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Multitype
- Type changes depending on the held plate. Prevents item loss.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
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Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
120
|
- |
381 |
444 |
- |
| Atk |
120
|
248 |
276 |
339 |
372 |
| Def |
120
|
248 |
276 |
339 |
372 |
| SpA |
120
|
248 |
276 |
339 |
372 |
| SpD |
120
|
248 |
276 |
339 |
372 |
| Spe |
120
|
248 |
276 |
339 |
372 |
Overview
Returning from the desolate wastelands of afar, Arceus shows His frigid side, His heart as cold as the Icicle Plate He bears. The deity of legend appears in His frosty guise to lay ruin to all that incur His divine wrath. In perhaps the most offensively-inclined forme of them all, Ice Arceus takes no prisoners in the kill-or-be-killed world of Ubers. Unless your body is as solid as steel or your soul is as searing as the sun, you might never again feel the warmth of a new day. However, in His icy guise, Arceus is not without His faults. With Ice being one of the worst defensive types in the game, Ice Arceus will not only take a quarter of His health in switching into Stealth Rock alone, but He will also be hard-pressed to take common attacks without sufficient boosts.
This set is probably the best that Ice Arceus can manage. If it can get a Calm Mind boost and emerge more or less unscathed, you can reap the sweet rewards of its Ice-type STAB. Judgment and Ice Beam are both valid options as Arceus's main attacking move. Judgment is the standard for specially based Arceus, as it combines 100% accuracy with solid power. Ice Beam has the same accuracy and PP, but it sacrifices a mere 5 Base Power for the added 10% chance to freeze outside of strong sunlight. The difference is often negligible, and the choice depends on whether you are more comfortable increasing the chance of key KOs or banking on a rare freeze. Thunder's main purpose is to damage opposing Kyogre, but it's also useful against Ho-Oh in rain. Fire Blast and Focus Blast are for hitting Steel-types; the choice between the two depends mostly on whether you can provide it with sun support. Recover can also be useful for healing off damage from entry hazards and enemies' attacks, making it easier to switch in multiple times.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Its mono-Ice typing is quite the burden for a setup sweeper such as Ice Arceus. Unfortunately, Ice Arceus's resistance to Ice-type attacks, immunity to hail damage, and inability to be frozen are completely overshadowed by its weaknesses to Rock-, Fighting-, Fire-, and Steel-type attacks, as well as its severe vulnerability to entry hazards. On the bright side, however, Ice has excellent coverage in the Uber tier, hitting Dragon-, Ground-, Flying-, and Grass-types for super effective damage. Ice Arceus generally fares better as a late-game sweeper than as a boosting tank because of its inability to switch into resisted moves. The EVs allow Arceus to hit as hard as possible while Speed tying with other offensive Arceus, but a Modest nature can be also used for that extra touch of power. With a Modest nature, Ice Arceus misses out on outpacing Lugia and Speed-tying with other Arceus, though Lugia fears Ice-type attacks and Ice Arceus loses to many common Arceus formes anyway.
Ice Arceus can fit into both sun teams and rain teams. Groudon is a fantastic partner to Ice Arceus, boasting impressive Defense and the ability to set up permanent sunshine. Ice Arceus can take advantage of sun's boost to Fire Blast, but sun aggravates its weakness to Fire-type attacks. With Kyogre support instead, Ice Arceus effectively loses this weakness to Fire-type attacks, and Thunder is a more reliable attack to hurt Ho-Oh with. However, Fire Blast loses its effectiveness in rain. Nevertheless, Focus Blast is a decent coverage option, and Recover allows Ice Arceus to acquire multiple Calm Mind boosts against Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Palkia and other Arceus. Additionally, with rain support, Ice Beam can replace Judgment. The 10% freeze chance can easily be the deciding factor in a game, and the 5 Base Power drop is not always noticeable. Judgment is still generally a better option, though, because of the increased chance to KO several major threats, and it is equally useful in any weather. Here are some calculations to illustrate the power difference of Judgment and Ice Beam in some key situations:
- Ice Beam vs. 252/0 Groudon 95.5% - 112.9% (74% chance to OHKO)
- Judgment vs. 252/0 Groudon 101.0% - 118.8%
- Ice Beam vs. 4/0 Zekrom 103.5% - 111.1%
- Ice Beam vs. 252/0 Zekrom 87.6% - 103.0% (15% chance to OHKO)
- Judgment vs. 252/0 Zekrom 92.1% - 108.2% (46% chance to OHKO)
- Ice Beam vs. 248/252+ Giratina 44.5% - 52.9% (81% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers)
- Judgment vs. 248/252+ Giratina 46.9% - 55.3% (guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers)
Other Options
Flamethrower is a more reliable way to hit Forretress, Ferrothorn, and Scizor, but the drop in power from Fire Blast makes it slightly inferior in most cases. Surf can be used in the rain to beat opposing Fire-types, but it is not of much use otherwise. Ice Arceus can learn many useful support moves including status-inducing moves, Perish Song, Stealth Rock, and dual screens, but with Ice's lack of resistances, practically every other Arceus forme outclasses Ice Arceus in this regard.
Checks and Counters
Steel-types are some of the biggest threats to Ice Arceus. Steel Arceus can easily set up on Ice Arceus and force it out with its own Judgment or Roar. Scizor can easily switch into a Judgment and threaten it with Bullet Punch. Without Fire Blast, Forretress and Ferrothorn can lay down entry hazards while threatening Ice Arceus with Gyro Ball or, in Ferrothorn's case, Thunder Wave. Heatran can comfortably wall all of Ice Arceus's attacks except Focus Blast while threatening it with devastating Fire-type attacks, particularly outside of rain. In fact, just about all threats that are not weak to Ice-type moves and pack a Fire-type attack will be in a position to force Ice Arceus out if the sun is up; examples include Ho-Oh, Mewtwo, Reshiram, Palkia, and Fire Arceus. In general, other Arceus formes who are not weak to Ice-type attacks can win a Calm Mind war if they have Recover, Focus Blast or Fire Blast, or a super effective Judgment. It almost goes without saying that Chansey and Blissey are able to switch in, cripple Ice Arceus with a status condition, and stall it to death with their insane special bulk. Terrakion can switch into a Fire Blast and pulverize Ice Arceus with Close Combat or Stone Edge. Darkrai easily outspeeds Ice Arceus and can neutralize it with a combination of Dark Void and Focus Blast. As a last note, the humble Shedinja takes no damage at all from any attack except Fire Blast.
