SOS Battle

SOS redirects here. For SOS mail, see Wonder Mail.

A Totem Pokémon calling for an ally in an SOS Battle

An ally appearing in an 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, and Ultra Beasts do not call for help. Totem Pokémon always call for help, but use different mechanics than other wild Pokémon.

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.

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.

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. The likelihood that a given Pokémon will call for help depends in part on its species. Some species cannot call for help (including most Pokémon that can appear exclusively as allies in SOS Battles). In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, a wild Pokémon will only call one ally per battle, unless the player uses an Adrenaline Orb.

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 allies that they can call vary with location.

Wild 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).

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.

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).

SOS Battle allies

This article contains old or outdated information, or has not been updated in a while. Please check the content of this article and update it as required. Reason: Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

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.

Pokémon Sun and Moon

#	Pokémon		Possible allies			Notes
010		Caterpie	Caterpie	Butterfree		Anywhere but Route 1
011		Metapod	Caterpie			Only on Route 1
011		Metapod	Caterpie	Butterfree		Anywhere but Route 1
042		Golbat	Golbat	Crobat		Only in Resolution Cave
073		Tentacruel	Tentacruel	Lumineon		Some encounters at Poni Wilds
079		Slowpoke	Slowpoke	Slowbro		Only at Kala'e Bay
093		Haunter	Haunter	Gengar
104		Cubone	Cubone	Kangaskhan
118		Goldeen	Goldeen	Seaking
120		Staryu	Staryu	Starmie		Only on Route 7
128		Tauros	Tauros	Miltank
129		Magikarp	Magikarp	Gyarados
133		Eevee	Eevee	Espeon		Only during the day
133		Eevee	Eevee	Umbreon		Only during the night
147		Dratini	Dratini	Dragonair		Anywhere but Poni Gauntlet
147		Dratini	Dratini	Dragonair	Dragonite	Only at Poni Gauntlet
172		Pichu	Pichu	Pikachu	Happiny
173		Cleffa	Cleffa	Clefairy	Chansey
174		Igglybuff	Igglybuff	Jigglypuff	Happiny
222		Corsola	Corsola	Mareanie		Mareanie will attack Corsola before targeting the player's Pokémon.
239		Elekid	Elekid	Electabuzz	Chansey
240		Magby	Magby	Magmar
241		Miltank	Miltank	Tauros
320		Wailmer	Wailmer	Wailord		Only while fishing
339		Barboach	Barboach	Whiscash
361		Snorunt	Snorunt	Glalie		Only at Mount Lanakila
371		Bagon	Bagon	Shelgon		Only at Kala'e Bay
371		Bagon	Bagon	Salamence		Only on Route 3
438		Bonsly	Bonsly	Sudowoodo	Happiny
446		Munchlax	Munchlax	Snorlax	Happiny
447		Riolu	Riolu	Lucario	Chansey
568		Trubbish	Trubbish	Garbodor
674		Pancham	Pancham	Pangoro
703		Carbink	Carbink	Sableye		Only in caves. Sableye will attack Carbink before targeting the player's Pokémon.
732		Trumbeak	Pikipek			Only on Route 8
765		Oranguru	Trumbeak
766		Passimian	Trumbeak
782		Jangmo-o	Hakamo-o	Kommo-o

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).

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 are Legendary Pokémon, the Ultra Beasts, Pokémon encountered via Island Scan, and 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 the anime

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Needs more information

In the anime, SOS Battles first appeared in To Top a Totem!, when Totem Gumshoos called two Yungoos to help it during the battle with Ash.

In A Team-on Team Tussle!. , several Alolan Rattata and Raticate helped Totem Raticate againest Team Skull and Team Rocket to protect the Darkinium Z.

In Big Sky, Small Fry!, Totem Wishiwashi called an Alomomola to help it during the battle againest Lana.

In Currying Favor and Flavor!, Totem Lurantis called a Castform to help it during the battle with Ash.

In other languages

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 闖入對戰 Chóngyahp Deuijin Mandarin 闖入對戰 / 闯入对战 Chuǎngrù Duìzhàn Czech SOS zápas Dutch SOS-gevechten French Intrusion German Quereinsteiger-Kampf Hungarian SOS Harc Italian Lotta con rinforzi Korean 난입배틀 Nanib Battle Polish Walka SOS Portuguese Batalha SOS Russian Сражение SOS Srazheniye SOS Spanish Llamada de auxilio

References

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