left loop have been lit. It can also be accessed by an option in the slots. In Evo Mode, the player must choose a Pokémon capable of evolution that they have caught, but not yet evolved.
In this mode, an icon representing the Pokémon's evolution method in the main series games (such as EX for experience, an evolution stone, or a heart for happiness) will appear somewhere on the field. Collecting it will illuminate the first letter in "EVO" and another icon will appear somewhere else. In order to complete Evo Mode, the player must collect three icons, and the player's ball must enter the hole that opens at the center of the stage. At that point, an icon of the evolved Pokémon is displayed, the mode ends, and two Poké Ball icons are added to the center of the field. If the newly evolved Pokémon itself evolves further, it can be selected in Evo Mode again to obtain its final stage.
The third method by which the player can obtain Pokémon is Hatch Mode, which can be activated by incubating the Egg on the field long enough for it to hatch. The Egg on the Ruby field is incubated by hitting Cyndaquil into the cave below the Egg, and the one on the Sapphire field is incubated in a machine that the player must illuminate lights on. When the egg hatches, a tiny Pokémon sprite will emerge from the Egg and begin running around the board.
To catch the Pokémon, the player must hit it twice with the ball. Although a timer does not display on screen, the Pokémon will eventually leave the board by either entering the cave (Ruby field) or the Poké Mart (Sapphire field).
After finishing Hatch Mode, entering the cave or the machine will generate a new Egg, and the player can incubate this new Egg the same way.
Both fields contain an area called the Poké Mart. When Evo Mode is active, entering the Poké Mart allows the player to evolve their Pokémon. When Evo Mode is not active, the player can open the Poké Mart by either hitting the door with their ball (Ruby field) or by turning off Plusle and Minun's switches (Sapphire field). When the Poké Mart is open, the player can enter it, so long as Evo Mode is not active, and the player is not playing a different mode (like Catch or Hatch).
Items in the Poké Mart are purchased with coins. The player begins with 10 coins, and can gain more by repeatedly going through a hard-to-reach loop: the loop immediately left of Cyndaquil on the Ruby field, and the loop left of the Poké Mart on the Sapphire field. Some of the roulette options can also provide coins.
The items that can be purchased in the Mart are as follows:
| Item | Cost | |
|---|---|---|
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30-second Ball Saver | 10 coins |
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60-second Ball Saver | 20 coins |
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90-second Ball Saver | 30 coins |
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Ball Upgrade | 20 coins |
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30 Second Timer Bonus | 40 coins |
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Pika | 50 coins |
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Spheal Bonus Game | 60 coins |
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Extra Ball | 99 coins |
The Extra Ball is obtainable upon first starting the game. After being obtained, it will be Sold Out until the player has caught Rayquaza. It is then available again each time the player catches Rayquaza.
Each time the player gets 3 Poké Ball icons on the field, a bonus stage will open up. Accessing the bonus stage requires the player to get the ball into the hole that opens up at the center of the field.
Each field has two different bonus stages, followed by a Rayquaza bonus which is shared by both fields. After completing the Rayquaza bonus, the order of bonuses loops from the first bonus again. See Bonus Stages for details on how each bonus functions. A bonus stage must be completed in order for the next stage to appear. If the player fails the bonus, the next time they unlock a bonus stage, it will be the same bonus.
Bonus stages can also be accessed via an option in the slots. The bonus stage that is shown in the slots is the one that the player needs to beat to move on.
Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza each must have their bonus completed twice in order to catch them.
Above the four lanes are lights that can be activated. If all four are activated (spelling HOLE), the slots feature appears. A flashing icon displaying "START SLOT" appears at the center of the field. 
