Pokémon: 'Special Pokémon Answer the Call for Help in SOS Battles'

SOS Battles make it easier to find Shiny Pokémon.

☆ NintendObs Weekly – Monday, January 16, 2017 – Sunday, January 22, 2017.

Pokémon Sun Moon

Special Pokémon Answer the Call for Help in SOS Battles

Battles against wild Pokémon in the Alola region are different than in other regions. After you complete your first trial, you’ll start to find that wild Pokémon may initiate “SOS battles” by calling for help when they’re in trouble. SOS battles start as normal wild Pokémon encounters, but they expand into a two-on-one affair when another Pokémon suddenly joins the fray!

New challengers appearing while you’re already battling wild Pokémon might seem like a nuisance when you first get started, but these special encounters are the key to acquiring rare and valuable Pokémon. As more new Pokémon enter a battle, newly called Pokémon will be more likely to be Shiny, to have their Hidden Ability, and to have higher potential. And if you’re looking to finish your Pokédex, SOS battles are the only way you’ll be able to track down some Pokémon in the wild.

Read on to find out more about how you can make the helper Pokémon in SOS battles help you.

Chain Links

The key to making the most of SOS battles is building long chains of Pokémon called in to help. Under the right conditions, a single Pokémon will continue to call for help over and over as long as you knock out its partner. We’ll refer to a wild Pokémon calling for help as a “caller.” Obviously, it’s a good idea for your own Pokémon to be strong enough to endure long battles, and to have the strength to quickly knock out the Pokémon that get called so that new ones will take their place.

The first step for starting a chain is tracking down a wild Pokémon. Almost any wild Pokémon will work, regardless of how the battle was initiated. Surfing, fishing, walking in tall grass, and even being attacked by Pokémon hiding in bushes or flying overhead can lead to an SOS battle.

You’ll then want to encourage the wild Pokémon to call for help as often as possible. Start by reducing their health as much as you can. Ideally, you’ll want to have your Pokémon use False Swipe or Hold Back. Both moves have a special property: instead of knocking out the target Pokémon, they leave their target with 1 HP. You can teach many Pokémon False Swipe by using TM54 (found in Iki Town). You can further increase the odds of Pokémon calling for help by having a Pokémon with the Intimidate, Unnerve, or Pressure Abilities active and by immediately using supereffective moves on new allies called into battle.

Next, you’ll want to use the Adrenaline Orb item. Using an Adrenaline Orb increases the odds of wild Pokémon calling for help. You’ll be able to purchase Adrenaline Orbs at a low cost from Poké Marts all over the Alola region after completing three trials. It only takes one Adrenaline Orb to increase the odds of wild Pokémon calling for help for the rest of the battle, even if you switch to a new caller.

If the wild Pokémon calls for help, great! Just knock out the new Pokémon, and your chain is going. If the wild Pokémon doesn’t call for help, or if a call for help goes unanswered, you’ll need to find a way to pass the turn. One great way to pass turns is by using another Adrenaline Orb. Using more Adrenaline Orbs won’t increase the odds of the Pokémon calling for help, but it does pass your turn. And if you’ve already used an Adrenaline Orb during battle, using another won’t further reduce your inventory of them. Alternatively, you can use moves that don’t deal damage, such as Growl, Protect, or Happy Hour. Maybe Happy Hour will make the wild Pokémon feel better after the call for help fails? Switching Pokémon in your party is another good way to burn a turn.

Once you find the Pokémon you’re looking for, it’s time to make the catch. We suggest using Thunder Wave to paralyze your target Pokémon or a move such as Sleep Powder or Spore to put it to sleep to prevent it from calling for help. Knock out any remaining allies and weaken your target Pokémon, then catch it as you normally would. Mission accomplished!

If you’re having a tough time encountering the Pokémon you’re looking for, don’t forget to weaken new helpers and knock out the original caller occasionally. You don’t want your caller to run out of PP and knock itself out with Struggle deep into a long chain.

Never Break the Chain

There are a few things to keep in mind to ensure your SOS battles don’t end before you’re ready to use a Poké Ball. SOS battles will end if you flee or run out of available Pokémon, if all wild Pokémon faint without calling for help, if you’re left with only wild Pokémon that can’t call for help, or if you capture a Pokémon. If none of these conditions are met, wild Pokémon will keep calling for help forever.

