How to Beat the Totem Pokémon in Pokémon Sun and Moon

Last Updated: March 4, 2021

In Pokémon Sun and Moon, Totem Pokémon are boss battles that you face at the end of every island trial. They replace the gym leaders that were the typical boss battles of previous Pokémon games. With some skill and some help from this article, you'll be able to beat the Totem Pokémon.

Steps

1
Know what a Totem Pokémon battle is. A Totem Pokémon is a larger-than-normal Pokémon that has boosted stats and can call ally Pokémon into battle to help them. You'll know them by the aura that surrounds them during the battle. Totem Pokémon and their allies cannot be caught.
2
Know what the Totem Pokémon are. They are as follows:
- Totem Gumshoos/Totem Alolan Raticate (You face Gumshoos in Sun and Raticate in Moon)
- Totem Wishiwashi (in its School form)
- Totem Salazzle
- Totem Lurantis
- Totem Vikavolt
- Totem Mimikyu
- Totem Kommo-o
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3
Know that a Totem Pokémon battle is a tough battle. Totem Pokémon will have powerful movesets and ally Pokémon that have movesets which help the Totem Pokémon. For example, Totem Lurantis has Trumbeak and Castform as its allies. Trumbeak has Rock Blast to cover Lurantis' weaknesses, while Castform has Sunny Day so that Lurantis' Solar Blade doesn't have to take a turn to charge (Lurantis also has a Power Herb which causes Solar Blade to skip the recharge turn even without Sunny Day), and its Synthesis heals more of its health.
4
Know what the Totem Pokémon's weaknesses are.
- Totem Gumshoos and Totem Raticate are both weak to Fighting, while Raticate is also weak to Bug and Fairy.
- Totem Wishiwashi is weak to Electric and Grass.
- Totem Salazzle is weak to Water, Ground, Rock, and Psychic.
- Totem Lurantis is weak to Fire, Ice, Flying, Bug, and Poison.
- Totem Vikavolt is weak to Fire and Rock.
- Totem Mimikyu is weak to Ghost and Steel.
- Totem Kommo-o is weak to Dragon, Fairy, Ice, Psychic, and Flying.
5
Choose a team that's suited for facing the Totem Pokémon you're facing. You don't want to go into a Totem Pokémon battle with half or more of your team being weak to the Totem Pokémon's attacks.
6
Train your Pokémon. If you go into a Totem Pokémon battle underleveled, you have a higher chance of losing the battle. Their increased stats mean they can easily sweep even a six Pokémon team.
7
Be sure that your Pokémon have moves that the Totem Pokémon are weak to. As simple as it may sound, super effective moves can mean the difference between winning and losing. Don't be afraid to use status moves, either. Even a simple paralysis can make a battle much easier.
8
Be prepared with healing items. Unless you're doing a no items in battle rule for your run, you'll want Potions and Revives handy.
9
Once you think you're ready, challenge the Totem Pokémon. They'll be much different than the gym battles of years past, but if you're prepared, you should be able to beat them.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I beat Kommo-o?

EditorKrijim

Community Answer

Kommo-o has a massive weakness to fairy-type moves. Mimikyu and Granbull are two fairy types that should be able to fight Kommo-o without much difficulty since fairy is immune to dragon.
Question

What is the best team for Totem Salazzle?

EditorKrijim

Community Answer

Salazzle has a massive weakness of ground, so Pokémon with ground moves will do well against it. Salazzle is fast, so they will need to be faster or really defensive.
Question

Is a Poliwhirl good against Totem Salazzle?

Community Answer

Yes. Salazzle is a fire-poison type, so bring any water types, but no fairy types.

Warnings

Don't let Totem Wishiwashi call for its Alomomola ally, since it has Heal Pulse to heal Wishiwashi's HP (and keep it in its School form, which has base stats on par with some legendary Pokémon).

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