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.
- SOS redirects here. For SOS mail, see Wonder Mail.
In the Generation VII core series games, once the player clears Ilima's trial at Verdant Cavern, battles with wild Pokémon can turn into SOS Battles. Trial Pokémon (excluding Totem Pokémon and the Pokémon in Lana's Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon trial), Island Scan Pokémon, Legendary Pokémon, and Ultra Beasts do not call for help. Totem Pokémon always call for help, but use different mechanics than other wild Pokémon.
In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Pokémon that can only be found through SOS Battles will have an Adrenaline Orb next to the icons showing where they can be found when looking up their locations on the Rotom Pokédex.
Mechanics
At the end of a turn, a wild Pokémon may attempt to call for help if it does not already have an ally. If its call is successful, that ally will appear in battle.
When an ally appears, it is affected by any entry hazards and any of its Abilities that activate when it enters battle (such as Intimidate) will activate.
If the player's Pokémon currently in battle has the Ability Synchronize when the ally is called, there is a 50% chance that the ally will have the same Nature as that Pokémon (however, due to a bug, if the Pokémon with Synchronize was not originally in the first slot of the party and moved to it during the battle, the called Pokémon will synchronize to the Nature of the Pokémon that was originally in the first slot, instead of the Nature of the Pokémon with Synchronize that replaced it).
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 predefined set of allies they can call during battle (usually two); once those allies have fainted, they cannot be called again.
Totem Pokémon with two allies will call a specific ally on its first turn, and call the other ally if its HP is below 2/3 (once the first ally has been defeated). If its HP drops below 2/3 before it has a chance to call an ally, it will call the latter ally first, then call the first ally at the first opportunity after its other ally has fainted. Once one of these allies is defeated, it cannot be called again.
Unlike other Totem Pokémon, Totem Salazzle can call an unlimited number of allies, as can Totem GumshoosUS/RaticateUM during the rematch against it when attempting to return Ilima's Normalium Z.
Brooklet Hill special Pokémon
In Pokémon Sun and Moon, in the leadup to Lana's trial at Brooklet Hill, the player has to battle two Wishiwashi. The second of these Wishiwashi will successfully call for help every turn. This Wishiwashi will even call for help when it has a status condition.
In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, during Lana's trial at Brooklet Hill, the player has to drive Wishiwashi downstream. In the third lake in the area (the second that is part of the trial), both the Wishiwashi and optional Dewpider will successfully call for help every turn as long as it does not already have an ally (even if it has a status condition). They always call allies of the same species. If the original Pokémon is defeated, the Pokémon originally called as an ally will no longer call for help.
Other wild Pokémon
In regular wild Pokémon battles, at the end of a turn, if there is only one wild Pokémon on the field, it may call for an ally. Sometimes, no ally answers this call. In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, a wild Pokémon will only call one ally per battle, unless the player uses an Adrenaline Orb. Wild 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.
The chance that a given Pokémon will call for help depends on its species, by default being equal to its base call rate (in percent).[1] Species with a call rate of 0% (most Pokémon that exclusively appear as allies in SOS Battles) never call for help. The call rate can be increased by multipliers under certain conditions, with the multipliers stacking multiplicatively if multiple are applicable.
- The call rate is multiplied by a factor of 3 if the calling Pokémon's remaining HP is between 20% and 50% of its maximum HP (i.e. if its HP bar is yellow).
- The call rate is multiplied by a factor of 5 if the calling Pokémon's remaining HP is below 20% (i.e. the HP bar is red).
- The call rate is multiplied by a factor of 2 if an Adrenaline Orb has been used in the battle. The Adrenaline Orb can only be used once per battle and will fail if used repeatedly (wasting a turn without being consumed).
The chance that a call for help is answered by an ally depends on several factors, by default being equal to four times the species' call rate (in percent).[1] The answer rate can be increased by multipliers under certain conditions, with the multipliers being cumulative if more than one is applicable.
- The answer rate is multiplied by a factor of 1.2 if the player's leading Pokémon has Intimidate, Unnerve or Pressure.
- The answer rate is multiplied by a factor of 1.5 if the wild Pokémon called for help on the previous turn and is calling again consecutively, regardless of whether the previous call was answered or not.
- The answer rate is multiplied by a factor of 3 if the Pokémon's most recent call for help was not answered.
