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-
Ice Body
- Heals 1/16 maximum HP in hail.
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Weak Armor
- Boosts Speed by 1 stage and lowers Defense by 1 stage when hit by a physical move.
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Level 5 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
71
|
- |
23 |
26 |
- |
| Atk |
95
|
14 |
16 |
19 |
20 |
| Def |
85
|
13 |
15 |
18 |
19 |
| SpA |
110
|
15 |
17 |
20 |
22 |
| SpD |
95
|
14 |
16 |
19 |
20 |
| Spe |
79
|
12 |
14 |
17 |
18 |
Overview
Let's be honest here: a cute ice cream cone doesn't really look all that threatening. Maybe if Vanilluxe was a Stay-Puft marshmallow, people would be more afraid of it in battle, but unfortunately, it's stuck melting in the sun. Joking aside, Vanilluxe does have a few things going for it. Its base 110 Special Attack ranks among the top fifteen of NU, and it has passable bulk to boot. However, that's about where the list of Vanilluxe's perks ends. It has an extremely shallow movepool, and its Speed stat falls just short of base 80, the gold standard for NU. Finally, the cherry on top is the fact that Ice is unequivocally the worst defensive typing, so realistically, Vanilluxe has a hard time actually taking advantage of its bulk.
This is the best set Vanilluxe can use in the Neverused metagame. Autotomize doubles Vanilluxe's Speed while also cutting its weight in half—which admittedly isn't all that useful. Regardless, STAB Ice Beam off of base 110 Special Attack will severely maim anything that doesn't resist it. Hidden Power Fighting provides the best single-move coverage with Ice Beam, allowing Vanilluxe to put the hurt on Normal-, Dark-, Ice-, and Rock-types that give it problems, such as Probopass. Substitute rounds out the last slot when using Hidden Power Fighting, which gives Vanilluxe a free turn to boost its Speed with Autotomize if it can force a switch, or will protect it from a powerful blow. Alternatively, Hidden Power Grass can be used over Hidden Power Fighting in order to maim Samurott and Alomomola while still hitting Regirock super effectively.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The EVs given allow Vanilluxe to outspeed base 75 Pokemon with maximum Speed investment and neutral Speed natures, such as Altaria, before a boost. At +2, Vanilluxe outspeeds everything up to +1 base 100 Speed Pokemon, which includes common Choice Scarf users, such as Rotom-S and Braviary. Note that as Hidden Power Fighting has an imperfect Speed IV, 4 extra Speed EVs should be added when using it instead of Hidden Power Grass. The choice between Life Orb and Leftovers is the classic argument between power and survivability. When using Substitute, Leftovers is recommended so Vanilluxe doesn't die too quickly; otherwise, use Life Orb. As for other usable moves, the only really viable option is Flash Cannon, which hits Regirock harder than Hidden Power Grass or Fighting.
Vanilluxe needs quite a bit of support to work effectively. It has huge problems getting past bulky Water-types in general, so Pokemon that can beat them are helpful. Exeggutor and Victreebel, for example, can power through Water-types, while Vanilluxe chases away bulky Grass- and Flying-types that give them trouble. In addition, Vanilluxe has no way to boost its Special Attack, so hazard support of any sort is much appreciated. Garbodor can set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes while tanking Fighting-type attacks easily.
Other Options
You could always change your order to a banana split. Jokes aside, Vanilluxe has few tricks up its cone. The most viable set not listed is one with Rain Dance and Weather Ball, which allows Vanilluxe to be a somewhat decent support Pokemon on a weather team. Frost Breath is an option over Ice Beam on the main set if Calm Mind users such as Misdreavus are problematic, but Vanilluxe will likely lose to them anyway. Taunt is somewhat usable thanks to Vanilluxe's decent Speed; it outpaces all of the common walls in the tier and can stop them from setting up. Vanilluxe has a usable base 95 Attack stat, but the only moves it can really take advantage of are Ice Shard, Icicle Spear, Explosion, and Return, as it is too fast to abuse Avalanche and it really can't take too much of a beating. Ironically, Vanilluxe's only other boosting moves are Iron Defense, Acid Armor, and Harden, which is funny because Ice is a really terrible defensive type. Finally, Vanilluxe can use Light Screen if you're desperate for a food-based team supporter.
Checks and Counters
Vanilluxe is unfortunately slow before a boost, and is outsped by many Pokemon that can either hit it super effectively, or hard enough so that Vanilluxe won't be able to KO in return. Charizard, Sawk, Swellow, Rapidash, Tauros, and Mach Punch Gurdurr are just a few of an extremely long list of Pokemon that can outspeed and KO an unboosted Vanilluxe. After a boost, Vanilluxe becomes much harder to revenge kill, but Charizard in particular won't take much damage from a neutral Hidden Power.
As stated before, bulky Water-types are a problem for Vanilluxe, as it has a hard time getting past Alomomola and Samurott without Hidden Power Grass. In addition, since Vanilluxe has no way to boost its Special Attack, special walls handle it very well. Miltank and Grumpig work especially well, since they both have access to Thick Fat, and Miltank in particular can heal off any damage with Milk Drink. In the same vein, Lickilicky can shrug off any attack Vanilluxe throws at it, and either phaze it with Dragon Tail or put the hurt on it with Body Slam or Return. Finally, most SubCM Pokemon in NU—with the exception of Serperior—will beat Vanilluxe one-on-one.