When a Pokémon calls for help, it will normally call another Pokémon from its Evolution line. Wild Pichu will call other Pichu for help, and sometimes Pikachu will appear instead. Some Pokémon can also call Pokémon from other evolutionary lines. Instead of another Pichu or a Pikachu, Pichu’s call for help might also be answered by a Happiny. And when you see a weather effect on the field before entering battle, you can find Pokémon from different evolutionary lines in SOS battles (but using a move like Rain Dance to change the weather yourself won’t do the trick). Plus, look out for some decisively unhelpful Pokémon that appear after calls for help from certain Pokémon—notice what happens when a Mareanie appears to “help” a Corsola!

If you knock out a Pokémon that has called for help while it has a partner, the remaining Pokémon can usually call for help instead. Some Pokémon will never call for help, so be careful about ending up with one of these Pokémon unless you’re looking to end your chain. Most Pokémon that appear in the wild only through SOS battles, including Happiny, Chansey, Sableye, Mareanie, Goomy, Sliggoo, Castform, Gabite, Vanillite, and Vanillish, will never call for help themselves. Plus, Pokémon that can only be found through Island Scan will never call for help.

Pokémon that are Burned, Poisoned, Frozen, Asleep, or affected by Paralysis will never call for help. Be careful not to use moves like Flamethrower or Thunderbolt that might inflict a status condition on a Pokémon you want to call for help. But if you’re looking to catch a Pokémon, using a move like Spore or Thunder Wave that inflicts a status effect without dealing damage is a great way to break the chain. Remember, you won’t be able to throw a Poké Ball until only one opponent remains, just like in the Horde Battles from Pokémon Omega Ruby, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon X, and Pokémon Y.

Finally, remember that when a Pokémon runs out of PP for each of its moves, it will use Struggle, which always deals recoil damage equal to 1/4 of the user’s maximum HP. Most Pokémon will have plenty of PP available, but there are situations where Struggle can come into play, such as when you’re searching for a Shiny Pokémon or a rare Pokémon like Castform. Make sure to weaken a new wild Pokémon and knock out the original if you’re chaining for a long time to avoid having your caller knock itself out with recoil damage from Struggle! Keep in mind that some other moves, such as Take Down and Double-Edge, can also cause wild Pokémon to knock themselves out and break your chain.

Receive Fabulous Prizes

In addition to being the only way to capture certain Pokémon, SOS battles are the best way to get some truly top Pokémon.

Start off by trying to get a wild Pokémon to call 30 new allies into a single battle. The 30-helper mark will maximize the odds of each new Pokémon called into battle having its Hidden Ability. If you’re looking to capture a Pokémon with its Hidden Ability, you might want to teach one of your own Pokémon a move such as Worry Seed or Skill Swap that changes the target’s Ability. You’ll be able to see what your target’s original Ability was when your Pokémon acts, so you’ll know for sure if the Pokémon you’re trying to catch has the Ability you want. Even if you change a Pokémon’s Ability using a move or an Ability, its Ability will revert to normal after the battle.

Calling in 30 or more allies optimizes the potential of incoming Pokémon. After 30 helpers, each new Pokémon is guaranteed to have the maximum potential in four of their six stats! This can be a great shortcut toward hatching powerful Pokémon for competitions.

You’ll need a whopping 70 Pokémon to appear before you’ll have the highest odds of a Shiny Pokémon appearing. Don’t expect finding Shiny Pokémon to be easy even with such a long chain! We strongly suggest trying to finish your Alola Pokédex before tracking down Shiny Pokémon. After you do, you can visit the GAME FREAK office in Heahea City to receive the Shiny Charm, a Key Item that further increases your odds of encountering Shiny Pokémon. The odds of encountering a Shiny Pokémon in a normal encounter without the Shiny Charm are about 4,000 to 1, so it’s well worth the effort of chaining Pokémon in SOS battles and collecting the Shiny Charm if you’re looking to collect some Shiny Pokémon.

Good luck tracking down rare and valuable Pokémon using SOS battles! And be sure to keep an eye on Pokemon.com/Strategy for more Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon strategy articles, as well as Pokémon TCG and video game tournament coverage and analysis.

Source: Pokémon.