- The answer rate is multiplied by a factor of 2 if the calling Pokémon was hit by, and survived, a super effective move earlier in the same turn that it makes the call. Whether any other Pokémon was hit by a super effective move, and possibly fainted as a result, does not affect eligibility for this factor.
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.[2] In Pokémon Sun and Moon, after 255 Pokémon have been called into battle, the counter rolls over and these rates go back to their default values but will continue to rise as usual after more Pokémon are called in.[3] In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, this restriction does not exist - the counter will stop counting at 255 and all bonuses will remain in effect. 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 Power items).
| Chain length | Perfect IVs | Hidden Ability chance | Shiny Rolls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1 | 0% | 1 |
| 10 | 2 | 5% | 1 |
| 11 | 2 | 5% | 5 |
| 20 | 3 | 10% | 5 |
| 21 | 3 | 10% | 9 |
| 30 | 4 | 15% | 9 |
| 31 | 4 | 15% | 13 |
SOS Battle allies
Most wild 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 and Cloud Nine or Air Lock is not in effect. 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).
If special allies can appear, they always have a combined 11% chance of appearing over allies appearing in the usual, species-dependent way. The table below describes the likelihood of special allies to be called depending on the location and weather.[1]
| Special ally | Rain | Hail | Sandstorm | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 10% | Malie Garden | ||
 | 1%Day | Malie Garden | ||
 | 1%Night | Malie Garden | ||
 | 11% | 11% | Malie Garden | |
| 1% | 11% | 11% | Lush Jungle, Route 17, Exeggutor Island | |
| 11% | 1% | 11% | Mount LanakilaSM, Mount Lanakila (base)USUM, Tapu Village | |
| 11% | 11% | Mount Lanakila (except base)USUM | ||
| 11% | 11% | 1% | Haina Desert | |
 | 10% | Haina Desert | ||
 | 10% | Tapu Village | ||
 | 10% | Mount Lanakila | ||
 | 1% | Mount Lanakila (except base) | ||
 | 10% | Lush Jungle, Route 17 | ||
 | 10% | Exeggutor Island |
Pokémon that do not call for help
Many Pokémon have a call rate of 0 and will never call for help. Pokémon that can be encountered in the wild that never call for help are Legendary Pokémon, the Ultra Beasts, Pokémon encountered via Island Scan, Pokémon encountered in Ultra Space Wilds, and the Pokémon listed below.
| Pokémon | |
|---|---|
 | Butterfree |
| Poliwrath |
 | Gengar |
 | Electrode |
 | Exeggutor |
 | Chansey SM |
 | Starmie |
 | Mr. Mime |
 | Jynx |
 | Snorlax |
 | Dragonite |
 | Crobat |
 | Sudowoodo |
| Politoed |
 | Espeon |
 | Umbreon |
 | Slowking |
 | Octillery |
 | Blissey |
 | Sableye |
| Castform |
 | Huntail |
 | Gorebyss |
 | Salamence |
 | Ambipom |
 | Happiny |
| Gabite |
 | Lucario |
 | Basculin Blue-Striped Form |
| Vanillite |
| Vanillish |
| Vanilluxe |
 | Pawniard |
 | Volcarona |
 | Floette Orange Flower |
 | Floette Blue Flower |
 | Floette White Flower |
 | Pangoro |
| Goomy |
| Sliggoo |
 | Toucannon |
 | Vikavolt |
 | Mareanie |
 | Wimpod |
 | Minior |
 | Komala |
 | Kommo-o |
In the anime
In Big Sky, Small Fry!, an Alomomola appeared to assist Totem Wishiwashi during Lana's Brooklet Hill trial against it.
In Currying Favor and Flavor!, Totem Lurantis called a Castform to help it during Ash's Lush Jungle trial.
Unlike in the games, Trainers in the anime are allowed to use two Pokémon at once during SOS Battles.
In other languages
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References
| Pokémon battle variations | |
|---|---|
| Double Battle • Multi Battle • Triple Battle • Rotation Battle • Horde Encounter • SOS Battle • Support Play • Max Raid Battle Full Battle • Contest Battle • Launcher Battle • Sky Battle • Inverse Battle • Battle Royal • Dynamax Adventure Battle modes | |
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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. |