Slot machine guide

[Jeff]

Note: This guide is based off of in-game text and my personal experience playing the slots. If you have done this too and know anything else that can be added feel free to mention it!

We've all been to the Game Corner for the prizes they offer, but most of us just decide to just buy enough coins for a prize instead of taking on the one-armed bandits. Turns out, there's an easy way to get coins in the 4th Generation games, and it's through the slot machines. Even if Lady Luck isn't with you, you can still get the machines to pay out, and big.

The trick is to activate a bonus game. Every so often, you'll see a ball roll up on the bottom screen (Pokéball, Great Ball, etc.). When that happens, you'll find that it's easier to get the reels to line up right. Occasionally, when you stop the reels while a ball is out, a Clefairy will pop out of the ball. When the Clefairy pops up, things will line up easy as long as it's out. If you manage to line up 7s or Team Galactic symbols, you'll start the bonus game. (Note: From personal experience, they're also pretty easy to line up at this point.)

The bonus game will start off lasting for 15 spins. During the game, you'll notice Clefairy pointing to a reel. Just stop whichever reel the Clefairy is pointing at, and when the three reels are stopped, you'll get a replay, which in the bonus game is worth 15 coins, simple as that. Since, in the bonus game, it only costs 1 coin per spin instead of the usual 3, this will get you a net 14 coins per spin. After the 15 spins are done, you might end up going into another round (15 more spins), then after that you could get another round and so on. So if you keep going, you can easily rack up hundreds, even thousands of coins. A thing to take note of however, is that according to in-game text, Clefairy gets "tired" if you get a replay when the moon turns red. I'm not sure what this means, but it sounds like it decreases your chance of getting another round, not sure though.

One last thing: If you manage to get 10 rounds or more in a single bonus game, talk to the receptionist for an Explosion TM. It's not that hard actually, just keep playing and it'll happen. My personal record is 31.

[DarkestLight]

I figured this out AFTER Blademaster sacrificed his time to get me a Explosion TM cause I thought it was rare (Thanks Blade). When the Clefairy gets tired, it will no longer point to a reel, making it harder to figure out which reel is the reel that is easier to stop.

[Poryhedron]

When the Clefairy gets tired, it will no longer point to a reel, making it harder to figure out which reel is the reel that is easier to stop.

Really? Is there a "Clefairy sagging in weariness" graphic that replaces the usual one? I've played the Slots a lot and I've never seen that happen...which, I suppose, answers one of my two biggest questions about the Slots. The effect of the Red Moon must only happen if you line up three Replays before the Moon fades back to Yellow. Waiting until the Moon is Yellow again will save you, as will deliberately failing to line up three Replays...though if waiting saves you, screw deliberately failing!

The other big question I have about the Slots is this: What is the effect if you line up three Replays while the Moon is glowing White? I've never managed it; I keep getting the third Replay half a second after it's Yellow again.

Another thing to note: you seem to have disproven some of the info on GameFAQs about this, but there's another thing GameFAQs says which has proven true in my experience. When there's a closed Pokéball rolling on the bottom screen, making it easy to line things up, each different type of Pokéball (Great Ball, Safari Ball, etc.) seems to make it easy to line up something different. If you've got a Great Ball rolling down there, you can expect to line up three Replays, and a rolling Safari Ball is your ticket to lining up Moon Stones. The Premier Ball seems to be the only one that's random in what it makes easy to line up.

Another thing: there are three different Clefairy, and the general trend seems to be that they have different levels of ability to keep the Bonus Rounds coming. A standard Clefairy is the middle level, a Shiny Clefairy is the strongest...and the weakest actually isn't a Clefairy at all. It's a Ditto Transformed into a Clefairy. Trust me, you can tell. I'd advise people who want to test out the mechanics of the Slots to keep separate track of how many Bonus Rounds they chain together when they've got a Ditto, a Clefairy, or a Shiny Clefairy.

Oh! One other thing I want to mention: has anyone ever lined up three 7s or three Galactic Symbols while there wasn't a Clefairy on screen? I've gotten close-but-no-cigar so many times that I must seriously consider the possibility that it can't be done without a Clefairy.

[Jeff]

Yep, my 31 chain that I mentioned was with a shiny Clefairy. And IIRC, whenever a Ditto comes up (the mouth is a dead giveaway), I've only been able to get about one or two rounds.

[Blademaster]

Oh! One other thing I want to mention: has anyone ever lined up three 7s or three Galactic Symbols while there wasn't a Clefairy on screen?

Right here.

Three 7's. No Clefairy. Just keep an eye on the slots and keep trying. Eventually, you'll get the 7's.

Galactics, on the other hand, are impossible. And I base that solely on the fact that I've never gotten three of them. Damn Galactics are always trying to piss me off...

[Poryhedron]

Right here.

Three 7's. No Clefairy. Just keep an eye on the slots and keep trying. Eventually, you'll get the 7's.

Galactics, on the other hand, are impossible. And I base that solely on the fact that I've never gotten three of them. Damn Galactics are always trying to piss me off...

I've gotten things like

77
__7

hundreds of times. <— not exaggerating. Sometimes the misaligned one is too high, sometimes it's too low, but probability outright demands that I would have gotten it properly lined up by now if something weren't blocking it.

On the other hand, when I get three 7s or 3 Galactics to start Bonus rounds, it's somewhere close to a 50-50 split whether I do it with 7s or Galactics.