Incineroar, The Heel Pokémon. It excels at violent, no-holds-barred battles. The temperature of the flames that issue from its navel exceeds 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit. Incineroar's rough and aggressive behavior is its most notable trait, but the way it helps out small Pokémon shows that it has a kind side as well.
Overview
While Incineroar is a more relevant Pokemon in Doubles, there's no denying that Incineroar can still put up a decent job in Singles. While it is inferior to Cinderace due to the latter's higher Speed and access to Court Change, which is one of the best support moves for 6v6, Inicneroar has some valuable traits with Knock Off allowing it to remove items. Incineroar boasts access to Intimidate and a new toy in Parting Shot, which not only recovers momentum but also weakens the opponent's switch-in. However, due to Incineroar's low Speed, it can still be easily revenge killed by faster threats such as Terrakion, or walled to death by bulky walls such as Toxapex. Incineroar is a pretty niche Pokemon in Singles, so be sure you're able to use him in favor of its ability or else you'll end up with an inferior Pokemon wasting your team slot.
Positives
Its great bulk 95 / 90 / 90 coupled with a decent defensive typing in Fire / Dark grants it a lot of opportunities to switch into foes.
It has a decent move-set but its biggest upgrade comes with Parting Shot, which lowers the opponent's Attack and Special Attack while gaining momentum by switching out.
Access to Knock Off allows it to remove items from switch-ins such as Toxapex, and strong STABs like Flare Blitz gives Incineroar all what it needs to do its job.
Negatives
Base 60 Speed is very subpar and it leaves Incineroar easily outpaced by faster threats such as Excadrill, Terrakion, Keldeo, and Barraskewda.
It is outclassed as a Dark type by Tyranitar due to its higher Attack stat, more versatile movepool and access to Stealth Rock while as a Fire type, it is outclassed by Cinderace due to its higher speed and access to Court Change.
It does not have the power to get past walls like Toxapex.
Movesets
SHEER HEART ATTACK
- Knock Off
- Flare Blitz
- Parting Shot
- Will-o-Wisp / Taunt
Item Attached: Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intimidate
EVs and Nature:
248 HP / 200 SpD / 60 Spe
Careful Nature
Knock Off is the main move on this set which allows Incineroar to remove items from Pokemon like Toxapex and annoy its general switch-ins. It's a reliable and very easily spammable STAB move. Flare Blitz is used to toast Ferrothorn and Corviknight. Parting Shot is the magic on this set as not only it lowers the opponent's Special Attack and Attack for one stage but also lets Incineroar grab momentum on its favor, switch out from unfavorable match-ups and bring safely a teammate against a weakened opponent. This makes it easy for Pokemon such as Keldeo, Mimikyu or Rotom-Wash to set up. Finally, Will-o-Wisp prevent Tyranitar from eating Incineroar alive and it also deters Pokemon like Excadrill or Terrakion from grabbing a free switch-in.
DYNAMAX:
Incineroar doesn't really wants to use Dynamax considering that it is a bulky pivot whose major role is to provide momentum at your favor. Dynamax should only be considered in case it is necessary for Incineroar to gain the extra bulk in order to avoid getting its team swept by an opponent.
EV and Item Description:
60 Speed EVs allows Incineroar to outspeed Pokemon such as uninvested Corviknight and hit it hard with Flare Blitz, while 248 HP EVs are used to grant Incineroar as much bulk as possible while also taking advantage of Intimidate. The rest is dumped on Special Defense to make it as bulky as possible and allow it to take hits from Dragapult and Clefable.
Partners
Dugtrio: Dugtrio is probably the best partner Incineroar can ask for. Thanks to its slow Speed, Parting Shot is almost guaranteed to bring Dugtrio safely against a weakened opponent and it complements greatly with Arena Trap which allows it to trap its opponent. This removes Toxapex which is Incineroar's biggest counter.
Ferrothorn: While both share a Fighting weakness, Ferrothorn appreciates the momentum gained from Parting Shot which makes it harder to KO and free to set-up hazards.
Rotom-Wash: Thanks to Volt Switch, it makes a decent VoltShot core with Incineroar gaining momentum in your favor. It can also use Nasty Plot which benefits greatly from Incineroar's Parting Shot drops and punish Water types that can deal with Incineroar.
Dragapult: It has strong defensive synergy with Incineroar resisting or being immune to almost all of its weaknesses except for Ground while Incineroar handles the Ice types and opposing Ghost types that threaten it.
Jirachi: Jirachi can provide Wish support which is something heavily appreciated by Inicneroar and grab momentum with U-turn.
Keldeo: It greatly appreciates Parting Shot and it can use Taunt & Calm Mind to stall break.
Other Options
Swords Dance can make Incineroar a much more relevant threat against defensive teams and it can also improve massively its match up against Toxapex with Earthquake or Taunt. However, this set is pretty much dead weight against more offensive teams with faster threats like Excadrill, Terrakion and Kyurem.
Low Kick is Incineroar's best move against Tyranitar if you want to hit it hard. However, a Will-o-Wisp burn will hinder it and make it easier for another teammate to handle which makes it hard to justify its use.
An Assault Vest is also an option for Incineroar and it can use Snarl and U-turn over Parting Shot and Will-o-Wisp. However, this makes it incredibly vulnerable to hazards.
