[Overview]
<p>Ice, ice
, <comma> and more ice –
that this should be your first thought when looking at Glaceon. Wielding one of the tier
’ 's highest Special Attack stats as well as a perfectly accurate move with 180
Base
Power after STAB, Glaceon spams Blizzard
in hail like no other
, <comma> . With Blizzard, Glaceon can 2HKO
ing many common Ice
-type resists after Stealth Rock! It is also bulky enough to survive most neutral STAB attacks, and is less vulnerable to Stealth Rock than other Ice-types thanks to Ice Body.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for Glaceon, a weapon with this much destructive force is bound to have its drawbacks. Glaceon is painfully slow for an offensive Pokemon; it fails to outspeed several common threats in the tier even with a Choice Scarf. While Ice is an excellent offensive typing, it leaves much to be desired defensively. This is compounded by the fact that Glaceon needs Abomasnow, another Ice-type, to be effective. The defensive
fragilities deficiencies that result are not easy to cover.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, a Glaceon in hail is still one of the tier
’ 's strongest offensive Pokemon. It may not have the second STAB that Rotom-F does, and it does not get Trick or Volt Switch or Levitate, but
when if you
’ 're looking for sheer Blizzard-spamming power
, <comma> Glaceon
has no rivals is second to none preferential.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Blizzard
move 2: Shadow Ball / Baton Pass
move 3: Ice Beam / Baton Pass
move 4: Hidden Power Electric / Hidden Power Ground
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Timid
ability: Ice Body / Snow Cloak
evs: 252 SpA /
252 Spe / 4 SpD
/ 252 Spe
[
Set Comments SET COMMENTS]
<p>The best way
of making to make a slow, offensive powerhouse like Glaceon a viable sweeper is to put a Choice Scarf on it. With maximum investment and a Choice Scarf, Glaceon hits 373 Speed,
fast enough to outspeed
ing Alakazam and other base 120
s Speed Pokemon. Blizzard is the obvious attacking move
of choice pun not intended and can 2HKO bulky Froslass as well as offensive Darmanitan and Arcanine with Stealth Rock
support. Unless they are holding Choice Scarfs of their own, Glaceon will outspeed them as well. Because Blizzard is so powerful, the rest of the moves are mostly filler. Shadow Ball
hits attains super effective coverage on Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon, but a singly resisted Blizzard still hits harder than a neutral Shadow Ball
, <comma> and a neutral Blizzard is more powerful than a super effective Shadow Ball.
This leaves only the Pokemon that resist Ice and are weak to Ghost, such as Slowbro, Froslass, Chandelure and Victini, for which Shadow Ball is the better attack. Shadow Ball should therefore only be used against Pokemon that resist Ice-type moves and are weak to Ghost-type attacks, such as Slowbro, Froslass, Chandelure, <note comma> and Victini. It is worth noting
, <comma> however
, <comma> that Froslass, Chandelure
, <comma> and Victini
can all be are all 2HKOed by Blizzard after Stealth Rock
damage, and Blizzard never misses Froslass in hail, either.</p>
<p> Of the remaining two moves, Ice Beam is
available intended for use outside of hail
and has more PP as well keep it if it's important but imo it's not a huge consideration ; with Hippowdon in the tier, it might be wise to have a
fallback backup STAB attack to use. It also allows Glaceon to function as a lead, hitting hard right from the
start of the game get-go. The choice of Hidden Power depends on what you want
Glaceon to cover. Hidden Power Electric targets Empoleon
, <comma> as well as bulky Water-types that resist Ice, while Hidden Power Ground hits Steel-types
like such as Registeel and Cobalion while maintaining coverage on Fire-types. Finally, Baton Pass can replace an attack, allowing Glaceon to scout its counters while forcing them to take hazard damage. Nonetheless, since Glaceon
’ 's offensive power is so
strong immense preferential, it is often better to fire away with Blizzard and risk the counter switching in, especially if the counter cannot recover its own health.</p>
[
Additional Comments ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs on this set are self-explanatory,
but except for one thing: be careful not to put the leftover 4 EVs into HP, as it increases the damage Glaceon takes from Stealth Rock. A Modest nature gives Glaceon more power, but unfortunately losing to Alakazam is a very big drawback and so not recommended.
