Vanilluxe
[Overview]
<p>Yum, yum, ice cream. What? What do you mean, "no, it's a Pokemon?" Oh, right, the analysis. With Snow Warning being allowed in RU, there is finally a reason to use Vanilluxe. When it comes to Vanilluxe's stats, they are pretty solid overall. A great base 110 Special Attack is the first thing that pops out, which allows Vanilluxe to heavily damage its opponents with its STAB Blizzard. Vanilluxe also has good overall defenses and a good Speed stat for the role it plays, despite missing out on base 80 Speed Pokemon by two points. Vanilluxe also has a surprisingly good Attack stat, although it has no use for it. Other than that though, Vanilluxe has barely anything else going for it. Vanilluxe's movepool is as stale as its flavor, as it mostly consists of Ice-type moves, and status moves such as Autotomize and Taunt. So what does Vanilluxe do? Like Glaceon, it uses a Substitute + Protect set to slowly wear down the opponent with the hail's constant damage and its offensive moves. However, as you might have guessed, Vanilluxe does face stiff competition from Glaceon, so one must play to what Vanilluxe has over it: a higher Speed stat. With its higher Speed stat, Vanilluxe can actually outspeed key offensive threats such as Nidoqueen, Adamant Kabutops, and Adamant Gallade, something Glaceon just can't do (it can tie with Modest Nidoqueen at best). And as stated before, Vanilluxe has access to Taunt, which gives it an edge over Glaceon when facing Pokemon such as Slowking. This sums up Vanilluxe; it is basically a one-trick pony that faces stiff competition as an Ice-type on a hail team from not only Glaceon, but almost all relevant Ice-types in the tier. And one last thing: never use Vanilluxe outside of hail, as there are much better Pokemon for that in the tier.</p>
[SET]
name: SubProtect
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Protect
move 3: Blizzard
move 4: Toxic / Hidden Power Ground
items: Leftovers
ability: Ice Body
nature: Timid
evs: 24 HP / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Like most Ice Body Pokemon, Vanilluxe dons the SubProtect role, and does it with success. Despite the competition it receives from Glaceon, Vanilluxe still sees use due to its greater Speed, which allows it to outspeed key threats such Nidoqueen, Adamant Kabutops, and Adamant Gallade, which Glaceon fails to do. The strategy behind this set is to wear down the opponent with the residual damage hail brings, while being protected from incoming attacks by Substitute and Protect. Blizzard is used as the main STAB move, as it gains perfect accuracy in hail, while it deals heavy damage thanks to its high Base Power and Vanilluxe's great Special Attack. With the damage from Blizzard and hail, wearing down the opponent will be rather quick and easy. However, some special walls, most notably Slowking and Cryogonal, gives this set trouble, as they resist Blizzard and have access to recovery moves. Toxic makes these Pokemon less of an issue, as it makes it a lot harder for them to stay alive. However, Hidden Power Ground is a good option if Vanilluxe has teammates that can cover the aforementioned threats, as it gives Vanilluxe super effective coverage against Pokemon such as Lanturn, Qwilfish, and various Fire- and Steel-types. Hidden Power Ground is especially useful against Qwilfish, as it is immune to Toxic.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Taunt is a great third option for the last slot. Taunt prevents Pokemon such as Slowking and Cryogonal from recovering their health with their respective recovery moves, and also stops any other non-attacking moves coming Vanilluxe's way, such as Stealth Rock and Spikes. Taunt is another thing that sets Vanilluxe apart from Glaceon. There are other types of Hidden Power that can be used over Hidden Power Ground as well. Hidden Power Fighting allows Vanilluxe to hit other Ice-types, more specifically Rotom-F, Piloswine, and Cryogonal, who all at least resist Vanilluxe's offensive moves, making them somewhat easier to deal with. Hidden Power Fighting also hits Miltank for super effective damage, but is only a 3HKO with Stealth Rock. However, Vanilluxe loses its super effective coverage on Lanturn, Qwilfish, and the Fire-types. This makes Hidden