Escape

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This article is about the game mechanic. For the Pokémon Adventures round whose Japanese title translates to "Escape!!", see PS268. For the Escape Orb in the Mystery Dungeon series, see Wonder Orb.

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Escaping via Smoke Ball in Generation III.

In the core series Pokémon games, it is possible to escape (Japanese: 逃げる escape) from a battle with a wild Pokémon by selecting Run (Japanese: にげる Run) on the main battle screen. However, escape is not guaranteed; whether the player is successful at running away from the battle is determined by a calculation involving the speed of the combatants. When the escape is successful, the battle ends immediately. When it is not successful, the wild Pokémon will use a move.

Entering a battle with a wild Pokémon and then escaping counts the Pokémon as being seen in the Trainer's Pokédex. In Generations I and II, if the player runs from an in-game event Pokémon, it becomes permanently unavailable (except the Electrode in Team Rocket HQ). Starting in Generation III, if the player runs from a Legendary Pokémon, the Pokémon reappears when the player leaves and re-enters its location.

Success conditions

This section contains old or outdated information, or has not been updated in a while. Please check the content of this section and update it as required. Reason: everything after Generation 4.

Generally speaking, the slower the Trainer's Pokémon and/or the faster the wild Pokémon, the harder it is to escape.

Generation I and II

If the player's active Pokémon's Speed is greater than or equal to the wild Pokémon's Speed, fleeing will always succeed. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, the chance of escaping is determined by the following formula

$$Odds_{Escape}=\left\lfloor {\dfrac {Speed_{Player}\times 32}{\left\lfloor {Speed_{Wild} \over 4}\right\rfloor {\bmod {2}}56}}\right\rfloor +30\times Attempts$$

where

• SpeedPlayer is the current Speed of the player's active Pokémon,
• SpeedWild is the Speed of the wild Pokémon, and
• Attempts is the number of consecutive times the player has tried to escape during the battle (counting the current attempt). If the player's Pokémon attacks, this number is reset to 0.

If OddsEscape is greater than 255, the player escapes automatically. Otherwise, a random number is generated between 0 and 255. If that number is less than OddsEscape, the player escapes. If not, the escape fails and the player's Pokémon does not make a move that turn. If ${\textstyle \left\lfloor {Speed_{Wild} \over 4}\right\rfloor {\bmod {2}}56}$ is equal to 0, escape is automatically a success.

In those generations, the speed drop from paralysis affects the chance of escaping.

Generation III and IV

If the player's active Pokémon's Speed is greater than or equal to the wild Pokémon's Speed, fleeing will always succeed. Otherwise, the chance of successfully fleeing is determined by the following formula:

$$Odds_{Escape}=\left(\left\lfloor {Speed_{Player}\times 128 \over Speed_{Wild}}\right\rfloor +30\times Attempts\right){\bmod {2}}56$$

where

• SpeedPlayer is the unmodified Speed of the player's active Pokémon,
• SpeedWild is the unmodified Speed of the wild Pokémon,
• Attempts is the number of times the player has tried to escape during the battle (counting the current attempt).

A random number is generated between 0 and 255. If that number is less than OddsEscape, the player escapes. If not, the escape fails and the player's Pokémon does not make a move that turn.

From Generation III onwards, the speed drop from paralysis no longer affects the chance of escaping.

Generation V onwards

If the player's active Pokémon's Speed is greater than or equal to the wild Pokémon's Speed, fleeing will always succeed. Otherwise, the chance of successfully fleeing is determined by the following formula:

$$Odds_{Escape}={\left(\left\lfloor {Speed_{Player}\times 32 \over {Speed_{Wild}/4}}\right\rfloor +30\times Attempts\right) \over 256}$$

where

• SpeedPlayer is the unmodified Speed of the player's active Pokémon,
• SpeedWild is the unmodified Speed of the wild Pokémon,
• Attempts is the number of times the player has tried to escape during the battle (counting the current attempt).

Other factors

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: * In Generation II, if a Pokémon holding a Smoke Ball faints and the player chooses to flee, is the player guaranteed to escape? * Exact Battle Pyramid mechanics.

