What it does
Throat Chop deals standard Dark-type physical damage at 80 power, then prevents the target from using any sound-based move for two turns — the turn it's used counts as turn one, the following turn is turn two, so the silence runs until the end of that second turn.
The sound-based move list is longer than you'd expect: Parting Shot, Hyper Voice, Boomburst, Disarming Voice, Howl, Growl, Chatter, and several others. In doubles, Parting Shot is among the strongest support tools in the format — it drops both opposing Pokémon's Attack by one stage and pivots out for free. Throat Chop is one of the very few ways to hard-stop it.
The timing matters: once Throat Chop lands, the target can't use Parting Shot that same turn or the next. Even if Incineroar had priority via Speed investment or Trick Room support, the silence takes effect immediately on hit.
Who runs it
Incineroar at 41% usage runs this primarily as a counter-Incineroar tool. In the mirror match, both Incineroar players want Parting Shot — Throat Chop wins the coin flip. The one that silences first denies the opponent the pivot-plus-stat-drop tempo swing that makes Incineroar so frustrating to play against.
Meowscarada at 7% has Speed 123 and almost always acts first. It can lock down any Parting Shot user before they move, which is the key advantage here. Grass/Dark typing gives it STAB on the move too, so it disrupts and deals real damage on the same turn.
Pangoro at 17% uses Throat Chop as genuine Dark STAB. Fighting/Dark is an aggressive dual-type and Pangoro's physical attack stat backs the move up. The silence is a bonus on a slot that would already run this for coverage.
How to use it
Watch for the moment opposing Incineroar enters its danger HP zone. That's the turn it's going to click Parting Shot. If you can get Throat Chop off first — either through natural Speed advantage or team Speed control — the Parting Shot is dead, and your team skips the double-Attack drop entirely.
Second scenario: opposing spread attackers using Hyper Voice or Boomburst. Two turns of silence buys your team meaningful breathing room — you stop taking spread chip damage and can reset position without those attacks erasing your HP cushion.
Decide whether the action is worth it. Throat Chop costs you one move slot's worth of output. If the opposing sound moves are central to their game plan, the silence is worth far more than the 80-power hit. If sound moves are secondary options on that Pokémon, you might get more value elsewhere.
Tips & strategy
Speed order decides everything. Incineroar is not fast — under normal conditions, most attackers move before it. But under Trick Room, or with Speed-boosting support on the opponent's side, the order flips. Know your Speed tiers before you commit to 'I can silence it before it clicks Parting Shot.'
Throat Chop does not shut down non-sound pivots. U-turn and Volt Switch work fine through silence. If the opposing Incineroar also carries Knock Off or Flare Blitz, silencing it doesn't mean it's safe to ignore — it still hits back hard.
Watch for double Throat Chop situations in team preview. If both teams have Meowscarada or Incineroar with this move, the player who gets the first silence wins that exchange. It's a meaningful read-and-speed-check hidden inside what looks like a straightforward Dark STAB slot.