In Pokémon Sun and Moon, wild Alolan Exeggutor can be shiny, but it never calls for help, so you can't chain it. Its call rate is 0. Chain Exeggcute on Exeggutor Island instead. Its call rate is 15, and every ally it calls there is another Exeggcute. When a shiny Exeggcute shows up, catch it and use a Leaf Stone on it from the Bag. It evolves into Alolan Exeggutor and stays shiny. From a chain of 31, each new Exeggcute has about a 1 in 316 chance to be shiny, or about 1 in 274 with the Shiny Charm. The Lv. 40 Exeggutor that ambushes you next to Lillie isn't shiny-locked, but it's a one-time battle at the full 1 in 4,096.
This guide covers the original Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon on Nintendo 3DS and 2DS, with no mods. Both versions have the same encounters and the same odds. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon change the SOS rules and the island, so they get their own section near the end. Shiny Alolan Exeggutor also exists in Pokémon GO, but GO's rates and events have nothing to do with this hunt.
What shiny Alolan Exeggutor looks like
The normal Alolan Exeggutor has a tan trunk and green palm leaves. The shiny one has a bright yellow trunk and red-brown leaves, so it looks like a palm tree in autumn. The heads and the tail stay the same colors, so look at the trunk and the leaves.
Shiny Exeggcute is the one you have to notice
Normal Exeggcute are pale pink eggs. Shiny Exeggcute are golden yellow. That's the one you'll actually see during the hunt, and it's easy to miss when you've been knocking out pink eggs for half an hour. Every wild shiny also plays a sparkle when it appears, but an ally that answers a call sparkles too, so watch the color as well. If you're not sure, don't knock it out. Check it in the battle screen first.
Why Alolan Exeggutor never calls for help
Every Pokémon has a call rate, a number that decides how often it calls for help in an SOS Battle. In Sun and Moon, Alolan Exeggutor's call rate is 0. It's 0 for Kantonian Exeggutor too. No item, ability or Adrenaline Orb changes that, because the orb only raises a call chance that's already above zero. So you can fight a wild Alolan Exeggutor for as long as you like and it will never bring an ally.
Exeggcute's call rate is 15. On Exeggutor Island every ally it can call is another Exeggcute, so its chain is clean, apart from the weather allies covered below. The same is true on Poni Wilds and Ancient Poni Path, but Exeggcute is only 10% of the grass there, so you'll spend longer finding one to start with.
Wild Alolan Exeggutor is full odds only
Wild Alolan Exeggutor is 20% of the Exeggutor Island grass at Lv. 40–43, day and night. It can be shiny, but only at the base rate: 1 in 4,096, or about 1 in 1,365 with the Shiny Charm.
Chain Exeggcute, then use a Leaf Stone
| Exeggutor Island grass | Rate | Calls for help? |
|---|---|---|
| Exeggcute | 40% | Yes (call rate 15), calls Exeggcute |
| Pelipper | 30% | Yes (call rate 6), calls Pelipper |
| Alolan Exeggutor | 20% | Never (call rate 0) |
| Gastrodon (East Sea) | 10% | Yes (call rate 6), calls Gastrodon |
All of these are Lv. 40–43, with the same table day and night and in both versions. You reach the island by boat from Seafolk Village after Hapu becomes kahuna. See Exeggutor Island grass for the map.
- Bring the right lead. A Pokémon with False Swipe (TM54) and a way to knock out Lv. 40 Exeggcute in one hit. Fire, Ice, Flying, Poison, Bug, Ghost and Dark moves all hit Exeggcute super effectively. Intimidate, Pressure or Unnerve on your lead also makes calls more likely, but wild Exeggcute know Worry Seed, which replaces your lead's ability with Insomnia. Exeggcute at Lv. 40–42 also know Sleep Powder (Lv. 43 ones have Solar Beam instead), so a Grass-type lead, which is immune to powder moves, saves a lot of trouble.
- Find an Exeggcute in the grass. It's 40% of the island's encounters. Run from anything else.
- Weaken it with False Swipe. A Pokémon in the red calls more often. Don't burn, poison, paralyze or put it to sleep, because a Pokémon with a status condition won't call at all.
- Use one Adrenaline Orb. It raises the call chance for the rest of the battle. You can only use one per battle. Poké Marts sell them for ₽300.
- Knock out each Exeggcute that joins, and leave the first one alone. The first Exeggcute is your caller. It can't call while it already has an ally out, so clear each new one quickly.
- Catch the shiny. Exeggcute's catch rate is 90, so an Ultra Ball usually works once it's in the red. You can't throw a Ball while two wild Pokémon are out, so knock out the other Exeggcute first, then catch the shiny once it's the only one left.
