If you don’t know this already, Incineroar is the uncontested best Figure Player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The Heel Pokémon is one of the only fighters to be universally banned from competitive tournaments, and it’s for a good reason, too: its side special, Alolan Whip, absolutely shreds AI opponents. Incineroar isn’t quite as strong against human players, but it’s still a powerful Raid Boss that can strike fear into the hearts of the unprepared. If you’d like to read more about Incineroar’s metagame history, you can do so over at its wiki page. Otherwise, let’s jump right into today’s training!

Spirits

If you’re looking to equip your FP with a Spirit team, you’ve come to the right place! With the proper setup, Incineroar is insanely threatening and will often dominate any unfortunate opponent who happens to get in its way. If you’d like to learn more about how Spirits work in this game, we have an in-depth guide that goes into greater detail. In the meantime, here are Incineroar’s optimal Spirit effects:

• Banned bonuses: In descending order of viability, Super Armor, Armor Knight, and Great Autoheal all function excellently on Incineroar. If you choose Armor Knight as your primary Spirit effect, use Trade-Off Ability ↑ to fill the third slot. Side note: you probably won’t find any tournament that allows Incineroar at all — let alone one equipped with these bonuses.
• Tournament-legal bonuses: Physical Attack ↑ boosts most of Incineroar’s moveset, making it a great option for the Heel Pokémon. Trade-Off Ability ↑ and Floaty Jumps can be used as well; the latter helps Incineroar recover more consistently when launched off-stage. Critical Immunity is an interesting two-slot Spirit effect; it activates every stock and grants Incineroar full invincibility for several seconds. This means it’ll have access to an intangible Alolan Whip, which can easily turn the tide of battle in its favor.
• Raid Boss bonuses: Any of the Spirit effects listed above – particularly Super Armor, Armor Knight, and Great Autoheal – work well on a Raid Boss Incineroar. If you don’t plan to run any of these bonuses, then Move Speed ↑ is a must. At the time of writing, Incineroar’s run speed is the slowest in the game, so the character greatly appreciates a speed buff. Feel free to include Physical Attack ↑ and Landing Lag ↓, too!

In terms of stat points, Incineroar’s spread can be balanced (2100 / 2100) or leaning more heavily into offense (2500 / 1700). Regardless of the build you choose, please make sure the FP’s Spirit-type is Neutral before you start its training. That way it won’t lose any Spirit-type matchups later down the line!

Competitive Training

Incineroar is rather easy to train, especially when you’re trying to raise one that would perform well in a tournament setting. For starters, you’ll have to mirror match your FP until it reaches Level 50. At early levels, attack it with the moves listed below. By the time it reaches Level 15 (give or take a few levels), it’ll start to use attacks of its own, and it’s during this time that you should purposefully get hit by the ones you want it to use. If you see your FP winding up to use Alolan Whip, walk over and get hit by the attack! Speaking of walking, you’ll need to do just that during training. Don’t run! Incineroar should also stay on-stage at all times, as its recovery is poor and the AI sometimes uses Alolan Whip and Cross Chop out of order. Now then, here’s the move list:

• Alolan Whip is the single strongest move in the entirety of competitive amiibo training. Ultimate’s AI can’t do much to counter it — it can see it coming, but it rarely gets out of the way in time. Upon grabbing an enemy, Incineroar’s AI will always properly time its Alolan Whip and get the high-damage lariat. There are two exceptions to this: when Incineroar grabs a foe close to the top blast line, it’ll toss it upwards; and when Incineroar grabs a foe off-stage, it’ll purposefully fail the move. Use a ton of Alolan Whip during training, and do your best to get the timing right (even though the FP will teach itself the proper timing regardless). You’re mostly going to want to use this move while grounded, but you can mix in a few aerial ones too.
• Down smash is Incineroar’s best smash attack! It’s most effective when used at the ledge, as it covers neutral getups and getup rolls. Not to mention its jumping hitbox confuses other FPs for a moment. Use down smash at the edge of the stage when your FP is trying to recover!
• It’s entirely possible to train a strong Incineroar amiibo that only uses down smash and Alolan Whip. Up air, then, is kind of like icing on the cake. If you want, you can use it to juggle your FP a few times when it’s above you. And then you can finish that juggling string with a powerful up smash!
• You can also mix in a few grabs and landing neutral airs. When grabbing, focus on Incineroar’s forward and back throws. Quick note here: only use neutral air before landing — don’t use it for any other purpose.

Moves to avoid? Everything not listed above (with only a few exceptions)! Incineroar really only needs Alolan Whip and down smash, and then our other move suggestions are just rounding out his kit. As a reminder, don’t go off-stage, as Incineroar’s AI often uses Cross Chop and then Alolan Whip even though it should be using them in the opposite order.

Raid Boss Training

Where a competitive-trained Incineroar FP should rely on Alolan Whip, a Raid Boss one should rely on everything but Alolan Whip. Indeed, an optimal Raid Boss Incineroar uses much more of its moveset in comparison, making this training style ideal for those not interested in tournaments. To be clear, you’re allowed to dash and jump as often as you want while raising a Raid Boss. It’s only competitive FPs that you want to have walking instead of running. Incineroar should stay on-stage whenever possible, as its recovery is weak and highly exploitable — especially by human opponents. Here are all the moves to teach your FP:

• Forward tilt is a single-strike chop that inflicts good damage. It’s also the strongest forward tilt in the game, and it’s even stronger if you use it right at the ledge! You can also work in neutral attack and down tilt at close range; the latter can link into a jab, grab, forward air, or up air.
• Grab your FP whenever possible, because each and every one of Incineroar’s throws is useful. Down throw can combo into a neutral air or neutral special, and up throw can link into an up air chain. Its forward and back throws are extra strong, so use these as kill moves at later percentages!
• Up tilt and up air are fast, strong, and perfect for juggling. After using an up tilt or two, you could follow up with an up air, up smash, or neutral air. Back air and forward air can be used for air-to-air combat.
• You can also sprinkle in a tiny bit of forward smash and up smash to KO. Mix in a bit of down smash at the ledge, too!

And finally, you might consider using the smallest bit of Alolan Whip as a neutral option. It’s not one to be spammed, as humans will quickly adapt if your FP starts “whipping” too often. As mentioned before, Incineroar should stay on-stage for the best possible result. But if you really want to go off-stage, only use down air to gimp.

Wrap-Up

Compared to other characters, Incineroar is fairly easy to raise. Its game plan is straightforward and its powerful kit allows it to stomp most opponents with ease. It’s still very possible to have trouble training Incineroar, though, so don’t feel bad if it doesn’t work out right away: our Discord server is happy to help you out with any questions you may have! If you manage to find a tournament that does allow Incineroar, you can read our tour preparation guide to learn how to enter it. Exion also has a Patreon and a donation box, so if you found today’s guide helpful, we appreciate any support! Thank you so much for reading. Until next time — happy training!

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