Ash's Incineroar

Ash's Incineroar (Japanese: サトシのガオガエン Satoshi's Gaogaen) is the third that   in the Alola region, and his fiftieth overall.

As a wild Pokémon
Few details are known about Incineroar's past when it was a Litten, except that it endured unknown hardships that have brought those who can understand Litten—such as and Olivia—to tears. Litten was rescued at some point by an aging, and the two began to live together. However, Stoutland soon became too old to search for food by itself, leaving Litten to do the gathering. Incineroar debuted as a wild Litten in Alola to New Adventure!, relaxing on the beaches of Melemele Island before it was accidentally stepped on by when he was racing with. Litten, in anger, attacked Ash with and walked off.

In Loading the Dex!, Litten approached the Pokémon School and watched Samson Oak's. In First Catch in Alola, Ketchum-Style!, Litten was seen being fed by Anela in a marketplace on the beach. At that moment, it saw a wild carrying off a wind chime.

In That's Why the Litten is a Scamp!, Litten approached Ash and Pikachu in an attempt to get something to eat. When Ash offered it a piece of the sandwich, it stole the larger portion and ran off, only to be stopped and foiled by an. Annoyed by Litten's trickery, Ash promised to it. The next day, Ash and Pikachu saw Litten being attacked by the previous Alolan Persian and stopped it. Litten, despite being on the verge of collapse, protested against being brought to the Pokémon Center, biting and scratching Ash all the way there. After being treated, Ash brought it to 's house, but it managed to escape in the middle of the night. Ash, Pikachu, and Rotom followed Litten to an abandoned house, where they discovered that Litten had been gathering food for an old Stoutland. Having learned this, Ash decided to give up on capturing Litten, leaving it to care for its caretaker. Suddenly, the group was attacked by the Alolan Persian from earlier. Ash had everyone leave the house, where Pikachu and Litten then started battling the Persian. Litten eventually defeated Persian, and successfully protected Stoutland. The next day, Ash discovered that Litten and Stoutland had relocated. After being assured by Anela that Litten was doing fine, Litten appeared from behind her to grab the fruit she had prepared and ran off into the distance.

In They Might Not Be Giants!, Litten was seen when Ash's Rowlet and Lana's Popplio got separated from their s and fought off when he tried to catch them. It took them to Stoutland, who told Litten to go and help Rowlet and Popplio get back to their Trainers. During their search, the trio got caught by. However, they managed to escape thanks to Litten and blasted Team Rocket off with their combined attacks. After Rowlet and Popplio were reunited with their Trainers, Litten ran off again.

In One Journey Ends, Another Begins..., Litten stole a doughnut Ash dropped and was chased back to its home by him. Ash witnessed how Stoutland helped it learn, but Litten was unsuccessful to master the move. Later on, Litten ran up to Ash, desperate for help with a collapsed Stoutland. After escaping Team Rocket, Ash was brought to its home and carried Stoutland to the Pokémon Center. Litten ran into the emergency room to be its friend while Nurse Joy informed Ash of Stoutland's condition. When Ash returned to the center the next day to check on Litten and Stoutland, he was shocked to see they had left. At its home, Litten practiced its Fire Fang again, but failed once more. Displeased with having the same results as its previous attempt, Litten curled up into Stoutland and fell asleep, proceeding to have a dream where it chased after Stoutland and was unable to catch up. Litten soon woke up alone and immediately flew into panic again, searching over various parts of Melemele Island for Stoutland.

Upon returning home, one of the supports of the sofa the two Pokémon had been sleeping on broke as a tree shed its last leaf and a massive storm whipped up over Melemele. Wracked with grief upon realizing it would never see Stoutland again, Litten looked up to the sky and started yowling. Ash and his Pokémon later found Litten asleep on the sofa, curled up next to the tree's leaf, and kept visiting it to comfort the Fire Cat Pokémon. While the others were still sleeping next to the sofa, Litten woke up as the rain stopped saw a cloud formation shaped like Stoutland behind a rainbow, seemingly smiling in approval. Gathered with resolve, Litten offered Ash a Sitrus Berry. Afterwards, Litten agreed to battle Ash and Pikachu, and was able to successfully execute Fire Fang. After the battle, Litten allowed Ash to catch it, the Trainer having finally gained its trust. When sent out again, Litten happily joined in with the rest of Ash's Pokémon when he poured out the rest of the Berries in his shopping bag.

With Ash
In A Shivering Shovel Search!, Litten was seen with Kiawe's Turtonator to master Fire Fang, but was still unsuccessful in mastering the move. Later, when Ash was stuck inside an enraged 's body, Litten got caught in its body as well when protecting. Palossand then began absorbing Litten's life force, causing it to be unable to leave Palossand's body. Thanks to everyone's combined effort, Snowy was able to Palossand with, stopping it from absorbing life force. Litten then managed to master Fire Fang and used it to break free from Palossand's body. Afterwards, Litten and Ash returned Palossand's lost shovel, calming the Sand Castle Pokémon down.

