It’s no secret that the Ice-types are at a disadvantage in battle, normally attributed to having too many weaknesses for not enough resistances. From there, other problems arise, so they are one of the types that needed improvement. Please read on for more information on how the Ice-types could be improved.
Problems
Before we get to the meat on how to fix the Ice-types, we need to identify the problems. After all, if you don’t know where the holes are, how are you going to patch them? These are the problems I have identified, which will relate to the solutions later on:
Problem 1: Weakness to Resistance ratio is high
The Ice-type isn’t the type with the most weaknesses. That honour goes to the Grass-types and the Rock-types, who have five different weaknesses each. However, both those types make up for it with their resistances, to which there are four each. They are also useful resistances to have, so if you play them right, you could handle the opponent. The Ice-type, on the other hand, has four weaknesses, but it doesn’t have enough resistances to compensate. This is because it only has one resistance, which is itself. Because of this, it is usually unfeasible to play the Ice-type as a defensive role unless the opponent uses an Ice attack.
That’s not going into the types they are weak to. Grass, for example, may be weak to several types, but not every type is a good offensive type. For example, Bug is resisted by a lot of things, while Poison has a type that is immune to it. Unfortunately for the Ice-type, it is weak to some of the best offensive types in the game, and because those offensive types (Fire, Rock and Fighting, mainly) are used to deal with other brilliant defensive types, you might say that the Ice-type is caught in the crossfire. Also, because of the Rock weakness, its weakness to Stealth Rock makes it a difficult type to switch around continuously. With how common its dominant types are, as well as the attacks of said dominant types, it’s going to be difficult to find use for an Ice-type unless they provide something no other Pokémon provides.
Problem 2: Hail’s benefits aren’t synergetic compared to other weather
This problem is linked to the weather of choice for Ice-types. Hail is a special weather that only Ice-types are inherently immune to, so that’s where they have their best chance at winning. There are very few Pokémon from other types that work well with Hail, since they need to have an ability that makes them immune to it to work best, such as through Magic Guard or Overcoat. The amount of Pokémon with those abilities is small in number, so the best way to use Hail is to use synergetic types, despite needing recovery to survive. The best types to use are those that resist Ice’s weaknesses, so stuff like Fire- and Water-types are good partners.
One problem with Hail is that there aren’t enough incentives to use it. Sun, for example, grants a power boost to Fire attacks, works great for Grass-types who have Sun-based abilities and reduce the power of Water attacks that Fire-types are weak to. Another example would be Sandstorm, which has three types immune to its residual damage, as well as giving Rock-types a Special Defence boost. Hail doesn’t reduce the damage of anything, which is one of the problems with using it considering Ice-type’s lack of resistances. Moreover, it doesn’t boost the power of any attack, so it’s not much help offensively, save for turning Blizzard into a fully accurate attack (which is actually a great thing, mind you).
Problem 3: Ice-type’s best attackers are not necessarily Ice-types
Now, I will go on a record and say that there are indeed Ice-types that succeed as an offensive threat, such as Mamoswine, Kyurem and Cloyster. It helps that they have STAB on Ice, as well as useful coverage moves should there be something that resist Ice. However, if you were to look at the overall best users of Ice-type attacks, it would usually be either Water-types or a miscellaneous user, such as Tyranitar. The important thing they have over Ice-types is their resistances, which allow them to fight back their nemeses with an Ice weakness. While they do not have the STAB, their overall usefulness and low-risk make them the best users. As such, those users found their purpose over Ice-types, who are supposed to have the benefit of STAB Ice attacks, unless they are strong, have useful coverage moves or have something the others didn’t have, such as Cloyster’s Shell Smash.
