[OVERVIEW]
In a tier where there are few specially bulky Pokemon and non-Water-type Pokemon that resist Ice, Vanilluxe has the appeal of possessing the strongest Freeze-Dry in NU. Vanilluxe has a high Special Attack and a decent Speed stat that allows it to outspeed Ludicolo and Samurott, although it misses out on the base 80 Speed tier, occupied by the likes of Kabutops, Shiftry, Mesprit, and Grumpig. Its workable Attack stat, coupled with moves such as Explosion and Ice Shard, gives it mild utility. Unfortunately, being a pure Ice-type with average Speed plagues Vanilluxe with several weaknesses and no useful resistances to speak of, making it a trying task for it to enter battle safely. Vanilluxe is also mostly outclassed by the numerous available Ice-types in the tier, such as Jynx, Abomasnow, Aurorus, and Lapras. Vanilluxe's coverage is very dismal in comparison, and it offers precisely zero defensive benefit, unlike most of its Ice-type brethren. This narrows down Vanilluxe's niche to to purely being a lure for Pokemon that resist Freeze-Dry, namely Magmortar, Hariyama, and Grumpig, with Explosion.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Freeze-Dry
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Explosion
move 4: Ice Shard / Flash Cannon
item: Life Orb
ability: Ice Body
nature: Rash / Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Freeze-Dry is one of Vanilluxe's best selling points, as its ability to hit Water-types, such as Lanturn, Samurott, and Mantine, super effectively makes it difficult for most cores to resist. Ice Beam gives Vanilluxe more raw power against neutral targets such as Garbodor, Steelix, and Mesprit and is able to 2HKO Aggron despite the resistance. Explosion is crucial for Vanilluxe, as it allows it to KO or deal massive damage to nearly anything that resists both Freeze-Dry and Ice Beam, the primary targets being Thick Fat Hariyama, Assault Vest Magmortar, and Thick Fat Grumpig. However, keep in mind that Explosion sacrifices Vanilluxe, which can be problematic if its Freeze-Dry is still required, and the fact that it can only be used once means Vanilluxe can whiff if the opponent ends up switching to a Ghost-type or a bulky Rock- or Steel-type.
Ice Shard allows Vanilluxe to target faster foes, finishing off weakened ones and threatening those that are weak to Ice, such as Swellow, Archeops, and +1 Lilligant or Vivillon. Flash Cannon allows Vanilluxe to strike Aurorus and Piloswine, which would otherwise shrug off all of Vanilluxe's moves. Frost Breath is an option over Ice Beam to allow Vanilluxe to circumvent bulky Calm Mind users at the cost of a bit of accuracy.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack investment coupled with a Life Orb allows Vanilluxe to do the most damage with its Ice-type attacks and Explosion. Despite Vanilluxe's odd Speed tier, maximum Speed investment is preferred to outrun as much as possible, most notably certain variants of Assault Vest Magmortar. Vanilluxe is also able to outspeed and revenge kill any variant of Samurott, provided it is healthy enough to survive Aqua Jet. A Naive nature can be considered to outrun fast variants of Grumpig and Assault Vest Magmortar to be able to hit them with Explosion while also getting the jump on neutral-natured Shiftry, Kabutops, and Mesprit. The remaining EVs can be placed into Attack to slightly boost the power of Vanilluxe's physical moves. Weak Armor may be considered to have Vanilluxe gain a boost in Speed upon taking a physical hit, but Vanilluxe detests any form of direct damage, and it is usually more worthwhile to have Ice Body to heal off some of Life Orb's recoil whenever hail is active.
Usage Tips
========
Vanilluxe can usually just toss out Freeze-Drys and Ice Beams if the opposing team lacks sufficient Pokemon that resist it, as well as use the occasional Ice Shard to fend off faster Pokemon or pick off weakened ones. If the opponent does have a Freeze-Dry counter, Vanilluxe doesn't really have to be concerned about hitting them on the switch, as it can use its superior Speed to simply target them with Explosion the turn after. Be warned that there is little surprise factor to Explosion, as it is the sole reason Vanilluxe is used. Therefore, expect the opponent to be aware of Explosion and to attempt to bait it by pulling consecutive switches, making Vanilluxe waste its Explosion on an unintended target. Vanilluxe is meant to be played as offensively as possible with little to no concern regarding its longevity or survival, particularly by capitalizing on Explosion; attempting to play Vanilluxe more conservatively probably means your team may be better off with the likes of Abomasnow (particularly Wood Hammer variants) and Lapras.