In Alolan Open House!, visited her son and took a liking to Litten and gave it the nickname Litty (Japanese: ニャビーちゃん Nyabby-chan). At first, her sudden approach made Litten freak out, but once she started petting it, Litten got more comfortable. Delia later used Litten in a battle against Tupp, Zipp, and Rapp of Team Skull, who were attacking the Pokémon School.

In Currying Favor and Flavor!, Litten assisted Ash in clearing the trial in Lush Jungle, where it battled a. It initially had the upper hand, until Lurantis called its ally, who created harsh sunlight using. As Litten struggled with Lurantis's now immediate s and Castform's s, Ash sent out Rowlet to assist it. With the help of Rowlet, Litten was able to fight on equal ground against its opponents. After a hard fought battle, Rowlet managed to defeat Castform, allowing Litten to use to knock Lurantis out as well. Having cleared the trial, Ash was rewarded a Grassium Z.

In Pushing the Fiery Envelope!, while Ash was watching a Battle Royal on TV, Litten became agitated when it saw the Masked Royal's. When Ash and later went to visit the Battle Royal Dome during a special event where anyone could volunteer to face the Masked Royal in a Battle Royal, Litten jumped down from the stands to the arena, prompting Ash to take part in the Battle Royal, joined by  and. Although Kiawe's Marowak and Sophocles's Charjabug were soon defeated by Incineroar's, Litten managed to survive the attack. However, Litten's counterattack with Fire Fang was stopped cold by Incineroar, who then proceeded to defeat Litten with a -enhanced. This defeat later inspired Ash to teach Litten. Some days later, in the middle of Litten's training, the Masked Royal showed up and challenged Ash to a one-on-one battle. Litten, still not having completely mastered Flame Charge, was struggling throughout the battle. However, thanks to Ash's determination, Litten was able to evolve into a, perfecting Flame Charge in the process. Although the evolution and the increase from Flame Charge gave Torracat more edge in the battle, to the point where it even managed to damage Incineroar a bit, it was still eventually defeated by its evolved form. Afterwards, the Masked Royal declared that he and Incineroar were now Torracat's rivals. In A Young Royal Flame Ignites!, Ash and Torracat were present at the Battle Royal Dome to watch a Battle Royal between the Masked Royal and Mad Magmar. Seeing the Revengers play dirty to distract Incineroar, Ash and Torracat entered the battle and joined the Masked Royal and Incineroar in a tag team battle against Mad Magmar's and Mr. Electric's. Despite the interference of the Revengers, Ash and the Masked Royal were eventually able to win the battle after Torracat learned which it used to knock out its opponents. Torracat and Incineroar later went up against Viren's and were able to quickly defeat it using Flame Charge and Darkest Lariat, respectively.

In Securing the Future!, Torracat joined the rest of Alola in showering with light so it could return to its.

In Memories in the Mist!, Torracat was reunited with Stoutland, who was brought back as a spirit due to the effects of 's mist. After showing its former mentor how much stronger it has become since they last met, Stoutland helped Torracat evolve its Ember into. Later, after Torracat mastered its new move, the mist lifted and Stoutland's spirit returned to the afterlife.

In A Timeless Encounter!, Torracat and Ash were sent to the past after accidentally startling a while training. There, they encountered and befriended a younger version of Kukui and his Incineroar, then a Litten. By borrowing Kukui's Firium Z, Ash and Torracat performed for the first time. Later, Ash received a Firium Z of his own by helping out a Totem before Celebi returned him and Torracat back to the present day.

In Getting Down to The Ire!, Ash used Torracat in his Manalo Conference battle against Guzma, where it went up against. Guzma quickly recalled Scizor with in favor of, putting Torracat at a disadvantage. However, Torracat still managed to deal a good amount of damage on Golisopod. Then, just when it used Fire Blast, Golisopod used its Ability to swap places with Scizor against Guzma's will, resulting in Scizor taking the hit instead. Being doubly weak against moves, Scizor was instantly defeated. Afterwards, a disapproving Guzma sent Golisopod back out again to continue battling Torracat. The battle continued in the next episode, where Torracat wound up getting ed by Golisopod's. This, combined with its exhaustion, led to its defeat soon after.

In Exhibition Unmasked!, Torracat was sent out first in Ash's exhibition battle against Kukui. Torracat used Flame Charge to boost its and try to overwhelm Kukui's Incineroar with it, but its opponent's experience in Battle Royals allowed it to see through this tactic. Incineroar countered with a powerful, only for Torracat to absorb the attack into the flame sac on its neck. While this powered it up, Torracat was unable to keep the flames under control, causing it to overheat. Having no other choice, Ash recalled Torracat and switched it out for Lycanroc.