Problem 4: Fairy-type eclipses the purpose of Ice-types as Dragon slayers
This is a bit early to tell, but signs are pointing that Fairy-types might be finding more usage as a Dragon buster as opposed to the Ice-types themselves. For one, unlike Ice-types, Fairy is immune to Dragon, providing them good switch-in opportunities. Besides that, they also hit Dragon-types for super-effective damage, meaning that Ice isn’t the only type that does that now (besides Dragons, of course). Resistance-wise, Fairy gets other useful ones that include Fighting, so they aren’t just good for Dragon-busting. Fairy-type has useful offensive coverage that lend themselves to being a usable attacking type. Still, it’s on different grounds because Ice and Fairy cover different things besides Dragons, so there are still there are still certain type combinations that Ice is the answer to, such as Rayquaza and Gliscor. As I have said, it’s still early to tell because the type ecosystem haven’t been set yet, so it’s hard to see if this is a problem or not.
Hail Makeover
As I have mentioned before, there aren’t enough advantages when using Hail. Practically the two advantages with Hail are the residual damage on non-Ice-types and Blizzard reaching full accuracy. Because of this, let’s get started with how to make Hail a more attractive weather.
The first solution, and probably the most famous one of all, is to give Ice-types a Defence boost when Hail is under effect. This effective cushions three of Ice’s weaknesses, since Fighting, Rock and Steel are usually Physical attacking types, while their range of Special attacks are sparse. There are quite a good number of Ice-types with good defences, so this will help them even more. Regice, for example, would have considerable Defence to reach its huge Special Defence. Abomasnow won’t be as easily defeated with its newfound Defence boost, allowing it to more easily play a stalling role. If weather were still unlimited, it could be a problem if it’s Rain or Sun, but for Hail, it needs to be indefinite to be viable. One possible problem that might occur would be that certain Pokémon in Hail will become very difficult to handle due to the new-found resilience. Still, it’s not like Ice-types are impossible to handle anyway.
Another way to make Hail an attractive weather is to penalise Dragons with extra damage, except for Kyurem (because it is an Ice-type). Normally, a non-Ice Pokémon will take 1/16 of damage, but Dragon-types will take 1/8 of damage, making Hail a good weather of choice to weaken Dragons more easily. The rationale of this is that Dragons are a very powerful type thanks to its moves and powerful Pokémon, so something is needed to combat them more easily. While there’s the new Fairy-type to more easily combat them, it would give Ice-types a new lease of life.
Some other ways to add to Hail’s selling point is to have more beneficial abilities that benefit in Hail. An idea might be to double the user’s Speed if Hail is active, similar to Sand Rush. The extra Speed will allow easier handling on some of the threats, as long as they don’t have priority. If the minimum base Speed is 65, it will outspeed Scarf Garchomp, which is a noteworthy benchmark. Another idea for an ability is to give Ice-types more power in Hail, not just for Ice attacks, but for every attack they use. So basically it’s like Sand Force, but it affects all moves (because Ice needs all the help it can get). Moves that Hail can help out would be great as well, as long as it doesn’t get a severe downgrade in other weathers.
So these are my takes on ways to take on Hail. Next up, we will look at possible moves to aid Ice-types.
New Moves
Perhaps the Ice-type could use some new moves. At the time this was written, Freeze Dry is introduced, which means I won’t be suggesting new Special Ice attacks, considering how this is one spectrum the Ice-type is already sufficient with. For Distribution, I didn’t list every possible user who should get it, but only a few users who would benefit most from it, and some obvious ones. Therefore, if your favourite isn’t listed on one of the moves, know that I don’t mean to leave them out if they are indeed suited for that move.
Name: Icebreaker
Category: Physical
Stats: 0 BP, 100% Accuracy, 5 PP
Description: If the target if frozen, this move will instantly KO them.
Justification: Now this move is used to take advantage of the Freeze status. Normally, this will be a very difficult move to use since Freeze is a difficult status to inflict. If you do that, then you can put the target out of their misery by KO-ing them, since they can’t do much while frozen. If there is a move that actively freezes the Pokémon, then this move might not be able to be introduced since the combination of insta-freeze and this move might be broken, unless that freeze move is extremely inaccurate.
