Pokemon Winds & Waves Needs to Add One Pokemon Above All Others

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I’ve always been interested in the competitive aspect of Pokemon, but I never had the chance to really get involved. Pokemon Champions made it much more accessible for players like me to start battling. I was really eager to build my own team, but there was one thing about competitive Pokemon that worried me – a long-standing issue in the game. I’m hoping the upcoming Pokemon Winds and Waves updates will tackle this when they introduce new Pokemon.

I’m really excited to see the new Pokémon in Generation 10, but I’m also a little worried. Will any of them be strong enough to counter Incineroar? It’s a major threat in competitive battling – everyone who follows the scene knows how powerful it is. Even after some recent adjustments in Pokémon Champions, it’s still one of the best support Pokémon. Hopefully, Pokémon Winds and Waves will introduce a Pokémon that can finally defeat this Alolan starter.

Incineroar Dominates Competitive Play

Incineroar is widely considered one of the strongest support Pokémon in competitive battling. Since its introduction in Pokémon Sun and Moon, it’s become a common pick due to its durability, advantageous type matchups, and versatile moveset. It also packs a powerful offense, allowing it to deal significant damage. Incineroar is a truly disruptive Pokémon that demands attention, consistently offering impactful plays regardless of the opponent or the current game state.

This Pokémon is incredibly strong, largely due to its ability to lower the opponent’s Attack as soon as it enters battle – a move that can quickly change the flow of a fight. It can further control the battle with moves like Fake Out and Parting Shot, dictating the pace from beginning to end. And while it excels at disruption, it also packs a powerful punch with moves like Flare Blitz. Its overall consistency is rare and makes it a reliable combatant.

Even when efforts are made to lessen its impact, Incineroar remains incredibly powerful. For example, removing a key move in Pokemon Champions only slightly slowed it down. Incineroar can completely control how a battle unfolds, and whenever I see it on the opposing team – which is very common – I know I need to be ready for anything. Will it use Fake Out right away, or a powerful Flare Blitz? Players are constantly forced to choose between playing cautiously and letting Incineroar’s teammate gain an advantage, or taking the risk and attacking, only to potentially be stopped by a flinch. Incineroar is arguably the most strategically complex Pokémon ever created, and its dominance needs to be addressed.

The Meta Almost Revolves Around Incineroar

Incineroar is clearly the most powerful Pokemon in the current competitive scene. When one Pokemon is this strong, it heavily influences how everyone builds their teams. Players often feel they have to use Incineroar to compete, or build their teams specifically to defend against it. I’ve personally felt pressured to include it, even when I didn’t want to, just to avoid starting at a disadvantage. Sometimes I had to use weaker Pokemon simply to have a chance against it. This isn’t ideal in a game that should be about experimenting and building unique teams.

The competitive scene lacks variety because only a few Pokémon are consistently successful, despite the hundreds available. When one Pokémon, like Incineroar, is significantly stronger as support, it overshadows other options. I’ve repeatedly tried different team strategies, but they consistently fall short compared to Incineroar’s reliability. For example, I kept trying to use Arcanine, but realized I was actually hurting my team’s chances by not including Incineroar.

This predictability makes matches feel stale. It seems like almost everyone is using Incineroar, leading to repetitive strategies and reactions once it’s in play. Even when opponents don’t use it, I still have to plan for it, which impacts my team choices like whether to lead with my Milotic and Kingambit. While player skill is still important, the lack of variety is making the competitive scene less exciting. Fixing this is crucial for the long-term health of competitive Pokémon, and the developers of Pokémon Winds and Waves should definitely take it into account.

Pokemon Winds & Waves Is the Perfect Opportunity for a True Counter

The new Pokemon Winds & Waves game could offer a clever fix to the dominance of Incineroar. Instead of just making Incineroar weaker, a better approach would be to introduce a new Pokemon built to specifically counter it. This could be achieved through its type, special abilities, or a unique set of moves that exploit Incineroar’s weaknesses. Currently, players are relying on Ghost-type Pokemon, which are unaffected by Incineroar’s ‘Fake Out’ attack, or Pokemon with abilities like ‘Competitive’ and ‘Mirror Armor’ to punish Incineroar’s strategies.

It would be great to have a Pokémon that directly counters the Intimidate ability, offering a stronger response than just boosting Speed with Competitive. This single change could significantly alter how players use Incineroar, potentially making them think twice about including it on their team. Alternatively, a Pokémon with a type combination that resists Incineroar’s attacks and effectively counters its strategies while applying its own pressure would also help. These design choices would create a more balanced gameplay experience without diminishing what makes Incineroar a popular choice.

A new game mechanic could really shake things up. For example, an ability similar to Inner Focus that penalizes the move Fake Out – perhaps by boosting a stat or even dealing damage back to Incineroar – would make players reconsider using it so often and lessen the move’s overall effectiveness. I believe this type of innovative solution is exactly what Game Freak should consider when developing Pokemon Winds and Waves.

The game Pokemon Champions is attracting lots of new competitive players, but many might get discouraged by how often Incineroar wins and stop playing. While Incineroar deserves to be considered one of the best Pokemon, it shouldn’t control every battle. The upcoming Pokemon Winds & Waves has the potential to create a more varied and interesting competitive landscape. It’s time for Incineroar to step aside, or at least allow other Pokemon to become popular.

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2026-04-25 20:12