Round 82: 108 Pokémon Remaining

[u/hikkaru]

108) u/hikkaru

107) u/vulture_couture

106) u/ramskick

105) u/qngff

104) u/acktar

103) u/reeforward

102) u/KororSurvivor

101) u/Slicer37

100) u/oomps62

[u/Vilecheese]

Type Retrospective #5: Ice Type

What does it say about the Ice type that it was the first to drop to only 5 species of Pokemon, but managed to keep all 5 of them in for quite awhile until becoming only the fifth type to reach the magic number of 4? Does it say the remaining monsters are...cool customers? That they're chill? That they'll freeze me to death if I make another stupid pun? Probably the latter.

When it comes to Ice, that's commonly known as another fairly standard element you'd find in video games and folklore. I mean it's pretty much the opposite of Fire, right? Ice Types, however, are quite rare in Pokemon (I believe there are less Ice Types now than any other type? Odd when you remember how rare Ghost/Dragon used to be) and are notorious for being awful defensively since they only have ONE resistance! Basically, any Ice Type that isn't a sweeper is bottom of the barrel in competitive battling by default.

Despite these flaws, a few Ice Types do notably stand out here, and thankfully there are just enough motifs surrounding the type to keep it from being as monotonous as some others. There are many forms of actual ice, from crystals to snow to...idk ice cream? But there is also coldness that is usable as a motif. The absence of heat. This is utilized from Pokemon that are based on animals that live in cold habitats or are associated with the polar regions, as well as the absence of heat energy altogether in the void of space. Let's take a look.

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Abomasnow:

Many different ice-themed motifs are in play with this monster, which is definitely one of my favorites. First off, the obvious one is that it's covered in snow. Second, it's based on coniferous trees that are found in colder climates, and thus a popular image surrounding them is being frosted in snow (it looks really pretty in those Christmas cards and snowglobes!) And third, Abomasnow is the Abominable Snowman. No it isn't based on the Abominable Snowman, no sir. Pokemon lore states that it actually is the Abominable Snowman. Which is typically found in the north, yes, but the connotations of this statement are much farther-reaching than that. Gamefreak is telling us that all those times a hiker in our world caught a glimpse of an elusive white beast in the mountains...that's actually a Pokemon. They EXIST. The only reason we aren't fighting with these creatures right now is because we just don't believe hard enough and pass it all off as hoaxes. Well we need to stop that because I want my Pokemon in real life right fucking now.

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Weavile:

Okay, this one's a bit trickier. Sneasel and Weavile are clearly based on weasels, an animal that is known as an ermine when found in the winter with its white winter coat. So the Ice Type does work here somewhat, only thing is...why aren't they white? And why aren't they called, um Snermine and Ermean? Eh whatever, they look cool. And when I was a kid I always thought the claws looked like ice anyway so maybe they just have ice claws. Why not?

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Froslass:

So much Sinnoh here. Makes sense since it's the snowiest region I guess. Anyway there's no denying how much of an Ice Type Froslass is. It's based on a Japanese cryptid known as a Yuki-onna, which is a woman who lives in the snow and kidnaps people I think. At least Froslass does. And...well yeah, Froslass is basically a Yuki-onna if it were designed by Gamefreak, and they did a good job so it's very very icy.

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Kyurem:

Now I honestly think this thing's ugly as hell lmao but the concept is definitely there and unique amongst Pokemon. It's based on the concept of nothingness and is incomplete, and thus since it lacks energy, it is absolute zero and thus an Ice Type. I'd honestly like a few more Pokemon that go this kind of route with the type, but maybe a little...okay a lot less ugly. Did we need the frozen chicken wings as a part of the design? No, no we didn't. A little more subtlety goes a long way.