Distribution: Glalie, Walrein, Mamoswine, Kyurem
Name: Frostbite
Category: Physical
Stats: 80 BP, 100% Accuracy, 15 PP
Description: This attack has a chance to burn (20%) the target.
Justification: For Ice-types that need their mouths to do the damage, this is a good attack to get started. In addition to having a decent Ice STAB, it also has a chance to inflict Burn, like Scald. Since 30% is a bit too high, the burn chance is reduced a bit here. Also, it’s best that no Water-types learn it (even Gyarados), as they can settle for Ice Fang/Ice Punch for their Freeze needs.
Distribution: Walrein, Glalie, Mamoswine, Dewgong, Kyurem
Name: Ice Meteor
Category: Physical
Stats: 120 BP, 100% Accuracy, 5 PP
Description: A powerful move that reduces the user’s Attack and Defence if it hits.
Justification: Continuing on with Physical attacks, Ice Meteor is more of a Superpower clone rather than an Overheat one, despite its name sounding close to Draco Meteor. It complements most Physical Ice-types, and is an overall powerful attack. The power drops make this riskier since this necessitates switching out to restore them, so it’s not all too powerful.
Distribution: Lapras, Cloyster, Walrein, Glalie, Weavile, Mamoswine, Kyurem
Name: Beckon Cold
Category: Status
Stats: 100% Accuracy, 10 PP
Description: If the opponent switches out to a new Pokémon, this move will return the original Pokémon to the field. It will fail if the opponent doesn’t switch out.
Justification: Before you ask, yes it’s a punny move. So, usually when it comes to Ice-types, it may not be all that easy to switch in since Ice STAB is a pain, but at the same time, there are very good Pokémon who don’t mind them. This move seeks to make sure that the Pokémon the user threatens don’t easily escape, making it effective at playing mind games with the opponent. It’s very effective if you have entry hazards, meaning the opponent will effectively make two Pokémon take them if this move is used.
Distribution: Jynx, Froslass, Delibird, Articuno, Cryogonal
Name: Chill Out
Category: Status
Stats: 100% Accuracy, 10 PP
Description: This move will turn the target into an Ice-type.
Justification: In order to get other Pokémon to understand the wonders of being an Ice-type, this move will give them what they wanted! The pros are that they won’t be damaged in Hail and they get STAB Ice, but the real reason this move is used is to give them several weaknesses to be taken advantage of.
Distribution: Glalie, Kyurem
Name: Big Hailstones
Category: Status
Stats: — Accuracy, 10 PP
Description: When used in Hail, it will make anything that is hurt by Hail take more damage (1/6 of HP per turn). Ice Body Pokémon will recover extra HP (1/6 of HP) while this move is in effect. It lasts for 5 turns or 8 turns with an Ice Rock, extending Hail if Hail was used before (but does not extend if this move is used prior).
Justification: This is like an added patch to make Hail more dangerous than it would be, effectively increasing damage every turn for those not immune to it. This will make stall in Hail a bit more interesting, although changing the weather will be risky.
Distribution: Castform, Regice, Vanilluxe, Articuno, Abomasnow, Kyurem
Name: Frozen Terrain
Category: Status
Stats: — Accuracy, 10 PP
Description: This field effect halves the Speed of every grounded non-Ice Pokémon currently on the field. It lasts 5 turns per use.
Justification: Most Ice-type attackers are slow, so this field effect will give them a temporary boost in offensive advantage. Also, most Flying-types are weak to Ice, so they are not always at an advantage. Because it’s a field effect, if one Ice-type is somehow taken down, another Ice-type could take over the duty.
Distribution: Glaceon, Regice, Snorunt, Articuno, Abomasnow, Kyurem
Ice-type Makeover (Moves)
Sometimes, you need to give Ice-types a makeover if they need some help. In this section, I will talk about the moves. Every suggestion will highlight a problem with a certain move, as well as a solution to improve them. The first suggestion is different though, since that one is a general suggestion, so what I described applies only to the ones from the second onwards.
