How to Get a Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Sun: SOS Odds, the Charm and Locks

In Pokémon Sun, the best way to find a shiny is to chain SOS calls. Get a wild Pokémon down to low HP without knocking it out, and don't give it a status condition. From the 31st ally in a row, each new ally has about a 1 in 315.54 chance to be shiny, or 1 in 273.53 with the Shiny Charm. Without a chain, the rate is 1 in 4,096. A sign in the GAME FREAK office in the game rounds that to "about 4,000 to 1". In Sun and Moon the chain goes back to 0 after 255 calls. The four Tapu, Solgaleo, Lunala, Necrozma, the Ultra Beasts and every Totem can't be shiny.

This guide covers Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon on Nintendo 3DS and 2DS, versions 1.0 to 1.2. Neither update changed the shiny odds. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon work differently and have their own section near the end. This page is about shiny Pokémon. If you're looking for the Shiny Stone, the evolution item, see evolution stones in Pokémon Sun.

What are the shiny odds in Pokémon Sun?

Each time a wild Pokémon in the game is created, the game checks whether it's shiny. Each check has a 1 in 4,096 chance. Some methods give a Pokémon extra checks, and that's the only way odds improve. The SOS chain adds checks as it grows, and the Shiny Charm adds two more to every wild Pokémon and egg.

An SOS chain of 31

The number in brackets is the number of checks with the Shiny Charm. The odds stop improving at 31. Every ally from 31 to 255 has the same chance, so a chain of 70 or 100 is no better than a chain of 31. It just gives you more allies to look at. Reaching 31 doesn't mean a shiny is due, either. Each ally is a fresh roll.

A chain of 70 doesn't give 1 in 1,024; the odds stop improving at 31. And 1 in 683 is the Masuda method without the charm, so if a shiny tracker shows it, the tracker is set to breeding. The Shiny Charm doesn't triple the odds. It adds two checks, so 13 becomes 15, not 39.

Other methods compared

The DexNav, the Poké Radar, horde encounters, chain fishing and the Friend Safari from earlier games aren't in Sun and Moon. Walking through grass is the plain 1 in 4,096 rate. Ultra Wormholes are only in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

Why won't it call for help?

The most common reason a chain never starts is a status condition. Paralyzing the wild Pokémon or putting it to sleep makes it safer to catch, but it also stops it calling.

Status conditions

A wild Pokémon that is burned, poisoned, frozen, asleep or paralyzed can't call for help. An Adrenaline Orb doesn't change that. It also can't call on a turn when it's underground from Dig or in the air from Fly. Don't use Thunder Wave, Spore, Toxic, Scald or other moves that can cause a status. Watch abilities too: Static, Flame Body, Poison Point and Effect Spore can give the caller a status when it hits you.

The second Adrenaline Orb

The Adrenaline Orb's bag text in Sun and Moon says it makes wild Pokémon more likely to call for help. The battle message is The Adrenaline Orb makes the wild Pokémon nervous! It lasts for the rest of the battle. A second one in the same battle fails, wastes your turn and isn't used up. In Sun and Moon you don't need an orb for repeat calls. It only makes them more likely.

Poké Marts sell the Adrenaline Orb for ₽300 once you've cleared three trials. A Trainer at the Haina Desert gate on Ula'ula Island also gives you Adrenaline Orbs if you hand over a Fresh Water.

The species barely calls, or can't

Every species has a call rate of 0, 3, 6, 9 or 15. Pikipek is 15, Yungoos, Eevee and Mimikyu are 9, Pikachu is 6, and Kangaskhan is only 3. That base rate goes up three times when the caller's HP is yellow and five times when it's red, and the Adrenaline Orb doubles it. A Kangaskhan at full HP with no orb calls about 3% of the time. At red HP with an orb, that's about 30%.

A call can still fail. You'll see Its help didn't appear! That isn't a mistake on your part. Keep going. A call rate of 0 means no chain at all. Komala, Minior, legendaries, Ultra Beasts and Pokémon from Island Scan never call. So do many fully evolved Pokémon. Pokémon that only appear as allies, like Happiny and Mareanie, don't call either.

The caller ran out of PP

A long chain takes a lot of turns. When the wild caller has used up all its moves, it uses Struggle and takes damage each time. At red HP that knocks it out, and if no ally is left to keep calling, the chain ends. You can't use a Leppa Berry from your Bag on the wild caller, but you can give it one to hold with Bestow or Trick, and it eats the berry when a move runs out. Or, before the caller runs out, let a fresh ally take over: keep the ally, weaken it, and knock out the tired caller. Leppa Berries are still worth bringing for your own moves. A Pokémon with Pressure makes the caller run out faster.

