[OVERVIEW]
Regice's extreme bulk makes it a good general response to special attackers that can't hit it super effectively, such as Samurott, Swellow, and most Sceptile variants. Its pure Ice typing, while giving it weaknesses to key attacking types such as Fire, Fighting, and Rock, also makes it one of the best switch-ins to Ice-type attacks from dangerous wallbreakers such as Aurorus and Abomasnow, as it's not bothered by Freeze-Dry, unlike most Water-types. While Regice is mostly outclassed by these two as an offensive Ice-type, its much better defensive stats and relative lack of crippling weaknesses make it more effective as a bulky pivot that can both throw out powerful Ice Beams and cripple incoming responses with Thunder Wave, Toxic, or a coverage move. In particular, Regice is one of the most consistent Thunder Wave users due to it threatening most of the typical responses to the move, such as Ground-types and bulky tanks like Assault Vest Hariyama and Magmortar, with either a super effective Ice Beam or a crippling Toxic. However, Regice's low Speed, vulnerability to physical Fighting-type attacks, and weakness to Stealth Rock make it struggle to pivot into offensive teams reliably without good team support.
[SET]
name: Tank
move 1: Ice Beam
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Focus Blast / Toxic
move 4: Thunder Wave
item: Leftovers
ability: Clear Body
nature: Modest
evs: 216 HP / 252 SpA / 40 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Ice Beam is a reliable STAB attack that Regice can use to hit most of the tier for good damage without any drawbacks. Thunderbolt lets Regice hit Water-types such as Samurott and Omastar for super effective damage, doing particularly well against Mantine and Pelipper. It also lands a reliable neutral hit on Fire-types, dealing a lot of damage to Charizard in particular. Focus Blast completes Regice's coverage by hitting other Ice-types harder, particularly Aurorus and Abomasnow, while also hitting many Pokemon that resist BoltBeam coverage, such as Piloswine and Rotom-F, as well as generally bulky foes such as Regirock for good damage. Toxic can also be used to deter defensive threats such as Lanturn, Hariyama, and Grumpig, as well as setup sweepers such as Mega Audino, from attempting to take advantage of Regice's slight lack of power. Thunder Wave lets Regice paralyze opposing Pokemon reliably, making threats such as Ludicolo and Tauros vulnerable to a follow-up attack, as Regice outspeeds them, or making them a target for a teammate to pick off later. Alternatively, Protect can be used alongside Toxic, netting Regice more Leftovers recovery and racking up Toxic damage on bulky foes such as Musharna that Regice can't deal with otherwise.
Set Details
========
40 Speed EVs allow Regice to outspeed Gourgeist-XL and hit it with Ice Beam before it can respond with Will-O-Wisp or Leech Seed. Maximum Special Attack investment alongside a Modest nature maximizes Regice's damage output, and the remaining EVs are invested in HP to improve Regice's general bulk, letting it take even powerful super effective hits such as Pyroar's Fire Blast. Leftovers is necessary to compensate for Regice's lack of recovery, ensuring it can act as a pivot for a larger portion of the game. Clear Body, while situational, is useful to let Regice switch into Memento users with impunity and hopefully stop any setup sweepers that switch in by using Thunder Wave or Toxic afterwards. It also prevents defensive stat drops from certain attacks such as Razor Shell and Psychic.
