Does Incense increase Pokemon rarity?

My house seems to only be surrounded by throwaway Pokemon, Pidgey, Caterpie, Rattata, etc. Occasionally a Jigglypuff will wander by to make things exciting.

So yesterday I popped my first Incense because I didn't feel like leaving the couch so I figured they'd come to me. Suddenly I get attacked by a Vulpix (not the rarest but new to me) and I know things are going to get interesting. About 20 minutes in I see this:

A wild Electabuzz, which apparently hatches from 10km eggs so I would presume quite rare as well as a Venusaur, the final evolution of a starter so presumably rare in the wild as well, both appear nearby.

I find it hard to believe it is coincidental that during this one time period where I used an Incense all the hard hitters came out to play. Does the Incense increase the chance of rare Pokemon spawning? Is it just a law of large numbers type situation, where if it lures so many Pokemon some are bound to be rare? Or was this just extremely lucky and coincidental?

Solution 1:

Incense Pokemon are only seen by you, and from experience they tend to be slightly rarer than the local stuff. However, incense should not affect Pokemon visible to anyone else, so I think it's just good luck that you saw Electabuzz and Venusaur silhouettes.

Solution 2:

Both incense and lure modules increase the chance of rare Pokemon spawning.

I've found this out by experience.

Solution 3:

I've read that there are rare Pokemon in every location, but they are (go figure) hard to find. Using incense makes all the Pokemon in your area flock to you, common or rare. So, in a sense, it does increase the amount of rare Pokemon you're likely to see, do to the pull of your enticing incense.