Team Options
========
Vanilluxe can deal massive damage to some of the tier's bulkiest Fire-resistant Pokemon with either Freeze-Dry or Explosion. This makes Fire-type Pokemon, such as Pyroar, Charizard, Combusken, and Magmortar, some of the most appealing teammates, as they can start picking off the opponent's team after Vanilluxe removes or cripples their obstacles. Due to the way Vanilluxe is played, counters to some of Vanilluxe's bulkier switch-ins, such as Hariyama and Magmortar, are usually not necessary. However, it is still crucial to run switch-ins against faster threats to Vanilluxe, such as Pyroar, Charizard, and Primeape. The likes of Mantine and Sliggoo help keep Fire-types at bay, while Pokemon such as Gourgeist-XL, Weezing, Vileplume, and Rotom can handle most of the faster physical attackers Vanilluxe has trouble with.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Deviating from the current moveset listed above would make Vanilluxe obsolete compared to other Ice-types. While Hidden Power Ground may be considered to hit frailer Fire-types without needing to resort to Explosion, the likes of Earth Power Aurorus, Earthquake Abomasnow, and Hydro Pump Lapras should be considered instead. Hidden Power Ground also does pitiful damage to Assault Vest Magmortar, which defeats one of the main reasons to even use Vanilluxe in the first place. Other moves such as Taunt, Magic Coat, Mirror Coat, and Toxic usually aren't used very well by Vanilluxe and have no place on its moveset anyway.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ice-type Pokemon**: Most Ice-types, such as Aurorus, Piloswine, Jynx, Cryogonal, Regice, Rotom-F, and Articuno, have the bulk to repeatedly take Vanilluxe's STAB moves, and Aurorus and Piloswine can even stomach an Explosion. They can retaliate with their alternate STAB attacks, target Vanilluxe with super effective coverage, or even simply attempt to stall it out, forcing it to either switch or prematurely use Explosion. However, they don't appreciate taking Flash Cannons.
**Fire-type Pokemon**: The likes of Pyroar, Charizard, speedy Magmortar, and Ninetales can check or revenge kill Vanilluxe. Eviolite Combusken, Assault Vest Magmortar, and Ninetales even have the special bulk to take repeated Ice-type hits fairly comfortably. None of them want to take an Explosion, although Vanilluxe wants to tread carefully around Combusken's Protect.
**Thick Fat Pokemon**: Thick Fat Miltank is an extremely hard counter to Vanilluxe, and it can easily stomach the Explosion and Milk Drink all the damage away. Faster variants of Grumpig only really fear Explosion on the switch, as they can outpace Vanilluxe and KO it with Focus Blast before Vanilluxe can blow up.
**Steel-type Pokemon**: While few Steel-types in the tier have the bulk to comfortably tank Vanilluxe's STAB moves, they usually aren't at risk of being KOed and can return fire with their super effective Steel-type moves, which should finish Vanilluxe. Klinklang and Metang boast being able to withstand Vanilluxe's hits exceptionally well. Steel-types can easily take Explosion too, so their presence alone can make things tricky for Vanilluxe.
**Ghost-type Pokemon**: The presence of Ghost-types can put Vanilluxe in a difficult spot, as there is a very real risk of them switching in on Vanilluxe's Explosion. Faster Ghost-types are especially problematic for Vanilluxe; Mismagius and Rotom can burn Vanilluxe to weaken its Explosion or power up their own Hex while being able to survive a hit from Vanilluxe, whereas Haunter can do a lot of immediate damage or end Vanilluxe prematurely with Destiny Bond.
**Offensive Pressure**: Vanilluxe's poor typing and average bulk mean it doesn't want to take any direct attacks. Faster attackers such as Primeape, Tauros, Kabutops, Kangaskhan, Pinsir, and Zangoose can take down Vanilluxe with little effort. While some faster Pokemon are vulnerable to Ice Shard, such as Shiftry, Vivillon, and Swellow, they can still do massive damage to if not outright KO Vanilluxe if they survive the hit. Bulkier Pokemon such as Hitmonchan, Throh, Steelix, Ferroseed, Musharna, and Mega Audino can survive Vanilluxe's blows and threaten with super effective STAB attacks or status conditions, though sometimes they may end up prompting an Explosion from Vanilluxe.
