This page is in need ofspading. See its section on the spading page for more information, and how you can help. Reason: Formula in Generation V onward, if different

This article is about the game mechanic. For thePokémon Adventures chapter whose Japanese title translates to "Escape!!", seePS268.For the Escape Orb in the Mystery Dungeon series, seeWonder Orb.

In thecore series Pokémon games, it is possible toescape (Japanese:逃げるescape) from abattle with awild Pokémon by selectingRun (Japanese:にげるRun) on the main battle screen. However, escape is not guaranteed; whether the player is successful at running away from the battle is determined by a calculation involving the speed of the combatants. When the escape is successful, the battle ends immediately. When it is not successful, the wild Pokémon will use a move.

Entering a battle with a wild Pokémon and then escaping counts the Pokémon as being seen in the Trainer'sPokédex. InGenerationsI andII, if the player runs from anin-game event Pokémon, it becomes permanently unavailable (except theElectrode inTeam Rocket HQ). Starting inGeneration III, if the player runs from aLegendary Pokémon, the Pokémon reappears when the player leaves and re-enters its location.

Success conditions

This section contains old or outdated information, or has not been updated in a while. Please check the content of this section and update it as required. Reason: everything after Generation 4.

Generally speaking, the slower the Trainer's Pokémon and/or the faster the wild Pokémon, the harder it is to escape.

Generation I and II

If the player's active Pokémon's Speed is greater than or equal to the wild Pokémon's Speed, fleeing will always succeed. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, the chance of escaping is determined by the following formula$${\displaystyle Odd{s}_{Escape}=\lfloor {\displaystyle \frac{Spee{d}_{Player}\times 32}{\lfloor \frac{Spee{d}_{Wild}}{4}\rfloor mod256}}\rfloor +30\times Attempts}$$where

• SpeedPlayer is the currentSpeed of the player's active Pokémon,
• SpeedWild is the Speed of the wild Pokémon, and
• Attempts is the number of consecutive times the player has tried to escape during the battle (counting the current attempt). If the player's Pokémon attacks, this number is reset to 0.

IfOddsEscape is greater than 255, the player escapes automatically. Otherwise, a random number is generated between 0 and 255. If that number is less thanOddsEscape, the player escapes. If not, the escape fails and the player's Pokémon does not make a move that turn. If$\lfloor \frac{Spee{d}_{Wild}}{4}\rfloor mod256$ is equal to 0, escape is automatically a success.

In those generations, the speed drop fromparalysis affects the chance of escaping.

Generation III and IV

If the player's active Pokémon's Speed is greater than or equal to the wild Pokémon's Speed, fleeing will always succeed. Otherwise, the chance of successfully fleeing is determined by the following formula:$${\displaystyle Odd{s}_{Escape}=(\lfloor \frac{Spee{d}_{Player}\times 128}{Spee{d}_{Wild}}\rfloor +30\times Attempts)mod256}$$where

• SpeedPlayer is the unmodifiedSpeed of the player's active Pokémon,
• SpeedWild is the unmodified Speed of the wild Pokémon,
• Attempts is the number of times the player has tried to escape during the battle (counting the current attempt).

A random number is generated between 0 and 255. If that number is less thanOddsEscape, the player escapes. If not, the escape fails and the player's Pokémon does not make a move that turn.

From Generation III onwards, the speed drop fromparalysis no longer affects the chance of escaping.

Generation V onwards

If the player's active Pokémon's Speed is greater than or equal to the wild Pokémon's Speed, fleeing will always succeed. Otherwise, the chance of successfully fleeing is determined by the following formula:

$${\displaystyle Odd{s}_{Escape}=\lfloor \frac{Spee{d}_{Player}\times 32}{Spee{d}_{Wild}/4}\rfloor +30\times Attempts}$$

where

• SpeedPlayer is the unmodifiedSpeed of the player's active Pokémon,
• SpeedWild is the unmodified Speed of the wild Pokémon,
• Attempts is the number of times the player has tried to escape during the battle (counting the current attempt).

A random number is generated between 0 and 255. If that number is less thanOddsEscape, the player escapes. If not, the escape fails and the player's Pokémon does not make a move that turn.

Other factors

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: * In Generation II, if a Pokémon holding a Smoke Ball faints and the player chooses to flee, is the player guaranteed to escape? * Exact Battle Pyramid mechanics.

