Winter has Come: Ice in SS Monotype

« Previous Article

Next Article »

Introduction

The latest weather forecasts have warned: a cold front has been tormenting SS Monotype lately, freezing down teams unprepared for it to a certain defeat! A type historically seen as underwhelming by the community and even highlighted as one of the worst in the past, Ice has been taking over the late-generation metagame by (snow)storm, turning into a force to be reckoned with. Thanks to its new additions in the form of Arctozolt, Freeze-Dry Kyurem, and Galarian Darmanitan, the introduction of Heavy-Duty Boots, and the resurgence of sets such as defensive Cloyster and Choice Scarf Weavile, Ice gained traction as a type that is able to combat the mainstream Poison, Flying, and Water, as well as go toe-to-toe with other popular builds such as Electric, Dark, Ground, and Psychic. In this article, we'll take an in-depth look at Ice's viable Pokémon and how they contribute to the type's success, with a sample team being showcased at the end. Grab a seat, a blanket, and a hot drink, as the temperature is about to fall!

Harbringer of Frost: Alolan Ninetales

• / Ninetales-Alola @ Icy Rock / Light Clay
• Ability: Snow Warning
• EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• - Aurora Veil
• - Moonblast
• - Freeze-Dry
• - Encore

Alolan Ninetales, a staple on Ice teams ever since it was released, returns in Sword and Shield as a fantastic support Pokémon due to its ability to set hail, which in turn lets it set up Aurora Veil. This provides Ice teams with extra bulk, allowing defensive Pokémon such as Piloswine and Cloyster to shrug off assaults from Alolan Raichu and Excadrill and making Pokémon such as Kyurem and Arctozolt harder to revenge kill. Aside from whipping up a blizzard to protect its teammates, Alolan Ninetales also blitzes through and freezes threats such as Hydreigon, Choice Band Urshifu-R, and Kommo-o. Encore shuts down slow but terrifying setup sweepers such as Corviknight. Icy Rock lets Alolan Ninetales further support the newly released Arctozolt by providing with it more chances to zip through the snowstorm, while Light Clay maximizes the effectiveness of Aurora Veil.

Season's Beatings: Arctozolt

• Arctozolt @ Heavy-Duty Boots
• Ability: Slush Rush
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
• Naughty Nature / Naive Nature
• - Bolt Beak
• - Blizzard
• - Freeze-Dry
• - Substitute / Low Kick / Stomping Tantrum

Ice, as a whole, tended to struggle against select Flying- and Water-types such as Slowking, Celesteela, and Corviknight due to its inability to significantly damage these defensive Pokémon. Furthermore, newly introduced threats such as Choice Band Urshifu-R and Choice Scarf Heatran can be tricky to deal with for Ice teams. Arctozolt solves these problems with its signature move, Bolt Beak, which reaches 170 Base Power if executed first. The sheer power of this move lets Arctozolt break through defensive Pokémon such as Celesteela, Slowbro, and Toxapex with ease. Pokémon that are immune to or resist Electric such as Zeraora, Gastrodon, and Amoonguss aren't safe from Arctozolt either, as it can run coverage moves in Stomping Tantrum, Freeze-Dry, and Blizzard to take them down. Icy Rock-enhanced hail grants it the chance to wreak havoc against opposing teams with its STAB attacks for eight turns, pressuring types such as Psychic, Water, Dark, and Poison really well, making it one of the reasons why Ice is a type to consider in tournament play. It's to be noted though that Arctozolt is outsped by most Choice Scarf users, including Zarude, Galarian Zapdos, and Tapu Lele, so steer clear of these threats or the flurry of Arctozolt's attacks will end prematurely.

