While Ice Pokémon are weak to common damage elements, they are great against Dragon types, which remain very dominant in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Each Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has its own set of strengths and weaknesses depending on the unique elemental type they belong to, one of them being Ice. Ice-type Pokémon can be found on top of mountains, frozen caves, or poles, and their attacks generally have a chance of freezing their targets. Ice is one of the 18 element types, but in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, players will find that many Pokémon can have more than one type, such as Fighting and Ice or Ice and Electric, which in total can form up to 45 unique dual-types.
In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Ice-type Pokémon are considered strong; however, they are also the rarest in the franchise, as out of over 1000 Pokémon in Generation IX, only 58 are Ice Pokémon. The Ice element is super effective against Dragon-, Flying-, Grass-, and Ground-type Pokémon, and weak versus Fire-, Ice-, Steel-, and Water-types. In terms of defense, they take extra damage from Fire, Fighting, Rock, and Steel attacks and are only resistant against their own element, Ice. The Ice element pairs up well with physical attacking types, such as Fighting or Ground, as they complement each other’s weaknesses.
The Best Ice-Types in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
As evidenced in the Game 8 article, the best Ice-type Pokémon in the game is undoubtedly Baxcalibur. This Dragon-/Ice-type has the highest HP out of all Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon, has a reasonably good defense, and has an extremely high base attack. A great second pick for the Ice elemental type, which is unfortunately exclusive to Pokémon Violet players, is the Paradox Pokémon. This Ice-/Water-type Pokémon has a fantastic base speed and a very high special attack, which, when paired with powerful moves, such as Blizzard and Hydro Pump, can provide players with a ton of clean sweep victories.
If players are instead looking for a fast Ice-type Pokémon with excellent attack power, they should consider the legendary Chien-Pao or Weavile. Both of these Dark-/Ice-type Pokémon excels at hitting hard and quickly, and while Chien-Pao does this a bit better, Weavile might be easier to obtain and isn’t that much weaker than the legendary Pokémon. Lastly, if players are looking for a pure Ice-type Pokémon that can take a punch and deal a ton of damage with its special moves, they should look no further than Eevee’s frosty evolution, Glaceon, which can be evolved into by using an Ice Stone in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Sources: Game 8, Youtube/NintendoOfAmerica