Pokémon cannot attempt to flee from Trainer battles or battles duringtrials. In theGeneration II games only, the player cannot attempt to flee from Pokémon encountered as traps in theTeam Rocket's Hideout, theGS BallCelebi, theTin TowerSuicune (in Crystal), and the scriptedRed Gyarados. In theBattle Pyramid, escape is not guaranteed if the player's Pokémon is faster.

Several conditions prevent a Pokémon from even attempting to flee.

• A Pokémon with the AbilityShadow Tag prevents opposing Pokémon from attempting to flee. (From Generation IV onward, Pokémon with Shadow Tag are unaffected by Shadow Tag.)
• A Pokémon with the AbilityArena Trap prevents opposinggrounded Pokémon from attempting to flee.
• A Pokémon with the AbilityMagnet Pull prevents opposingSteel-type Pokémon from attempting to flee.
• A Pokémon affected by atrapping move (includingbinding moves andIngrain) is prevented from attempting to flee (from Generation II onward).

Several conditions allow a Pokémon to always successfully flee from a wild battle.

• Using anescape item (Poké Doll,Fluffy Tail, orPoké Toy) causes the player to escape from a wild Pokémon (regardless of trapping moves and Abilities).
• In a wild Single Battle (including anSOS Battle as long as there is currently only a single opponent), using the moveTeleport causes the Pokémon to flee, unless a trapping move or Ability prevents escape. From Generation V onward,Ingrain does not prevent Teleport from being successful.
• If the player's Pokémon is holding aSmoke Ball or has the AbilityRun Away, its attempts to flee or Teleport are always successful (regardless of trapping moves and Abilities). In Generation II only, the Smoke Ball doesn't guarantee escape if a trapping move would prevent it.
  • In theBattle Pyramid, Run Away does not guarantee escape, but it will be credited if a Pokémon with this Ability successfully flees.
  • In Generation III and IV, if the player's Pokémon that has Run Away or a Smoke Ball faints, if the player attempts to flee instead of sending out another Pokémon, they will escape without fail.
  • In Generation III only, the Smoke Ball has an animation when escaping using it. In Generation II, "Got away safely" redundantly appears after the message informing of escape via Smoke Ball.
  • In Generation V only, a wild Pokémon holding a Smoke Ball cannot successfully Teleport if it is trapped by a trapping move or Ability (although the player's Pokémon can).
• FromGeneration VI onward, the player'sGhost-type Pokémon can always successfully flee, regardless of trapping moves or Abilities.

In a wild Single Battle (including anSOS Battle as long as there is currently only a single opponent), the movesWhirlwind,Roar,Dragon Tail, andCircle Throw force the target to flee, unless it has the AbilitySuction Cups or has been affected byIngrain. If a wild Pokémon's heldRed Card is activated while it has no allies, it forces the player's Pokémon to flee.

In a wild battle, the AbilitiesWimp Out andEmergency Exit cause the Pokémon with that Ability to flee if its HP falls below half.

Example

Generation I and II

The player's Pokémon has a Speed of 25 and the wild Pokémon has a Speed of 100. The player tries to escape, and has not previously attempted to flee in the battle.

First, check that the denominator$\lfloor \frac{Spee{d}_{Wild}}{4}\rfloor mod256$ will not be equal to 0

${\displaystyle \begin{array}{rl}Denominator& =\lfloor \frac{100}{4}\rfloor mod256\\ & =\lfloor 25\rfloor mod256\\ & =25mod256\\ & =25\\ \end{array}}$

Since the denominator is not equal to 0, proceed to calculating the odds of escape.

${\displaystyle \begin{array}{rl}Odd{s}_{Escape}& =\lfloor {\displaystyle \frac{25\times 32}{25}}\rfloor +30\times 1\\ & =\lfloor 32\rfloor +30\\ & =32+30\\ & =62\end{array}}$

SinceOddsEscape is not greater than 255, generate a random number between 0 and 255. If that random number is less than 62, the Pokémon flees successfully. Therefore, the probability of escaping is$\frac{62}{256}\approx 24\mathrm{\%}$.

If the player fails to escape, each successive attempt will be$\frac{30}{256}\approx 11.7\mathrm{\%}$ more likely than the last.

