SOS Battle
An SOS Battle (Japanese: 乱入バトル Intruder Battle) is a type of Pokémon battle in the Generation VII games, introduced in Pokémon Sun and Moon. An SOS Battle is a battle in which a wild Pokémon calls out to allies for help, turning a normal one-on-one wild battle into a two-on-one battle.
In Pokémon Sun and Moon, once the player clears the first trial with Ilima at Verdant Cavern, battles with wild Pokémon can turn into SOS Battles. Trial Pokémon (except Totem Pokémon), Island Scan Pokémon, Legendary Pokémon, Ultra Beasts, and the guardian deities do not call for help. Totem Pokémon always call for help, but use different mechanics to other wild Pokémon.
Mechanics
Totem Pokémon
In battles with a Totem Pokémon, at the end of the first turn, it will always call for help. A Totem Pokémon's calls are always answered. Totem Pokémon only have a preset set of allies they can call during battle (usually two); once those allies have fainted, they cannot be called again.
If a Totem Pokémon has multiple possible allies it can call, the ally it calls depends on the Totem Pokémon's current HP.
Non-Totem Pokémon
In battles with non-Totem Pokémon, at the end of the turn, a wild Pokémon that can call for help may call for an ally; however, its call is not always answered. The likelihood of a wild Pokémon calling for help depends on its species.
Most Pokémon can summon allies of the same species, but some can summon other Pokémon in their family, and some can summon other unrelated Pokémon. For some species, the Pokémon that a wild Pokémon can call varies with location.
Non-Totem Pokémon are more likely to call for help after the player sends out a Pokémon with Intimidate, Pressure or Unnerve as its Ability or uses an Adrenaline Orb. The Adrenaline Orb can only be used once per battle and will fail if used repeatedly (wasting a turn without being consumed).
Non-Totem Pokémon that have a non-volatile status condition or are about to execute a move with a charging turn will not attempt to call for allies.
After either ally has fainted, if the remaining Pokémon's species matches that of the original encounter or of its evolution family, non-Totem Pokémon may call for help again. Within an SOS Battle, the chance for the called Pokémon to be Shiny or have perfect IVs increases with the number of answered calls.
SOS Battle allies
Most non-Totem Pokémon only call for allies of the same species as themselves. The list below describes all Pokémon that can summon allies that are not of the same species as the original encounter.
Weather-dependent allies
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This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Castform weathers |
In certain locations, when Pokémon call for allies, a special ally may appear if there is a weather condition in effect in the battle.
| Location | Weather | Special ally |
|---|---|---|
| Lush Jungle | Rain |  Goomy
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| Unknown |  Castform
| |
| Malie Garden | Rain |  Poliwhirl
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 PoliwrathDay
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 PolitoedNight
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| Hail | Castform
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| Tapu Village | Hail |  Vanillite
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| Unknown | Castform
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| Route 17 | Rain | Goomy
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| Unknown | Castform
| |
| Haina Desert | Sandstorm |  Gabite
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| Rain, Hail | Castform
| |
| Exeggutor Island | Rain |  Sliggoo
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| Rain | Castform
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| Mount Lanakila | Hail |  Vanillish
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| Unknown | Castform
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In other languages
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This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games. |
