Do you think that Hawlucha and Incineroar are natural rivals? Both are wrestling based Pokemon. Hawlucha has a téchnico look to it. In Mexican wrestling the téchnico is like the equivalent to the “face” in American Wrestling (opposite of the Heel). Téchnicos are typically smaller technical wrestlers while the Rudos (Mexican equivalent to “heel” such as Incineroar) are typically brawlers of a bigger stature. So it seems like they would natural want to square off against each other. Though based on the fact one is native to Alola and the other is from Kalos makes me wonder.

BILL: Well, as you’ve noted, @funky-ufo, the two aren’t found in the same habitat. As such, they actually don’t compete for resources, nor have they had any reason to become rivals to one another (unlike pokémon that do host inherent hatred for their counterparts, such as red and blue basculin, seviper and zangoose, or gyarados and anything that moves). So in a way, it would be much like throwing an American and Mexican wrestler in the same arena. While, yes, they’re both wrestlers, they come from different circuits and technically different sports, just as Incineroar and Hawlucha come from different habitats and behave in their own unique ways.

Of course, they have a sort of artificial rivalry, as the idea that these two would be at each other’s throats is actually a very human concept. As such, it’s not at all unusual for humans to stage battles between the two for their own entertainment purposes, and hawlucha fans and incineroar enthusiasts often engage in matches (both on the battlefield and via internet communities) to determine which is the better pokémon. In actuality, when introduced to one another outside of the context of a battle, an incineroar is just as likely to befriend a hawlucha as it is to develop an abject hatred for one, and the same could be said for a hawlucha towards an incineroar. If anything, when not forced to form a rivalry with each other, incineroar and hawlucha tend to enjoy one another’s company because they make for ideal sparring partners between the two, and oftentimes, an incineroar’s “heel” nature is just what a hawlucha needs to fuel its fiery passion for battling. Pun just a little intended.