Problem: Water-types get Ice coverage, eclipsing their usage somewhat. Ice-types don’t get Water coverage, making the relationship one-way.
Solution: Give Water coverage to Ice-types
Explanation: With a Water attack in hand, it gives Ice-types a fighting chance at Rock-types and Fire-types, both types hitting Ice for super-effective damage. It even hits Steel for neutral damage, ensuring that you are not easily walled by Steel-types if you are not relying on Hidden Power. Maybe if Ice-types have Surf, Waterfall or even Water Pulse, it will help them a lot. Still, Water-types resist the coverage, but Freeze-Dry is good for this, or perhaps Hidden Power.
Name: Frost Breath
Why it’s got potential: It always score a critical hit, and it’s exclusive to Ice-types.
Problem: Its low power makes it normally inferior to Ice Beam.
Solution: Increase its base power to between 60 to 70.
Explanation: Frost Breath’s critical hits will always bypass defence, making it very potent if it is more powerful than Ice Beam, because that way, it puts it in the same level as Ice Beam. Moreover, Frost Breath is not fully accurate, further necessitating a power improvement to justify usage.
Name: Icicle Crash
Why it’s got potential: It’s the best Physical Ice-type attack.
Problem: Very few Pokémon learns it.
Solution: Increase distribution.
Explanation: Normally, Beartic learns it, but for Cloyster, it is likely you won’t be using this move since you have Icicle Spear, which is stronger in the long run. As for Sneasel and Weavile, they do appreciate it, but only if they could use Knock Off with that move. That leaves the Swinub family, so that’s two normal users. As an Ice attack with decent power and the ability to flinch, it deserves extra users, such as Glalie and Walrein. Even Kyurem would love it, since it doesn’t have a usable Physical Ice attacks.
Name: Mist
Why it’s got potential: Prevention of stat drops is not a bad effect.
Problem: Besides Intimidate and Sticky Web (not 100% sure if it blocks the Speed drop), it is normally impractical to use moves that specifically reduce stats.
Solution: Make Mist prevent self-inflicted stat drops as well. Perhaps convert stat drops of -2 to -1 for Overheat variations.
Explanation: This is really controversial, I feel, because this will increase the popularity of Mist as a result, and would be exploitable, such as Altaria being able to use Draco Meteor with less risk, or Victini not worrying about Speed drops. However, this gives Mist some use, and its 4-turn limit won’t make things too hard to handle. It would support some Pokémon who would normally need to deal with stat drops, such as some of the Fighting-type attacks.
Name: Sheer Cold
Why it’s got potential: It’s a One-hit KO move. What else?
Problem: Ice-types are somehow vulnerable to this attack.
Solution: Grant a complete immunity from Sheer Cold to Ice-types.
Explanation: Certain nuances surrounding the Ice-types haven’t been resolved yet, including the complete immunity to Freeze (Tri Attack or Secret Power can Freeze Ice-types), which Generation 6 rectified. Still, it’s not confirmed if this move will not affect Ice-types. It would make sense if it worked that way, being that Ice-types are cold. It’s a small improvement, but still an improvement nonetheless.
Name: Glaciate
Why it’s got potential: This is Kyurem’s signature move
Problem: Its current effect is not bad, but it is overshadowed as a powerful signature move by Reshiram and Zekrom.
Solution: There are three ways I could go. One, I could make it drop Speed by two stages if it hits. Two, this move could have an increased power to become more potent, such as maybe 100 BP. Three, I could turn this into a Frost Breath clone with increased power (90 BP), matching Reshiram’s Blue Flare and Zekrom’s Bolt Strike in terms of power.
