Does Anyone Else Hate S.O.S Battles?

[Lunar]

Don't get me wrong, I know S.O.S battles have their uses, but I really don''t think they've been done right. As trainers, we should have the option to CHOOSE whether we want one to occur (darker grass or something) or a much lower chance of a second Pokemon appearing. It's seriously turned the most basic concept of Pokemon, into something super annoying. I just want to either catch one Pokemon, or train one of my lower leveled party members by grinding, but I can't do that because most of the time I'm stuck against two Pokemon, who usually knock out the Pokemon I'm trying to train, or an endless battle where the same result occurs, it's so frustrating.

I like the idea of these battles, so I really hope Game Freak decide to actually patch them so that either there's a much lower chance of another Pokemon appearing, or that only the original Pokemon can call for help, cause at the moment it's just ridiculous. Personally, this is the only bad thing about Sun and Moon for me, but what are your thoughts?

 

[Mawa]

I see the positive point and I really want to try this for the higher IV's and shiny rate when I' in my post game! (if these speculations are trues)

But for now, I am doing the game just for fun, I didn't beat the game yet (exams session so I only played like 6 hours). It's a bit too excessive when you play casual.

 

[MightyBewear]

Well S.OS do help for the better IV's ( around 30 to 40 fainted pokemon) and shiny pokemon ( just happen to catch a shiny caterpie right now) but I can understand why some people can get annoyed about this option, but overall i'm neutral about S.O.S, since I mostly see S.O.S for EV's trainning!

 

[DarkPoke001]

I'm finding them rather annoying every now and then throughout playing the story, when you're not able to always one- hit a pokemon and you just want to get out of a battle. THEN they call in another.

Post Game, I think they'd be very useful for gaining experience, EV'S and shiny hunting etc so I'll take the good with the bad

an interesting feature to say the least... ~

 

[Belldandy]

I think it can be a bit annoying, but let's be honest: hoards was a much, much worse mechanic in that it was even more annoying than S.O.S. battles. I think S.O.S. battles are an improvement; however, it'd be nice if they occurred perhaps later in the game, or if it gave the option to send out a second Pokemon when an S.O.S. is called.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

I'm only annoyed from the fact that some Pokémon can only be encountered through S.O.S battles, which is why I'm currently struggling on completing my dex.

 

[Boss Salamence]

Sometimes it can be annoying. Sometimes it can be great. Depends on the situation. Also depends on if the Pokémon you wanted for your team is only found in the wild via it and never showed up despite many attempts. Looking at you Gengar :<

 

[lillienull]

That is why I always carry around Magnezone with me (with thunderwave of course) S.O.S battles aren't really a problem for me, they do have their uses (for good IVs, certain Pokemon, possibly shinies, and they are ideal for EV training as well)
However, if you want to stop them from calling out more Pokemon, have a Pokemon with thunderwave in your first slot and paralyze them first chance, paralyzing doesn't allow them to call any help. Then I'd bring out Absol with false swipe. Generally that is my technique for catching a Pokemon.

 

[The Evil Mewtwo]

SOS is really annoying for some species with un-released hidden abilities such as Passiman and Oranguru.

 

[Hikamaru]

I'm with the same reasons as Pinkie - some Pokemon being SOS-only makes them frustrating to catch, even worse if it's one that can only be summoned when a weather condition is active.

 

[Kikaito plush]

I think they are annoying if I am trying to catch a pokemon but good for leveling up my pokemon.

 

[tenchi]

no one likes sos battles. theyre a pain in the ass.

 

[SaniOKh]

I like them. They make things more interesting.

I have two gripes with them though:

• Wild Pokémon should skip a turn when they call for help.
• I wish the probability of encountering different species or evolved form was higher.

 

[LilyGardy]

I for one like SOS battles as it helps me encounter Shiny and High IV Pokemon. I have picked up 5 Shinys so far with this method. :)

However I understand that some may find the prospect of battling multiple Golbat say whilst playing through the story annoying to say the least. Perhaps an option in the settings to turn SOS battles off could be available with SOS only Pokemon being very rare regular encounters in this setting.

 

[Juno]

I thought they were cute at first but my opinion changed very quickly when Magby called 8 other Magby in a row without giving me a break, while I was trying to catch the first Magby.

 

[DarkPlat]

Without a doubt the worst aspect of the game for me.

When it comes down to shiny Pokemon, I honestly couldn't care in the end because I don't shiny hunt, but I can probably get away with saying I would prefer shiny hunting with hordes (since I inadvertently found two shiny Pokemon that way).

And if we're talking IVs, I can also probably get away with saying I prefer the DexNav.

Wild battle gimmicks have been a thing since 5th generation, so I guess it'll be tradition now for every gen to include something as preposterous and monotonous as this.

 

[Rivvon]

DexNav chaining was so much better. You don't need to worry about keeping any one Pokémon clinging on to 1HP while it tries to call for help, because you just knock them out and keep going. Found a Pokémon with 3+ IVs, its Hidden Ability, or even some cool Egg Move on the way? Catch it! Your chain will keep. You'll find your shiny along the line and have multiple good parents for future breeding, too.

SOS battles? Nope. You're only gonna catch one Pokémon in the entire chain, because you can't aim when there are two Pokémon on the opposing end of the field. And of course, when I don't use the Adrenaline Orb (because I don't want you to call for help, please stop calling for help-- !!) it always calls for help and the help always arrives. When I do use the Adrenaline Orb because I want to try to chain? "It called for help! ... Its help didn't appear!" Of course.

Not to mention that I actually enjoyed creeping up on Pokémon in ORAS. That kept you... awake. You actually did something that wasn't just staying in the same battle for 2+ hours hoping your shiny will fall from the sky.

 

[magicalgirlj]

Sure S.O.S. battles can be handy for experience, but when you are trying to catch a Pokemon and the quick ball did not work and the Pokemon is hard to catch, it is so annoying. Like when I tried to catch an Elekid but it would not get into any pokeballs it kept calling for help, ugh such a pain.

 

[Degurchaff]

God the amount of times Pokemon called for help When i tried to grind my team It's not fun at all I think they got a nice idea with it and all But it seems a little bit overused Like when the Pokemon you are fightning has a low amount of health it Will call for help 85% of the time Made me run from some battles at times.

 

[Maserati777]

I tried SOS for Growlithe, but it has Roar so every turn my Pokemon would switch back and forth 1 to 2 times to be honest Roar should fail if you are higher level, not switch your Pokemon.



Negative aspects of SOS compared to Dexnav and Friend Safari.

1vs2, you have two Pokemon attacking you at the same time. The status attacks are as bad if not worst then the physical attacks.
Need to stay in a battle for 70 turns, then your odds are still over 600 with shiny charm, 1,000 without.
Need to buy lots of healing items, sometimes you needed to buy repels but you honestly didn't have to buy potions or anything with dexnav, to be honest you don't even need to attack the Pokemon, in most mirage spots you can just run and hop on the bike.


Maybe if they didn't axe so many better methods from gen 6.
One thing though is I have a Yawning Slowpoke on my team so don't really have to worry about them calling for help as they are asleep. Of course I'm only up to the second island so it probably won't be as easy with higher level Pokemon, but sleep is still the best status condition overall.