Power Rock another viable option, as it allows Vanilluxe to hit Fire-type Pokemon for super effective damage, while still hitting opposing Ice-types, except for Piloswine, for super effective damage as well. Overall, Hidden Power Ground is often the better choice, but one needs to mix and match to make the type fit the team's needs. The EVs are tailored so that Vanilluxe reaches a perfect HP number for this kind of set. This might sound complicated, but it is not. With 24 EVs put into HP, Vanilluxe recovers the same amount of HP it spent making a Substitute in two turns with Ice Body and Leftovers combined. This means that Vanilluxe can use Substitute, then Protect on the next turn, and be at full HP at the beginning on the turn after that. The rest of the EVs are pumped into Speed and Special Attack to give Vanilluxe as much offensive power as possible; keep in mind that max Speed is a necessity to allow Vanilluxe to outspeed as many threats as it can. A Timid nature builds on that even further, as it allows Vanilluxe to outspeed Adamant Gallade and Adamant Kabutops, but a Modest nature can be used for more power, although is not advised as Vanilluxe needs the Speed more.</p>
<p>Besides Snover, who is a must have, there are several Pokemon in the tier that make great teammates for Vanilluxe. Poliwrath pairs up well with Vanilluxe due to its great defensive typing and stats. Offensive juggernauts such as Aggron, Durant, Absol, Escavalier, Entei, and Kabutops, who all give Vanilluxe trouble in one way or another, have huge issues with getting past Poliwrath due to its resistance to their STAB moves and great defenses. Miltank is another great partner due to its ability to take on opposing Fire- and Ice-type Pokemon, courtesy of Thick Fat. Escavalier makes an effective teammate for its ability to deal with opposing hail teams as well due to its Steel typing, while just being a powerful offensive presence in general; it also has access to Overcoat, which means Escavalier isn't bothered by hail. Escavalier does add an extra Fire-weak Pokemon to your team, but pairing it and Vanilluxe with Pokemon such as Miltank and Poliwrath will cover it up nicely. As Vanilluxe is weak to Fighting-type moves as well, Pokemon such as Slowking and Uxie make great teammates, not only due to their typing but also their general bulk. Slowking resists Fire-type moves as well, while Uxie brings many useful support moves to the table. Spiritomb gives Fighting-types, most notably Gallade, huge trouble as well and can dispose of most of them easily; the sole exception being, basically, Hariyama. Believe or not, Glaceon also pairs well with Vanilluxe. The two can successively wear down whole teams by deploying the same strategy and covering different threats with different moves. While not 100% necessary, Rapid Spin support and entry hazards helps. When it comes to Rapid Spin support, Cryogonal is the best choice due to its Ice typing, while Kabutops works great as well due to its resistance to Fire. However, both add onto the weaknesses Vanilluxe has, so pairing them with one of the aforementioned Pokemon is needed. Entry hazards are usually best provided by Miltank and Uxie when it comes to Stealth Rock, and Qwilfish is the absolute best choice for a Spikes user due to its typing.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Flash Cannon is the most usable offensive move that Vanilluxe can use besides the ones already mentioned. It allows Vanilluxe to hit opposing Ice-types super effectively, bar Walrein and co., but the coverage it provides aside from that is basically nonexistent, making it highly situational. Signal Beam is similar to Flash Cannon, except it hits Slowking for super effective damage. However, despite that fact, it can only 4HKO Slowking at best, making Toxic and Taunt much better options against Slowking. Hidden Power Fire can be used to hit an unsuspecting Escavalier hard, while also hitting other Ice-types, bar Piloswine and the Water / Ice-types, for super effective damage. However, the Hidden Power types mentioned earlier in the analysis are often far more favorable. Vanilluxe can pull off a sweeping role with Autotomize doubling its Speed, and using Blizzard, Hidden Power Ground, and either Flash Cannon or Substitute