How to run an SOS chain in Sun

Wild Pokémon start calling for help after Ilima's trial in Verdant Cavern. You can chain from then on, but the setup gets much easier later in the game.

What to bring

• False Swipe (TM54, from Hala after the first grand trial) or Hold Back. Both leave the target at 1 HP. They're Normal-type, so they don't touch Ghost-types like Mimikyu.
• Adrenaline Orbs, one per battle.
• Leppa Berries, or an Ether, to keep your own moves going.
• A way to knock out unwanted allies quickly, without hitting the caller.
• Poké Balls. A Quick Ball's bonus only works on the first turn of the whole battle, so it doesn't help with an ally that arrives later.
• Optionally, a Pokémon with Synchronize. It has to be the one in battle when the ally arrives, not just first in your party. About half of the allies then get its nature.

From 1 HP to the 31st ally

1. Find the Pokémon you want. Make sure it calls for help. Check the call rates above.
2. Use False Swipe until it's at 1 HP. Don't use any move that can cause a status condition.
3. Use one Adrenaline Orb.
4. Each turn it calls, an ally may arrive. Knock out the ally, and keep the original Pokémon at low HP as the caller. Only two wild Pokémon can be on the field at once, so if two are already there, no one can call.
5. Keep a tally of the allies that actually arrived. The game doesn't show the count.
6. From the 31st ally on, every new ally has the best odds. Watch for the sparkle when it appears.

Most allies are the same species as the caller. Each area has its own list. The common ally is 67% of the time, three other slots are 10% each, and three rare slots are 1% each. In rain, sandstorm or hail, two weather slots can come up before the normal list.

Catching the shiny

You can only throw a Poké Ball when one wild Pokémon is left. When a shiny arrives, knock out the caller, not the shiny. Then weaken the shiny carefully and catch it. Knocking out the shiny ends the hunt. If you're worried about Struggle or a critical hit, a Pokémon with a move like Spore isn't a good idea while chaining, but it's fine once the shiny is the only Pokémon left.

Long chains bring more than shinies. Allies get perfect IVs: one from a chain of 5, two from 10, three from 20 and four from 30. They can have their Hidden Ability: there's no chance below 10, then 5% from 10, 10% from 20 and 15% from 30. Those numbers match the Bagon page.

For worked examples of one species, see the hunts for shiny Alolan Exeggutor (chain Exeggcute, then use a Leaf Stone), shiny Alolan Marowak (chain Cubone, then evolve it at night) and shiny Alolan Grimer (Malie City's Outer Cape).

The chain resets after 255

Sun and Moon store the chain in a number that only goes up to 255. The next ally (the 256th) puts it back at 0, and the odds drop to 1 in 4,096, or 1 in 1,365.67 with the Shiny Charm. The bonus builds up again in the same battle: the 287th ally is back at 31 and the best odds. So after ally 255 you can keep going or start a new battle. The odds are the same either way. Staying keeps your setup, but it takes 32 more allies before the odds are back at their best.

This is one of the main differences from Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. There, the count stops at 255 instead of going back to 0. Keeping a chain going forever at the best odds only works in those games, not in Sun.

The Shiny Charm, and what it doesn't do

The Game Director in the GAME FREAK office in Heahea City gives you the Shiny Charm when you complete the Alola Pokédex. That means owning 300 of its 302 entries; Magearna and Marshadow aren't required. The Pokédex guide covers how to get there, and the Pokédex checklist lists every entry.

The charm adds two shiny checks to wild Pokémon, SOS allies and eggs. Without a chain that's about 1 in 1,365.67. The Oval Charm, from someone else in the same office, only makes eggs show up more often at the Nursery. It doesn't affect shiny odds. You don't need the Shiny Charm to start hunting. A 31-call chain without it is already better than the charm on its own.

What can't be shiny in Sun and Moon

Some one-time Pokémon are set so they can never be shiny. These are locked in Sun and Moon:

The Nihilego you meet in Aether Paradise during the story is locked too. Also locked: the Pikipek in the catching tutorial on Route 1. The Exeggutor on Exeggutor Island is not locked.

