Why Incineroar is Suddenly Dropping in Pokemon Champions

When Pokemon Champions was first announced, and then with its subsequent trailers, it was clear that it was built as the ultimate battling hub with access to some of the strongest Pokemon ever in VGC. Its launch disappointed fans in terms of available Pokemon and items, mainly because some iconic critters that were showcased in trailers didn’t make the cut on release. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though, as it means the ceiling is lower when it comes to the overall power level in Pokemon Champions, and so more Pokemon that normally don’t see a lot of play can shine.

It also means that the usual suspects, the Pokemon that normally dominate the competitive scene and are currently available, end up being some of the best Pokemon in Pokemon Champions by a significant margin. For example, Basculegion is one of the most used Pokemon in the format because it can dish out incredible damage and has one of two kits that make it very strong on rain teams or in balance teams. Another Pokemon that dominates the charts is Incineroar. It has a very good type combination, access to Fake Out and Parting Shot, and can deal significant damage with moves like Throat Chop and Flare Blitz. But now, it’s suddenly dropping in usage, and there’s a very specific reason for it.

Incineroar’s Best Counter in Pokemon Champions Explained

One of the main things to know to counter Incineroar in Pokemon Champions is that it not only has access to Fake Out and Parting Shot, but also to Intimidate, which lets it pivot in and out of the fight to apply Intimidate multiple times in a single match. This is particularly good now that the most used and strongest Pokemon in the format are physical attackers, but there is a caveat. One of the most used Pokemon right now is Kingambit, which has Defiant as an ability, allowing it to get a 2-stage Attack boost when its stats are reduced. This isn’t enough to counter Incineroar on its own, and that’s where Milotic comes into play.

According to pokebase.app, Milotic currently has a 10.6% usage rate. This is not as high as Incineroar’s 42.9%, but it has been steadily rising over the past two weeks as players start using Milotic with its Competitive ability to get a 2-stage Special Attack boost whenever its stats are lowered, essentially making Incineroar very dangerous to use. This is because Milotic is very bulky, and it gets access to self-buffing and healing moves that make it extremely hard to remove. There are a few reasons for this:

• Milotic has 95 base HP, 60 base Attack, 79 base Defense, 100 base Special Attack, 125 base Special Defense, and 81 base Speed, which makes it fairly tanky with investment in HP and defenses.
• Milotic learns Coil to boost its Defense and Recover to heal itself.
• With a single proc of Competitive, its damage with Water moves can be pretty high even if not used on rain teams in Pokemon Champions, often OHKOing Incineroar with Scald, depending on SP distribution.
• Milotic works on Trick Room teams in Pokemon Champions as well as balance teams and most other teams, and it can work well under Tailwind, too.
• With moves like Protect, Coil, Recover, and Life Dew it can keep itself alive very efficiently if paired with Leftovers.
• It can use offensive moves like Scald to deal STAB Water damage with a chance to burn, Icy Wind for speed control, Ice Beam to counter Garchomp in Pokemon Champions, and Muddy Water to have a spread move that can reduce the opposing Pokemon’s accuracy.
• Last but not least, Milotic also learns Hypnosis, allowing it to put opposing Pokemon to sleep while it recovers HP, buffs itself, and/or deals damage.

How Pokemon Champions’ Most Used Pokemon Counter Incineroar

Image via OLM

Considering how strong Milotic is against Incineroar and its rising usage, combined with how popular and powerful Kingambit in Pokemon Champions is, it’s only natural that Incineroar’s lead starts to dwindle. On top of that, Incineroar’s Fire/Dark type means it takes a lot of damage from Sneasler with Close Combat, and since Sneasler is the most used Pokemon in Pokemon Champions, it can be a problem.

If that wasn’t enough, Incineroar is often used with strong Dark-type moves like Darkest Lariat to deal as much damage as possible against Farigiraf on turn one to prevent the opponent from setting up Trick Room. However, Farigiraf is extremely bulky, and if it survives, it can get Trick Room up anyway and then punish Incineroar for staying in. In fact, more and more often, Farigiraf is being used with a Speed-reducing nature and Low Kick in order to deal Fighting-type damage even with no investment.

Between this, Sneasler’s domain, Kingambit’s Defiant, and Milotic’s Competitive, using Incineroar can be much less of a crutch for newcomers now, and instead requires careful planning. It’s still unclear how the meta will change when more Pokemon and items are added, but for now, don’t be surprised to see fewer Incineroar users in Pokemon Champions‘ double battle teams.