Absolute Zero: Kyurem

Kyurem's unparalleled ability to pressure defensive cores to pave the way for its teammates such as Arctozolt, Weavile, and Galarian Darmanitan is the other half of the reason why Ice teams are to be feared. Aside from these, it also provides Ice teams with a switch-in to Water- and Grass-type threats such as Barraskewda and Rillaboom. Its main set is centered around Substitute and Roost, allowing it to greatly pressure defensive Pokémon such as Toxapex, Ferrothorn, and Galarian Corsola. Dragon Dance + Icicle Spear turns it into a PP-stalling monster that is able to use Pokémon such as Toxapex, Slowbro, and Celesteela as setup fodder, while the combination of Freeze-Dry + Earth Power gives it near-perfect coverage to threaten types such as Water, Poison, Electric, and Steel. Kyurem can even run Chople Berry to lure and remove nuisances such as Barraskewda, Urshifu-R, and Galarian Zapdos. A lesser-used set in Choice Specs lets Kyurem freeze over defensive checks such as Slowking and Celesteela, which normally can handle it, though it is much less common nowadays, as SubRoost sets lets Kyurem be more threatening against bulkier teams and Heavy-Duty Boots means Kyurem won't be bothered by Stealth Rock. However, if Kyurem is utilizing a Modest nature, Choice Specs lets it 2HKO everyone on Flying teams, opening up the way for its teammate in Choice Scarf Weavile.

Frostbite: Offensive partners

As Arctozolt and Kyurem focus on wallbreaking over revenge killing, their mediocre Speed tiers leave Ice teams vulnerable to fast threats such as Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, Choice Scarf Zarude, and Zeraora. Because of them, Ice teams prefer to speed up their frail strong attackers in Weavile and Galarian Darmanitan to take utmost advantage of the aforementioned wallbreakers. On the other hand, Mamoswine is an option over Piloswine as a Stealth Rock setter, trading longevity to punch more holes in the opposing team.

• Weavile @ Choice Scarf
• Ability: Pressure
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Knock Off
• - Icicle Crash / Triple Axel
• - Foul Play
• - Low Kick

With potent STAB attacks and neat coverage in Low Kick, Choice Scarf Weavile checks opposing Choice Scarf users such as Blacephalon, Galarian Zapdos, and Terrakion, which are able to sweep Ice teams in a moment's notice. It's also the fifth fastest Pokémon in the metagame, only being outsped by weather and Terrain sweepers in Barraskewda, Jolly Excadrill, and Alolan Raichu, as well as by Choice Scarf Dragapult. All of them can be handled by resetting the weather or using defensive checks in Cloyster and Piloswine, making Weavile a game-ending threat that crashes on types such as Ground, Ghost, Dragon, Flying, and Psychic once defensive Pokémon such as Gastrodon, Galarian Corsola, Duraludon, Skarmory, and Slowbro have been weakened or removed.

• Darmanitan-Galar @ Choice Scarf
• Ability: Gorilla Tactics
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Icicle Crash
• - Flare Blitz
• - U-turn
• - Superpower / Earthquake

Gorilla Tactics provides a free power boost comparable to having a Choice Band, making Galarian Darmanitan strong enough to rampage against types such as Electric, Psychic, Fairy, and Ground. Its Speed tier also isn't bad, as it allows Galarian Darmanitan to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame bar Regieleki and outspeed or Speed tie with prominent Choice Scarf users such as Tapu Bulu, Excadrill, and Tapu Lele. Flare Blitz and Superpower also lets it terrorize Steel teams; however, this happens far less in practice than in theory due to its vulnerability to being scouted with Protect. A Choice Band set may be used, as this lets Galarian Darmanitan outright OHKO Toxapex and leaves Flying and Ground teams without a switch-in, but its power with a Choice Scarf is already great enough for it to be feared.

Unlike Kyurem, Mamoswine is a slower but much more powerful wallbreaker with priority in Ice Shard. Mamoswine is the most offensive entry hazard setter Ice teams have due to its near-perfect coverage and strength. Endeavor + Ice Shard means that Mamoswine could take down an opposing Pokémon before being taken down itself. It also has a variety of useful coverage moves in Superpower and Heavy Slam to deal with Ferrothorn and Hatterene, which can be troublesome for its teammates to handle. Unfortunately, Piloswine is preferred most of the time due to Ice teams having more than enough wallbreaking power in Kyurem, Galarian Darmanitan, and Arctozolt and to balance out the composition with a specially defensive wall.

