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Every way to recruit

Pokémon Checked in the game on October 31, 2026 3 min read

Battles, conversations, floor friends, requests, Monster Houses, special encounters, the Crucible, gifts and the weekly dungeon.

On this page

After a battle
Through conversation
Requests and Houses
Special encounters
Other routes

The recruiter’s combination

For ordinary wild Pokémon: three bonuses that multiply.

A standing teammate holds a Friend Bow× 1.5
False Swipe left the target at 1 HP× 2
The target is still asleep at the final blow× 2

×6 before caps and difficulty

Example: a 10 % starting rate becomes 60 % on Normal, with no level advantage or special rarity.

In detail

First add the level bonus (0 to 10 points) to the species rate. Apply the three bonuses and rarity, cap at 100 %, then apply difficulty and cap again.

Spare the target, put it to sleep, then finish it with the controlled Pokémon. False Swipe cannot knock it out; the Spared mark lasts only 12 turns. Drowsy is not yet asleep.

The ×6 combination does not apply to Alphas or wanted outlaws. They use another formula; sleep may still help. House selections, volunteers and the Maze follow their own rules.

After a battle

Deliver the final blow with the Pokémon you control, not necessarily the story hero. An autonomous companion does not trigger the ordinary offer. Species rate, the leader’s level advantage (up to ten points), sleep, False Swipe and a Friend Bow affect the chance. Rare and very rare Pokémon are harder to convince. Tactics lists the multipliers. Easy reduces recruitment; Hard may improve it unless the team greatly exceeds the location’s cap.

Through conversation

Use Talk near a wild Pokémon. Temperament, answers, level, shared types and remaining HP influence the exchange. It may refuse, calm down or offer to join. A good exchange can create a floor friend: this temporary helper may later ask to join permanently after fighting alongside you. Helping on a floor is not itself permanent recruitment. Alphas and outlaws do not join through ordinary conversation.

Requests and Houses

Volunteer: accept Chatot’s notice, find the Pokémon on the specified floor and talk; no recruitment roll is needed.
Outlaw: defeat it for the bounty; it may separately ask to make amends by joining.
Ordinary Monster House: defeat every guardian, then choose one offered recruit if that dungeon allows it.
Alpha House: only the Alpha can join, through its special verdict; the pack is not a recruit selection.

Special encounters

A Guardian can be calmed with thrown food or healing, clearing its passage; this does not automatically recruit it. A Champion joins after a fair duel won by your controlled Pokémon without companion interference. Wanderers have several encounter stages and a deal to complete. The Elder, Stalker, Corrupted Pokémon, Ghost and merchant never join.

Other routes

Diamond Crucible: three eligible Pokémon are permanently exchanged for one random result.
Maze of Echoes: finish the run to keep a borrowed teammate, once a week.
Gifts: some announced codes or parcels contain a Pokémon, subject to their own conditions.
Story: companions may arrive through the adventure; a guest is not necessarily a permanent recruit.

The exploration team has four places. An accepted recruit can wait at camp when it is full. Some locations forbid ordinary recruitment but allow a shiny exception; activity-specific restrictions still apply.