As for abilities, Ice Body is usually the better choice. Its constant healing forces the opponent to respond
aggressively / decisively / forcefully? instead of playing around with resistances,
as well as and also help
s offset
the cost of switching into Stealth Rock
damage. That said, sometimes a Snow Cloak miss may be the only way of salvaging a losing game, so it
’ 's not a bad option.</p>
<p>It goes without saying that Glaceon must have Snow Warning support, which in UU means Abomasnow. This unfortunately
leaves mandates four shared weaknesses
, <comma> namely to Fire
-, Fighting
-, Rock
-, <comma> and Steel
-type attacks. Having Pokemon that can absorb these attacking types is vital. Slowbro can shrug off most Fighting
- <hyphen> and Rock
-type moves, as well as Flare Blitz from the likes of Arcanine and Darmanitan. Nidoqueen resists Fighting
- <hyphen and Rock
-type attacks, and can set up Stealth Rock to aid Glaceon
’ 's sweep. It also absorbs Toxic Spikes, an entry hazard that Glaceon is vulnerable to. Flash Fire Chandelure is another option,
sporting courtesy of its immunit
ies to both Fire
- <hyphen> and Fighting
-type moves, although it
brings along introduces yet another weakness to Rock. Glaceon is vulnerable to Stealth Rock
in spite of Ice Body, so Rapid Spin support is appreciated. Cyrogonal can fire off Blizzards of its own while spinning away Stealth Rock, while Hitmontop is
another a worthy choice
, bringing a valuable Rock resist to the table for its Rock-type resistance. Xatu also gets a mention, as it is the only Pokemon in UU that gets Magic Bounce and
so can stop Stealth Rock from going up in the first place.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Blizzard
move 2: Ice Beam / Baton Pass
move 3: Shadow Ball / Baton Pass
move 4: Hidden Power Electric / Hidden Power Ground
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest
ability: Ice Body / Snow Cloak
evs:
8 HP / 252 SpA /
244 Spe / 8 HP / 4 SpD
/ 244 Spe
[
Set Comments SET COMMENTS]
<p>When you combine Glaceon
’ 's formidable attacking stats with Choice Specs, you get a wallbreaking machine that hits so hard
only a very few special walls can absorb its hits none bar the bulkiest of walls can stand in its way! Sure, Glaceon is too slow to sweep teams, but its armo
ur
ame spelling -piercing Blizzards become so strong that even Ice
-type resists have trouble taking it
s assaults. To put this into perspective, physically defensive Milotic, Thick Fat Snorlax
, <comma> and even Eviolite Chansey are all forced to
use their recovery moves recover health immediately if they switch into Glaceon with Stealth Rock down. Although Glaceon
still has will still have to switch out, this means a teammate can
switch in enter the fray / field unscathed.</p>
<p>The moves for this set are the same as for the Choice Scarf set, albeit with a slightly decreased emphasis on Baton Pass. Since Glaceon
’ 's damage output is now so high, giving up a free turn to attack is less appealing. Nonetheless, Baton Pass may still be useful to wear down Pokemon
like such as Chansey,
who which would otherwise heal itself as Glaceon switches out.