Permafrost: Defensive Partners

Despite Ice's claim to fame being its freezing arsenal we described earlier, the bulkier partners in Piloswine and Cloyster are key in keeping the temperature at its coolest in the battlefield. They provide Ice teams with invaluable support in the form of entry hazard setting and removal, all of that while keeping builds solidified together by acting as blanket checks to some of the most daunting threats to the type.

• Cloyster @ Rocky Helmet
• Ability: Overcoat
• EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
• Bold Nature
• - Teleport
• - Spikes
• - Surf
• - Rapid Spin

A Pokémon that's very well-known for the public as a janitor due to its sweeping capabilities with Shell Smash, it wasn't until the middle of the generation that Cloyster started gaining use as a defensive pivot on Ice teams. Having both Rapid Spin and Spikes, Cloyster is able to not only remove entry hazards but lay them down as well, which in turn helps the likes of Arctozolt, Kyurem, and Weavile net more KOs. Furthermore, its fantastic Defense stat and crucial neutrality to Steel-type attacks allow it to shrug off hits from—and, thanks to Rocky Helmet, wear down—none other than Melmetal and Excadrill, two Pokémon thought to tear the type apart. Despite Teleport getting passed up in favor of Toxic Spikes at the time of the set's inception, it has gained more popularity lately as a way to easily retain momentum. Perhaps we could call it... the icing on the oyster? Either way, this Cloyster is a worthy addition to every Ice team.

• Piloswine @ Eviolite
• Ability: Thick Fat
• EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
• Careful Nature
• - Stealth Rock
• - Earthquake
• - Rock Slide
• - Toxic / Roar

The most reliable Stealth Rock setter on the type across many Monotype generations, Eviolite Piloswine retains its utility role in the current metagame as Ice's number one fallback against various threats that can easily melt or shatter the type otherwise. While it's fairly known that it is able to defeat many popular Fire-types such as Heatran, Blacephalon, and Volcarona courtesy of Thick Fat and its great overall typing, not many players notice that Piloswine is physically bulky enough to withstand a Close Combat from Choice Scarf Terrakion or a High Jump Kick from Cinderace, which further adds to its usefulness. One of Toxic or Roar is used to tie off the set, enabling Piloswine to either put the opposition on a timer or phaze away dangerous sweepers like Calm Mind Clefable and Swords Dance Aegislash. Despite some builds forgoing it and instead opting for more aggressive ingredients as shown in MPL, Mamoswine's younger brother still has virtues that aren't found elsewhere on the fridge.

Hoarfrost: Other Options to pack in a Snowstorm

The above Pokémon cover most matchups for Ice teams. However, this doesn't mean that those Pokémon are the only ones viable. Avalugg can outperform Cloyster as a defensive wall, Glastrier provides a bulky wallbreaker that stomps down Celesteela, Froslass sets Spikes while also providing a Fighting immunity, and Alolan Sandslash provides a faster Slush Rush user that breaks through Fairy teams with ease.

• Avalugg @ Heavy-Duty Boots
• Ability: Sturdy
• EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
• Impish Nature
• - Rapid Spin
• - Iron Defense / Avalanche
• - Body Press
• - Recover

Avalugg is notorious for specifically being the only Pokémon on Ice able to go toe to toe with Swords Dance Scizor, provided that it uses Iron Defense at the same rate as Scizor uses Swords Dance. Furthermore, it also stonewalls physical attackers such as Zeraora, Choice Scarf Excadrill, and Zarude, which can be vital for Ice teams looking to counter types such as Dark, Ground, Steel, and Grass. However, Ice already beats Dark most of the time due to Galarian Darmanitan and Arctozolt, and Ground and Grass teams are quite manageable with proper positioning of Weavile and Kyurem, so Cloyster, whose Spikes can be more impactful in other matchups, is usually better.

