I felt obligated to include an ice pun in the title of this series, but I promise I’ll try to keep these free of them.
The Ice type has been largely overlooked by a lot of people. As a defensive type it is quite frankly horrible, carrying weaknesses to the very common Fighting, Fire and Rock types. So, it gets most of the attention through its offensive role, being super effective against Dragons (which might be less important with the introduction of Fairy) and a plethora of other types. Because of this, a lot of sets carry an ice move like Ice Beam. But as far as Ice Pokémon go, the only ones that really see competitive play are Cloyster, Mamoswine and to a lesser extent Froslass.
Personally, Ice is my favorite type. With a new generation just around the corner, I’m excited to see what new Ice type Pokémon there will be. In this series I’ll give a breakdown of some of the less popular Ice types and an explanation of why I think they’re still great.
For this first installment, I’ll be starting with #124 Jynx, the Ice/Psychic Human Shape Pokémon. A lot of people don’t like Jynx because they think it’s ugly or weak. Well, it isn’t the strongest. It has good speed and special attack, but its crippling defense coupled with a less than desirable defensive typing makes it pretty frail.
On top of this, a lot of people considered it to be racist, originally being viewed as someone in black face, until it got a recolor when Gold and Silver were localized. I won’t discuss this further since it’s a touchy issue. Getting to the bottom of its “ugly” appearance, you can find out that although there isn’t a general consensus on Jynx’s design, one popular one that I like is that it’s based on Yuki-Onna, a spirit from Japanese Folklore.
Many have complained about the design of Jynx. Where others see an ugly and poorly designed Pokémon, I see an interesting and creative Pokémon that really had thought put into it. Though it might not hold much ground these days competitively, it shines in Generation 1, where it originates.
In a play-through of Red/Blue/Yellow, it makes Lance way easier. Because it gets boosted experience, it levels up really fast while being really strong (as long as you don’t level it up too much before getting those badges!). There are other good options of Ice Types in Gen 1 though. Dewgong and Cloyster are readily available, but these both take a significant time investment. Shellder needs to be leveled up really high to learn Ice Beam before you would want to evolve it, and Seel isn’t overly strong until it evolves (Dewgong isn’t even that strong either, but it’s good enough). Even Lapras is only available at level 15, late in the game.
Jynx starts out strong, and stays strong. I’ve always thought Jynx was cool since I was a kid. It was rare and special. This sentiment has stayed with me, and while it may be less justified now, Jynx still has a place in my heart.
Some think Jynx should receive an evolution, similar to Electabuzz and Magmar. After all, these two Pokémon received babies the same time as Jynx, but Jynx was left in the dust in Gen 4. Personally I’m not in love with Electivire or Magmortar. I like Electivire more of the two, but I feel they both could have been designed better. Because of this, I have reservations about a Jynx evolution.
However, if they did it right, I would welcome it. I feel like the controversy surrounding it might be why they’ve left it alone so far. This didn’t stop them from giving Porygon two evolutions after Computer Soldier Porygon though, so there is still hope. Either way a competitively viable Ice/Psychic could be interesting.
Thanks for taking the time to read this! Next I’ll discuss the Vanillite line, a Pokémon that has received a lot of flak.