VGC & Double Battle Options
The new cat on the block is back for another generation of Pokemon, and just like last gen, Incineroar is one of the most relevant Pokemon you'll ever face in Doubles. Everything that made Incineroar amazing last gen is still true, boasting a fantastic typing with access to Fake Out and Intimidate make for an unmatched support Pokemon in combination with its fantastic bulk and typing. However, the pinch berry nerf and introduction of Dynamax does make things tougher for Incineroar than in the past, reducing the power of its Fake Out niche and making it easier to take it down, which ultimately makes Incineroar less of a dominant presence than it was last gen. The newly gained Parting Shot also gives Incineroar an incredible tool though, so while it may not be quite the Landorus-Therian it was last gen it's still arguably just as powerful of a support Pokemon.
Quick Step
- Fake Out
- Flare Blitz
- Parting Shot / U-turn
- Darkest Lariat / Will-O-Wisp / Protect
Item Attached: Figy Berry / Assault Vest / Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpDef
Adamant / Careful Nature
Incineroar is primarily used for its support role so you will never ever see a competent Incineroar without Fake Out. Flare Blitz is Incineroar's strongest STAB move and the damage outweighs the recoil that visibly clashes with its role as a bulky support Pokemon. Parting Shot is another tool you will always use on Incineroar unless using Assault Vest, the ability to pivot out while also lowering both offensive stats of the target is an insane tool for bringing in a teammate and weakening the opposing team. While it's no longer unique to Incineroar, Darkest Lariat is the best Dark-type STAB available to it in any official format since Knock Off requires transfers. Will-O-Wisp allows Incineroar to directly shut down physical attackers that it otherwise would not want to deal with, such as Rhyperior, but this cannot be used with Assault Vest. Protect also provides defensive maneuverability which is always worth consideration on any Pokemon, though this obviously doesn't work with Assault Vest either.
Incineroar can utilize any sort of bulk-oriented EV spread depending on your play style, but high HP investment is almost always mandatory. If you want higher damage output then more Attack investment can be used as listed, but you can also opt for Careful nature with heavy Special Defense investment to better handle the likes of Rotom-Mow and Togekiss. Incineroar can even opt for a physically defensive build as well if you need a better matchup against physical threats, so any sort of bulky spread is fair game here. Figy Berry gives Incineroar the largest amount of extra longevity, though Sitrus Berry can be used instead if the low HP requirement is too risky for you. Assault Vest gives Incineroar more immediate special bulk but limits its support options, forcing it to use U-turn for its pivoting move. Also, always use Intimidate and never forget to check for that before locking in a team.
Other Options & Team Ideas
- Close Combat is a niche coverage option Incineroar can use to deal more damage to opposing Incineroar or Lapras, but it compromises some of its bulk so it's hard to recommend. Brick Break on the other hand can be useful to counter Dual Screens or Aurora Veil, though note that in this case Flare Blitz still does more to Lapras.
- Snarl provides a secondary form of support for lowering Special Attack of both foes, but this role competes with Arcanine who has the advantage of higher Speed to Snarl most relevant special attackers before they act.
- Safety Goggles is an interesting item choice to deal with Venusaur and Butterfree without fear of Sleep Powder, and in the case of the latter it also allows Incineroar to ignore Rage Powder.
- Incineroar teams up well with basically anything so concrete suggestions can be just about anything you want, we're talking about the best Fake Out user in the format and the Pokemon that took the throne from Landorus-Therian after all.
- Most notably though, Incineroar wants teammates that deal with Water-types such as Rotom-Wash and Lapras, so a Rotom forme of your own is a very strong choice for a teammate.
- Conkeldurr is a notable choice for a Lapras counter that also deals with opposing Incineroar, and works well on slow teams that may or may not be utilizing Trick Room.
- On the topic of Trick Room, Dusclops is a notable Trick Room setter that appreciates the Fake Out and Intimidate support to set up more safely. Other Trick Room sweepers such as Rhyperior and Hatterene also appreciate this Fake Out support.
Countering Incineroar
Toxapex walls Incineroar to death no matter what it does. The only thing Incineroar achieves is removing its held item but after that, it is pretty much rendered useless by it.
Tyranitar is also a pretty hard counter for Incineroar since it resists its dual STAB combination. However, it must be wary of Will-O-Wisp which can heavily hinder it for the rest of the match. Terrakion also deserves a special mention since it doesn't minds Knock Off a lot thanks to Justified granting a free Attack boost and proceed to destroy Incineroar with one of its STABs. It still has to be careful of switching into Will-O-Wisp.
Faster Fighting types such as Keldeo, Kommo-o and Lucario does a number on Incineroar. Keldeo deserves a special mention since it doesn't cares about Intimidate and Secret Sword hits the weakest defense stat.
Water types like Rotom-Wash, Seismitoad and Milotic will put Inicneroar on its place although they must be wary of Knock-Off since they don't want to lose their items.
While Ground types don't like Intimidate and Will-o-Wisp, they can revenge kill Incineroar. Excadrill is a great example due to its higher Speed stat and Ground STAB.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game
Colosseum/XD:
Not in game
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game
Black/White:
Not in game
Black 2/White 2:
Not in game
X/Y:
Not in game
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Not in game
Sun/Moon:
Evolve Torracat
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Evolve Torracat
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Transfer through Pokémon HOME
Animé Appearences