- Use a Leaf Stone on it from the Bag. It becomes Alolan Exeggutor straight away, still shiny, with the same nature and IVs. In Sun and Moon a Leaf Stone always gives the Alolan form. Take off an Everstone first if it's holding one. The stone shop in Konikoni City sells Leaf Stones for ₽3,000, see Leaf Stone, ₽3,000.
The evolution rules, the Everstone and why pressing B doesn't stop a stone are in how to use the Leaf Stone from the Bag. A chain also raises the Hidden Ability chance, so a long one can give you an Exeggcute with Harvest. Harvest stays Harvest after the stone. Exeggcute's Chlorophyll becomes Frisk.
Odds from chain 0 to chain 31
The chain counts allies that actually appear, not turns. Each new ally gets extra shiny rolls depending on how long the chain is. The Shiny Charm adds two more rolls on top.
| Chain | Shiny rolls | Odds per ally | With Shiny Charm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–10 | 1 | 1 in 4,096 | about 1 in 1,365 |
| 11–20 | 5 | about 1 in 820 | about 1 in 586 |
| 21–30 | 9 | about 1 in 456 | about 1 in 373 |
| 31–255 | 13 | about 1 in 316 | about 1 in 274 |
The odds don't wait until a chain of 70, and they don't settle near 1 in 1,024. No update changed this. The four steps above are how Sun and Moon work on every version.
Shinies don't wait for chain 31. A shiny Exeggcute can turn up at chain 12 or earlier. That's luck, not a sign the table is wrong. Lower rows are still worth a look while you build the chain.
Shiny Charm, Hidden Ability and perfect IVs
You don't need the Shiny Charm first. A chain of 31 without it is about 1 in 316, which already beats the per-encounter odds of every other method here. If you do have it, it's from the Game Director at the GAME FREAK office in Heahea City once you own 300 Alola Pokédex entries. See Shiny Charm at 300 owned.
| Chain | Hidden Ability chance | Stats with 31 IVs (at least) |
|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | 0% | 0 |
| 5–9 | 0% | 1 |
| 10–19 | 5% | 2 |
| 20–29 | 10% | 3 |
| 30 and up | 15% | 4 |
When the chain breaks
| What happened | Why | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Exeggcute stopped calling | It has a status condition, or an ally is already out | Wait for sleep to wear off, or let a status-free Exeggcute take over as caller. Knock out each ally quickly |
| A Sliggoo or Castform joined | Weather allies during rain | Knock it out while the caller is still up |
| The caller used Struggle | It ran out of PP, and Struggle's recoil can knock it out | Before its PP runs out, knock it out and let the fresh Exeggcute on the field take over. The chain carries on |
| Nothing left that can call | The last Exeggcute fainted, or only a Sliggoo or Castform is left | Keep at least one Exeggcute on the field. Use single-target moves only |
| Odds dropped after a very long chain | The counter rolled over after 255 | Start a new battle, or accept the reset |
| Fighting an Alolan Exeggutor for ages | Its call rate is 0 | Run, and look for an Exeggcute |
Rain and Sliggoo on Exeggutor Island
Exeggutor Island has rain at some times of day. In rain, a call can bring Sliggoo or Castform instead of another Exeggcute. Neither of them calls for help. The chain isn't over as long as your Exeggcute is still standing: knock out the Sliggoo or Castform and keep going. If your caller is gone and only a Sliggoo is left, that chain is finished.
Battle weather counts too, not just the sky. Don't bring Rain Dance, Hail or Sandstorm, or a Pokémon whose ability starts weather, like a Pelipper with Drizzle. Hail and sandstorm can bring Castform. The safest time to chain is when the island isn't raining. In Pokémon Moon, the in-game clock runs 12 hours off the 3DS clock, so go by the sky you see in the game, not the time on the console.
Status, Struggle and the counter rolling over at 255
A caller with a status condition won't call for help. That pauses the chain rather than resetting the counter: a sleeping Exeggcute can call again once it wakes, and another status-free Exeggcute can take over if you knock the first one out. Poison or a burn will also wear the caller down, so swap callers before that happens. In Sun and Moon the chain counter also rolls over after 255 allies. The bonus shiny rolls, the Hidden Ability chance and the guaranteed IVs all drop back to the start and then climb again. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon stop at 255 instead.
The Exeggutor next to Lillie
During the story, a Lv. 40 Alolan Exeggutor ambushes you when you walk toward Lillie on Exeggutor Island. Its ability is Frisk and it holds no item. This encounter is not shiny-locked, so it can be reset until it comes out shiny. The walkthrough's Poni Island section shows where it falls in the story.
To hunt it, save before you walk up to Lillie, start the battle, and if it isn't shiny, reset the game and try again. That's 1 in 4,096 per try. You almost certainly won't have the Shiny Charm by that point in the story. It also happens only once. If you already caught it or knocked it out, it won't come back, but the Exeggcute in the grass is always there.
