Not all ice-type Pokemon are the best, but these ones have amazing designs.
Some players in the Pokemon series haven’t always been the biggest fans of Ice-type Pokemon. There weren’t many pure Ice-type Pokémon to use in fight for a while, and the ones that were there didn’t have the best coverage. But as more pure and dual-type Pokemon have been added over the years and new generations have passed, Ice-type Pokemon have become a powerful force, especially when fighting Dragon-type Pokemon.
Ice-type Pokemon also have some of the most creative forms of all the Pokemon. This type can be inspired by a small number of things, but there are dozens of mythical creatures, natural events, and animals that live in colder areas.
Mamoswine
Mamoswine, like the rest of its evolutionary line, is based on the wooly mammoth. Its nose and size are similar to those of a pig. Mamoswine’s tusks are made of ice, even though they don’t look like it. This is shown in its Pokedex records in Diamond and Pearl. In Shield, this trait of Mamoswine is made clearer by showing that its ice teeth get bigger when it gets colder.
The shape of Mamoswine is just like its name. It goes a different way so that it doesn’t look too much like an elephant, which the mammoth is a distant relative of.
Baxcalibur
Baxcalibur is called the Ice Dragon Pokemon, and it looks just like its name. On its back, it has a strong ice axe. It is big and tall, like Japanese Kaiju monsters. Godzilla and other big monsters like Anguirus and Gamera live in this genre, along with other monsters like Gamera and Anguirus.
But compared to other Pokemon, Baxcalibur isn’t really that big. It is only 6 feet tall, which is much shorter than Pokemon like Eternatus, which is 65 feet tall, or Wailord, which is 47 feet tall. Even so, Baxcalibur looks like the Kaiju monsters and dinosaurs Spinosaurus and Stegosaurus because of the plate on its back and the triangular shapes on its chest that lead to its tail.
Alolan Sandslash
Sandslash from Kanto is a pure Ground type, but Sandslash from Alolan is both Ice and Steel. Both are called “Mouse Pokemon,” and both are based on animals with armor, such as pangolins and armadillos. Sandslash’s spikes are like the barbs on a porcupine’s body, which it uses to protect itself from enemies.
Alolan Sandslash takes this idea and makes it work for its Ice/Steel type. Even though it doesn’t look like it, this Pokemon has steel spikes under the icicles on its back, making it even deadlier than its Kantonian cousin. According to its Pokedex description in Sword, Alolan Sandslash doesn’t use its hooked claws to dig into the ground. Instead, it uses them to cut paths through the snow.
Cubchoo
Cubchoo is clearly based on a polar bear cub, but it is different in one obvious way: it has disgustingly cute snot hanging out of its nose. The slime comes from the fact that it lives in a cold place and is a baby Pokemon.
This decision is important to Cubchoo’s strength. The Black Pokedex says that when it’s sick, its mucus gets watery and its Ice-type moves are less strong. In White, more is said about this. When Cubchoo is healthy, its snot is sticky and its Ice-type moves hit hard.
Alolan Vulpix
Alolan Vulpix, also known as the Fox Pokemon, changes from being a Fire-type Pokemon to an Ice-type Pokemon. It has the same body shape as its Kantonian cousin, but its paws, eyes, and ears are all ice blue. The tail of Alolan Vulpix looks more like one big piece of fur than a bunch of separate tails. It looks like powdered snow.
This version of Vulpix may be based on the arctic fox, which, according to National Geographic, has pure white or blue-gray fur in the winter that helps it hide. In the same way, Alolan Vulpix’s colors help it fit in with its home on Mount Lanakila.
Aurorus
Hitoshi Ariga made Aurorus’s form on purpose to match the way Tyrantrum evolved. Aurorus is based on the Sauropod dinosaur Amargasaurus. Its Ice-type is shown by its icy blue color scheme and the diamond-shaped crystals of ice that cover its body and head. The X Pokedex says that these rocks release air that is very cold.
The sail-like parts on Aurorus’s head, which are also found on Amargasaurus, are its most distinctive trait. In this case, they are meant to look like the aurora borealis, which is a natural event. The Aurorus article in the Sword Pokedex says that its howls cause the Northern Lights to appear in the night sky.
Froslass
At first glance, Froslass doesn’t seem like a very dangerous person. But when you look at it more closely and notice that it doesn’t have legs, Froslass is a pretty scary Pokemon. In the Moon Pokedex description for this Pokemon, it says that Froslass is made when a woman’s soul enters an icicle. It feeds on the souls of men. This has to do with the Japanese tale of the Yuki-onna, a spirit that hunts travelers who get lost in the snow.
Even the fact that Froslass is the haunted soul of a woman fits with the story of the Backrooms Game. And like Glalie, the other creature that evolved from it, it looks like a piece of ice that is aware.
Glaceon
Unlike Leafeon, an Eeveelution from Sinnoh, Glaceon’s design makes it less clear that it is an Ice-type. Its light and dark blue color shows that it needs a cold place to live in order to grow. Compared to other Eeveelutions, it’s not as clear what it means. But Glaceon’s form is made up of triangles and lines that look like ice crystals and shards.
Its name comes from a glacier, of course. The style as a whole is very simple, but it is still beautiful and interesting. Glaceon makes snow and ice that are the same.
Chien-Pao
Along with Wo-Chien, Ting-Lu, and Chi-Yu, Chien-Pao is one of the four Treasures of Ruin that can be found in the Paldea area. Its Pokedex description in Violet says that it is the hatred of those who were killed by the sword a long time ago. Chien-Pao sounds like a mountain lion, but it looks more like a snow leopard or a saber-toothed tiger. Which is what the ancient Smilodon was called. Weasels and Chien-Pao both have long bodies, like Chien-Pao.
Chien-Pao might have been inspired by the Four Perils of Chinese mythology. Like the other Treasures of Ruin, most likely Qiongqi and Taowu. The Hong Kong tourist guide Localiiz says that Taowu looks like a tiger “covered in dog fur.”
Alolan Ninetales
Both Kantonian and Alolan Ninetales are called the Fox Pokemon, just like Kantonian and Alolan Vulpix. According to its Pokedex description in Moon, this regional Ninetales has a calm personality and was once worshipped as a god. This is different from Ninetales in Kanto, which can be mean.
This can be seen in the way Alolan Ninetales looks, like a ghost, with its fluffy fur on its nine tails and the way the fur on its head flows down. Alolan Ninetales may be based on Poli’ahu. The Hawaiian goddess of snow, as well as the Finnish story of the Firefox. It is said that the second one “whipped snow crystals into the sky” with its flaming tail, which set the sky on fire.
