Within the realms of Pokémon, the Ice-typing often gets a reputation for being the worst of the bunch. It has four weaknesses and just one resistance to Ice itself. However, over the years, strategies and trends have arisen to make Ice-types more viable, namely in Hail or Snow teams boosting speed and accuracy for Ice-types.
Despite its reputation, there are still plenty of memorable Ice-type Pokémon out there, to the point that there are various honorable mentions when considering the most iconic. Jynx garnered its controversies, while Froslass and Glalie proved to be popular alternative evolutions for Snorunt. The wide world of Pokémon has many iconic Ice-types out there, like Abomasnow and Glaceon.
10 Swinub
Introduced in Gen II, Swinub brought some much-needed bulk to the Ice-typing while helping to beef up the Ground-type roster at the same time. Swinub is the adorable Pig Pokémon, with its snug design and cute cry backing this up.
As evolution would dictate, Swinub gets even more powerful with its evolutions, from Piloswine to the Gen IV addition in Mamoswine. Swinub is not an ideal option in a fight, with it only having an immunity to Electric and resistance to Poison, but it is still memorable and widely beloved.
9 Dewgong
As far as Gen I Pokémon go, Seel and Dewgong can easily get lost in the shuffle. Their simple designs and names border on the generic and uninspired. Yet, with all the wacky designs and names that have since followed in subsequent generations, this link to normality has actually helped keep them relevant.
Other than being used by Mahogany Town Gym Leader Pryce and occasionally by Goh in Journeys, Dewgong has been underused in the anime. The Water/Ice-type Sea Lion Pokémon could easily be seen as the ultimate underdog in a battle. However, its poor stats, type matchups, and movepool see it barely used, despite still being an iconic and original Pokémon.
8 Abomasnow
Abomasnow was the driving force of the Hail meta in competitive play, and, to a lesser extent, when it changed to Snow in the Gen IX games Scarlet & Violet. Abomasnow and its previous form, Snover, are the only dual Grass/Ice-types in the Pokémon franchise, which isn’t too surprising, given its seven type weaknesses.
Regardless, Abomasnow is a powerhouse that can utilize Mega Evolution and has been a frequent presence since its introduction in Gen IV. Two Ice-type Gym Leaders in Candice and Wulfric got to show off Abomasnow in the Pokémon anime, with them both getting knockouts against Ash.
7 Cloyster
As with Dewgong and Lapras, Cloyster is another Gen I Water/Ice-type Pokémon. While the typing is nothing to brag about, Cloyster has a certain viciousness about it, backed up by its menacing design and a better base stat total than Dewgong, even if it narrowly loses to Lapras in that regard.
Cloyster is the evolved form of Shellder and is known for its impressive physical Defense stat of 180, making it seriously bulky. Cloyster’s anime showings haven’t been too frequent or impressive, but Prima/Lorelei’s did pick up an easy victory over Ash’s Pikachu back in the Orange Islands arc.
6 Glaceon
Eevee’s gimmick as the Evolution Pokémon has naturally made all of its evolved forms into iconic and memorable species. Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon led the way back in Gen I, with Umbreon and Espeon joining in Gen II, and it didn’t stop there.
Despite these Eeveelutions being in the Pokémon franchise longer, the later additions of Leafeon, Sylveon, and Glaceon integrated into the roster quickly and are all also memorable in their own right. Glaceon is an iconic Eevee evolution, but it is also a standard-bearer for the Ice-typing. May even used one in the anime to help its popularity soar further.
5 Regice
Articuno got the ball rolling with Ice-type Legendary Pokémon and deserves to be held in a category of its own. Still, when looking at the others in Kyurem, Chien-Pao, Ice Rider Calyrex, and Regice, the latter deserves the most recognition. Regice is a part of the iconic trio of Legendary titans, introduced back in Gen III.
Regice has had an unusual showing in the anime. Regice was used by Frontier Brain Brandon during the Battler Frontier arc and established itself as a powerful threat despite eventually losing to Ash’s Pikachu.
4 Lapras
Lapras is one of the more iconic and recognizable aquatic Pokémon species, with it resembling a Plesiosaur. However, Lapras is more than just a Water-type, as it is part Ice. As such, Lapras is one of the pillars of the Ice-typing, having been released back in Gen I.
Lapras got limited representation in the anime alongside Ash, but its appearances during the Orange Islands arc ultimately left fans wanting more. Lapras is in a unique position where it is seen as bulky and intimidating due to its size and presence. Still, it also has a vulnerable and endangered side, with it expressing emotion through singing.
3 Alolan Ninetales
Vulpix and Ninetales faded into obscurity as a part of a Fire-type roster with more impressive species, but in Sun & Moon, they received a revamp in getting Alolan forms. Alolan Ninetales took on an Ice/Fairy-type combination with a pure white aesthetic, representing the snow-capped mountains where it lives.
Alolan Ninetales’ new design presents it as a graceful and elegant Pokémon, a perfect representative of its Fairy-typing. There are other Ice-type regional variants of older Pokémon, but Alolan Ninetales easily stands above the rest.
2 Articuno
Articuno is one of the Legendary birds, the first trio of Legendary Pokémon to be introduced to the franchise back in Gen I. The Ice/Flying-type Freeze Pokémon is hardly one of the most complex designs in Pokémon, but it is still iconic, as most of the original 151 are.
Articuno acts as most other mysterious Legendary Pokémon with most of its anime appearances, including The Power of One movie. Still, in the series, one fought alongside a Trainer named Noland. His Articuno faced off against Ash’s Charizard during the Battle Frontier arc, which ended up being one of the better battles.
1 Delibird
Since its introduction back in Gen II, Delibird has been considered a joke and meme of a Pokémon. The Ice/Flying-type Delivery Pokémon has a comically low base stat total of 330 with no further evolutions and a limited movepool that ultimately relies on TMs to be presentable.
Even then, Delibird has never really been respected within the franchise until the Gen IX games Scarlet & Violet came along. The introduction of Paradox Pokémon provided much-needed re-designs for existing Pokémon in the form of relatives from either the ancient past or distant future. Delibird inspired the futuristic Iron Bundle, a robotic twist on Delibird with the Ice/Water-typing and a drastically-improved base stat total of 570.
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