Pokémon cannot attempt to flee from Trainer battles or battles during trials. In the Generation II games only, the player cannot attempt to flee from Pokémon encountered as traps in the Team Rocket's Hideout, the GS Ball Celebi, the Tin Tower Suicune (in Crystal), and the scripted Red Gyarados. In the Battle Pyramid, escape is not guaranteed if the player's Pokémon is faster.

Several conditions prevent a Pokémon from even attempting to flee.

• A Pokémon with the Ability Shadow Tag prevents opposing Pokémon from attempting to flee. (From Generation IV onward, Pokémon with Shadow Tag are unaffected by Shadow Tag.)
• A Pokémon with the Ability Arena Trap prevents opposing grounded Pokémon from attempting to flee.
• A Pokémon with the Ability Magnet Pull prevents opposing Steel-type Pokémon from attempting to flee.
• A Pokémon affected by a trapping move (including binding moves and Ingrain) is prevented from attempting to flee (from Generation II onward).

Several conditions allow a Pokémon to always successfully flee from a wild battle.

• Using an escape item (Poké Doll, Fluffy Tail, or Poké Toy) causes the player to escape from a wild Pokémon (regardless of trapping moves and Abilities).
• In a wild Single Battle (including an SOS Battle as long as there is currently only a single opponent), using the move Teleport causes the Pokémon to flee, unless a trapping move or Ability prevents escape. From Generation V onward, Ingrain does not prevent Teleport from being successful.
• If the player's Pokémon is holding a Smoke Ball or has the Ability Run Away, its attempts to flee or Teleport are always successful (regardless of trapping moves and Abilities). In Generation II only, the Smoke Ball doesn't guarantee escape if a trapping move would prevent it.
  • In the Battle Pyramid, Run Away does not guarantee escape, but it will be credited if a Pokémon with this Ability successfully flees.
  • In Generation III and IV, if the player's Pokémon that has Run Away or a Smoke Ball faints, if the player attempts to flee instead of sending out another Pokémon, they will escape without fail.
  • In Generation III only, the Smoke Ball has an animation when escaping using it. In Generation II, "Got away safely" redundantly appears after the message informing of escape via Smoke Ball.
  • In Generation V only, a wild Pokémon holding a Smoke Ball cannot successfully Teleport if it is trapped by a trapping move or Ability (although the player's Pokémon can).
• From Generation VI onward, the player's Ghost-type Pokémon can always successfully flee, regardless of trapping moves or Abilities.

In a wild Single Battle (including an SOS Battle as long as there is currently only a single opponent), the moves Whirlwind, Roar, Dragon Tail, and Circle Throw force the target to flee, unless it has the Ability Suction Cups or has been affected by Ingrain. If a wild Pokémon's held Red Card is activated while it has no allies, it forces the player's Pokémon to flee.

In a wild battle, the Abilities Wimp Out and Emergency Exit cause the Pokémon with that Ability to flee if its HP falls below half.

Example

Generation I and II

The player's Pokémon has a Speed of 25 and the wild Pokémon has a Speed of 100. The player tries to escape, and has not previously attempted to flee in the battle.

First, check that the denominator ${\textstyle \left\lfloor {\tfrac {Speed_{Wild}}{4}}\right\rfloor {\bmod {2}}56}$ will not be equal to 0

${\begin{aligned}Denominator&=\left\lfloor {100 \over 4}\right\rfloor {\bmod {2}}56\\&=\lfloor 25\rfloor {\bmod {2}}56\\&=25{\bmod {2}}56\\&=25\\\end{aligned}}$

Since the denominator is not equal to 0, proceed to calculating the odds of escape.

${\begin{aligned}Odds_{Escape}&=\left\lfloor {\dfrac {25\times 32}{25}}\right\rfloor +30\times 1\\&=\left\lfloor 32\right\rfloor +30\\&=32+30\\&=62\end{aligned}}$

Since OddsEscape is not greater than 255, generate a random number between 0 and 255. If that random number is less than 62, the Pokémon flees successfully. Therefore, the probability of escaping is ${\textstyle {\tfrac {62}{256}}\approx 24\%}$.

