It’s not an easy life, being an Ice-type Pokémon. Along with their fellow great-offensively-terrible-defensively brethren, the Rock Pokémon, they’re lumbered with weaknesses to everything ever. Most of the best Ice-types are picked despite their Ice-typing, not because of it.
You’ve got to feel for Ice-type gym leaders, then. They tend to be encountered later in the game when just about every team is well equipped to exploit their weaknesses. Even so, Pokemon Sword and Shield’s Melony (encountered in Circhester) is no pushover. Here are some of the best Pokémon to bring along to the battle with this Ice-type specialist.
10 Cinderace
Ice-types may have a myriad of common weaknesses, but the first one that comes to mind will always be Fire. To kick this list off the right way, then, we’re going to take a look at a Pokémon that will be on lots of players’ teams by default: Cinderace.
The final evolution of the adorable Scorbunny will be ready to go by this point, primed to Pyro Ball all of its foes so far out of the stadium they won’t be found for 7-12 business days. If you’re in the market for a speedy Pokémon that will make short work of a lot of Melony’s team with formidable Fire-type moves, look no further.
9 Excadrill
Now, granted, Excadrill is a Ground-type, so it would be weak to Ice if not for its handy-dandy Steel-typing. It’s that very typing that makes it such a potent threat to Melony.
Excadrill has always been a monstrous offensive force, especially with its sand-setting buddy Tyranitar by its side. Sweeping through teams with its doubled speed is what it does best, and it can do the same to Melony (with sand in effect or not). However, one member of her team, Lapras, isn’t weak to Steel, and it carries Water STAB that will quickly wash the angry mole away.
8 Centiskorch
If you didn’t pick Scorbunny as a starter (Sobble is darn hard to resist, let’s be real), and didn’t get one through trades with friends or a Surprise Trade, there was no need to fret. Cinderace isn’t the only powerful Fire-type in Galar.
On the first playthrough, many fans probably favored new Galarian Pokémon. With that being the case, Centiskorch was probably picked up by many (especially after the dramatic showcase it got in Kabu’s Gym). Its Speed is lacking and it has a lot of coverage moves to fear on Melony’s team (namely Water/Flying moves and Darmanitan’s Stone Edge in particular), but once she’s sufficiently weakened, Centiskorch can do well here.
7 Falinks
Another weakness of Melony’s that can be easily exploited is Fighting. She has the Bug-type Frosmoth and the Psychic-type Mr. Mime, both of which are hit neutrally by Fighting moves, but otherwise, Falinks can perform super well here.
The player encounters this curious creature on a route close to Circhester, which is very convenient for those who want to utilize its typing in the gym battle. Its resistance to Rock will be helpful to get Centiskorch out of trouble with the Darmanitan, while its physically tanky nature and solid Attack allow it to really dig in and deal the damage. Literally, in fact, if you opt to use its signature move No retreat and then boost up once Mr. Mime’s out of the picture.
6 Copperajah
With Hidden Power having also disappeared into whichever mysterious Poké-void the critters cut from the Dex now reside in, Ice types face yet another problem: if their name isn’t Mamoswine, they can’t really deal with Steel-types very well (Mamoswine can Earthquake most of them into the next decade).
As such, Melony’s gym is the perfect place for newcomer Copperajah to shine. This majestic elephant is a physical powerhouse, which really only has Darmanitan’s Fire Fang to fear from the Gym Leader. It resists everything else her team has, though Lapras’ Surfs are sure to smart.
5 Drednaw
Drednaw, too, is an excellent Pokémon to take the hardest hits Melony can muster. This Rock- and Water-type also has high Attack and solid HP (and defense), also boasting a type combination that resists almost all of the Circhester Gym’s Pokémon.
In fact, the only move on all of Melony’s team that it doesn’t resist is Frosmoth’s Bug Buzz (be warned, though: owing to the way that Freeze Dry works, it’s actually super effective). It can then hit back with super effective Rock STAB.
4 Aegislash
Yes, this formidable Ghost and Steel Pokémon took a bit of a blow in the transition to Generation VIII. It suffered a rare nerf to its base stats, now boasting base 140 Attack and Special Attack in Blade Form and base 150 Defense and Special Defense in Shield Form. It’s still the beast it’s always been, though.
Galarian Darmanitan’s Fire Fang doesn’t threaten Aegislash very much, and it resists everything else but the Lapras’ Surf. Its Steel moves will make short work of Melony’s team, as long as you’ve got that tanky Lapras covered.
3 Sirfetch’d
Now, everybody had that new Galar Pokémon that they were more excited to use than any other. Was it one of the starters? Perhaps a more obscure choice, like Mr. Rime? No, it was neither of those. If we’re honest with ourselves, we all know that we were more excited about the arrive of Sirfetch’d, the noble, heroic, knightly badass that is the evolution of Farfetch’d.
Poor Farfetch’d has long been a snarky punchline in the Pokémon world, so when it finally became reasonably usable, we were all up in it. Lots of us threw it onto our teams at the first opportunity, and its Fighting typing is very nice in this gym. With Leaf Blade, it has a good way of managing that pesky Lapras. Take care with its mediocre Speed, though.
2 Coalossal
Of all new Galarian Pokémon, Coalossal is probably Melony’s biggest nightmare. Yes, Fire types in general will do a number on her, but Coalossal has another ace up its sleeve: additional Rock typing.
This titan of a Pokémon can take down Melony’s whole team single-handedly, even preying on Lapras’ Rock weakness, if it can pull it off. It’s super slow, though, and more defensive than offensive. Carefully played and allowed to get a boost or two, the Circhester Gym won’t know what hit it. Be careful around that Lapras, though, as a 4x Water weakness is an all-around bad time.
1 Bewear
If you’ve been relentlessly chased through the Wild Area by a gigantic, slavering, hug-hungry Bewear, you’ll know just how formidable these things can be. With that in mind, if you’re looking to bring a Fighting-type to the battle with Melony, Bewear is also a good choice.
As with Falinks, it has to be careful around that Mr. Mime. It also doesn’t get the Thick Fat Ability, unlike its cousin Snorlax. It’ll do you proud in Circhester, though.