Alolan Whip

Alolan Whip (, Rope Swing) is 's side special move in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Overview
Alolan Whip is a command grab that consists of Incineroar dashing forward with its arms extended. If it grabs an opponent, a set of wrestling ring ropes rise up behind it (at about the distance the dash travels), and it s the opponent into the ropes. The victim is rebounded off the ropes and back towards Incineroar, where it performs one of three attacks on them, depending on if and when the special or attack button was pressed during the move:


 * If an attack button was not pressed by the time the opponent collides with Incineroar, the move "fails" and both the opponent and Incineroar will receive minor damage (4%, 4.8% in 1v1) from the collision.
 * If an attack button is pressed any time after the grab, but before the collision, Incineroar will perform a back body drop, which launches the opponent vertically.
 * If an attack button is pressed just as the victim collides with Incineroar, it will perform a lariat that launches the opponent horizontally in the direction Incineroar is facing when initiating the attack.

During usage, it also has 11.99% damage-based armor. As a result, Incineroar will not flinch to attacks dealing less than this and grab opponents if the opponent is within grab range. This is from frames 1-4 on failure, 1-58 on lariat, and 1-42 on back body drop. This goes past the FAF and is tied to the animation itself. This allows the Incineroar player to delay movement and defend against incoming weak attacks, such as projectiles, or even other players in battles with more than 2 players.

Alolan Whip has an additional 1.2× knockback multiplier when stacked with Revenge, making it an extremely potent KO option. If Incineroar successfully times the lariat with Revenge active, it will trigger a Special Zoom. If the move misses and the opponent bumps into Incineroar, Revenge will remain active.

If the opponent does not collide with Incineroar (ex. being hit out of the move by another player, the opponent is thrown into a ledge and grabs it, either player's positions change due to moving platforms, the opponent is slowed down), the move ends with Incineroar shrugging towards the screen. It is also possible for such situations to result in Incineroar "landing" a hit on a missed opponent, which deals damage to anyone touching the hitbox as collateral damage, but not the original target.

Phantom stock glitch
In Stamina Mode, a rare glitch can cause an opponent caught in a lariat to appear to lose two stocks: one from the lariat itself, and one from the release animation. This only seems to occur if another opponent is hit by Incineroar's lariat while the victim is KO'd. This glitch causes the game to consider that the victim lost two stocks, including the loss of two stock icons and two separate KOs (one explosion and one ragdoll); however, the victim will respawn again while only using a single stock, even if they appear to have no stocks left. Additionally, the Announcer will call out for the defeated victim when they have no stock icons left, but will not call out when the victim actually loses their final "phantom stock". Though this has been fixed in an unknown patch, it can still occur in rare instances.

Ungrabbable freeze glitch
In patch 3.0.1, Alolan Whip had another glitch. Using a Mii Brawler with the Counter Throw down special, have Incineroar uses Alolan Whip on any character other than the Mii Brawler, then have the Mii Brawler stand in front of Incineroar, and when the character bounces off the ropes and heads back, have the Mii Brawler counter the character. This causes the character to become ungrabbable, whether through a grab, command grab, or items like Boss Galaga and Beetle. This also causes certain moves used on the ungrabbable character to freeze the game, forcing the player to restart the software. If the character gets sent into a blast zone, is KO'd by any instant KO means, or runs out of stamina, the game will crash, returning the player to the home menu. When Incineroar uses Alolan Whip, other characters can't grab the character that is in the attack. When Mii Brawler counters the attack, it interrupts the attack and the game doesn't set the character back to a normal state. This means the effect of Alolan Whip still remains on the character. The game doesn't expect certain attacks or going into the blast zone in this ungrabbable state, causing the crash. However, the glitch was patched in 3.1.0.

Origin
Alolan Whip does not exist in the Pokémon games, though it does resemble, a move previously near-exclusive to Incineroar. It is instead based on a move, the Irish whip. Sometimes referred to as a Hammer Throw, it involves swinging an opponent around and throwing them into an obstacle like the ring ropes. This is usually meant to diorient the opponent and allow for a series of follow-up attacks, either by rushing the opponent or letting them bounce off the obstacle and stumble back to the attacker. Additionally, the back body drop and lariat follow-ups are common real-life follow-ups to the Irish Whip, both of which usually leading to a knockdown and possibly a pin. Alolan Whip's name is a combination of both the Irish Whip and, the from which Incineroar hails. The whip resembles the wrestling ring in Incineroar's signature Z-Move  in Pokémon Sun and Moon. The slouching pose that Incineroar assumes if the opponent fails to collide with it resembles 's stance during Pokémon battles.

Trivia

 * Not counting Final Smashes or custom moves, Alolan Whip is the first Pokémon special move to be a move original to the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * While Thunder Jolt is not present in the main series games, it existed in the Pokémon Trading Card Game prior to its appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * Nearly all characters use their dashing animation when being flung back towards Incineroar by the ropes during a grounded Alolan Whip. is currently the only exception (likely due to changing form when dashing), instead using the same animation used when experiencing knockback from behind (such as being hit by a back-hitting Back Slash); this is also the animation victims use if caught in the move while in midair.
 * If this animation is altered during the attack, such as the character being under the effect of slowdown, Alolan Whip will be broken with the animations being mistimed.
 * As a failed Alolan Whip causes recoil damage, the move is one of the few that can force a tie during Stamina Mode by failing the move while both Incineroar and its victim have enough HP to be KO'd.