The two most used
At the Nice Regional, on October 17-18, Rillaboom and Incineroar were the two most used Pokémon, each on around half of the teams. The two published usage reports we checked, Bulbagarden's and Nimbasa City Post's, disagree on which one led on day one, but agree that both finished well ahead of everything else.
It is not just that each is popular on its own: in Limitless data, Rillaboom is Incineroar's most common partner. When you see one at team preview, the other is usually there too.
What each one brings
Incineroar, a Fire and Dark type, comes in with Intimidate and lowers both opponents' Attack. Fake Out stops one of them on the first turn, Parting Shot gets it out while lowering the target's Attack and Special Attack, and Will-O-Wisp burns physical attackers. Every time it comes back in, Intimidate triggers again.
Rillaboom, a Grass type, sets Grassy Terrain on entry with Grassy Surge. With the terrain up, its Grassy Glide has priority, so it hits before almost everything even though Rillaboom is not fast. It also carries Fake Out, Wood Hammer, its strongest attack, and U-turn to leave the field while dealing damage.
Why they work together
The first reason is turn one: between them they have two Fake Outs, and the opponent has to decide what to protect without knowing where each one will go. Meanwhile, Incineroar's Intimidate has already lowered both opponents' Attack.
The second is attrition. Grassy Terrain heals grounded Pokémon a sixteenth of their HP at the end of each turn, and both pivot in and out with Parting Shot and U-turn. Every time they come back, Intimidate and Grassy Terrain trigger again.
The third is typing. Rillaboom resists Water and Ground, two of the types that hit Incineroar for double damage, and Incineroar resists Fire and Ice, two of the types that hit Rillaboom for double. Each can switch into the hit aimed at the other.
| Attack type | Against Incineroar | Against Rillaboom |
|---|---|---|
| Water | Double | Half |
| Ground | Double | Half |
| Fire | Half | Double |
| Ice | Half | Double |
| Fighting | Double | Normal |
| Rock | Double | Normal |
| Poison | Normal | Double |
| Flying | Normal | Double |
| Bug | Normal | Double |
| Psychic | No effect | Normal |
The third member: why so many bring Garchomp
In Limitless data, Garchomp is Incineroar's second most common partner, behind Rillaboom. It makes sense: Garchomp hits hard against the Fire, Steel and Electric types that give the pair trouble.
But there is a cost worth knowing. Grassy Terrain halves Earthquake damage against grounded Pokémon, including Garchomp's own Earthquake against the opponents. So while the terrain is up, Garchomp is better off attacking with its Dragon-type moves or waiting for the terrain to end.
How to beat them
Sneasler is the most direct answer: its Poison attacks hit Rillaboom for double damage and its Fighting attacks hit Incineroar for double. Kingambit, with Defiant, gains two stages of Attack when Incineroar lowers its Attack with Intimidate, so the pair has to handle it carefully.
Indeedee with Psychic Surge replaces Grassy Terrain with Psychic Terrain: Grassy Glide loses its priority and both Fake Outs stop hitting grounded opponents. And burns, as always, cut Rillaboom's physical damage for the whole battle.
On the cores page you can see how teams with this pair do and which third Pokémon wins most with them.