A hole opens up on the center of the board. Getting the ball into the hole will cause a roulette of slot options to appear. Pressing A slows the roulette to a stop, and the player receives whatever option the roulette stopped on. The slot options are as follows:
| Slot | Description | |
|---|---|---|
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Small Bonus | A small bonus of 100-900 points. |
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Big Bonus | A big bonus of 1,000,000-9,000,000 points. |
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Catch 'em Mode | Starts Catch 'em Mode. If the player has three Catch lights lit on the right loop, the game will choose a Pokémon from the 3-Light table; otherwise, it will choose one from the 2-Light table. |
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Ball Saver | A 30, 60, or 90 second ball saver. |
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Evo Mode | Starts Evo Mode. This will only appear if the player has at least one Pokémon capable of evolution. |
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Pika | A Pichu will enter the field on the right side, opposite Pikachu on the left. Pikachu and Pichu will always be charged, and will always save the ball if the ball falls into one of its lanes. This bonus ends when the player loses the ball. |
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Ball Upgrade | The ball is upgraded to the next version of the ball (Poké Ball > Great Ball > Ultra Ball > Master Ball). |
|
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Extra Ball | The player receives an extra ball. |
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Bonus Stage | The player automatically starts the next bonus stage they have to beat. |
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Bonus Multiplier | The next time the player plays any of the game's modes, the static points value that they receive on success will be multiplied by this number. This can be 1 (which effectively changes nothing) through 5. Bonus multipliers can stack (additive) if multiple are received before starting a bonus stage. |
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30 Second Timer Bonus | The next time the player plays something with a timer (Catch 'em Mode, Evo Mode, a bonus stage, or Jirachi Arrival), the timer will be lengthened by 30 seconds. |
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Gain Coins | The player gains 10, 30, or 50 coins, which can be used in the Poké Mart. |
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Jirachi Arrival | This can only be seen on the Ruins map. Jirachi will appear and can be captured; see the Special Encounters page for more details. |
If the ball is falling through one of the four lanes, or being pushed back by Pikachu, the player can control the orientation of the lights to force the ball to go through a light that has previously not been lit. Pressing the right flipper button moves all lit lights one space to the right, and pressing left flipper moves them one space to the left. Careful control of this can allow the player to frequently unlock the slot option.
On the Sapphire field, Zigzagoon can be used to stop the roulette on any slot of the player's choosing.
Pikachu exists on one of the four lanes on the bottom of the board. To charge Pikachu, the ball must move quickly through the outer loop; this can be done on a single loop or multiple. When Pikachu is charged, a lightning bolt icon appears in the bottom left of the screen. If Pikachu is charged, falling through its lane will cause it to jolt the ball back into the playing field, potentially preventing a loss of the ball. Pikachu can be moved from left to right with the left and right flipper buttons.
When the player hits the switch by Chikorita, Chikorita will use Razor Leaf on two Linoone on either side of the four lanes. Hitting the left Linoone will trigger progress toward Travel mode, as described above. Hitting the right Linoone will cause Makuhita to switch between an idle stance and a ready stance. When Makuhita is in ready stance, pressing A or Left while the ball is next to Makuhita will cause Makuhita to punch the ball across the field, usually launching it up the ramp leading to Nuzleaf. This ramp is otherwise very difficult to hit. The ball will hit Nuzleaf and then fall back down the ramp. Hitting Nuzleaf twice will cause it to fall down between the ramps' ends, and then entering the ramp will cause the ball to cross Nuzleaf's back, allowing the player to get a ball upgrade.
Rarely, the ball upgrade may be replaced with an extra ball icon.
When the player hits the switch next to Zigzagoon on the right side of the field, Zigzagoon will switch between an idle stance and a ready stance. When Zigzagoon is in ready stance, the player can press A while the slot roulette slows down to stop the roulette on a specific slot option.
After hitting the Chinchou switch several times, Whiscash will appear in the water instead of the Chinchou or Lotad bumpers. If the player gets the ball into Whiscash's mouth, Whiscash may spit it back out, or may take the player to the Spheal bonus. Hitting Whiscash from behind causes it to use Earthquake on the field for several seconds.
A Pelipper on this field can be activated with the P-switch. After the player hits the switch, Pelipper will face to the left for 30 seconds. If the player manages to make the loop to send the ball toward Pelipper during this time, Pelipper will take the ball in its mouth and either drop it into the Shroomish bumpers, or take the player to the Spheal bonus. When the P-switch is flashing rainbow (achieved by hitting Shroomish 100 times), Pelipper will take the player to the Spheal bonus.
Extra Balls can be obtained for catching 15 Pokémon, as an option in the slots, and in the Poké Mart (see above). Rarely, an extra ball will replace the ball upgrade icon in the upper loop in the Ruby field.
Press the L and R buttons to tilt the board, changing the trajectory of the ball slightly. Careful use of tilt can be used to recover a ball that is about to fall through the bottom of the board.
Above the Chinchou or Lotad (Ruby field) or Shroomish (Sapphire field) bumpers are three lanes that connect the bumper area to the outer loop. Lighting up all three lanes gives the ball an upgrade (Poké Ball > Great Ball > Ultra Ball > Master Ball), which does not make catching Pokémon any easier, but will allow the player to get more points for interacting with the board and for bonuses. The orientation of the lights can be changed with the left and right flipper buttons.
For the first 30 seconds after beginning a mode, or beginning a field, any ball that falls from the bottom of the pinball board will be saved and re-launched with no penalty. The indicator for whether the saver is active is just above the flippers. When it begins to blink, it is running out. A 30, 60, or 90 second ball saver can also be obtained via the slots.