Monotype Ice-Mono Team Help?

[NylaTheWolf]

Okay, I know this sounds horrible because ice is not the most defensive typing and it has a lot of weaknesses to common competitive types and such, but I made it a challenge for myself to make good mono teams of each typing. Therefore, I'm willing to take on the challenge.

Now, I'm new to competitive play. I'm no expert. So my reasoning for putting these guys on my team may not be the best. Also, I tend to lose focus and skim through the "Usage Tips" parts of Smogon so...

Also, I'm making an Ice team, not a hail team, but I will definitely use hail to my advantage`

Anyways, here's what I got so far.

Mamoswine

Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 HP
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Endeavor
- Ice Shard


I used Smogon's monotype set for this guy. I'm using him because he's an offensive wallbreaker and has decent bulk. The biggest reason is to have a check when it comes to Fire, Rock, and Steel. Also, let's be real, Stealth Rock is a must-have nowadays, and it could actually help with Fire types, especially ones like Volcarona and Charizard.

Cloyster

Cloyster @ Normalium Z
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Shell Smash
- Icicle Spear
- Hydro Pump
- Explosion

Cloyster has insanely high defense and can act as a check to Fire and maybe even Rock and Steel types, since it's part water. Although, I'm not sure about Explosion. I mean, I don't know if it's worth to purposely lose one of my Pokemon, especially as my team will already be a bit frail. Should I keep Explosion, or should I replace it with another move like Spikes or something?

(not my art, credit to whoever drew this)

Weavile

Breezepelt (Weavile) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick

He's a glass cannon, very fast and pretty strong! I think he'd make a good sweeper and/or revenge killer. I know it may seem like a bad idea because he has a 4x weakness to fighting, but he may be able to outspeed some threats. Low Kick especially could hit Heatran, Mamoswine and Tyranitar and other such threats.

...Also, he's my favorite Pokemon (next to the eeveelutions) and I couldn't resist putting him on the team.

Ninetales-Alola

Freeze Frame (Ninetales-Alola) (F) @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aurora Veil
- Freeze-Dry
- Moonblast
- Encore

It's kind of obvious why I chose to put Ninetales on the team: its ability. Aurora Veil can only work in hail, and since Ice-types tend to be more frail, Aurora Veil is something the team would appreciate. Freeze-Dry could also help to hit Water-Types (honestly Ice should be super effective against water in the first place because ice is literally solid water and water FREEZES OVER DURING THE WINTER SO WHY IS WATER RESISTANT TO ICE IT MAKES NO SENSE AND I'M VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS). Being part Fairy, it could also be a check for Fighting.

(I don't know why I could easily find a decent sized gif of this Pokemon and not the others but whatever)

Kyurem-Black

Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Bolt
- Earth Power
- Roost

I'm using this Pokemon because not only does it have access to Fusion Bolt for a check to water (refer to Ninetales-Alola). Also, Dragon is resistant to Fire, Water, Grass, and Electric, and Fire.

And I'm torn between Froslass and Sandslash-Alola.

I heard Sandslash is a good option for Ice-mono teams, especially because of its ability Slush Rush, and because I have a Ninetales-Alola with Snow Warning, Slush Rush would be a great ability, especially since it'll help with outspeeding any threats. However, it comes with a 4x Fire and Fighting Weakness, something my team is already suffering from. So I don't know if it's worth it.

This would be the set for Sandslash I'd be using:

Sandslash-Alola @ Light Clay
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Aurora Veil
- Rapid Spin
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake

Rapid Spin is also great for removing entry hazards.

BUT Froslass does provide the benefit of being immune to Fighting (and Normal in case I come across a Double Edge or a Mega-Lopunny with Return). This is the UU set for Froslass:

Froslass @ Focus Sash
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Icy Wind
- Will-O-Wisp/Destiny Bond

So, should I go with Froslass or Sandslash-Alola?

How is my team? Should I change anything?

I would love to hear it! Thanks for reading :)​

 

[Moosical]

Hi there, this is a great start to an Ice team, with barely any changes needed to improve it, so good job! I'm also happy to hear that you recognize Ice's weaknesses, so please keep in mind no matter what you end up with, it won't be perfect.

My first suggestion would be to change Cloyster's set to the following:
Cloyster @ Waterium Z
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 112 Atk / 144 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Shell Smash
- Icicle Spear
- Hydro Pump
- Rock Blast

With this set and Waterium-Z, Cloyster is able to OHKO Mega Scizor after Stealth Rock, who your team is otherwise swept by. Rock Blast is also beneficial on this set in order to blast past Fire-types who won't take much damage from Hydro Pump while in Harsh Sunlight. Explosion can seem appealing as a one-time nuke, but it doesn't provide adequate coverage that Ice needs.

As for Sandslash vs. Froslass - your team already has a dedicated lead (Mamoswine) and also desperately needs the hazard removal. Without Alolan Sandslash, your team will very quickly lose to Stealth Rocks. The following set would also be much better:

Sandslash-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Iron Head

Running dual Aurora Veil isn't necessary for a hyper offense team, especially as you already have 7 turns of veil with Ninetales. Additionally, the added coverage in Iron Head will help your team immensely with opposing Fairy-types like Mega Diancie. You also need the maximum Speed and Jolly nature to ensure you outspeed most Choice Scarf Pokemon while in Hail.

If you wanted a team to utilize Froslass on, that'd like have to be a completely different build than the one that you have.

 

[maroon]

Hey NylaTheWolf, nice ice team I just have a few moveset suggestions to make the team better alongside Moosical's suggestions.

All Ice-type teams are weak to Victini, as it can easily click V-Create on every member which can make it very hard to play around. By giving Weavile Pursuit you can trap and OHKO Victini after a V-Create drop. This set also allows Weavile to trap and pop Heatran's Air Balloon allowing teammates like Kyurem-Black to take it on with Earth Power.