In A Full Battle Bounty!, Ash chose to use Torracat against Kukui's after it had defeated Rowlet. Having gotten the flames of Blast Burn under its control, Torracat quickly overwhelmed Venusaur and used a powered-up Fire Blast to take it out of the fight. Ash then recalled Torracat again, saving it for the final confrontation with Incineroar.

In Fiery Surprises!, Torracat was sent out against Kukui's Incineroar. As Torracat recovered from an unintentional overload of energy that it sustained earlier, it had a hard-fought battle against Incineroar, with both Pokémon landing and receiving hard blows. As Torracat's energy was pushed to the limit, both Ash and Kukui commanded Inferno Overdrive to be used against each other's Pokémon, and the two already-overpowered fireballs melded, causing a storm of fire energy. The two Pokémon leaped into the inferno to trade blows, with Torracat landing a super-effective Revenge against its opponent. As the two emerged from the firestorm, they stared each other down for a few moments, until Incineroar collapsed. Just after it was declared the winner, Torracat suddenly evolved into Incineroar. However, the expended energy from the evolution caused it to pass out while still standing and thus be unable to continue battling.

Following Ash's decision to travel the, he left Incineroar, along with his other Alolan Pokémon, with Professor Kukui, before heading back to Pallet Town.

Personality and characteristics
Before being by Ash, Litten was a stubborn Pokémon that tended to keep its emotions and motives hidden. Its closest friend was an old that once helped it when it had lost consciousness. Litten was seen training itself with Stoutland's guidance, and protected and cared for Stoutland in its ailing state. Litten had a very close relationship with Stoutland, and deeply cared for it, as evidenced by Litten's dreams about it. Litten had difficulty getting close to humans, but seemed to get along well with Anela. When Litten was wild, it would often visit her when it needed food.

Its first encounter with Ash did not go over so well. When he accidentally stepped on Litten's tail while running along the beach, it responded by burning his face with. Encounters with Litten after that were unpleasant for Ash as well, as Litten had a tendency to attack him or steal his food, showing off cunning and slick characteristics to its enigmatic personality. When Stoutland thought it would be a good idea for Litten to join Ash, Litten wasn't keen on the idea. When Stoutland collapsed due to ill health, Litten's demeanor toward Ash began to change, and it was desperate for him to help it. After Litten accepted Stoutland's absence, it began trying to offer its food to Ash like it had done with Stoutland. Despite their growing relationship and mutual trust, Litten still shows a tendency to burn Ash in the face even after befriending him; though now, it seems to be done mostly as a sign of affection toward him, much like before it. Since its capture, it has reflected its solicitous nature over Stoutland on its new teammates. This was showcased in A Shivering Shovel Search!, when it protected from being eaten by an angry  and has even shown to be fine with Rockruff sleeping next to itself, despite putting the fact that it did not want to play with it earlier. This shows Litten is willing to open up to its new family despite its innately frisky nature. Litten is cold and apathetic towards strangers, as shown in Alolan Open House! when it was introduced to its Trainer's, but can't resist being stroked gently under its chin.

Since its capture, Litten has grown close to its Trainer and helps fellow Pokémon. This was best shown in The Ol' Raise and Switch!, where it helped Snowy warm up towards Ash and even offered Snowy a Sitrus Berry. Despite growing to care for others more, it is still shown to become a bit aggressive, as shown in Pulling Out the Pokémon Base Pepper!, where it got angry towards a nearby baseball and in Now You See Them, Now You Don't!, where it got annoyed at Ash's Lycanroc. In Night of a Thousand Poses! and Mission: Total Recall!, Litten is shown to spar with Lycanroc on occasion, even when it is separated from its Trainer. Its rivalry with Lycanroc was again shown Don't Ignore the Small Stufful!, where it fought with it over who could eat their food the quickest.

Despite its rivalry with the Masked Royal's Incineroar, Incineroar still cares for it as it moved to help out Incineroar from the Revengers' Pokémon after they unfairly ganged up on it. This was shown in Turning the Other Mask!, where it became distressed when it couldn't see Incineroar after the Masked Royal called it back into its. Litten also has a strong sense of smell. In Pushing the Fiery Envelope!, after sniffing the Masked Royal's scent, it immediately recognized him as Professor Kukui.

Pokémon Ga-Olé
Torracat appears in Pokémon Ga-Olé, as the Torracat (Alola League Champion Course).

In the TCG
Ash's Litten is featured in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Trivia

 * Unlike every other evolution sequence, Litten didn't glow whilst evolving. Instead, it became covered in a red flame, with some parts of its body glowing a purple aura before they finish transforming. However, this happened only when Litten evolved into Torracat, while its evolution into Incineroar used the typical animation.
 * Both of Incineroar's evolutions occurred while fighting Professor Kukui's Incineroar.
 * Torracat evolving into Incineroar marks the first time in the that a Pokémon has fainted just after its evolution.
 * Incineroar is currently the only one of Ash's Pokémon to not have a battle since its evolution.

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