Conni
katharsis
[OVERVIEW]
Access to an amazing Special Defense stat alongside a good Defense stat makes Regice an efficient tank on balanced or stall teams. Its bulk allows it to switch into many special attackers such as Sceptile, Vanilluxe, and Vikavolt. Regice is a fantastic status sponge because of it's titanic bulk and access to Rest and Sleep Talk. These defensive attributes in conjunction with Toxic allow it to harass bulky walls such as Mega Audino, Pyukumuku, Cryogonal, and Miltank. Clear Body further complements Regice's viability as a tank due to not being able to have its stats lowered, as otherwise Regice can be rendered more vulnerable or passive, examples of where Clear Body shines is against Vikavolt's Bug Buzz, where it has a chance to lower Special Defense; and Parting Shot from Silvally-Steel. Regice also has good Special Attack which it can use in conjunction with a STAB Ice Beam to hit targets such as Guzzlord, Xatu, Decidueye, and Palossand for super effective damage. This allows Regice to become less passive. Although a single Ice-typing may be good offensively, it is terrible defensively as it leaves Regice weak to Stealth Rock and threatened by common Pokemon such as Incineroar, Hariyama, Passimian, and Steelix, most of which also target Regice's weaker physical defense. Despite Regice having Ice Beam to prevent it from being completely passive, setup sweepers that resist Ice Beam such as Klinklang can still use it as setup bait, although Regice can still do decent damage in return. Regice's sluggish Speed stat means that it'll most likely take hits from Pokemon such as Guzzlord and Vikavolt before it can retaliate. Regice also has potential competition from other Ice-types such as Articuno and Cryogonal due to both Pokemon being faster, having more reliable recovery, and having a better support movepool although both lack the bulk Regice has.
[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Ice Beam
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Clear Body
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 84 SpA / 72 SpD / 52 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Ice Beam is Regice's only attacking move which deals super effective STAB damage to Dragon-, Flying-, Grass-, and Ground-types, it also does decent neutral damage which lessens Regice's passivity to setup sweepers that don't resist Ice such as Braviary and Vivillon. Toxic allows Regice to wear down bulky pivots such as Slowbro and Mega Audino that attempt to switch into Regice. Rest allows Regice to regain full health instantly and clear any threatening status such as Toxic, this allows Regice to sustain its longevity with more efficiency and be able to survive longer than opposing walls. In conjunction with Rest, Sleep Talk allows Regice to become less passive, especially to setup sweepers since when asleep it can still dish out damage with Ice Beam or cripple foes with Toxic. This means Regice can absorb sleep that is set by likes of Vineplume or Vivillon, which is handy to have.
Set Details
========
252 HP, 48 Def, and 76 SpD EVs alongside a Calm nature grant Regice an outstanding special bulk which it can use to effectively tank and avoid being KOed by moves such as Bug Buzz from Choice Scecs Vikavolt after Stealth Rock damage, Fire Blast from Guzzlord without Stealth Rock damage, and Psyshock from AV Slowbro. Regice's offensive EV investments go into its Special Attack so that it can lessen its passiveness and 2HKO Choice Specs Vikavolt and 3HKO Choice Specs Diancie, both after Stealth Rock damage. The remainder of Regice's EVs go into its Speed which makes it able to outspeed Defensive Torterra and Pokemon that have base 50 Speed such as Vileplume and Piloswine. Clear Body is the preferred ability over Ice Body as the former provides more utility, for example, by blocking Parting Shot and preventing Special Defense stat drops from Pokemon such as Sceptile and Vikavolt. Leftovers allows Regice to slowly regain health while present for actions such as forcing switches or spreading status, this means it might not have to use Rest as often and risk being forced out whilst asleep, KOed, or being used as setup bait.
Usage Tips
========
Regice should be switched into special attackers or wallbreakers that can't do threatening damage to it, this includes Vanilluxe (if it's not Choice-locked into Flash Cannon), non-Focus Blast Heliolisk, and AV Slowbro. Regice can stall out these Pokemon with its bulk while also being able to spread status and eventually force switches. When switching in to stall or tank, Regice should be cautious of any predicted plays against it such as coverage like Focus Blast from Heliolisk, or being lured to a Pokemon that is then replaced by a physical attacker such as Medicham, which results in Regice being forced out or being possibly OHKOed. Therefore, threatening physical attackers and Pokemon with harmful coverage should be eliminated to ensure safer switches for Regice. Regice should use Rest with caution as when asleep, it may be threatened by Pokemon that take little damage from Ice Beam, such as Incineroar and Klingklang, respectively. Therefore when Regice's checks have been eliminated, it would be safer to use Rest to clear any status or regain health whilst switching in to stall a Pokemon that can't do much harm. Since Regice carries Sleep Talk, it doesn't mind switching into a predicted Sleep Powder from a sleep inducer such as Vivillion to then threaten it by potentially using a super effective Ice Beam or Toxic, however, this is more safely done once Regice's checks have been eliminated as they may switch into Regice if it's still asleep. Toxic should be used to wear down any foe in general to spread status, preferably early-game, this allows Regice's teammates to sweep or further wear down the opposing team with less difficulty.
