When we talk about Landorus in competitive play, the first thing you might think of is its Therian forme, which served as a popular Intimidate user and strong physical attacker as recently as Regulation E. But as soon as we got to the current ruleset, Regulation F, the Therian forme completely fell off and was replaced by the Incarnate forme. Despite being the same species, the two formes fill totally different roles. While Landorus Therian often cycles in and out of the field to weaken physical attackers with Intimidate, its Incarnate forme is way more offensive on the special side with good type coverage.
As seen at the Europe International Championships (EUIC), Landorus Incarnate is one of the most popular Pokémon in the meta alongside the likes of Urshifu and Ogerpon, placing fourth on the usage chart for the biggest tournament in the franchise’s history. When we asked pro players why the genie is having such a big moment right now, they told us it had to do with its high damage output, fantastic type coverage, and the existence of Incineroar.
When it comes to offense, Landorus Incarnate is powered by a combination of its Ability, Sheer Force, and the Life Orb item. That combo powers up its two main attacking moves—Earth Power and Sludge Bomb. With strong Ground and Poison attacks, regional champ Joseph Ugarte explained, “you’re able to have a lot of coverage into a lot of teams,” using the example of the popular Incineroar/Rillaboom/Raging Bolt core. Incineroar and Raging Bolt are both weak to Ground, while Rillaboom is weak to Poison, making the entire core “really susceptible to Landorus.”
Similarly, VGC expert Jeudy Azzarelli pointed out how good Landorus’ Sludge Bomb is against common Fairy Tera Type ‘mons like Flutter Mane and Raging Bolt. So even if Raging Bolt Terastallizes to Fairy to lose its Ground weakness, it still won’t be able to protect itself from the genie’s Sludge Bomb—especially if Landorus has the Poison Tera Type. “It’s just the right piece to counter a lot of the common Pokémon,” Azzarelli told Dot.
And if you’re still wondering why Landorus’ Therian forme fell off, Pokémon veteran James Baek blamed the addition of Incineroar in the current format. Landorus Therian and Incineroar are both Intimidate users, and Baek explained how it’s good to limit yourself to one Intimidate ‘mon per team to avoid sticky situations with Kingambit’s Defiant boosts. Incineroar is arguably the best Intimidate user in the game, so Landorus Therian lost its job and place in the format. Plus, as a physical attacker, the Therian forme does not appreciate having its Attack stat dropped by Incineroar’s Intimidate. This, however, was what opened the door for players to explore the special-attacking Incarnate forme.
In hindsight, Landorus Incarnate feels like a hidden gem that wasn’t truly recognized as a threat until after the Therian forme lost viability. “I honestly think it’s a Pokémon that probably could’ve seen more success in Regulation D and Regulation E,” Regional champ Chuppa Cross IV admitted. “If people went back and played those formats, it was probably being slept on a little bit.” With its ability to handle a lot of the main ‘mons in the meta, Landorus Incarnate is the hero we needed all along.
