Introduced in Sun and Moon, Poké Ride is a gameplay mechanic lets you ride on so-called Ride Pokémon. As well as being a convenient form of transport, these Ride Pokémon have a wide variety of functions, such as breaking rocks in your path, traversing bodies of water or flying back to previously visited locations.
Indeed, many of these functions used to belong to certain Hidden Machines or items in previous games; thus Poké Ride has effectively replaced them. Even better, Ride Pokémon do not join your party and instead instantly come to your aid when you use your Ride Pager.
You will automatically receive the Ride Pager after defeating Kahuna Hala in Iki Town. Afterwards, you can activate the Ride Pager by pressing the Y button. Additionally, from the Ride Pager menu, you can set up to four D-Pad shortcuts for frequently used Ride Pokémon.
Naturally, not all of the Ride Pokémon are available straightaway. So, like in earlier games, some areas will remain blocked off until you’ve progressed far enough into the story and gotten the contact details for the Ride Pokémon you need.
Here’s all of the Ride Pokémon you can use to explore every nook and cranny of Alola:
Service | Description | Unlock |
---|---|---|
Tauros Charge | Hold the B button to charge at high speed, kind of like a Bicycle. Tauros can also break small rocks in your path while charging. When riding, encounter rate drops by 50%. | Obtain the Ride Pager |
Stoutland Search | Hold B to have Stoutland slowly sniff the ground for hidden items, like the Itemfinder. Blue (!) means it’s nearby, red (!) means you can pick up with the A button. Encounter rate also drops by 50%. | Mallow at Paniola Ranch |
Lapras Paddle | Lets you swim in bodies of water, like the Surf HM. Lapras’s normal speed is fairly slow; hold the B button to speed up. You can fish off of the back of Lapras. | Lana at Brooklet Hill |
Charizard Glide | Lets you instantly travel to areas you’ve previously visited, like the Fly HM. There must be a feather icon (landmark); not all places can be directly flown to. | Complete Kiawe’s trial |
Mudsdale Gallop | Only way to traverse exceptionally rocky terrain. Mudsdale gallops slowly; hold the B button to gallop slightly faster. Encounter rate drops by 33%. | Hapu at Route 12 |
Sharpedo Jet | Lets you swim in bodies of water, like Lapras but faster. You can hold B to dash and break small rocks in your path. However, you cannot fish off of Sharpedo’s back. | Grimsley at Route 15 |
Machamp Shove | Hold B and Machamp will push huge rocks in the direction you’re facing, like the Strength HM. | Hapu’s grandma at Ancient Poni Path |
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