Japanese HeartGold/SoulSilver Slot Machines
The Japanese versions of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver feature a slot machine minigame. This minigame is playable at the Goldenrod and Celadon Game Corners.
Predetermined Outcome
A hidden value between 0 and 6 (inclusive) is randomly generated every reel spin. This value corresponds to what you are capable of winning; if the game generates a 0, the most common outcome, you cannot win anything from the slots. Even if the game forces the first two reels to create a partial winning sequence, it will forcibly slip winning combinations off the third reel.
1, 2, 3, and 4 correspond to Replay, Marill, Pikachu, and Apricorns, respectively. If the game generates one of these, it will usually rig the first and second reels towards that outcome, but not always; if the first two reels are rigged, the third one is guaranteed to complete the sequence and result in a win.
If the game generates a 5 or 6, you can hit the jackpot. Even if the game decides you can win the jackpot and it rigs the first two reels to be Poké Balls or 7s, it will never rig the third reel to be a success. You must time your input to win the jackpot.
Mode
The slot machine minigame features three modes: Normal, Happy, and Slump. Every game starts in Normal mode. The background color behind Smeargle (see the thumbnail above for an example) shows the mode you are currently in: Green indicates normal mode, red indicates Happy mode, and blue indicates Slump mode.
Difficulty
The game determines the difficulty of your session upon starting the slot machine minigame. These difficulties range from 0 to 3, with 0 being the hardest and 3 being the easiest. For any given interaction with a machine, the game assigns your session a difficulty of 0, 1, or 2. There is one exception: the machine played by the Gentleman in the Goldenrod Game Corner is always set to a difficulty level of 3. This machine is only accessible on Sunday mornings.
Below are the odds of getting a specific difficulty on the standard slot machines:
| Difficulty | Goldenrod | Celadon |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 50% | 50% |
| 1 | 35% | ≈35.71% |
| 2 | 15% | ≈14.29% |
Below are the odds of hitting specific outcomes based on your mode and difficulty:
Difficulty 0
| Mode | Lose | Replay | Marill | Pikachu | Apricorn | PokéBall | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 67% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Happy | 70% | 8% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 5% |
| Slump | 65.6% | 1% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
Difficulty 1
| Mode | Lose | Replay | Marill | Pikachu | Apricorn | PokéBall | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 65% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 2.5% | 2.5% |
| Happy | 60% | 8% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 10% | 10% |
| Slump | 62.2% | 1% | 12% | 12% | 12% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
Difficulty 2
| Mode | Lose | Replay | Marill | Pikachu | Apricorn | PokéBall | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 60% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 5% | 5% |
| Happy | 50% | 8% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 15% | 15% |
| Slump | 58.8% | 1% | 13% | 13% | 13% | 0.6% | 0.6% |
Difficulty 3
| Mode | Lose | Replay | Marill | Pikachu | Apricorn | PokéBall | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 50% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 10% | 10% |
| Happy | 20% | 8% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 30% | 30% |
| Slump | 55.4% | 1% | 14% | 14% | 14% | 0.8% | 0.8% |