• Glastrier @ Leftovers
• Ability: Chilling Neigh
• EVs: 252 HP / 56 Def / 200 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Substitute
• - Swords Dance
• - Icicle Crash
• - High Horsepower

Glastrier is an extremely slow wallbreaker that threatens Poison, Flying, and Steel teams quite well due to its excellent defenses and Swords Dance. This set also lets it muscle through threats such as Celesteela and Corviknight, which Kyurem sometimes finds hard to do. The provided set allows Glastrier's Substitute to not be broken by Celesteela's Heavy Slam or Seismic Toss and Night Shade from Blissey and Galarian Corsola, and the selected coverage allows it to threaten the entirety of Poison and Steel teams. Kyurem usually outclasses it due to its superior Speed and recovery, but Glastrier can work alongside Kyurem to pressure the aforementioned types.

• Froslass (F) @ Focus Sash
• Ability: Cursed Body
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Spikes
• - Destiny Bond
• - Shadow Ball
• - Taunt

Froslass is the only Fighting-immune Pokémon Ice teams have access to, immediately granting it a niche. Aside from that, it is a good entry hazard setter that stops opposing leads such as Garchomp, Galvantula, and Ferrothorn from setting up theirs. Will-O-Wisp also lets Froslass debilitate would-be daunting threats such as Melmetal and Celesteela, which would easily shatter Ice teams otherwise. With Taunt and Destiny Bond, it can potentially take out an opposing Pokémon before it faints, making it an extremely good asset for hyper offense Ice teams. However, Cloyster not only can utilize Spikes as well but also can perform as a defensive wall that removes entry hazards with Rapid Spin, making its sheer utility outweigh Froslass's ability as an offensive lead.

• / Sandslash-Alola @ Wide Lens / Life Orb
• Ability: Slush Rush
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Iron Head
• - Triple Axel
• - Earthquake / Knock Off
• - Rapid Spin / Swords Dance / Knock Off

Alolan Sandslash's ability to outspeed threats such as Choice Scarf Galarian Zapdos, Choice Scarf Thundurus-T, and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele and Speed tie with Choice Scarf Nihilego under hail makes it a niche pick for Ice teams. However, it shares its reliance on weather with Arctozolt, and due to its generally worse coverage compared to Arctozolt and extreme Fire weakness, the Fossilized Bird fits on nearly all Ice teams better. Alolan Sandslash differentiates itself from Arctozolt with its ability to make itself extremely potent with Swords Dance, especially in matchups such as Dragon, Psychic, and Flying, as it lets Alolan Sandslash threaten Kyurem and Celesteela and pick off Slowbro with minimal chip damage, but finding an opening to set up is daunting. Furthermore, Alolan Sandslash's Steel typing makes it the main check to Hatterene on Ice teams, which can take advantage of most of its teammates.

Sample Team

If you have read this far and are tempted to try the power of cold yourself, check out the sample below and join the fun! As for newer players, worry not, as it, like most Ice teams, is very easy to use. Alolan Ninetales provides hail and Aurora Veil support, which Arctozolt and Kyurem can then take advantage of to snap types like Flying, Water, and Poison apart. Notably, Kyurem runs Chople Berry on this team, allowing it to be an emergency check to Urshifu-R and Barraskewda. Weavile is your best friend against Psychic and provides revenge killing utility, while the defensive core of Cloyster and Piloswine ties up the squad by supplying entry hazards and a way to check threats like Excadrill and Volcarona.

Final Thoughts

As we have shown, Ice's unique set of traits has made it breeze through the ranks in competitive play, turning it to a type for many to account for. Since it's also very straightforward and simple to get the hang of, don't hesitate to try it on either ladder or tournaments—you are slipping away from coolness if you do!

« Previous Article

Next Article »

All guides and strategy information are © 2004 Smogon.com and its contributors. Pokémon is © 1995 Nintendo. Privacy Policy