Wild Pokémon

Certain wild Pokémon can flee from battle.

Safari Zone

In Generation I, III, and IV, as well asPokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Pokémon encountered during aSafari Game in aSafari Zone can flee. The rate of escape can be affected by throwing Bait,Pokéblocks, Rocks, or Mud or by "going near" (depending on the game). Usually food lowers the chance to flee while also lowering thecatch rate, and other actions increase the chance to flee while increasing the catch rate; but the Great Marsh switches those effects.

• RBY: in theKanto Safari Zone, the chance a Pokémon will flee is based on itsSpeed; throwing Bait lowers this chance, while throwing Rocks raises it.
• RSE: in theHoenn Safari Zone, all Pokémon start with the same flee rate; throwing aPokéblock lowers this rate, while going nearer to the Pokémon raises it.
• FRLG: in theKanto Safari Zone, each species hasits own flee rate and this is influenced by whether the Pokémon is eating (lower) or angry (higher).
• DPPt: in theGreat Marsh, each species hasits own flee rate; throwing Mud lowers this rate, while throwing Bait has a high chance of raising it.
• HGSS:in theJohto Safari Zone, each species hasits own flee rate; throwing Bait lowers this rate, while throwing Mud has a high chance of raising it.
• BDSP: in theGreat Marsh, each species hasits own flee rate; throwing Mud lowers this rate, while throwing Bait raises it.

Generation II

InPokémon Gold, Silver, andCrystal, in addition to theroamingLegendary beasts, a few species of wild Pokémon can escape from battle. Much likeroaming Pokémon, these Pokémon may attempt to flee immediately before they would use their move, and they will not attempt to flee when affected bytrapping moves (such asMean Look orWrap),sleep, orfreeze.

All Pokémon that can flee were intended to be more likely to be caught in aFast Ball, but due to a programming error, onlyMagnemite,Grimer, andTangela actually are more likely to be caught in a Fast Ball.

#	Pokémon		Type		Probability	Appears in the wild
0081		Magnemite	Electric	Steel	~10%	✔
0088		Grimer	Poison		~10%	✔
0104		Cubone	Ground		50%	✔
0114		Tangela	Grass		~10%	✔
0122		Mr. Mime	Psychic		~10%	✔
0133		Eevee	Normal		~10%	✘
0137		Porygon	Normal		~10%	✘
0144		Articuno	Ice	Flying	50%	✘
0145		Zapdos	Electric	Flying	50%	✘
0146		Moltres	Fire	Flying	50%	✘
0147		Dratini	Dragon		~10%	✔
0148		Dragonair	Dragon		~10%	✔
0176		Togetic	Normal	Flying	~10%	✘
0195		Quagsire	Water	Ground	50%	✔
0197		Umbreon	Dark		~10%	✘
0201		Unown	Psychic		~10%	✔
0209		Snubbull	Normal		~10%	✔
0214		Heracross	Bug	Fighting	~10%	✔
0216		Teddiursa	Normal		50%	✔
0225		Delibird	Ice	Flying	50%	✔
0231		Phanpy	Ground		50%	✔

Roaming Pokémon

Roaming Pokémon attempt to flee every turn, unless they are prevented from fleeing (such as bytrapping moves).

InPokémon X and Y, roamingArticuno,Zapdos, andMoltres will automatically flee before even the first turn. The player must encounter the Legendary Pokémon ten times before finally battling it inSea Spirit's Den.

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!

InPokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the capture mechanics are similar to that ofPokémon GO. Wild Pokémon excludingLegendary Pokémon have a chance of fleeing during an encounter after breaking out of a Poké Ball. If the player has aCatch Combo, a wild Pokémon fleeing will cause it to be lost, but the player fleeing from a wild Pokémon will not. Shortly before fleeing, an animation different to the one when a wild Pokémon swats aPoké Ball away will play. After this animation has played any thrown Poké Balls (except theMaster Ball) will fail to catch it and it will flee.

