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 for help from allies, 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. Some species (including most Pokémon that can appear exclusively as allies in SOS Battles) cannot call for help.
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, has their Pokémon immediately use supereffective moves on new allies called into battle[1], 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 in the semi-invulnerable turn of a move such as Dig will not attempt to call for allies.
If there is only one wild Pokémon present, non-Totem Pokémon may call for help again. Within an SOS Battle, the chance for the called Pokémon to be Shiny, have perfect IVs, or have its Hidden Ability increases with the number of answered calls. After 255 Pokémon have been called into battle, the counter rolls over and these rate go back to their default values but will continue to rise as usual after more Pokémon are called in.[2] If a Pokémon successfully calls an ally, all EVs earned by defeating a Pokémon are doubled for the rest of the battle (including those from EV-enhancing items).
| Chain length | Perfect IVs | Hidden Ability chance | Shiny chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1 | 0% | ? |
| 10 | 2 | 5% | ? |
| 20 | 3 | 10% | ? |
| 30 | 4 | 15% | ? |
| 70 | 4 | 15% | Maximum[1] |
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
In certain locations, when Pokémon call for allies, a special ally may appear if there is a weather condition in effect in the battle. This includes weather caused by moves or Abilities during the battle. Castform can appear in any location where weather can affect the allies Pokémon can call, but aside from Castform, each location has a specific Pokémon that can be called in a specific weather (which usually occurs naturally there, though not always persistently).
The table below describes the likelihood of special allies to be called depending on the location and weather.
| Special ally | Rain | Hail | Sandstorm | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Poliwhirl |
~10% | Malie Garden | ||
 Poliwrath |
~1%Day | Malie Garden | ||
 Politoed |
~1%Night | Malie Garden | ||
 Castform |
~10% | ~10% | Malie Garden | |
| ~1% | ~10% | ~10% | Lush Jungle, Route 17, Exeggutor Island | |
| ~10% | ~1% | ~10% | Tapu Village, Mount Lanakila | |
| ~10% | ~10% | ~1% | Haina Desert | |
 Gabite |
~10% | Haina Desert | ||
 Vanillite |
~10% | Tapu Village | ||
 Vanillish |
~10% | Mount Lanakila | ||
 Goomy |
~10% | Lush Jungle, Route 17 | ||
 Sliggoo |
~10% | Exeggutor Island |
Pokémon that do not call for help
Many Pokémon will never call for help. Pokémon that can be encountered in the wild that never call for help comprise Legendary Pokémon, the Ultra Beasts, the guardian deities, Pokémon encountered via Island Scan, as well as the Pokémon listed below.
| # | Pokémon | |
|---|---|---|
| 012 |  |
Butterfree |
| 062 | |
Poliwrath |
| 094 |  |
Gengar |
| 103 |  |
Exeggutor |
| 113 |  |
Chansey |
| 121 |  |
Starmie |
| 143 |  |
Snorlax |
| 149 |  |
Dragonite |
| 169 |  |
Crobat |
| 185 |  |
Sudowoodo |
| 186 | |
Politoed |
| 196 |  |
Espeon |
| 197 |  |
Umbreon |
| 302 |  |
Sableye |
| 351 | |
Castform |
| 373 |  |
Salamence |
| 440 |  |
Happiny |
| 444 | |
Gabite |
| 448 |  |
Lucario |
| 582 | |
Vanillite |
| 583 | |
Vanillish |
| 675 |  |
Pangoro |
| 704 | |
Goomy |
| 705 | |
Sliggoo |
| 747 |  |
Mareanie |
| 767 |  |
Wimpod |
| 774 |  |
Minior |
| 775 |  |
Komala |
| 784 |  |
Kommo-o |
In other languages
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References
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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. |
