Glalie

Inner Focus
Prevents flinching.
Ice Body
Heals 1/16 maximum HP in hail.
Moody
A random stat is lowered by 1 stage and another is boosted by 2 stages every turn.
Type Tier
Ice NU
Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
Min- Min Max Max+
HP
80
- 301 364 -
Atk
80
176 196 259 284
Def
80
176 196 259 284
SpA
80
176 196 259 284
SpD
80
176 196 259 284
Spe
80
176 196 259 284

Overview

Glalie is just one of many mediocre Pokemon residing in NU, having little to contribute to the metagame. Even though Glalie's stats are balanced to 100%, they sit at a subpar base 80, meaning it doesn't stand out either offensively or defensively. To top that off, Glalie's movepool is rather shallow and it faces stiff competition from Pokemon such as Piloswine for the Ice-type spot on a team. However, it has some key advantage that makes it stand out. Glalie has access to Spikes, and with its base 80 Speed stat, Glalie is the fastest user of the move in the tier, as well as the only one with Taunt. To further differentiate itself from the pack of Ice-types residing in NU, Glalie has access to Taunt, Explosion, and Ice Shard, each serving a different purpose other Ice-types can't fill. And last but not least, Glalie stands out as being one of few Ice-types being able to pull off physical offense, facing competition from only Beartic, Piloswine, and to a lesser extent, Lapras.

Name Item Ability Nature

Spikes

Focus Sash / Life Orb Inner Focus Jolly
Moveset EVs
~ Spikes
~ Taunt
~ Ice Fang
~ Explosion / Crunch
252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

This is what makes Glalie unique: it's the fastest user of Spikes in the tier and the only Ice-type with the move in NU. Taunt is another way for Glalie to set itself apart from most of its fellow Ice-types, preventing the opponent from setting up various moves, as well as inflicting Glalie with status which would severely hinder its capabilities. Explosion is the third move that Glalie has over other Ice-types, and is really useful with Glalie's good Speed to bring a teammate in safely; one should not forget the power behind the move. Explosion is also very useful with Focus Sash, as the combination lets Glalie come in on an opposing setup sweeper after a teammate has fallen or when the opponent is setting up, survive an attack, and then blow both itself and the sweeper up. However, Crunch does give a powerful hit against opposing Ghost-types, who might expect to come in on Explosion unharmed. Seeing as Explosion is such an important move, and that max Attack is necessary for dealing the amount of damage needed, Ice Fang is the only reliable choice for a STAB move.

Team Options & Additional Comments >>>

Other Options

There isn't much Glalie can do with its shallow movepool without being outclassed. Rain Dance is another way for Glalie to support its team, while removing its weakness to Fire-type moves. Body Slam is a viable choice on either set, being able to paralyze the opponent. Glalie also has several special moves to use with Ice Beam, Hidden Power, and possibly Choice Specs or Life Orb: Signal Beam, Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball, Weather Ball in rain, and the gimmicky Hex. It also has the unorthodox STAB moves Icy Wind and Frost Breath. However, Glalie is harshly outclassed by Glaceon, as well as Articuno, in an offensive role involving special moves, with them being either faster, more powerful, or even both. Choice Scarf is a possibility, but the lack of sheer power from Choice Band is off-putting. And lastly, Disable, Block, and Light Screen have their own merits, either preventing the opponent from using a specific move, fleeing, or boosting Glalie's and its team's Special Defense, but it's hard to fit them onto any set due to the listed moves being much more useful.

Check and Counters

As dangerous as it might be for most Pokemon to switch in on Glalie's Explosion, it's far from unstoppable. Sawk can switch in on Glalie with relative ease—even surviving Explosion if Sturdy remains intact—and KO Glalie with Close Combat. Thanks to its impressive bulk, Regirock only fears being Taunted, and even then it makes short work of Glalie with Stone Edge. The same thing goes for Golem, who only fears specially offensive Glalie if Sturdy isn't intact. Charizard is faster than Glalie and can easily KO Glalie with its STAB moves. Faster Taunt users, such as Murkrow and Serperior, can easily shut down the Spikes set. Serperior is even able to set up Reflect to bolster its Defense even more before Glalie gets a chance to attack. Misdreavus has no problem switching in on Glalie, as it only fears Crunch if it is weakened, and it is able to burn Glalie with Will-O-Wisp. Other Ghost-types, such as Haunter, can also switch in on Explosion for a free KO, but they might not be able to live through Glalie's other attacks. Bulky Water-types, mainly Seismitoad and Frillish, have a cakewalk fighting Glalie; especially Frillish, as it is immune to Explosion. They can easily take any of Glalie's attacks and retaliate with Scald. Frillish is also notable for being able to Recover any lost damage.