I just sat here until I got past the Mewtwo stage, which is about all the time I can properly give a pinball game before I begin to cry and remember that I'm terrible at pinball.

Pokemon Pinball is about as friendly of a pinball game as you can get without giving you a free practice mode. The ball can move unforgivingly fast, but board orientation will bail you out more often than not. There's a massive level of RNG in getting the Pokemon you want, but the game is incredibly generous in giving you a minute where you can fail all you want in getting them. The ability to control your multiplier through the CAVE system and three markers at the top of each board is incredibly generous. That weird little gravity well on the blue board is very helpful in getting you the result you want if you can only shoot toward the middle of the board. There is an incredible level of novelty that, even at a base level, just getting one or two new Pokemon or landing in a new location will make you wanna play more. Every consideration has been taken to make both Pokemon and pinball comfortable and familiar to a new player and a young target audience, with charming spritework and unique bonus stages as their own reward, and some VERY stringent timing on the final Mewtwo bonus stage. It's a good game!

This is as high as I can ever personally place it due to my inability to be good at pinball. I think very fondly of this game, but it is not my addiction. No matter how many hours I pour in, I will never actually be good, and I suppose that is my curse.