The Wake-Up Call That Started It All
So, I jumped into a ranked battle yesterday feeling pretty confident, right? My trusty Garchomp out front. Boom, opponent sends out a dang Mamoswine. Ice Shard. One hit. My Garchomp just collapsed. Fainted instantly. I felt so stupid sitting there staring at my screen. Like, come on! Ice beats Dragon? Ground too? Why didn’t I remember that? Totally got wrecked that whole match. Felt worse than losing to a kid using just a Magikarp.
My Dumb Trial and Error Phase
Okay, I needed answers. First thing? Just started throwing different Pokémon at random Ice types in random online battles. Spoiler: It sucked. Lost like five battles straight.
- Mistake #1: Sent out my Salamence next time I saw an Ice type. Another Ice Shard, another faint. Apparently Dragons just melt.
- Mistake #2: Tried my powerful Flygon. Got hit with an Ice Beam. Yeah, it survived… barely. Then got frozen solid next turn. Useless.
- Mistake #3: Switched to Dragonite. Hoping Multiscale would save me. Heavy Slam from a big Ice type crushed it anyway. Slow clap for me.
Kept getting smashed because Ice moves hit so many things super hard – Dragons, Flying, Ground, Grass. Everything I liked using! Was ready to yeet my Switch.
Actually Researching Like a Grown-Up
Fine, fine. Stopped raging and actually looked stuff up. Needed to know why Ice was kicking my butt and how to kick back.
- Why Ice Hurts So Bad: It doesn’t resist much, sure. But offensively? It blasts Dragons (bye Salamence!), Ground (sorry Garchomp!), Flying (peace out Dragonite!), and Grass. That’s a lot of common types!
- The Secret Sauce: Ice types crumple like paper against Fire, obviously. But also against Fighting, Rock, and especially Steel. Steel resists Ice moves! Game changer.
Felt dumb realizing I barely had any Steel or Fire types actually built up in my roster. My team was a buffet table for Ice types.
Building a Real Anti-Ice Team (Finally)
Time to stop sucking. Went hunting in my boxes:
- Scizor: This guy became my new best friend. Bug/Steel typing? Bullet Punch Technician? Steel resists Ice moves beautifully. Plus, Bullet Punch is priority and hits hard. Slapped on a Choice Band. Done.
- Heatran: Dug up my old Heatran. Fire/Steel? Double resistance to Ice! Flash Cannon and Magma Storm wreck Ice types. Felt solid having this anchor.
- Conkeldurr: Needed a Fighting type powerhouse. Mach Punch for priority, Drain Punch to stay healthy, and it smacks Ice types silly. Super reliable.
Started actively switching intelligently too. Saw an Ice type? Immediately brought Scizor or Heatran in to take the hit safely. Suddenly, that Ice Shard hitting Scizor barely scratched it. The power of resists! Who knew?
The Sweet Taste of Victory
Took my shiny new anti-Ice squad into another ranked battle. Saw that familiar Mamoswine. My turn to grin. Swapped straight into Scizor. Ice Shard landed… “Not very effective.” Yeah! Bullet Punch back. Took a big chunk. Opponent switched, but I’d won the momentum. Ended up winning clean because my team wasn’t scared of Ice anymore. Didn’t just win – dominated. Felt like I’d finally figured something out instead of just mashing buttons hoping for luck. Turns out, knowledge really is power. Or at least, using the right typing is!
