- Why Incineroar Is the #1 Support Pokemon
- Incineroar Base Stats & Typing
- Best Incineroar Build (Standard Support Set)
- Move-by-Move Breakdown
- SP Spread Deep Dive
- Best Held Items for Incineroar
- Best Team Partners
- How to Use Incineroar in Battle
- Incineroar Weaknesses & Counters
- Frequently Asked Questions
Incineroar is the most used Pokemon in Pokemon Champions Regulation M-A, and for good reason. No other Pokemon packs Intimidate, Fake Out, and Parting Shot into a single slot while remaining as reliably bulky. It sets up sweepers, shuts down physical attackers, and controls the pace of every match it enters. This guide covers the best Incineroar build, SP spreads, held items, team synergies, and exactly how to play it.
1. Why Incineroar Is the #1 Support Pokemon
Incineroar's dominance in VGC doubles comes from stacking three individually powerful effects into one Pokemon:
- Intimidate on entry: Lowers both opposing Pokemon's Attack on switch-in. A single Intimidate can prevent two KOs in one turn. Chain Intimidate (switch Incineroar back in multiple times via Parting Shot) can stack -2 Attack on key physical threats.
- Fake Out (+3 priority flinch): Prevents one opponent from acting on turn 1, giving your sweeper a free attack. Fake Out is the safest and most consistently useful turn-1 play in the game.
- Parting Shot (stat drop + pivot): Lowers both the target's Attack and Special Attack, then switches Incineroar out for any Pokemon in your party. This brings in a fresh sweeper while also re-triggering Intimidate from the new Pokemon if it has it.
2. Incineroar Base Stats & Typing
| Stat | Base | With 32 SP (max) | Role of this stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP | 95 | ~138 | Main survivability buffer — worth investing SP here |
| Attack | 115 | ~148 | Strong enough at base; Flare Blitz hits hard without SP |
| Defense | 90 | ~123 | Decent physical bulk; some investment useful |
| Sp. Atk | 80 | — | Rarely used — only for Overheat tech sets |
| Sp. Def | 90 | ~123 | Sp. Def is the priority investment to survive Dragapult / Sinistcha |
| Speed | 60 | — | Never invest — Incineroar deliberately moves after opponents to maximize Fake Out value |
Fire / Dark typing gives Incineroar four resistances (Fire, Grass, Ice, Ghost, Dark) and useful immunities (Psychic-immune). Its main weaknesses are Water (2×), Ground (2×), Rock (2×), and Fighting (2×). The Ground weakness is the most punishing in doubles — Earthquake from Garchomp is one of the most common moves in the format.
3. Best Incineroar Build (Standard Support Set)
4. Move-by-Move Breakdown
5. SP Spread Deep Dive
The key question in Incineroar's SP spread is: how much bulk is needed to survive the hits that matter? Incineroar doesn't need to survive everything — it needs to survive long enough to use Fake Out + Parting Shot and then die gracefully. The standard spread targets two specific survival thresholds:
- Survive Dragapult Draco Meteor from full HP: Dragapult is the fastest and most common special attacker. Incineroar surviving a Draco Meteor lets it use Parting Shot before fainting, saving a sweeper.
- Survive Sneasler Close Combat: Sneasler is the top physical threat. With Intimidate already active, Close Combat at -1 Attack should not OHKO, letting Incineroar Fake Out first then switch out.
The remaining SP after bulk and the 1 Speed SP goes into Defense or HP. Incineroar's Sp. Def is the priority investment because most threats targeting it use special moves (Sinistcha, Dragapult, Volcarona). Max Sp. Def (32 SP) is standard.
6. Best Held Items for Incineroar
| Item | Tier | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Sitrus Berry | S | Restores 25% HP at ≤50% HP. Best item on the standard Parting Shot set. Extends Incineroar's lifespan for an extra Fake Out or Parting Shot. Works on any set that includes status/support moves. |
| Assault Vest | A | +50% Sp. Def, blocks status/support moves (including Parting Shot). Best when your team faces heavy special pressure and doesn't need the Parting Shot pivot. Run with Knock Off in the fourth slot instead. |
| Rocky Helmet | B | Deals 1/6 damage to physical contact attackers. Punishes Fake Out users, U-turn, and any contact physical move. Good against heavy physical meta builds, but gives up the HP recovery from Sitrus Berry. |
| Lum Berry | B | Cures one status condition. Prevents Will-O-Wisp (halves physical damage) or Thunder Wave from shutting down Incineroar. Situational — more valuable in a local meta where burn spam is common. |
| Figy Berry | C | Restores 33% HP at ≤25% HP (similar to Sitrus but more HP, later trigger). Slightly stronger recovery swing, but activates later and is harder to time around Flare Blitz recoil. |
7. Best Team Partners
8. How to Use Incineroar in Battle
Turn 1 decision tree:
- Identify the faster threat in the opponent's lead. Use Fake Out on it. This buys your sweeper (or Hatterene, or Whimsicott) one free turn.