Explanation: Kyurem is considered quite difficult to use that it actually saw use in the Standard tier because of its Ice-type. Its stats are still high, but its signature move is not always the best choice. With an improved effect, the amount of Pokémon it threatens becomes higher, for its Speed-dropping effect make Substitute sets easier to take advantage of. It’s even better in Doubles because its decent power (it’s a spread move) and Speed-dropping effect are dangerous for the opponent. If referring to it as a Frost Breath clone, then it would make Kyurem essentially strong because a STAB 130 BP Ice attack is not something that the opponent can easily tank, with Earth Power as a backup plan.
Type Chart Change
The simplest ways to solve a solution is to go to the root of it, and the root of Ice-type’s problems has been how the type chart interacted with it. Because of this, modifying the chart to Ice-type’s favour is a straightforward solution. Note that when I propose each change, it is treated as an individual change, regardless of what the others are suggested. Basically, every suggestion is as if the others did not get implemented. This is to avoid a situation where Ice-types will be made overpowered because all the changes are stacked above one another. With that said, let’s get down to it:
Change: Dragon NVE to Ice
For: One of the few types that give Dragons trouble; Not enough types resist Dragon
Against: Dragons are the most omnipotent type; Developers are against reducing Dragon’s effectiveness
Comments: This is one of the most popular suggestions for a type matchup change, because that would mean that there will be a good reason to use Ice-types. The resistance might be more helpful than Fairy’s immunity, even, since that means the Dragon could not escape its Outrage while they could only wait to be defeated by an Ice attack. It’s popular precisely because the change would directly benefit Ice-types, so it’s not without reason.
Change: Water NVE to Ice
For: Ice would take on Water-types well; Combat Water-types against Water-type’s overall usefulness; Ice floats on Water
Against: Water-types include burning (Scald)
Comments: This is another popular suggestion. With this change, it won’t necessarily make Ice-types take on Water-types since they resist Ice, but it will give them trouble if the user can actually use them as a set up opportunity. Look at Jynx. With the immunity to Water thanks to Dry Skin, it manages to be a thorn to several Water-types side, so it can use either Substitute or Lovely Kiss to take advantage of the situation.
Change: Electric NVE to Ice
For: Electric conducts poorly on cold surfaces; Increase Ice’s resistances; Nullify the BoltBeam combo’s effectiveness
Against: BoltBeam combo will lose its effectiveness
Comments: This suggestion is not as popular, but is based around the idea that on ice, electricity doesn’t conduct as properly since the ions on solid ice don’t move as freely, making it not quite conductive. It would also be the only type to resist both Electric and Ice, making it an effective answer to Thunderbolt and Ice Beam. It makes those normally weak to Electric easier to use, such as Articuno and Walrein.
Change: Fairy NVE to Ice
For: To give Ice an advantage over Fairy’s more effective role as a Dragon slayer
Against: The current setup’s consequence isn’t made clear yet
Comments: Fairy-types are shaping up to be more effective than Ice-types when it comes to dealing with Dragon-types, because of their immunity to Dragon attacks. Ice-types didn’t receive an advantage over them to compensate for their rise to prominence (as far as I know), so this change could give Ice-types a reason to still be around.
Change: Rock Neutral to Ice
For: Alleviates Stealth Rock weakness
Against: Clashing Rocks with Ice will leave Rock as the one remaning
Comments: One way to make Ice better is to make sure the most influential entry hazard doesn’t shorten an Ice-type’s life too hard. This will help out in other matters, such as Abomasnow not needing to worry about Tyranitar’s Rock STAB or Kyurem’s relative ease when it comes to switching in again. It would make Hail teams a lot easier to play, now that not every essential member is weak to Stealth Rock.
Change: Ice Neutral to Steel
For: Metal is still affected by cold; Removes one of Steel’s many resistances
Against: Ice is a much more potent type with this change; Metal can protect against cold
Comments: If there’s one type matchup I realise didn’t really make sense, it’s this. By right, coldness affects metal too, for they will still lose heat. Sure they are hard, but they are still affected by temperature changes, as is the case of their weakness to Fire. Because it will create a situation where there will be three types that resist Ice and four being weak to Ice, it might be prudent to make one type lose the weakness. If you ask me, Grass would be the one, since it currently holds the most weaknesses.
