Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the Ice-types are sure delightful! After all, you can complain about the freezing cold and the snow, but much like in the real world, at least this weather allows us to see many fascinating and beautiful creatures. As we venture deeper into the Holiday Season, there’s no better time to look at five amazing Ice-types and explore their designs, lore, and potential in battle. So, grab some hot chocolate, a nice blanket, and start up the fireplace, and let’s get started.
5. Cloyster
Sometimes you can’t go wrong with the classics, and Cloyster is a great example. Hailing all the way back from Gen 1, this Bivalve Pokémon can be a real tank if you know how to use it correctly. For instance, unsurprisingly, it has pretty high Defense stats with an equal amount of Attack stats to back it up. What’s most surprising, though, is its base Speed stat of 70, which is pretty fast (in my opinion) for a giant oyster creature. Further, its additional Water-type adds a defensive and versatile advantage over other Pokémon, such as Flying-types, and boosted coverage over Ground-types. And while it’s weak to Grass-types, being an Ice-type can also account for that weakness. Finally, on a personal note, I absolutely love the design of this Pokémon. I love how it has this giant, spiky shell that makes it look like an impenetrable fortress, and I love that all of that surrounds a small, black pearl that has its face on it. It almost looks like it’s just a small body inside a large suit of armor, but it still looks so awesome! Plus, I love how its smug expression makes it look confident in its shell, and, almost like an unintentional taunt, a giant horn sits atop its head to account for every possible weak spot.
4. Vanillite
Usually, I always prefer fully evolved Pokémon when I pick favorites, but Vanillite is an exception. The simplest reason that the Fresh Snow Pokémon is one of my favorite Ice-types: it’s just so adorable. There’s just something about its small size, its blue eyes, and its wide and happy smile that really appeals to me on a personal level. Plus, I absolutely love that it resembles an ice cream cone in every way, from its design to its name (which sounds nice to say out loud). Its design is so good that it pales in comparison to its evolved forms, Vanillish and Vanilluxe. Nothing is explicitly wrong with them, but they honestly look very weird and unsettling in a way that makes me wish Vanillite could stay the way it is forever. But aside from these traits, I was surprised to find out that Vanillite is a pretty decent battler. It actually has decent base stats: 50 in Attack and Defense, 65 in Special Attack, and 60 in Special Defense! I’m not a huge expert in Pokémon battles, but these stats would make Vanillite an ideal partner, at least for starting on a journey.
3. Abomasnow
The Frost Tree Pokémon. The Ice Monster. Whatever you wanna call it, Abomasnow is an absolute beast, and I am here for it! Don’t let its quadruple weakness to Fire-types fool you, because Abomasnow has so much more to offer than that. For example, it has access to moves that can counter Fire-types, such as Rock Tomb, Earth Power, and Earthquake. And with already high Attack and Special Attack stats, those moves are gonna have some extra power if you have the right strategy. What makes this even better, though, is the fact that it can mega evolve, thereby increasing its Attack, Special Attack, Defense, and Special Defense stats! Sure, its Speed gets drastically lowered, but with moves like Protect or Endure, you can still land a devastating blow with the right timing. Aside from its potential in battle, the design itself is pretty amazing. I love how they made Abomasnow resemble a pine tree covered in snow without making it too obvious. Combining that with its abominable snowman inspiration is the cherry on top, making Abomasnow look like a sentient pine tree monster and a hulking brute ready to fight. Also, as I mentioned in my mega evolution article, I really like how Mega Abomasnow enhances its beastly look, making it twice as intimidating and powerful. Abomasnow is just a gift that keeps giving, proof that books should never be judged by their covers.
2. Frosmoth
It REALLY hurt not to include Snom, since it’s one of the cutest creatures I’ve ever seen, but I just can’t ignore the elegance and beauty of Frosmoth. It helps that I already love moths in the real world, with their beautiful wings, fuzzy bodies, and big, black eyes that give them an adorable quality. Admittedly, Frosmoth isn’t that cute, but I absolutely love how white and fluffy it is. It almost looks like someone wrapped in a thick, fluffy, white fur winter coat, which is absolutely fitting for its Ice-type. Plus, I love its animation where its wings slowly but gracefully flap to keep itself afloat, and the streaked patterns on the wings closely resemble snowflakes to add to the gracefulness. Finally, its blue eyes further embody its icy characteristics and additional beauty by blending well with its white colors. Despite its very high Special Attack and Special Defense stats, and it really hurts to say this, but its quadruple weakness to Fire and Rock-types makes it less desirable for battles. It does have access to moves like Giga Drain or Dazzling Gleam, and Terastalizing it could offer some extra defense and coverage, but probably not enough to make it redeemable to fans. However, I don’t care about any of that, because Frosmoth is an Ice-type that’s heavily slept on and deserves more love and attention.
1. Froslass
If you’ve read my article on my top five favorite Ghost-types from a while back, it shouldn’t be surprising to see why Froslass is my favorite Ice-type on this list. Not only is it my favorite type ever, but its Ghost-type also grants it full immunity to one of the weaknesses to an Ice-type: Fighting-types. Sure, it’s now weak to Dark and Ghost, but moves like Crunch, Shadow Ball, and even Thunder can counter them. Plus, if you use moves like Hail or Snowscape, Froslass’ Snow Cloak ability kicks in, which makes it twice as evasive and harder to hit, which I absolutely love. However, despite these positive traits, Froslass only has decent stats, with the only significantly highest being a 110 in Speed. Thankfully, GameFreak improved on that with its new Mega Evolution, which drastically increases its Special Attack and Special Defense stats, and even bumps up its Speed by 10 points. Finally, I must admit that I find its lore pretty fascinating. Some dex entries say that it freezes humans it likes and props them up as decorations, others say it used to be a woman who died bearing a grudge. No matter what the version, or how creepy it is, it still accurately portrays how we depict ghosts and their behavior, which I always love whenever they create new Ghost-types.