- Turn 2: read the opponent's switch or action. If the opponent's lead is now low HP, use Flare Blitz or Darkest Lariat to KO it. If they switch to a physical threat, use Parting Shot to lower its Attack and pivot into your second attacker.
- Mid-game: Bring Incineroar back in whenever the opponent leads a physical threat. Each re-entry triggers Intimidate, stacking the Attack drop. Three Intimidate drops (-3 Attack) makes most physical attackers deal minimal damage.
- Late-game: Incineroar's Fake Out loses value once the opponent has scouted it. Switch to using Parting Shot to cycle your remaining attackers in safely. A Parting Shot on a near-fainted sweeper can save the game by bringing in a fresh revenge killer at -1 Atk/-1 Sp.Atk on the opponent.
9. Incineroar Weaknesses & Counters
- Earthquake from Garchomp / Excadrill: 2× effective, often OHKOs or brings Incineroar into Sitrus Berry range. The most common way Incineroar is KO'd.
- Close Combat from Sneasler / Heracross: 2× effective Fighting hit. Survives at -1 Attack (after Intimidate) but barely. A Guts-boosted Close Combat ignores the Intimidate drop entirely.
- Defiant / Competitive ability: Pokemon with Defiant (Bisharp line, Braviary) or Competitive (Milotic, Espeon) gain +2 Attack or Sp. Atk when their stats are lowered. Bringing Incineroar in against these Pokemon turns Intimidate into a buff for the opponent.
- Taunt: Blocks Parting Shot and Fake Out (Fake Out targets the opponent, so Taunt doesn't block it — but Parting Shot is blocked). A Taunted Incineroar can still Fake Out and Flare Blitz, but loses its most valuable utility move.
- Incineroar mirror: The team that wins the Speed tie (or invested 1 SP for guaranteed Speed win) Fake Outs the opponent's Incineroar first, locking it and protecting their own sweeper on turn 1.
10. Frequently Asked Questions
Does Incineroar need Attack SP?
No. Incineroar's base 115 Attack is strong enough to deal meaningful damage with Flare Blitz and Darkest Lariat without any Attack SP investment. All SP saved from Attack can go into bulk, making Incineroar more durable for repeated Fake Out + Parting Shot cycles.
Can Incineroar use Parting Shot under Intimidate itself?
Yes. Parting Shot is separate from Intimidate — it's a move, not an ability. Incineroar can use Parting Shot to lower the opponent's Attack AND Sp. Atk, then switch out. The new Pokemon entering triggers its own ability (including Intimidate if it has it), stacking the Attack drop further.
Should Incineroar run Protect?
Protect is a viable fourth-slot option when you want to play more defensively — scouting moves, stalling out Trick Room, or buying a turn for Sitrus Berry to not yet activate. The trade-off is losing either Flare Blitz (damage), Darkest Lariat (coverage), or Knock Off (item removal). Most teams prefer to keep offensive coverage and rely on Sitrus Berry for sustain rather than Protect stalling.
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Tier list, team building archetypes, SP training, and more in our full guide library.
All Guides →Related Guides
- Pokemon Champions SP Training Guide — Detailed SP mechanics and more competitive spreads including Incineroar's bulk targets
- Pokemon Champions Tier List — Incineroar's S-tier ranking explained alongside every other meta Pokemon
- Pokemon Champions Best Held Items Tier List — Sitrus Berry, Assault Vest, and Rocky Helmet fully ranked for Incineroar and every other Pokemon
- Pokemon Champions Damage Prevention Guide — How Intimidate fits into the broader damage prevention toolkit alongside screens, Protect, and Wide Guard
- Pokemon Champions Team Building Guide — How to build around Incineroar as the backbone of a balanced team