For the same reason Similarly, the choice of Hidden Power is no longer for coverage when revenge killing sweepers, but to
outright break smash through walls. If your team has difficulties with Empoleon, Suicune
, <comma> and other bulky Water
-types, consider Hidden Power Electric. If Registeel is more troubling,
consider choose Hidden Power Ground.</p>
[
Additional Comments ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs on this spread
go for grant Glaceon maximum power while maintaining enough speed to outpace uninvested base 95s
like such as defensive Arcanine and Roserade. A Timid nature to outspeed uninvested base 100s like Zapdos and Mew is possible, but the power
lost loss is quite significant. As
mentioned before, Ice Body is the preferred ability, but Glaceon will usually not be able to stay in for long. Therefore, depending on your playstyle and risk appetite, Snow Cloak might be preferable.</p>
<p>Once again, Glaceon absolutely must have Snow Warning support, and once again in UU that
means requires Abomasnow as a teammate. This also means Slowbro, Chandelure, Nidoqueen, Hitmontop
, <comma> and Xatu are still excellent partners for Glaceon. Because this Glaceon is meant to punch holes in the other team, a fast teammate that can take advantage of any openings is a good idea. If the opponent
’ 's Ice resists have all been severely weakened, a
Choice Scarf Rotom-F for example can easily Blizzard its way to victory. Other fast attackers
like such as Jolteon,
Choice Scarf Heracross
, <comma> and Alakazam can also take advantage of weakened walls to sweep.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Glaceon can act as a defensive pivot with Heal Bell and Wish, but
Glaceon it is slow and does not have a high base HP. Furthermore, a defensive Ice-type brings little to the team in terms of resistances. Glaceon can run a set similar to Stallrein with Substitute, Protect and Ice Body, but Walrein will usually
do that set pull that off better thanks to its Water typing. Heal Bell is also illegal with Ice Body. A Substitute set is possible,
which also allows Glaceon to use along with a boosting item
like such as Life Orb, but
since Glaceon's attacks are usually so set in stone
(read: Blizzard) that Substitute is not overly helpful. Trick Room support goes a long way to fixing Glaceon's low
Speed and can make Glaceon a dangerous sweeper
, but . However, it may be difficult fitting both Abomasnow and Trick Room users on the same team, especially since Trick Room does not last very long. Finally, Glaceon can use Fake Tears to lower its opponent
’ 's Special Defense, which can help it muscle its way past Pokemon
like such as Suicune and Chansey. However, most bulky Water-types can be dealt with by Abomasnow, and
much of the time Glaceon is
usually simply better off attacking.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Glaceon hits hard, but there are still Pokemon that can weather its assaults. Milotic, Suicune, Chansey, Thick Fat Snorlax, Empoleon, and Registeel can all take a few hits if necessary. However, with hail negating Leftovers recovery, all these would-be counters must be careful about being worn down. Many of them are unable to seriously hurt Glaceon either, especially when Ice Body healing is factored in. Still, Thunder Wave will ruin the Choice Scarf set, while Toxic will eventually kill Glaceon.</p>
<p>As a grounded Ice
-type
Pokemon preferential, Glaceon is fully vulnerable to all entry hazards. Toxic Spikes will wear Glaceon down
fast rapidly, while Stealth Rock will limit the number of times Glaceon can switch in.
You One can also check Glaceon is by outspeeding it. Choice Scarf Glaceon is not especially fast, outspeeding only base 120s. This means Pokemon
like such as Weavile and Jolteon
, <comma> as well as many
Scarfed Pokemon opposing Choice Scarf users, <comma> can revenge kill Glaceon. Be warned though: Glaceon is quite bulky, and without a fairly powerful super effective attack
, <comma> a full health Glaceon is not likely to be OHKOed. Nonetheless, Pokemon
like such as Aerodactyl and
Choice Scarf Heracross can easily finish Glaceon off in a
single hit.</p>
<p>
<remove space>Glaceon can also be checked, ironically, via its biggest weapon. While Blizzard is very much the perfect attack in hail, it does only have 8 PP. This makes it especially vulnerable to Pressure stalling. There are a few Pressure Pokemon that can take a few hits, eating up precious PP in the process. Deoxys-D, Suicune
, <comma> and Spiritomb fall into this category. Although Glaceon can muscle its way past Deoxys-D and Spiritomb eventually, it gets only four chances to land a critical hit or freeze. If that doesn't happen, Glaceon exhausts all its Blizzard ammunition, and is is far less threatening as a result.</p>
<p>Finally, if you can change the weather, Glaceon sheds a tear. Glaceon outside of hail
isn’t far from if you don't change this, be sure to correct the apostrophe harmless
– — <no spaces on either side>Blizzard still has a 70% chance to hit, and Ice Beam is still threatening
– — <same>but it loses Ice Body recovery
, <comma> and since it can't use Blizzard reliably, it becomes much easier to handle.</p>