Team Options
========
Due to its Ice typing, the common Stealth Rock are a nuisance to Regice's health, therefore, Pokemon such as Blastoise and Golbat make good partners due to being able to remove entry hazards with Rapid Spin and Defog, respectively. Physical walls such as Steelix and Slowking are appreciated as they can deal with physical wallbreakers such as Absol and Medicham who otherwise threaten Regice. In return, it can switch into special attackers such as Slowbro and Whimsicott, who otherwise threaten Steelix and Jellicent. Fire-types such as Incineroar and Houndoom and their powerful wallbreaking capabilities prove threatening to Regice, therefore, Pokemon such as Rhydon and Vaporeon make good teammates as they are able check the former two. Fighting-types such as Medicham and Scrafty are also dangerous foes to Regice due to most being physical attackers that harm its weaker physical defense, this makes Pokemon such as Whimsicott and Braviary exemplar partners as they are able to deal with most threatening Fighting-types. Diancie itself is also a great teammate for Regice due to being able to take care of Fire-types with Rock-type moves, and check Fighting-types with Fairy-type moves while possibly also being able to set Stealth Rock. Lastly, Fighting-types themselves make valuable partners to Regice as they are able to take out threatening Rock- and Steel-types such as Kabutops and Klinklang, respectively.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Alternatively, Regice can run a more offensive set with moves such as Rock Polish, Focus Blast, and Thunderbolt, an EV spread of 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe, and a Fightinium Z. This allows Regice to take advantage of its decent Special Attack and become a threatening setup sweeper while still retaining some of its great special bulk, however, Regice sacrifices the defensive utility of its RestTalk set while being outclassed by Vanilluxe as an offensive Ice-type. Additionally, it is still also outsped by some Choice Scarf users even after a Rock Polish, such as Braviary and Passimian if using a Modest nature, and Delphox and Houndoom if using a Timid nature. Block is an alternative move that Regice can run to Toxic stall walls such as Vaporeon, Slowbro, and Mega Audino, however, Regice must sacrifice a very important moveslot in order to do so.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fighting-types**: Pokemon such as Scrafty and Medicham can outspeed Regice with ease and OHKO it with powerful physical Fighting-type moves. However, most Fighting-types cannot switch into or use Regice as setup bait unless it is asleep as Ice Beam does quite a lot of damage, for example, it can 3HKO Dragon Dance Scrafty. Most Fighting-types such as AV Hariyama don't appreciate Toxic either. Gallade deserves a special mention due to its ability to set up on Regice with Bulk Up + Substitute and being able to tank Ice Beams with its high Special Defense.
**Fire-types**: Fire-type wallbreakers also prove to be great checks to Regice as Pokemon such as Houndoom and Delphox can 3HKO Regice despite using special attacks that Regice can usually take without significant harm due to its titanic Special Defense. Unlike Fighting-types however, Fire-types can usually switch into Regice more comfortably as they are usually able to take more Ice Beams, but still should be wary of Toxic. Incineroar is also an important threat due to it being really common, being able to resist Ice Beam with ease, and use Flare Blitz to KO Regice. Fire-type Taunt users such as Magmortar and the aforementioned Houndoom can completely shut down Regice as long as they don't switch into Toxic, Houndoom can also use this opportunity to set up Nasty Plot as well.
**Rock-types**: Most Rock-type Pokemon in NU also tend to be physical attackers as well and therefore prove threatening to Regice as they are able to take it out with powerful moves while also having enough bulk to take on multiple Ice Beams. Good Rock-type Pokemon to check Regice with include Diancie and Tank Rhydon who can both 2HKO Regice. However, Rock-types such as Aerodactyl should not use Regice as setup bait if it is awake as they risk getting 2HKOed by Ice Beam.
**Steel-types**: Klingklang is the most reliable Steel-type check to Regice, as it is bulky enough to be able to set up on Regice once and then OHKO it with Gear Grind while not minding Toxic at all. If Klinklang is given a free switch into Regice, it can use it as setup bait due to most likely forcing it out as otherwise Regice risks being KOed. Additionally, Klinklang can also use Regice as Substitute bait since it won't be broken in one hit. Other threatening Steel-types include Silvally-Steel and Alolan Sandslash, who can threaten Regice with physical STAB moves; Ferroseed, who can harass Regice with Leech Seed and also setup entry hazards; and Steelix, who may not appreciate multiple Ice Beams but can deal substantial STAB damage and set up Curse on Regice if it is asleep.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [Conni, 319599]]
- Quality checked by: [[Eternally, 295647], [Rabia, 336073], [Punchshroom, 169054]]
- Grammar checked by: [[<username1>, <userid1>], [<username2>, <username2>]]
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