Set

Weavile (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit

Since Weavile does not have low kick Steel-types become more troublesome however Kyurem-Black can easily remedy what Weavile lost by adding HP Fire to its moveset. Kyurem-Black, the set is fine however if you feel Steel-types can be an issue Kyurem-B can drop Roost for HP Fire allowing it to take on Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor better. This while does not give Kyurem-Black recovery allows it to take on Steel-type Pokemon that give the team trouble, that can usually can switch in on Kyurem-Black.

Set

Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Bolt
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Other Minor Tweaks:
- Also this one is a small edit but I highly suggest Mamoswine to use Thick Fat as it can take on non STAB Fire-type attacks better
- You can run 29 HP IVs on Alolan Sandslash, Weavile, and Kyurem-Black so they can use Life Orb attacks 11 times rather than 10.
- Run full HP IVs on Mamoswine as it allows you to take on Mega Diancie easier even after Stealth Rock chip has broken it'd sash

Overall I hope my changes along with Moosicals were helpful and you have success with the changes.

 

[smub]

Well Moosical and Exca's posts already fixed the main issues with the team, so I'll mention a few tiny things:

Run full HP IVs on Mamoswine: When I made the sample Mamoswine set for Ice, I thought minimizing HP would be more helpful to get it down to its Focus Sash easier. But full HP EVs are pretty important for surviving a few specific hits like these:

Full HP vs 0 HP

Full HP
+1 252 SpA Nihilego Power Gem vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mamoswine: 291-343 (80.6 - 95%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
0 HP
+1 252 SpA Nihilego Power Gem vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mamoswine: 291-343 (88.1 - 103.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Full HP
252 SpA Diancie-Mega Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mamoswine: 274-324 (75.9 - 89.7%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
0 HP
252 SpA Diancie-Mega Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mamoswine: 274-324 (83 - 98.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Pursuit>Low Kick on Weavile: Exca already mentioned this, butPursuit is incredibly important on Weavile to trap weakened threats like -1 Victini and Mega Gallade, which are some of the biggest problems for Ice teams. It also gets off important chip damage against Pokemon like Sand Rush Excadrill and bulky Jirachi. Here are some calcs:

Pursuit calcs

252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Pursuit vs. -1 0 HP / 0 Def Victini: 484-572 (141.9 - 167.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Pursuit vs. -1 0 HP / 0 Def Gallade-Mega: 253-298 (91.3 - 107.5%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Pursuit vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Excadrill: 243-289 (67.3 - 80%) -- guaranteed 2HKO(this leaves it well within Ice Shard range)
252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Pursuit vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Jirachi: 322-382 (79.7 - 94.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery(this makes it easier for Cloyster to win late-game against Psychic)
252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Pursuit vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Latios: 390-460 (129.5 - 152.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO(this is another mon that can give Cloyster problems, since Choice Scarf sets outspeed it after +2)

Steel teams already have an easy answer to Weavile in the form of Skarmory anyway, so it's not gonna be that useful, and Pursuit's gonna end up being more useful against Fire because of Victini again, as well as Blacephalon. Dark teams have Mega Sableye to switch into and beat Weavile 1v1, and beating Rock requires some important setup with Cloyster early-game. Overall, Pursuit is just a better option compared to Low Kick.

If you did want to have Froslass on your team, you wouldn't replace Alolan Sandslash with it, but instead you would replace Weavile. However, you did say Weavile was your favorite Pokemon, and Weavile is significantly better for Ice teams compared to Froslass, so it's best to leave it the way it is. If you want to make a different Ice team with Froslass, here's a better set for it:

Froslass set

Froslass @ Focus Sash
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp / Destiny Bond / Thunder Wave

Here's the team after the suggested change, as well as Exca's and Moosical's changes, I hope they helped!

Revised Team

Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Endeavor
- Ice Shard

Cloyster @ Waterium Z
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 112 Atk / 144 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Shell Smash
- Icicle Spear
- Hydro Pump
- Rock Blast

Weavile (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit

Freeze Frame (Ninetales-Alola) (F) @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aurora Veil
- Freeze-Dry
- Moonblast
- Encore

Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Bolt
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Roost

Sandslash-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Iron Head

 

[NylaTheWolf]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate your help, and I'm pretty happy to know I started with a decent team!

Alright, so this is my team right now:

Ice-9 (Mamoswine) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 HP
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Endeavor
- Ice Shard

Breezepelt (Weavile) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit

Freeze Frame (Ninetales-Alola) (F) @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aurora Veil
- Freeze-Dry
- Moonblast
- Encore

GlacialMoon (Kyurem-Black) @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Bolt
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Sandslash-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Iron Head

Cloyster @ Waterium Z
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 112 Atk / 144 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Shell Smash
- Icicle Spear
- Hydro Pump
- Rock Blast

How is it?

 

[EricSaysHi]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate your help, and I'm pretty happy to know I started with a decent team!

Alright, so this is my team right now:

Ice-9 (Mamoswine) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 HP
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Endeavor
- Ice Shard

Breezepelt (Weavile) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit

Freeze Frame (Ninetales-Alola) (F) @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aurora Veil
- Freeze-Dry
- Moonblast
- Encore

GlacialMoon (Kyurem-Black) @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Bolt
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Sandslash-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Iron Head

Cloyster @ Waterium Z
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 112 Atk / 144 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Shell Smash
- Icicle Spear
- Hydro Pump
- Rock Blast

How is it?

I'd suggest running oblivious for mamoswine, helps vs other taunt leads such as deoxys speed, krook, mew, cobalion etc. you're not really needing to eat fire/ice hits.