Winter is coming and I like that season, so I thought why not making a mono-ice team.
I know a mono-ice team will be hard to use. Ice is weak to common types; fire, fighting, rock, steel, and it is also weak to stealth rock. I'll be mostly using that team just for the fun in wifi battles or with friends, but I still want to make it as good as possible.
I tested these pokémon in showdown and they were doing alright, and I'm looking for your help to improve that team. I used a few pokémon that I rotated to check which one would give me good results. So, I'll start with those I think are a must-have, then I'll continue with those that I'm not sure of using.
Ninetales-Alola @ Light clay
Ability: Snow warning
EVs: 252 HP, 4 SpDef, 252 Speed
Timid nature
IVs: 0 Atk
-Aurora veil
-Freeze dry
-Moonblast
-Encore
Pretty standard alolan Ninetales. Snow warning to setup hail support for my other Pokemon (100% accuracy blizzard, slush rush, ice body) and some chip damage. Aurora veil for support. Freeze dry to deal with drizzle setters and super-effective damage vs water types. The rest of my team doesn't heavily rely on hail, but controlling the weather is a nice thing. Nature and EVs to be as fast as possible and to give it a little bit more of HP.
Sandslash-Alola @ Life orb/Choice band
Ability: Slush rush
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 Def, 252 Speed
Jolly nature
-Icicle crash
-Iron head
-Earthquake
-Rock slide, Sword dance, Brick break
My team is already weak to fire, but I choosed Sandslash-Alola over Beartic for a slush rush user despite its 4x weakness to fire for its greater speed. My team is mostly slow, so I prefered the extra speed Sandslash can provide. Icicle crash and Iron head for STAB (plus, they both have a flinch chance, which is good with Sandslash' improved speed in hail). Earthquake for coverage against some of the ice types' weaknesses (rock, fire, steel). Rock slide is for these flying-fire types. Sword dance wasn't very usefull because I needed to switch that pokémon quite often. What are your opinions on that last move? Then for the items, I tested it with a life orb, but now that I think about it, a choice band might be a good idea for that pokemon is more used in a hit-and-run fashion. Nature and EVs to be fast and to hit hard.
Then, here are those I think can be very usefull to a mono ice team. They were handy when I needed them. I'm still looking for advices to improve them.
Glaceon @ Choice specs
Ability: Ice body
EVs: 252 HP, 252 SpAtk, 4 SpDef (Def is also to consider)
Modest nature
IVs: 0 Atk
-Blizzard
-Frost Breath
-Hidden power fire/fightning
-Shadow ball
With its 65 base speed, I'm not using it to outspeed other pokemon. So I thought of investing Evs in HP to make use of its good defense and special defense, and the recovery provided by ice body in hail. Blizzard becomes 100% accurate in hail. Frost breath is used for bypassing calm mind special defense boost with the crit. Hidden power fire is good vs Scizor and Ferrothorn. Hidden power fighting is better overall. Shadow ball is coverage. Max SpAtk EV, specs and nature are to go along its high base SpAtk and hit hard.
Avalugg @ Rocky helmet
Ability: Ice body
EVs: 252 HP, 4 Atk, 252 Def
Impish nature
-Rapid spin
-Recover
-Avalanche
-Roar??? toxic?
That one is a physical sponge. Its nature and EVs make it very bulky on the physical side. The combination of Ice body, rocky helmet and recover can reduce the effectiveness of physical attackers, even from fire physical moves (to some extent) under aurora veil. Rapid spin is a must to remove stealth rocks. Avalance is a STAB move that doubles in power if Avalugg moved last. With its bad speed, this is almost guaranteed (speaking of this, I might even consider a relaxed nature (+def, -speed) with 0 IV in speed to make sure it gets double power as often as possible). I'm not sure for the last move. Roar is good for setup sweepers. Toxic might be more usefull more often. Its main purpose is giving me a rapid spin option.