If the player fails to escape, each successive attempt will be ${\textstyle {\tfrac {30}{256}}\approx 11.7\%}$ more likely than the last.

Wild Pokémon

Certain wild Pokémon can flee from battle.

Safari Zone

In Generation I, III, and IV, as well as Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Pokémon encountered during a Safari Game in a Safari Zone can flee. The rate of escape can be affected by throwing Bait, Pokéblocks, Rocks, or Mud or by "going near" (depending on the game). Usually food lowers the chance to flee while also lowering the catch rate, and other actions increase the chance to flee while increasing the catch rate; but the Great Marsh switches those effects.

• RBY: in the Kanto Safari Zone, the chance a Pokémon will flee is based on its Speed; throwing Bait lowers this chance, while throwing Rocks raises it.
• RSE: in the Hoenn Safari Zone, all Pokémon start with the same flee rate; throwing a Pokéblock lowers this rate, while going nearer to the Pokémon raises it.
• FRLG: in the Kanto Safari Zone, each species has its own flee rate and this is influenced by whether the Pokémon is eating (lower) or angry (higher).
• DPPt: in the Great Marsh, each species has its own flee rate; throwing Mud lowers this rate, while throwing Bait has a high chance of raising it.
• HGSS:in the Johto Safari Zone, each species has its own flee rate; throwing Bait lowers this rate, while throwing Mud has a high chance of raising it.
• BDSP: in the Great Marsh, each species has its own flee rate; throwing Mud lowers this rate, while throwing Bait raises it.

Generation II

In Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, in addition to the roaming Legendary beasts, a few species of wild Pokémon can escape from battle. Much like roaming Pokémon, these Pokémon may attempt to flee immediately before they would use their move, and they will not attempt to flee when affected by trapping moves (such as Mean Look or Wrap), sleep, or freeze.

All Pokémon that can flee were intended to be more likely to be caught in a Fast Ball, but due to a programming error, only Magnemite, Grimer, and Tangela actually are more likely to be caught in a Fast Ball.

#	Pokémon		Type		Probability	Appears in the wild
0081		Magnemite	Electric	Steel	~10%	✔
0088		Grimer	Poison		~10%	✔
0104		Cubone	Ground		50%	✔
0114		Tangela	Grass		~10%	✔
0122		Mr. Mime	Psychic		~10%	✔
0133		Eevee	Normal		~10%	✘
0137		Porygon	Normal		~10%	✘
0144		Articuno	Ice	Flying	50%	✘
0145		Zapdos	Electric	Flying	50%	✘
0146		Moltres	Fire	Flying	50%	✘
0147		Dratini	Dragon		~10%	✔
0148		Dragonair	Dragon		~10%	✔
0176		Togetic	Normal	Flying	~10%	✘
0195		Quagsire	Water	Ground	50%	✔
0197		Umbreon	Dark		~10%	✘
0201		Unown	Psychic		~10%	✔
0209		Snubbull	Normal		~10%	✔
0214		Heracross	Bug	Fighting	~10%	✔
0216		Teddiursa	Normal		50%	✔
0225		Delibird	Ice	Flying	50%	✔
0231		Phanpy	Ground		50%	✔

Roaming Pokémon

Roaming Pokémon attempt to flee every turn, unless they are prevented from fleeing (such as by trapping moves).

In Pokémon X and Y, roaming Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres will automatically flee before even the first turn. The player must encounter the Legendary Pokémon ten times before finally battling it in Sea Spirit's Den.

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!

In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the capture mechanics are similar to that of Pokémon GO. Wild Pokémon have a chance of fleeing during an encounter after breaking out of a Poké Ball. If the player has a Catch Combo, a wild Pokémon fleeing will cause it to be lost, but the player fleeing from a wild Pokémon will not. Shortly before fleeing, an animation different to the one when a wild Pokémon swats a Poké Ball away will play. After this animation has played any thrown Poké Balls (except the Master Ball) will fail to catch it and it will flee.