In a tier where there are few specially bulky Pokemon and non-Water-type Pokemon that resist Ice, Vanilluxe has the appeal of possessing the strongest Freeze-Dry in NU. Vanilluxe has a high Special Attack and a decent Speed stat that allows it to outspeed Ludicolo and Samurott, although it misses out on the base 80 Speed tier, occupied by the likes of Kabutops, Shiftry, Mesprit, and Grumpig. Its workable Attack stat, coupled with moves such as Explosion and Ice Shard, gives it mild utility. Unfortunately, being a pure Ice-type with average Speed plagues Vanilluxe with several weaknesses and no useful resistances to speak of, making it a trying task for it to enter battle safely. Vanilluxe is also mostly outclassed by the numerous available Ice-types in the tier, such as Jynx, Abomasnow, Aurorus, and Lapras. Vanilluxe's coverage is very dismal in comparison, and it offers precisely zero defensive benefit, unlike most of its Ice-type brethren. This narrows down Vanilluxe's niche to to purely being a lure for Pokemon that resist Freeze-Dry, namely Magmortar, Hariyama, and Grumpig, with Explosion.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Freeze-Dry
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Explosion
move 4: Ice Shard / Flash Cannon
item: Life Orb
ability: Ice Body
nature: Rash / Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Freeze-Dry is one of Vanilluxe's best selling points, as its ability to hit Water-types, such as Lanturn, Samurott, and Mantine, super effectively makes it difficult for most cores to resist. Ice Beam gives Vanilluxe more raw power against neutral targets such as Garbodor, Steelix, and Mesprit and is able to 2HKO Aggron despite the resistance. Explosion is crucial for Vanilluxe, as it allows it to KO or deal massive damage to nearly anything that resists both Freeze-Dry and Ice Beam, the primary targets being Thick Fat Hariyama, Assault Vest Magmortar, and Thick Fat Grumpig. However, keep in mind that Explosion sacrifices Vanilluxe, which can be problematic if its Freeze-Dry is still required, and the fact that it can only be used once means Vanilluxe can whiff if the opponent ends up switching to a Ghost-type or a bulky Rock- or Steel-type.
Ice Shard allows Vanilluxe to target faster foes, finishing off weakened ones and threatening those that are weak to Ice, such as Swellow, Archeops, and +1 Lilligant or Vivillon. Flash Cannon allows Vanilluxe to strike Aurorus and Piloswine, which would otherwise shrug off all of Vanilluxe's moves. Frost Breath is an option over Ice Beam to allow Vanilluxe to circumvent bulky Calm Mind users at the cost of a bit of accuracy.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack investment coupled with a Life Orb allows Vanilluxe to do the most damage with its Ice-type attacks and Explosion. Despite Vanilluxe's odd Speed tier, maximum Speed investment is preferred to outrun as much as possible, most notably certain variants of Assault Vest Magmortar. Vanilluxe is also able to outspeed and revenge kill any variant of Samurott, provided it is healthy enough to survive Aqua Jet. A Naive nature can be considered to outrun fast variants of Grumpig and Assault Vest Magmortar to be able to hit them with Explosion while also getting the jump on neutral-natured Shiftry, Kabutops, and Mesprit. The remaining EVs can be placed into Attack to slightly boost the power of Vanilluxe's physical moves. Weak Armor may be considered to have Vanilluxe gain a boost in Speed upon taking a physical hit, but Vanilluxe detests any form of direct damage, and it is usually more worthwhile to have Ice Body to heal off some of Life Orb's recoil whenever hail is active.
Usage Tips
========
Vanilluxe can usually just toss out Freeze-Drys and Ice Beams if the opposing team lacks sufficient Pokemon that resist it, as well as use the occasional Ice Shard to fend off faster Pokemon or pick off weakened ones. If the opponent does have a Freeze-Dry counter, Vanilluxe doesn't really have to be concerned about hitting them on the switch, as it can use its superior Speed to simply target them with Explosion the turn after. Be warned that there is little surprise factor to Explosion, as it is the sole reason Vanilluxe is used. Therefore, expect the opponent to be aware of Explosion and to attempt to bait it by pulling consecutive switches, making Vanilluxe waste its Explosion on an unintended target. Vanilluxe is meant to be played as offensively as possible with little to no concern regarding its longevity or survival, particularly by capitalizing on Explosion; attempting to play Vanilluxe more conservatively probably means your team may be better off with the likes of Abomasnow (particularly Wood Hammer variants) and Lapras.