Walrein @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick fat
EVs: 252 HP, 172 Def, 84 SpDef
Calm nature
IVs: 0 Atk
-Surf
-Toxic
-Rest
-Frost breath??? Icy wind, Super fang, Stockpile
I needed something to deal with fire moves, so I got Walrein with a thick fat ability. Its EV spread and nature make him as bulky as possible to sponge fire moves, both on the physical AND special side. Even without investment in special attack, a STAB super-effective surf would deal a lot of damage to fire types with its 95 base special attack. For its last move, its uninvested special attack won't make frost breath hit hard. If I want a strong ice move, I have better options with my other pokemon. So, I thought of using icy wind to force a switch on pokemon sweepers relying on speed. Super fang is a good option to remove half of the opponent HP (kinda bypassing Walrein's uninvested physical/special attacks). Stockpile would make it a wall in combo with leftovers, aurora veil and rest, using hail and toxic to do damage.
Then, here are some pokemon I used, but for some reasons, didn't got as usefull as the other ones I already listed. I'm still putting them here. Some of you guys might find a way to make them shine.
Aurorus @ Icy rock
Ability: Snow warning
Nature and EVs: I don't know what to use
-Stealth rock
-Thunder wave
-Icy wind
-Haze
I first used that one in order to setup stealth rocks. I combined its ability with an icy rock to have hail going for a longer time. The idea was to lead with Ninetales and setup aurora veil and when hail would end, send Aurorus to get hail for 8 turns. Then I realized hail wasn't that much mandatory for the most of my team, so I stopped using Aurorus.
Mamoswine @ Focus sash
Ability: Thick fat
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 Def 252 Speed
Jolly nature
-Earthquake
-Icicle crash
-Ice shard
-Stealth rock??
Nature and EVs are to hit hard and as fast as possible. Icicle crash for STAB. Earthquake for STAB and coverage against fire, steel and rock types. Ice shard for priority. After Aurorus, I used Mamoswine to get access to stealth rock. The thing is, stealth rock covers only one weakness to ice type, which is fire. SR is effective against bug types, but they are not that much of a threat to my team. It's also effective against other ice types, but I already have Walrein to wall them (1/8 with thick fat) and Sandslash with iron head. Then, SR is not very effective against the other threats to ice types, fighting and steel types. Finally, it's good against flying types, but ice moves are already super-effective. So, I'm really wondering the usefulness of stealth rock on that team.
Finally, here are 2 pokemon I didn't try, but that I think could be usefull to a mono-ice team. What do you guys thing of them?
Froslass @ Focus sash? Lax incense? Something else?
Ability: Snow cloak? Cursed body?
Blizzard, Frost breath, Destiny bond, Will-o-whisp, Hex, Shadow ball, Switcheroo, Double team
I guess a combination of cursed body, focus sash and switcheroo could be good. You survive a physical attack thanks to its focus sash, then you have a chance to disable it with cursed body. After, you use switcheroo to remove the item of the opponents (can be used later in game). Destiny bond could be used as a sacrifice. For I'll be playing on wifi, I could use a troll set with snow cloak, lax incense and double team. However, Froslass is frail, so it will die on the first hit. That would be a funny troll-ish set, but I don't think it would be good. Also, Froslass, would provide me a fighting immunity.
Weavile @ Choice band? Focus sash? Life orb?
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 SpDef, 252 Speed
Fake out, Icicle crash, Knock off, Ice shard, Pursuit, Brick break, Poison jab
I'm lacking a strong and fast sweeper. So far, I only have Sandslash. Weavile could fulfill that purpose I think.
Jynx @ Choice scarf?
Dry skin (for water immunity)?
EVs: 252 SpAtk, 252 Speed, 4 SpDef
Nature?
Blizzard, Frost breath, Psychic, Psyshock, Lovely Kiss, Energy ball, Hidden power fire, Shadow ball
With a choice scarf, that would give me a fast and strong special-attacker.