Other

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Confirm whether the first battle's wild Pokémon can flee in Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl

In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond and Pearl, the player battles a wild Pokémon (Poochyena, Zigzagoon, or Starly) immediately after obtaining their first partner Pokémon. During this battle, if the player's Pokémon's HP bar turns red (i.e. its remaining HP is 20% or less), the wild Pokémon will flee on its turn instead of attacking.

In Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon, during the player's first visit to Aether Paradise, there is a scripted battle against the Ultra Beast Nihilego. This Nihilego, which cannot be caught, is scripted to flee on the fifth turn of battle, ending the battle and continuing the story. If Nihilego was unable to flee on that turn due to being trapped or in the semi-invulnerable turn of Sky Drop, it will not attempt to flee on subsequent turns.

Trainers

Generations I-VIII

Prior to Generation IX, it is impossible to escape from in-game Trainer battles in which Pokémon can gain experience.

However, in battles against other players, attempting to escape will cause the battle to end immediately, without fail. If only one player attempts to escape, the battle ends as a loss against them, but if both players attempt to escape in the same turn, the battle ends in a draw.

Generation IX

In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, it is possible to escape from in-game Trainer battles. Doing so is considered a loss, thus causing the same penalties as blacking out.

In spin-off games

Pokémon GO

Wild Pokémon escaping is a key aspect of capturing in Pokémon GO. Whenever the wild Pokémon breaks out of a thrown Poké Ball, there is a chance that it will run away, ending the encounter. Every species has a its own base flee rate, a flat probability of fleeing after breaking out of a Poké Ball. If the player chooses to run from a wild Pokémon encounter, the Pokémon will still remain on the overworld map until its spawn timer expires.

For a list of Pokémon by their base flee rates, see List of Pokémon by catch rate in Pokémon GO

Pokémon encountered as Field or Special Research rewards will never flee. Pokémon encountered as a result of a Raid Battle or Team GO Rocket battle flee when the player runs out of Premier Balls, but will not flee otherwise.

Every Pokémon that spawns on the map has a timer that can range from 15 to 60 minutes. If a player is currently tracking a nearby Pokémon using the app's interface, and that Pokémon's timer expires or the player walks out of tracking range, the game will notify that the Pokémon has fled.

Pokémon Shuffle

After beating a stage that is not a battle against a Trainer's Mega-Evolved Pokémon or a Pokémon that the player has already caught, the player has the chance to catch the Pokémon they fought against. The player uses a Poké Ball for the first attempt to capture the Pokémon. If the Pokémon is not caught, the player gets a prompt to buy a Great Ball to catch it instead. Rejecting the prompt ends the stage with the Pokémon running off screen. If the player purchases a Great Ball, they get a second chance to catch the Pokémon with the increased Catchability from the Great Ball. If this Great Ball does not catch the Pokémon, the player may purchase another Great Ball. Once again, not choosing to buy another Great Ball means the Pokémon runs away. The Pokémon has a chance to run away without the opportunity to make a purchase at any point after the first Great Ball purchase, and will run away after four Great Balls have been used. As before, this causes the stage to end.

In the TCG

Imakuni?'s Doduo has Frenzied Escape, so when it retreats it starts to run away.

As written, the Pokémon Trading Card Game depicts a Trainer battle. As such, the concept of running away is not normally referenced directly. However, there are effects named after concepts relating to running away. For example, Run Away Draw on Dudunsparce in Temporal Forces is named after Run Away and Wimpod from Burning Shadows has Wimp Out. This may associate running away with the retreat action and with generally leaving the in-play zone.

One card does explicitly run away: Imakuni?'s Doduo, in its original version only released in Japan in Challenge from the Darkness and its updated version in Evolutions. Both cards have the Pokémon Power Frenzied Escape. When Imakuni?'s Doduo retreats, the player is to throw it as far as they can "because Doduo is running away". This effect means Imakuni?'s Doduo does not go to the Bench after retreating like other cards. Instead, the Pokémon remains out of play for the rest of the game.

In other languages

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 逃走 Tòuhjáu Mandarin 逃走 Táozǒu French Fuite German Flucht Italian Fuga Korean 도망간다 Domangganda Portuguese Fugir* Spanish Huir

This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.