Change: Ice SE to Water
For: Ice can freeze water; Water has few weaknesses
Against: Water has high heat capacity, so they can stand it
Comments: This is one of the oft-suggested ways to make Water less powerful and more vulnerable to Ice. It would mean that even Water-types are afraid of their own kin, but at least Ice-types are able to confront them more easily. There’s this move Freeze Dry in Generation 6 that does exactly that, which while is not exactly much of a type change, is a good weapon against Water-types.
It would be greedy to suggest that all these changes happen at once, mainly because it will greatly dissatisfy the fans of other types. A change or two would have been great, so it’s a matter of picking the most sensible ones would go a long way in fixing the Ice-type.
Past Improvements
A section detailing past improvements is required to complete this article, because you got to acknowledge the designers and developers for doing something about our favourite types. It’s not healthy to just see the emptiness of a glass, because we got to see what’s filled too. With that said, our improvements are:
Hail (Generation 3) – This peculiar weather was introduced later than the three other weather conditions. It was something for Ice-types, since they really lack defensive means. It’s probably not a coincidence that this was also the Generation where pure Ice-types were introduced, which means those Pokémon have to contend with one resistance. Because of this, Hail was introduced to give them something. Even though Hail was introduced in Generation 3, Blizzard’s accuracy boost only occurred in Generation 4, which makes it a devastating move in Doubles or Triples due to its high power.
Hail Abilities (Generation 4) – It seems that compared to the other weather, Hail get their improvements one Generation late, starting from the introduction of Hail. Anyway, there are two abilities that make use of Hail, which are Snow Cloak and Ice Body. This helps out those Ice-types that have these abilities, since they are able to use them to their advantage. To a lesser extent, Overcoat and Magic Guard are given to certain non-Ice-types to help in Hail. If there is an ability that doubles Speed in Hail, that would have been swell.
Physical Ice Attacks (Generation 4) – The split between Physical and Special within each type helps out the Ice-type immensely, since there are a few Physical attackers. It helps Sneasel, Cloyster and Piloswine to use their higher Attack. There are also some noteworthy additions for Ice-types too. Ice Shard is a first strike attack, Avalanche doubles its power when the user is hit, and Icicle Crash is a Generation 5 attack that is pretty powerful. Icicle Spear gets a boost in Generation 5, which meant that any Ice-type could use it to potentially do lots of damage if you are lucky. The new set of moves definitely helps out the Physical side of the Ice-type family, so this is welcomed.
Freeze-Dry (Generation 6) – This special move gives some Ice-types the ability to defeat Water-types that resist them. Because of this, this move has great super-effective coverage, affecting some threats such as Kingdra, Gyarados and Swampert. It might not have too much power compared to Ice Beam, but the fact that it hits Water-types justifies its use.
Inverse Battle (Generation 6) – If a situation could be reversed, one could have a taste of being the one at an advantage. In the case for Ice-types, the several weaknesses are converted to several resistances, leaving behind a weakness to itself. Avalugg, for example, have a lot of viability because it is very resilient. Offensively, they are decent, though not as much. Affecting Water-types and Ice-types are great, but Grass, Flying, Ground and Dragon resists them now.
That’s all for the improvements. Admittedly, there aren’t many improvements, which goes to show how Ice-types get the least improvements compared to other types overall. Still, hope shouldn’t be lost! Someday Ice-types will find their place, someday…
It’s a really long article about suggestions on how to help Ice-types, whether it’s a small help or a huge improvement, but that shows how much help Ice-types need! If you have any improvements that you would like to suggest, you could write them in the comments below. I hope you enjoyed reading these pieces as much as I have writing them.