Usage Tips
========
Regice should switch into special attackers that can't threaten it, such as Sceptile lacking Focus Blast, Ludicolo, and Swellow. It should then either use Thunder Wave to paralyze them or the opponent's switch-in, or use Ice Beam or a coverage move to go straight for the KO if status has already been inflicted on them. Thunder Wave should also be used if the opponent sends in a setup sweeper that can't block the move, to either cripple the Pokemon or stop it from setting up altogether if it switches. It's also a good move to throw out in general when the opponent has a Fire-type Pokemon that they are likely to switch in. Toxic should be used when the opponent brings in a bulky wall or setup sweeper to try to take advantage of Regice's modest damage output, and Regice can then chip away at it with Ice Beam or switch to a more appropriate teammate to take advantage of the crippled foe. Regice should be preserved for later if Stealth Rock is present on its side of the field, as losing 25% of its health every time it switches in is extremely detrimental, especially if the opponent packs a consistent response to Regice, such as Lanturn. Even though Regice has a good Defense stat, it takes enough damage from physical attackers to prevent it being an effective pivot against things it normally beats such as Swellow and Sceptile in the late-game, so use it against them only if absolutely necessary.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard control is highly appreciated so that Regice can keep switching into foes throughout the battle and attack or spread status effectively. Pelipper and Mantine can use Defog and resist Fire- and Fighting-type attacks while appreciating Regice's resistance to Freeze-Dry. Hitmonchan and Claydol can use Rapid Spin while dealing with Steel-types more effectively and resisting Rock-type attacks. Physically defensive partners are useful for handling foes that can exploit Regice's weaker Defense stat. Mesprit and Musharna can deal with Fighting-types reliably, while Weezing can also use Will-O-Wisp to cripple physical attackers and Taunt to shut down setup sweepers such as Mega Audino. Steelix also makes for an excellent response to Calm Mind Psychic-types, such as Musharna and Mesprit, that can set up on Regice lacking Toxic. Slow wallbreakers highly appreciate Regice paralyzing fast offensive threats that could otherwise beat them, such as Swellow and Sceptile. Magmortar and Samurott can handle other Ice- and Fire-types, respectively, and will take chunks out of most switch-ins with their powerful STAB attacks. Fire-types such as Pyroar appreciate Regice's ability to cripple common defensive switch-ins such as Hariyama and Lanturn with Toxic, while also dealing with faster offensive threats such as Swellow and Sceptile that can otherwise outspeed and KO it.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Frost Breath has slightly lower accuracy than Ice Beam but always lands a critical hit, bypassing defensive boosts from Calm Mind users such as Musharna and Mesprit. A RestTalk set is generally too passive to be effective, lacking either coverage or Thunder Wave, but Sleep Talk is a decent choice on its own, as Regice is a pretty good response to sleep inducers such as Lilligant and Vivillon. A Rock Polish set with a Life Orb or Weakness Policy can be used as a late-game sweeper and finds many opportunities to set up due to Regice's good bulk and lack of 4x weaknesses compared to Aurorus. However, it lacks consistency and can be revenge killed even once boosted by Choice Scarf users such as Primeape. Choice Specs can be used to turn Regice into a bulky wallbreaker, but it is quite easy to exploit once its chosen attack has been revealed, lacks the support utility of the other sets, and is usually outclassed by Aurorus.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-type Pokemon**: Fire-types can generally switch into Regice's STAB attacks with ease and force it out with their own super effective STAB attacks. Magmortar takes very little damage from Ice Beam and deals a ton back to it and most switch-ins with Fire Blast, while Camerupt can switch into Thunder Wave with impunity. However, most Fire-types are crippled by status, and Pyroar can be OHKOed easily by a well-timed Focus Blast.
**Fighting-type Pokemon**: Regice's Fighting-type weakness means that physical Fighting-types can usually outspeed it and force it out. Hariyama in particular tanks Ice Beam thanks to Thick Fat and takes very little damage from Regice due to Assault Vest; alternatively, it gains a big power boost from Thunder Wave if it runs Guts instead. However, Toxic can wear Hariyama down significantly.
**Lanturn**: Lanturn can take any attack Regice throws at it, with even Focus Blast doing only minor damage, and it recovers HP when hit by Thunder Wave. It can then cripple Regice with Toxic or just pivot out with Volt Switch as Regice is forced out. Even if Regice runs Toxic, Lanturn can use Heal Bell to remove it, allowing a teammate such as Klinklang to switch in as Regice tries to inflict Toxic again.
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Other bulky Pokemon in general that don't mind Thunder Wave are also good responses to Regice. Grumpig can take Ice Beam with impunity and use Taunt to stop Regice from spreading status, while Mega Audino can perform clerical duties unimpeded or set up Calm Mind against Regice without Toxic. Musharna enjoys switching into Thunder Wave thanks to both Synchronize and the paralysis preventing it from being stopped by Toxic users, and can also set up Calm Mind for days against Regice that lack Toxic regardless. Malamar also avoids the 3HKO from Ice Beam and can set up easily with Superpower.
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