Starters and Type: Null

A shiny starter is 1 in 4,096. The Shiny Charm doesn't affect gift Pokémon, so that's the only rate. The game doesn't save on its own, so you can check the starter's summary screen before you save. If it isn't shiny, hold L + R + Start to go back to the title screen; see soft resetting. Type: Null is a gift at Aether Paradise after the story, at Lv. 40, and works the same way: 1 in 4,096, even with the Shiny Charm.

Island Scan

Island Scan Pokémon aren't shiny-locked, but they're 1 in 4,096, or about 1 in 1,365.67 with the charm, and they never call for help, so you can't chain them. See Island Scan.

SOS or Masuda, after the 3DS shutdown

For the Masuda method, the two parents have to come from games in different languages. The language is the one the Pokémon's original game was set to, shown by a tag on its summary. Each egg then has about a 1 in 683.08 chance, or 1 in 512.44 with the Shiny Charm. That's worse than a 31-call SOS chain, but it works for Pokémon that can't be chained, and the nature, ability and moves can be passed on. Pokémon that can't be chained can still be found shiny at the normal rate in the wild, through Island Scan or by soft-resetting a gift.

Getting the foreign parent is harder now. 3DS online play ended on 8 April 2024, so the GTS, Wonder Trade and online Festival Plaza trades are gone. What matters is that the two parents differ. A Ditto caught on Mount Hokulani in your own game has the same language as your other Pokémon, so pairing it with them doesn't help, but it works fine with a parent from another language. That parent has to come from a local wireless trade with a game in another language, or be a Pokémon you already moved from one. Pokémon Bank is no longer offered for download and closes on 25 February 2027 at 19:00 PST (26 February, 03:00 UTC). The Nursery is at Paniola Ranch.

Sun and Moon versus Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

The shiny odds per ally are the same in all four games. Pokémon Moon works exactly like Sun, except that its clock runs 12 hours apart from your 3DS. That matters for allies that only come at night or during the day, such as Eevee calling Umbreon or Espeon; see Eevee in Pokémon Moon. For the rest of the differences, see Pokémon Sun vs Ultra Sun.

Pokémon that only appear as allies

Some Pokémon never appear as normal wild encounters. They only come when something else calls for help. That makes the SOS chain the only way to hunt a shiny one in the wild.

Weather allies only come up when that weather is on the field. Some areas have it naturally, and a move like Rain Dance also works. The Pokédex checklist lists where every other Pokémon is found.

Keeping track

There's no chain counter on the screen, so count every ally that actually arrives. Calls that fail don't count. A tally on paper or a counter app is enough. Past 200, a lost count can take you past 255 without noticing. If you lose count, you can't know where the chain is, so the only sure fix is to start a new battle and count from 0. The odds table above is all the math you need.

FAQ

What are the shiny odds in Pokémon Sun?

1 in 4,096 without a chain, or about 1 in 1,365.67 with the Shiny Charm. From the 31st SOS ally in a row, about 1 in 315.54, or 1 in 273.53 with the charm.

Why won't a wild Pokémon call for help?

It has a status condition, it's underground or in the air, two wild Pokémon are already on the field, or its species has a call rate of 0. Low HP and an Adrenaline Orb make calls more likely, but a call can still fail.

Does the SOS chain reset at 255 in Sun and Moon?

Yes. After 255 it goes back to 0, and the odds start over. In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon it stays at 255.

Is the SOS rate 1 in 273 or 1 in 683?

1 in 273.53 is a 31-call chain with the Shiny Charm. 1 in 683.08 is the Masuda method without the charm.

How do I get the Shiny Charm?

Own 300 Pokémon in the Alola Pokédex, then talk to the Game Director in the GAME FREAK office in Heahea City. Magearna and Marshadow aren't needed.

Are legendaries shiny-locked in Sun and Moon?

Yes. The four Tapu, Cosmog, Solgaleo, Lunala, Necrozma, Zygarde, every Ultra Beast and every Totem are locked.

Can the starter be shiny?

Yes, at 1 in 4,096. Check it before you save, and soft reset with L + R + Start if it isn't.

Is the Masuda method still possible?

Yes, but you need a parent from a game in another language. Online trades are gone, so it has to come from a local trade or a Pokémon you already have. A Ditto caught in your own game works only if the other parent is from a different language.

Is the Shiny Stone a shiny Pokémon?

No. The Shiny Stone evolves Roselia, Togetic, Minccino and Floette. See evolution stones.