together with Life Orb and a Modest nature to be as threatening as possible; Petaya Berry is an option over Life Orb as well. However, due to the low Base Power and small range of coverage its moves brings, Autotomize Vanilluxe is too situational to be worth it; it can pull off a sweep, but it will not happen that often. Ice Shard is an gimmicky option, but Vanilluxe has a decent Attack stat and Ice Shard can pick off weakened Sceptile and such. However, Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Rotom-F are often better for dealing with faster threats. If you for some reason ignore my warnings about using Vanilluxe outside of hail, then Ice Beam and Frost Breath are the best bets for a STAB move. But again, you should not be using Vanilluxe outside of hail. Ever. On a final note, Vanilluxe also has access to a few support moves such as Light Screen and Magic Coat, while it can make use of Choice Specs to put a serious dent into several foes.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>While Vanilluxe has that high Base Power STAB move in Blizzard, it's not the most dangerous Pokemon and not impossible to stop. Slowking is an absolute terror to all Vanilluxe out there who lack Toxic or Taunt. Slowking's resistance to Blizzard, reliable recovery move in Slack Off, great special bulk, and the low Base Power of Vanilluxe's coverage moves makes it outright impossible for Vanilluxe to wear it down without Toxic. Cryogonal is in the same boat, boasting incredible Special Defense and Recover, making Toxic a must-have if it wants to break Cryogonal down. Thick Fat Pokemon with great bulk can also deal with Vanilluxe, as they essentially resist Blizzard. Miltank is the number one Pokemon when it comes to this category. As she has great bulk and Milk Drink at her disposal, Vanilluxe has a hard time wearing Miltank down. Vanilluxe's most powerful move to use against Miltank, Hidden Power Fighting, only 3HKOes her, while Miltank also has access to Heal Bell to nullify Toxic. On top of that, Miltank can set up Stealth Rock as well, which gives Vanilluxe and its Ice-type friends trouble. When it comes to other Thick Fat Pokemon, Piloswine and Hariyama are the most prominent ones. While they lack recovery outside of Rest, they can certainly take hits while hitting back hard and even phaze Vanilluxe out. Poliwrath is another bulky Water-type Pokemon who gives Vanilluxe trouble. With its great bulk and resistance to Blizzard, Poliwrath is only 3HKOed at best, making it a great answer. Poliwrath also recovers its health with Rest, while it hits hard back with Circle Throw, possibly even phazing Vanilluxe out. Specially defensive Entei is a nightmare for Vanilluxe as well. Entei with maximum Special Defense is 3HKOed at best by Hidden Power Ground, even with Stealth Rock in play, while Toxic might not help Vanilluxe either as Entei might use Rest.</p>
<p>Offensive Entei can also give Vanilluxe trouble, especially if it does not have a Substitute up, as can the other common Fire-types in the tier. Entei, Typhlosion, Magmortar, and Emboar are only 2HKOed by Hidden Power Ground with Stealth Rock on the field. Moltres has a harder time against Vanilluxe if Stealth Rock is up, but can survive one Blizzard if Stealth Rock is not present and KO Vanilluxe in return. There are more offensive threats that take down Vanilluxe with relative ease. Jolly Gallade has no trouble taking a Blizzard, while it outspeeds and easily KOes Vanilluxe with its STAB Fighting-type moves. Escavalier, while slower than Vanilluxe, can easily take assaults from Vanilluxe, only fearing Hidden Power Fire, and break through with its STAB Iron Head while not taking any hail damage in the process as well if it has Overcoat. Cinccino easily checks Vanilluxe, as its super effective Skill Link Rock Blast will have absolutely no trouble breaking through Vanilluxe's Substitute and KO it. Klinklang is in a similar situation, as its STAB Gear Grind is a multi-hit move as well, but it must be wary of Hidden Power Ground, Fighting, and Fire. Feraligatr resists Blizzard, has Aqua Jet to break Vanilluxe's Substitutes, and can hit extremely hard in return. Also, as Vanilluxe is only a threat in hail, changing the weather will make it much easier to deal with it.</p>