I know a mono-ice team will be hard to use. Ice is weak to common types; fire, fighting, rock, steel, and it is also weak to stealth rock. I'll be mostly using that team just for the fun in wifi battles or with friends, but I still want to make it as good as possible.
I tested these pokémon in showdown and they were doing alright, and I'm looking for your help to improve that team. I used a few pokémon that I rotated to check which one would give me good results. So, I'll start with those I think are a must-have, then I'll continue with those that I'm not sure of using.
Ninetales-Alola @ Light clay
Ability: Snow warning
EVs: 252 HP, 4 SpDef, 252 Speed
Timid nature
IVs: 0 Atk
-Aurora veil
-Freeze dry
-Moonblast
-Encore
Pretty standard alolan Ninetales. Snow warning to setup hail support for my other Pokemon (100% accuracy blizzard, slush rush, ice body) and some chip damage. Aurora veil for support. Freeze dry to deal with drizzle setters and super-effective damage vs water types. The rest of my team doesn't heavily rely on hail, but controlling the weather is a nice thing. Nature and EVs to be as fast as possible and to give it a little bit more of HP.
Sandslash-Alola @ Life orb/Choice band
Ability: Slush rush
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 Def, 252 Speed
Jolly nature
-Icicle crash
-Iron head
-Earthquake
-Rock slide, Sword dance, Brick break
My team is already weak to fire, but I choosed Sandslash-Alola over Beartic for a slush rush user despite its 4x weakness to fire for its greater speed. My team is mostly slow, so I prefered the extra speed Sandslash can provide. Icicle crash and Iron head for STAB (plus, they both have a flinch chance, which is good with Sandslash' improved speed in hail). Earthquake for coverage against some of the ice types' weaknesses (rock, fire, steel). Rock slide is for these flying-fire types. Sword dance wasn't very usefull because I needed to switch that pokémon quite often. What are your opinions on that last move? Then for the items, I tested it with a life orb, but now that I think about it, a choice band might be a good idea for that pokemon is more used in a hit-and-run fashion. Nature and EVs to be fast and to hit hard.
Then, here are those I think can be very usefull to a mono ice team. They were handy when I needed them. I'm still looking for advices to improve them.
Glaceon @ Choice specs
Ability: Ice body
EVs: 252 HP, 252 SpAtk, 4 SpDef (Def is also to consider)
Modest nature
IVs: 0 Atk
-Blizzard
-Frost Breath
-Hidden power fire/fightning
-Shadow ball
With its 65 base speed, I'm not using it to outspeed other pokemon. So I thought of investing Evs in HP to make use of its good defense and special defense, and the recovery provided by ice body in hail. Blizzard becomes 100% accurate in hail. Frost breath is used for bypassing calm mind special defense boost with the crit. Hidden power fire is good vs Scizor and Ferrothorn. Hidden power fighting is better overall. Shadow ball is coverage. Max SpAtk EV, specs and nature are to go along its high base SpAtk and hit hard.
Avalugg @ Rocky helmet
Ability: Ice body
EVs: 252 HP, 4 Atk, 252 Def
Impish nature
-Rapid spin
-Recover
-Avalanche
-Roar??? toxic?
That one is a physical sponge. Its nature and EVs make it very bulky on the physical side. The combination of Ice body, rocky helmet and recover can reduce the effectiveness of physical attackers, even from fire physical moves (to some extent) under aurora veil. Rapid spin is a must to remove stealth rocks. Avalance is a STAB move that doubles in power if Avalugg moved last. With its bad speed, this is almost guaranteed (speaking of this, I might even consider a relaxed nature (+def, -speed) with 0 IV in speed to make sure it gets double power as often as possible). I'm not sure for the last move. Roar is good for setup sweepers. Toxic might be more usefull more often. Its main purpose is giving me a rapid spin option.
