Ice-Type Pokemon Strengths and Weaknesses

We’ve put together a full guide to ice-type Pokemon including their strengths and resistances.
We’ve put together a full guide to ice-type Pokemon including their strengths and resistances. / Nintendo, The Pokemon Company

We’ve put together a full guide to ice-type Pokemon including their strengths and resistances.

Ice-type Pokemon are a common sight in the franchise. Several species share it in some form or another, including the elegant Dewgong from Generation I and the hardy Walrein from Generation III.

There are 51 unique ice-types species in the whole franchise making up 5.59% of all Pokemon. This makes them the rarest type to date.

What is an Ice-type Pokemon?

Ice-type Pokemon are not much to write home about anymore. They were one of the strongest counters to dragon-types before the advent of fairy-types despite not being resistant to dragons in turn. They also have a one-hit KO move, Sheer Cold, that can end battles long before they properly begin.

Examples of ice-types include Beartic, Vanilluxe, Glalie, Avalugg, Abomasnow, Lapras, and Dewgong.

Ice-type Weaknesses

Ice-types are the least resistant type in the game as they are only resistant to themselves.

These Pokemon take super effective from:

They deal half-damage to:

  • Fire-types
  • Ice-types
  • Water-types
  • Steel-types

Ice-type Strengths and Resistances

While ice-types are only resistant to themselves, they do have an assortment of in-battle conditions that they are immune to. For example, as of Generation III, they cannot be frozen and as of Generation VII they are immune to Sheer Cold. Additionally, they cannot be affected by hail.

Ice-types deal super effective damage to:

  • Dragon-types
  • Flying-types
  • Ground-types
  • Grass-types

They take half-damage from:

  • Ice-types

Best Counters for Ice-type Pokemon

The best counter choices against ice-types would be any fire and steel-types or any combination of them. This is due to the fact that fire and steel-types both perform super effective damage and take half damage from ice-types.

Therefore, the best counter choice is Heatran. However, trainers can also rely on pure fire-types like Arcanine, pure steel-types like Copperajah, or a mix of other super-effective types such as Lucario, Incineroar, and Aggron.


Those interested in learning more about Pokemon types should check out our type guides: