Game-breaking Pokémon Champions Bug Makes Incineroar Even Scarier

Inceneroar has become the poster child of competitive Pokémon and VGC, but now a bug has made it far too strong in Pokémon Champions.

The Alolan starter is common in competitive ranked double battles due to its utility, especially with the move Parting Shot.

However, a glitch has been found that allows Incineroar, and possibly other Pokémon, to switch back into itself after using a switching move like Parting Shot or U-Turn.

By having Incineroar first in your party and allowing the game to timeout when selecting who to switch out to after Parting Shot, the game seems to automatically select Incineroar and send it back out.

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I did some testing of the “send yourself back in after pivot move timeout” glitch myself and I could reproduce it after the maintenance that occurred today. This is a pretty major bug if the exploit conditions are available to the player. pic.twitter.com/Mcp5bSR62S

— Leonard Craft III (@DaWoblefet) July 8, 2026

Why This Bug is So Problematic on Incineroar

This bug that allows Pokémon to switch back into themselves is far too strong on Icineroar.

Typically, you will see Inceneroars with the ability Intimidate and both Fake Out and Parting Shot in its moveset.

Intimidate decreases the attack stat of both opposing Pokémon when Incineroar is switched in, a classic tool in VGC which can shut down threats quite quickly.

Parting Shot then compiles that, decreasing both the attack and special attack of one Pokémon before switching Incineroar out for a teammate.

This is a great move for VGC doubles, as it puts the opponent on the back foot and allows you to pivot to a Pokémon better suited to the match-up.

However, if Incineroar can switch himself back immediately, that allows for another instance of Intimidate.

With two Intimidates and Parting Shot, Incineroar can potentially decrease an opponent’s attack three times in one turn.

Plus, every time Incenorar switches in, he can Fake Out to make one of the opponent’s Pokémon flinch and unable to move; potentially nullifying both mons at once.

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Why This Bug is So Problematic on Incineroar

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