Walrein @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick fat
EVs: 252 HP, 172 Def, 84 SpDef
Calm nature
IVs: 0 Atk
-Surf
-Toxic
-Rest
-Frost breath??? Icy wind, Super fang, Stockpile
I needed something to deal with fire moves, so I got Walrein with a thick fat ability. Its EV spread and nature make him as bulky as possible to sponge fire moves, both on the physical AND special side. Even without investment in special attack, a STAB super-effective surf would deal a lot of damage to fire types with its 95 base special attack. For its last move, its uninvested special attack won't make frost breath hit hard. If I want a strong ice move, I have better options with my other pokemon. So, I thought of using icy wind to force a switch on pokemon sweepers relying on speed. Super fang is a good option to remove half of the opponent HP (kinda bypassing Walrein's uninvested physical/special attacks). Stockpile would make it a wall in combo with leftovers, aurora veil and rest, using hail and toxic to do damage.
Then, here are some pokemon I used, but for some reasons, didn't got as usefull as the other ones I already listed. I'm still putting them here. Some of you guys might find a way to make them shine.
Aurorus @ Icy rock
Ability: Snow warning
Nature and EVs: I don't know what to use
-Stealth rock
-Thunder wave
-Icy wind
-Haze
I first used that one in order to setup stealth rocks. I combined its ability with an icy rock to have hail going for a longer time. The idea was to lead with Ninetales and setup aurora veil and when hail would end, send Aurorus to get hail for 8 turns. Then I realized hail wasn't that much mandatory for the most of my team, so I stopped using Aurorus.
Mamoswine @ Focus sash
Ability: Thick fat
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 Def 252 Speed
Jolly nature
-Earthquake
-Icicle crash
-Ice shard
-Stealth rock??
Nature and EVs are to hit hard and as fast as possible. Icicle crash for STAB. Earthquake for STAB and coverage against fire, steel and rock types. Ice shard for priority. After Aurorus, I used Mamoswine to get access to stealth rock. The thing is, stealth rock covers only one weakness to ice type, which is fire. SR is effective against bug types, but they are not that much of a threat to my team. It's also effective against other ice types, but I already have Walrein to wall them (1/8 with thick fat) and Sandslash with iron head. Then, SR is not very effective against the other threats to ice types, fighting and steel types. Finally, it's good against flying types, but ice moves are already super-effective. So, I'm really wondering the usefulness of stealth rock on that team.
Finally, here are 2 pokemon I didn't try, but that I think could be usefull to a mono-ice team. What do you guys thing of them?
Froslass @ Focus sash? Lax incense? Something else?
Ability: Snow cloak? Cursed body?
Blizzard, Frost breath, Destiny bond, Will-o-whisp, Hex, Shadow ball, Switcheroo, Double team
I guess a combination of cursed body, focus sash and switcheroo could be good. You survive a physical attack thanks to its focus sash, then you have a chance to disable it with cursed body. After, you use switcheroo to remove the item of the opponents (can be used later in game). Destiny bond could be used as a sacrifice. For I'll be playing on wifi, I could use a troll set with snow cloak, lax incense and double team. However, Froslass is frail, so it will die on the first hit. That would be a funny troll-ish set, but I don't think it would be good. Also, Froslass, would provide me a fighting immunity.
Weavile @ Choice band? Focus sash? Life orb?
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 SpDef, 252 Speed
Fake out, Icicle crash, Knock off, Ice shard, Pursuit, Brick break, Poison jab
I'm lacking a strong and fast sweeper. So far, I only have Sandslash. Weavile could fulfill that purpose I think.
Jynx @ Choice scarf?
Dry skin (for water immunity)?
EVs: 252 SpAtk, 252 Speed, 4 SpDef
Nature?
Blizzard, Frost breath, Psychic, Psyshock, Lovely Kiss, Energy ball, Hidden power fire, Shadow ball
With a choice scarf, that would give me a fast and strong special-attacker.
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