Hatching one instead
| Method | Odds | With Shiny Charm | Repeatable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exeggcute SOS chain, 31+ | about 1 in 316 | about 1 in 274 | Yes, any time after the story reaches the island |
| Masuda method (eggs) | about 1 in 683 | 1 in 512 | Yes, needs a foreign-language parent |
| Story Exeggutor reset | 1 in 4,096 | about 1 in 1,365 | No, once per save |
| Wild Alolan Exeggutor | 1 in 4,096 | about 1 in 1,365 | Yes, but no chain |
Breeding an Exeggcute or Exeggutor with a Pokémon from a different-language game, or a foreign Ditto, gives each Egg about a 1 in 683 chance to be shiny, or 1 in 512 with the Shiny Charm. Eggs always hatch as Exeggcute, so you still need the Leaf Stone. With online trading gone since April 2024, you need a foreign Pokémon that's already on your cartridge or one you get over local wireless. If you don't have one, the Exeggcute chain has better odds per encounter anyway.
Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
| Sun and Moon | Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon | |
|---|---|---|
| Calls per battle | Keeps calling; the orb helps | Once, unless you use an Adrenaline Orb |
| Chain counter at 255 | Rolls over and the bonus resets | Stops at 255 and keeps the bonus |
| Island grass levels | Lv. 40–43 | Lv. 42–45 |
| Exeggcute on the island | 40% | 20% |
| Story Exeggutor next to Lillie | Yes, Lv. 40 | No; a Pinsir scene instead, and it can't be shiny |
In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, use the Adrenaline Orb at the start of every battle you want to chain, or the wild Pokémon stops after one call. For the other differences, see Ultra calls once unless you use an Adrenaline Orb.
The "Exeggutor method" is for other hunts
The "Exeggutor method" isn't about hunting Exeggutor. You take an Exeggutor with Harvest, pass Harvest to the wild caller with Skill Swap, and give it a Leppa Berry with Bestow. Harvest has a 50% chance each turn to bring the berry back (100% in harsh sunlight), so the caller keeps restoring PP and rarely has to Struggle during a very long chain of a different Pokémon. It doesn't give Alolan Exeggutor a call rate. For a shiny Alolan Exeggutor, chain the eggs and use the stone.
Thursday's Island Scan Pokémon on Exeggutor Island, Serperior, is also no shortcut. Island Scan Pokémon never call for help, so there's no chain bonus to build. See Island Scan on Poni.
Checklist
- Leaf Stone from Konikoni City (₽3,000), a few Adrenaline Orbs (₽300 each) and Ultra Balls.
- A lead with False Swipe and a one-hit move on Lv. 40 Exeggcute. No weather-setting ability or moves.
- Boat from Seafolk Village to Exeggutor Island. Run from everything except Exeggcute.
- False Swipe, one Adrenaline Orb, then knock out each ally and keep the caller healthy and status-free.
- From chain 31 up to 255, every Exeggcute is about 1 in 316 (1 in 274 with the Shiny Charm).
- Catch the golden Exeggcute, then use the Leaf Stone from the Bag.
FAQ
Can Alolan Exeggutor be shiny in Sun and Moon?
Yes. Wild ones and the story Exeggutor can be shiny, and a shiny Exeggcute evolves into a shiny one. The shiny has a yellow trunk and red-brown leaves.
Why won't Alolan Exeggutor call for help?
Its call rate is 0, so it never calls, even with an Adrenaline Orb. Chain Exeggcute instead. Its call rate is 15.
Does evolving a shiny Exeggcute keep it shiny?
Yes. Evolution never changes whether a Pokémon is shiny. A Leaf Stone on a shiny Exeggcute gives a shiny Alolan Exeggutor.
Can you soft reset the Exeggutor next to Lillie?
Yes. It isn't shiny-locked. Save before you approach Lillie and reset until it's shiny. The odds are 1 in 4,096 per try, and it's gone once you catch it or knock it out.
What are the SOS odds with and without the Shiny Charm?
From chain 31: about 1 in 316 without the charm and about 1 in 274 with it. Chains under 11 are 1 in 4,096, or about 1 in 1,365 with the charm.
Do Sun and Moon odds reset after 255 calls?
Yes. In Sun and Moon the counter rolls over after 255 and the odds climb again from the start. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon stop at 255 instead.
Is the Exeggutor method how you hunt Alolan Exeggutor?
No. It's a Harvest and Leppa Berry setup for keeping a different caller from running out of PP. It doesn't make Exeggutor call.
Is this the same in Pokémon GO?
No. GO has its own shiny Alolan Exeggutor and its own rates. Nothing in this guide applies to GO.