The 10 most famous ice-type Pokémon
Within the areas of Pokemon, ice typing often has the reputation of being the worst of all. It has four weaknesses and only one resistance to Ice itself. However, strategies and trends have emerged over the years to make Ice-types more viable, particularly on Hail or Snow teams, increasing speed and accuracy for Ice-types.
Despite its reputation, there are still many memorable Ice-type Pokémon out there, to the point that there are various honorable mentions when considering the most iconic. Jynx caused controversy, while Froslass and Glalie proved popular alternative developments for Snorunt. The wide world of Pokemon has a lot of iconic ice-types out there like Abomasnow and Glaceon.
10 swinub
Introduced in Gen II, Swinub brought much-needed bulk to ice-typing while also helping to spice up the ground type roster. Swinub is the adorable Pig Pokémon with its cuddly design and cute scream to match.
As evolution would dictate, Swinub becomes even more powerful with its evolutions, from Piloswine to the Gen IV supplement in Mamoswine. Swinub isn’t an ideal option in a fight, as it only has immunity to electricity and resistance to poison, but it’s still memorable and widely popular.
9 Taugong
As far as Gen I Pokémon go, Seel and Dewgong can easily get lost in the mix. Their simple designs and names border on the generic and uninspired. Yet with all the crazy designs and names that have followed in subsequent generations since then, that connection to normal has actually helped keep them relevant.
Aside from being used by Mahogany Town Gym Leader Pryce and occasionally by Goh in Travel, Dewgong was underused in the anime. The Water/Ice-type Sea Lion Pokémon could easily be considered the ultimate misfit in a fight. However, due to its poor stats, type pairings, and movepool, it’s underused despite still being iconic and an original Pokemon.
8th Abomasnow
Abomasnow was the driving force behind the Hail meta in competitive play, and to a lesser extent when it switched to Snow in Gen IX games Scarlet & Violet. Abomasnow and its previous form, Snover, are the only dual grass/ice types in the game Pokemon franchise, which isn’t too surprising given its seven typical weaknesses.
Regardless, Abomasnow is a powerhouse that Mega Evolution can leverage and has been a frequent presence since its introduction in Gen IV. Two Ice-type Gym Leaders, Candice and Wulfric, got to brag about Abomasnow in the Pokemon Anime where they both KO’d Ash.
7 monastery
Like Dewgong and Lapras, Cloyster is another Generation I Water/Ice-type Pokémon. While the typing is nothing special, Cloyster has a certain viciousness about it that’s backed up by its menacing design and a better base stat total than Dewgong, even if it is narrowly loses to Lapras in this respect.
Cloyster is the evolved form of Shellder and is known for its impressive 180 Physical Defense stat, making it seriously bulky. Cloyster’s anime performances weren’t too frequent or impressive, but Prima/Loreleis got an easy win over Ash’s Pikachu in the Orange Islands Arc.
6 Glacial
Of course, Eevee’s gimmick as an evolution Pokémon has made all of its evolved forms iconic and memorable species. Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon led the way back into Gen I, with Umbreon and Espeon joining in Gen II, and it didn’t stop there.
Although these Eeveelutions in the Pokemon Franchise longer, the later additions of Leafeon, Sylveon and Glaceon were quickly integrated into the roster and are all memorable in their own right. Glaceon is an iconic Eevee evolution, but it’s also a standard-bearer for Ice-typing. May even used one in the anime to further increase its popularity.
5 Regice
Articuno started the ball rolling with Ice-type Legendary Pokémon and deserves to be kept in a category of its own. However, if you look at the others in Kyurem, Chien-Pao, Ice Rider Calyrex, and Regice, the latter deserves the most credit. Regice is part of the legendary trio of Legendary Titans introduced back in Gen III.
Regice has played an unusual role in the anime. Used by Frontier Brain Brandon during the Battler Frontier arc, Regice established himself as a powerful threat, though he eventually lost to Ash’s Pikachu.
4 lapras
Lapras is one of the most well-known and well-known aquatic Pokémon species due to its resemblance to a plesiosaur. However, lapras is more than just a water type as it is a part of the ice. As such, Lapras is one of the pillars of ice typing since it was released back in Gen I.
Lapras had limited representation in the anime alongside Ash, but his appearances during the Orange Islands arc ultimately left fans wanting more. Lapras is in a unique position where it is considered bulky and intimidating due to its size and presence. However, it also has a vulnerable and endangered side as it expresses emotions through singing.
3 Alolan Ninetales
Vulpix and Ninetales disappeared as part of a fire-type list of more formidable species, but into oblivion Sun Moon, they have received an overhaul when obtaining Alolan forms. Alolan Ninetales adopted an ice/fairy-type combination with an all-white aesthetic that represents the snow-capped mountains it inhabits.
Alolan Ninetales’ new design presents it as a graceful and elegant Pokémon, a perfect representation of its fairy typing. There are other regional ice variants of older Pokémon, but Alolan Ninetales stands out slightly from the rest.
2 Articuno
Articuno is one of the Legendary Birds, the first trio of Legendary Pokémon introduced to the franchise in Gen I. The Ice/Flying-type Frost-type Pokémon is hardly one of the most complex designs in Pokemonbut it’s still iconic, like most of the original 151.
Articuno behaves like most other Mythical Legendary Pokémon with most of its anime appearances, including The power of one Movie. Despite this, the series fought alongside a trainer named Noland. His Articuno took on Ash’s Charizard during the Battle Frontier arc, which turned out to be one of the better fights.
1 delibird
Since its introduction in Gen II, Delibird has been considered a joke and meme of a Pokemon. The Ice/Flying-type Delivery-type Pokemon has an oddly low base stat of 330 with no further evolutions, and a finite movepool that ultimately relies on TMs to be presentable.
Even then, until the Gen IX games, Delibird was never really respected within the franchise Scarlet & Violet came with. The introduction of Paradox Pokémon provided much-needed redesigns for existing Pokémon in the form of relatives from the ancient past or the distant future. Delibird inspired the futuristic Iron Bundle, a robotic variant of Delibird with Ice/Water typing and a dramatically improved base stat of 570 overall.