Team Options
========
Vanilluxe can deal massive damage to some of the tier's bulkiest Fire-resistant Pokemon with either Freeze-Dry or Explosion. This makes Fire-type Pokemon, such as Pyroar, Charizard, Combusken, and Magmortar, some of the most appealing teammates, as they can start picking off the opponent's team after Vanilluxe removes or cripples their obstacles. Due to the way Vanilluxe is played, counters to some of Vanilluxe's bulkier switch-ins, such as Hariyama and Magmortar, are usually not necessary. However, it is still crucial to run switch-ins against faster threats to Vanilluxe, such as Pyroar, Charizard, and Primeape. The likes of Mantine and Sliggoo help keep Fire-types at bay, while Pokemon such as Gourgeist-XL, Weezing, Vileplume, and Rotom can handle most of the faster physical attackers Vanilluxe has trouble with.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Deviating from the current moveset listed above would make Vanilluxe obsolete compared to other Ice-types. While Hidden Power Ground may be considered to hit frailer Fire-types without needing to resort to Explosion, the likes of Earth Power Aurorus, Earthquake Abomasnow, and Hydro Pump Lapras should be considered instead. Hidden Power Ground also does pitiful damage to Assault Vest Magmortar, which defeats one of the main reasons to even use Vanilluxe in the first place. Other moves such as Taunt, Magic Coat, Mirror Coat, and Toxic usually aren't used very well by Vanilluxe and have no place on its moveset anyway.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ice-type Pokemon**: Most Ice-types, such as Aurorus, Piloswine, Jynx, Cryogonal, Regice, Rotom-F, and Articuno, have the bulk to repeatedly take Vanilluxe's STAB moves, and Aurorus and Piloswine can even stomach an Explosion. They can retaliate with their alternate STAB attacks, target Vanilluxe with super effective coverage, or even simply attempt to stall it out, forcing it to either switch or prematurely use Explosion. However, they don't appreciate taking Flash Cannons.
**Fire-type Pokemon**: The likes of Pyroar, Charizard, speedy Magmortar, and Ninetales can check or revenge kill Vanilluxe. Eviolite Combusken, Assault Vest Magmortar, and Ninetales even have the special bulk to take repeated Ice-type hits fairly comfortably. None of them want to take an Explosion, although Vanilluxe wants to tread carefully around Combusken's Protect.
**Thick Fat Pokemon**: Thick Fat Miltank is an extremely hard counter to Vanilluxe, and it can easily stomach the Explosion and Milk Drink all the damage away. Faster variants of Grumpig only really fear Explosion on the switch, as they can outpace Vanilluxe and KO it with Focus Blast before Vanilluxe can blow up.
**Steel-type Pokemon**: While few Steel-types in the tier have the bulk to comfortably tank Vanilluxe's STAB moves, they usually aren't at risk of being KOed and can return fire with their super effective Steel-type moves, which should finish Vanilluxe. Klinklang and Metang boast being able to withstand Vanilluxe's hits exceptionally well. Steel-types can easily take Explosion too, so their presence alone can make things tricky for Vanilluxe.
**Ghost-type Pokemon**: The presence of Ghost-types can put Vanilluxe in a difficult spot, as there is a very real risk of them switching in on Vanilluxe's Explosion. Faster Ghost-types are especially problematic for Vanilluxe; Mismagius and Rotom can burn Vanilluxe to weaken its Explosion or power up their own Hex while being able to survive a hit from Vanilluxe, whereas Haunter can do a lot of immediate damage or end Vanilluxe prematurely with Destiny Bond.
**Offensive Pressure**: Vanilluxe's poor typing and average bulk mean it doesn't want to take any direct attacks. Faster attackers such as Primeape, Tauros, Kabutops, Kangaskhan, Pinsir, and Zangoose can take down Vanilluxe with little effort. While some faster Pokemon are vulnerable to Ice Shard, such as Shiftry, Vivillon, and Swellow, they can still do massive damage to if not outright KO Vanilluxe if they survive the hit. Bulkier Pokemon such as Hitmonchan, Throh, Steelix, Ferroseed, Musharna, and Mega Audino can survive Vanilluxe's blows and threaten with super effective STAB attacks or status conditions, though sometimes they may end up prompting an Explosion from Vanilluxe.
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