Every time a Pokémon can flee, the game rolls a value from 0 to 255 and compares it to the current flee value; if it is higher, the Pokémon escapes. This value starts at 242 (minus twice the current Catch Combo) and decreases for any throw that isn't Excellent (5 for Great, 10 for Nice and 20 for generic); a missed throw does not change the value.^[1][2]

Other

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Confirm whether the first battle's wild Pokémon can flee in Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl

InPokémon Ruby, Sapphire,Emerald,Diamond and Pearl, the player battles a wild Pokémon (Poochyena,Zigzagoon, orStarly) immediately after obtaining their first partner Pokémon. During this battle, if the player's Pokémon's HP bar turns red (i.e. its remaining HP is 20% or less), the wild Pokémon will flee on its turn instead of attacking.

InPokémon Sun, Moon,Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon, during theplayer's first visit toAether Paradise, there is a scripted battle against theUltra BeastNihilego. This Nihilego, which cannot becaught, is scripted to flee on the fifth turn of battle, ending the battle and continuing the story. If Nihilego was unable to flee on that turn due to being trapped or in thesemi-invulnerable turn ofSky Drop, it will not attempt to flee on subsequent turns.

Trainers

Generations I-VIII

Prior toGeneration IX, it is impossible to escape from in-gameTrainer battles in which Pokémon can gainexperience.

However, in battles against other players, attempting to escape will cause the battle to end immediately, without fail. If only one player attempts to escape, the battle ends as a loss against them, but if both players attempt to escape in the same turn, the battle ends in a draw.

Generation IX

InPokémon Scarlet and Violet, it is possible to escape from in-game Trainer battles. Doing so is considered a loss, thus causing the same penalties asblacking out. InPokémon Legends: Z-A, the player can attempt to escape frombattle zone Trainers without penalty.

In spin-off games

Pokémon GO

Wild Pokémon escaping is a key aspect of capturing inPokémon GO. Whenever the wild Pokémon breaks out of a thrown Poké Ball, there is a chance that it will run away, ending the encounter. Every species has a its own base flee rate, a flat probability of fleeing after breaking out of a Poké Ball. If the player chooses to run from a wild Pokémon encounter, the Pokémon will still remain on the overworld map until its spawn timer expires.

For a list of Pokémon by their base flee rates, seeList of Pokémon by catch rate in Pokémon GO

Pokémon encountered asField orSpecial Research rewards will never flee. Pokémon encountered as a result of aRaid Battle orTeam GO Rocket battle flee when the player runs out ofPremier Balls, but will not flee otherwise.

Every Pokémon that spawns on the map has a timer that can range from 15 to 60 minutes. If a player is currently tracking a nearby Pokémon using the app's interface, and that Pokémon's timer expires or the player walks out of tracking range, the game will notify that the Pokémon has fled.

Pokémon Shuffle

After beating a stage that is not a battle against aTrainer'sMega-Evolved Pokémon or a Pokémon that the player has already caught, the player has the chance to catch the Pokémon they fought against. The player uses aPoké Ball for the first attempt to capture the Pokémon. If the Pokémon is not caught, the player gets a prompt to buy aGreat Ball to catch it instead. Rejecting the prompt ends the stage with the Pokémon running off screen. If the player purchases a Great Ball, they get a second chance to catch the Pokémon with the increased Catchability from the Great Ball. If this Great Ball does not catch the Pokémon, the player may purchase another Great Ball. Once again, not choosing to buy another Great Ball means the Pokémon runs away. The Pokémon has a chance to run away without the opportunity to make a purchase at any point after the first Great Ball purchase, and will run away after four Great Balls have been used. As before, this causes the stage to end.

In the TCG

As written, thePokémon Trading Card Game depicts a Trainer battle. As such, the concept of running away is not normally referenced directly. However, there are effects named after concepts relating to running away. For example,Run Away Draw onDudunsparce inTemporal Forces is named afterRun Away andWimpod fromBurning Shadows hasWimp Out. This may associate running away with theretreat action and with generally leaving the in-play zone.

One card does explicitly run away:Imakuni?'s Doduo, in its original version only released in Japan inChallenge from the Darkness and itsupdated version inEvolutions. Both cards have thePokémon PowerFrenzied Escape. When Imakuni?'s Doduo retreats, the player is to throw it as far as they can "because Doduo is running away". This effect means Imakuni?'s Doduo does not go to theBench after retreating like other cards. Instead, the Pokémon remains out of play for the rest of the game.

In other languages

References

This game mechanic article is part ofProject Games, aBulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on thePokémon games.

• Game articles needing more information
• Outdated articles
• Articles needing more information
• Game mechanics