3 Best Ice Type Pokémon In Scarlet And Violet

Ever since their introduction in Generation 2, Ice types in the "Pokémon" franchise have suffered from an unfortunate design philosophy that prioritizes faithfulness to ice as found in the natural world over in-game viability and balance. With defenses as weak as Bug-types but as rare and inaccessible to lower level trainers as Dragon, Ice type Pokémon generally fall into three categories: generally useless and only kept around for aesthetic/sentimental reasons, specialized niche counters for Dragon-type Pokémon, or only holding up as a generally solid team member by virtue of the strengths offered by their secondary typing. 

Of course, that's not to say the Ice type should be written off entirely. If you're not a hardcore online competitive player, aesthetic and sentimental attachments are just as — if not more — important than combat stats. With the huge boosts awarded from friendship levels as well as EV points in "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet," there aren't many challenges in the single-player content that can't be overcome with a lot of love and care. 

That said, some Ice types are stronger and more versatile than others, and technically much more worthwhile to invest in if you're only looking to build up one or two solid team members covering the type. Here are the three Ice-type Pokémon with the best stats, movesets, and type-weakness mitigations in "Scarlet and Violet," excluding Pokémon that can only be obtained by trade, online promotions, and/or other limited-time events.

As befitting its Legendary status, Chien-pao is an absolute monster when going on the offensive first and foremost. With base stats of 120 Attack and 135 Speed, this sword-themed snow leopard is the beefed-up upgrade to the hard-and-fast Ice/Dark type attacker niche that Weavile once dominated. Not only does Chien-pao have higher overall stats, but it also sports a perfectly tailored move pool that takes full advantage of its Attack and Speed as well as Same-Type-Attack-Bonus (STAB) opportunities.

The one thing to watch out for with Chien-pao is its long list of type vulnerabilities that actually outnumber its type resistances — with a base Defense of 80 and Sp. Def. of a miserable 65, having double weaknesses to Rock, Bug, Steel, Fire, Fairy (as well as a whopping quadruple weakness to Fighting) can make it a veritable glass cannon that shatters against tankier opponents.

Thankfully, Chien-pao's exclusive ability, Sword of Ruin, can help it finish a fight before it takes a single hit by lowering every other Pokémon's Defense. It applies a flat debuff of 25% to every single Pokémon on the field other than Chien-pao (and other Chien-paos), cannot be negated by Clear Amulet, and remains in effect for as long as Chien-pao is present. Do keep in mind that, while this ability is extremely powerful in single-combat, it also imposes the inescapable debuff on any partner Pokémon and should not be brought to double battles or Tera raids unless as part of a coordinated strategy.

As an homage to the "Godzilla" movies, Frigibax's evolutionary line borrows the iconic kaiju's signature looks as well as its terrible power when it reaches the final form, Baxcalibur. With a base stat total of 600 — even higher than Chien-pao's 570 — that mostly goes towards its 145 Attack and 115 HP stat, Baxcalibur is a slightly tankier option when it comes to shredding through opponents with Ice-type physical moves. Its additional Dragon typing does add Dragon and Fairy as weaknesses, but only in exchange for the not-insignificant expansion of Type resistances to Water, Grass, and Thunder, as well as negating its Fire vulnerability entirely. 

While Baxcalibur has access to the usual pool of Dragon-type moves, what really brings it to the top of competitive battling is its signature ability, Glaive Rush. With 120 power and 100 accuracy, it packs almost as much punch as Hyper Beam without the two-turn cost and lower-than-average accuracy. The trade-off is that Baxcalibur is forced to take double damage until its next turn — however, its extremely good pool of offensive moves as well as stat-boosting moves like Swords Dance and Dragon Dance make it easy to set up Glaive Rush as a finisher move, negating the defense concerns entirely. While it might not be as versatile or powerful as some of the other Dragon-type Pokémon introduced in "Scarlet and Violet," Baxcalibur is still very much a pseudo-legendary and top-notch Ice-type option for any team composition.

You've probably already heard of this unlikely, harmless-seeming Delibird-lookalike getting the ban hammer in the unofficial competitive scene. The hilarity of a robot santa-bird being elevated to Uber-tier status wasn't lost on the Smogon moderators who made the announcement, but they were nothing but serious about how devastating an optimized Iron Bundle could be. Its base stat total of 570 — the same as Chien-pao — puts a special focus on Speed, Sp. Atk, and Defense, making it a hard and fast hitter that can even take a few hits of its own. And that's to say nothing of its moveset. As Smogon puts it, Iron Bundle comes with a truly "ludicrous offensive profile" that not only contains the un-resistable STAB combo of Freeze-dry and Hydro Pump, but allows for repeated attacks that very few Pokémon can withstand.

Most Iron Bundle builds are based around using Heavy-Duty Boots to enable its Flip Turn gimmick (and other defensive counter plays involving Taunt and Encore), or a Choice item to specialize it in a certain attack strategy (Choice Specs being the main one listed on its Smogon page). The cherry on top of Iron Bundle's offensive profile is its excellent Defense stat that allows it to withstand Fighting-type hits that would decimate other Ice-type speedsters. If you're looking for a hard-hitter that's much harder to kill than most other Ice-type options, this festive little bundle of absolute terror is your best bet.