The fire starter for generation seven, Incineroar is the final evolution of Litten. It is a large bipedal cat that appears to be designed after wrestlers. Typical of the fire starters in Pokemon, Incineroar has a high attack stat capable of toppling many wall strategies. Incineroar’s base evolution, Litten, was the third Pokemon caught by Ash in the Alola region and accompanies him to the end of his journey of this region. This guide will showcase Incineroar’s appearances in the anime, its capability in battle, as well as general facts about Incineroar.
About Incineroar
Incineroar is modeled after wrestlers and with its fire/dark typing, has quite a violent disposition. Feeding into this design, Incineroar is also a crowd-pleaser, and its mood goes up when the crowd is excited and will become uninterested as the crowd becomes bored. As an Alolan starter, it debuted in Pokemon the Series: Sun & Moon. As Litten and Torracat, it is only a fire type, but when it evolves into Incineroar it becomes a dark type as well. Incineroar is an offensive Pokemon, typical of the fire starters in previous generations.
| First appearance in anime | First Debut as Litten: Alola to New Adventure! First Debut as Incineroar: Pushing the Fiery Envelope! |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Sun and Moon |
| Region | Alola |
| Evolution | The final evolution of Litten evolves from Torracat |
| 1st Evo level | 17 |
| 2nd Evo level | 34 |
| Pokedex Entry | This Pokémon has a violent, selfish disposition. If it's not in the mood to listen, it will ignore its Trainer's orders with complete nonchalance. |
Incineroar Base Stats
| HP | 95 |
| ATTACK | 115 |
| DEFENCE | 90 |
| SP. ATTACK | 80 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 90 |
| SPEED | 60 |
| TOTAL | 530 |
Appearance of Incineroar
Incineroar is a bulky, bipedal, tiger-like Pokemon. It has what resembles a championship belt made of fire around its waist, and a gray body. The flames around its waist are produced from within its body. Its legs, arms, tail, and head are striped with red and black. Its mouth is typically depicted in a snarl with jagged teeth to fit. Incineroar’s arms end in paws with five claws each. The bulky build and gray torso resemble a wrestler’s frame and tank-top.
Behavior of Incineroar
Incineroar has quite a hot-headed personality. It is a true performer at heart and it becomes much more motivated when the crowd is cheering it on. Not exactly the most empathetic Pokemon, it will risk life and limb, disregard the safety of its opponent’s and onlookers, and sometimes even strike the opposing trainer with its attacks. It is difficult to control and will often ignore its own trainer’s orders if it feels like doing so. Motivated by violence, Incineroar is quite the dangerous Pokemon.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Incineroar is not extremely capable in battle, despite its design philosophy. It is ranked in NU (Never Used) in competitive brackets, but can still see success in battle within its bracket. Its attack stat is very good, but the rest of its stats are rather lackluster, especially its speed stat. Making Incineroar often takes its move after its opponents. Nevertheless, it can have the ability to “intimidate” to make opposing physical attackers deal less damage.
Mega Incineroar
Unfortunately, there is no Mega Incineroar available in the official games. Mega Incineroar would be a welcome addition considering Incineroar’s capabilities in battle are rather lacking. However, as it stands, there is no Incineroarite for a potential Mega Incineroar currently in the games. While it does not have a mega evolution, Incineroar does have a unique Z-move that turns the darkest lariat into malicious moonsault. As such while there is no Mega Incineroar, at least there is something unique to chase after with this Pokemon.
Ash’s Incineroar
Ash’s Incineroar debuts in “Fiery Surprises!” where Ash’s Torracat evolves into an Incineroar. Even when Incineroar was a Litten, it took time for Ash to gain its respect. In the anime, it often spat fire into Ash’s face. However, in later episodes, Incineroar became close friends with Ash alongside his team. While it did have moments where Incineroar appeared to be calm and collected, the contrary is more typical for it.
Best Moveset
For Incineroar to have the best success in competitive Pokemon battles, you should consider moves like Swords Dance, Knock Off/Darkest Lariat, Earthquake, and Flare Blitz to take advantage of Incineroar’s statline. Swords Dance will abuse Incineroar’s high attack stat to the fullest, Knock Off or Darkest Lariat will utilize STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) with the latter only being used with the Incinium Z held item, Earthquake will help Incineroar cover other Pokemon types, and Flare Blitz has good sweeping potential once Incineroar is set up.
| Swords Dance | Knock Off/Darkest Lariat |
| Earthquake | Flare Blitz |
How to Catch Incineroar in Pokemon Go
At this point in time, Incineroar and its pre-evolutions are not available for capture in Pokemon Go. A recent May 2021 update showed Pokemon from the Kalos region in Pokemon X and Y, so Sun and Moon cannot be too far away. No announcements have been made at this point in time regarding whether or not Litten/Incineroar will be available for capture, but as the starter Pokemon of Sun and Moon, it is likely that they will be added to the game eventually.
Video Guide
Trivia
- Out of all the starter Pokemon available in each of the games, Incineroar is the only starter to have a lower base stat than its pre-evolutions.
- Incineroar is a portmanteau of the words incinerate and roar.
- Incineroar’s design is based on professional wrestlers as well as a tiger.
FAQs
Q. What Gender is Incineroar?
While 87.5% of Littens are male, they can be female. The gender of Incineroar is simply whichever one you roll. It is not strictly one or the other. You can encounter a female Incineroar, but perhaps just less often than a male Incineroar. This is likely to help players strategize by avoiding or using gender-targeted moves like attract.
Q. Is Incineroar a good Pokemon?
In casual play, there is nothing wrong with using Incineroar as a de facto fire/dark type Pokemon. Even in competitive play, Incineroar can hold its own in the NU (Never Used) tier. However, its inclusion into this tier speaks volumes about its place regarding Pokemon power level. Despite all this, it does have a good set of moves and a decent ability, just not the ideal stat distribution.
Q. Is Torracat better than Incineroar?
Torracat is better in terms of speed, but that is about it. If you want to get into subjective territory, you could argue Torracat is a cuter-looking cat. Other than that, Incineroar is a better Pokemon through and through. You may have to sacrifice some speed to evolve your Torracat, but the numbers that would have gone into Incineroar’s speed stat are evident elsewhere in its distribution.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know about Incineroar’s involvement in the Pokemon anime, its ability in battle, as well as its temperament. A lot of players love the Litten evolution line and Incineroar was popular enough to secure a place in Nintendo’s famous crossover game, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. A hot-headed Pokemon for offensive players, Incineroar is a good pick for anyone starting out in Sun and Moon.
