Glaceon Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Celebrate is a one-time setup move thanks to Normalium Z. Shadow Ball allows Glaceon to reliably hit walls like Bronzor and Dusclops. Hidden Power Ground deals decent damage to Mareanie, Mawile, and Monferno and, after the Celebrate boost, can potentially OHKO them. Alternatively, Hidden Power Electric allows Glaceon to nail Water-type switch-ins like Mareanie, Silvally-Water, and Poliwrath. Set Details A Timid nature is preferred over Modest for the extra Speed boost to sweep mid- to late-game. The Speed increase also allows +1 Glaceon to outspeed Raichu, Floatzel, and Choice Scarf Toucannon. Usage Tips Keeping Glaceon healthy and away from entry hazards like Stealth Rock is a must so it can sweep. Although Choice Scarf users like Electivire outspeed Glaceon after it uses Z-Celebrate, preserving its bulk means that it can tank attacks. It should still be mindful of faster threats on the opposing team before using Z-Celebrate, however. Fire-types like Combusken, Rapidash, and Simisear threaten Glaceon and prevent it from setting up, so be sure to remove them before attempting to sweep if Glaceon lacks Hidden Power Ground. In addition, Fighting-types like Combusken, offensive Silvally-Fighting, and specially defensive Machoke all threaten Glaceon and can prevent it from setting up. Severely weakening these threats before attempting to sweep is critical. Special walls and bulky Water-types like Lickilicky, Assault Vest Kecleon, Mareanie, and Pyukumuku will prevent Glaceon its sweeping and must be removed or severely weakened before Glaceon uses its Z-Move. Glaceon can afford to set up on stronger but slower attackers like Torterra and Marowak thanks to the added bulk from Z-Celebrate; this does, however, make it more vulnerable to Choice Scarf and priority users in the process. Because Glaceon only has one opportunity to set up, the best time to sweep is late-game when all the aforementioned threats are gone. It is also wise to use Z-Celebrate on a Pokemon that Glaceon sends running like Gourgeist-XL, Torterra, or Altaria. Team Options Since Glaceon is going to want to come in safely, U-turn or Volt Switch users like Silvally-Water, Electivire, and Rotom-S can bring it in safely. Glaceon can take out Grass-types for Silvally-Water and deals with Ground-types that annoy Electivire and Rotom-S. Entry hazards will wear down Glaceon and jeopardize its opportunities to rely on its bulk when setting up. Therefore, having a Defogger or spinner like Silvally-Water, Altaria, Sandslash, or Komala can remove said hazards and allow Glaceon a safe switch in. Entry hazard setters like Metang, Crustle, and Mareanie are crucial because after Glaceon sets up, entry hazards provide the chip damage to guarantee OHKOs against Rapidash, Granbull, and Furfrou. While Glaceon does hit a nice amount of Speed after using Z-Celebrate, it still is slower than a few threats like Choice Scarf Electivire and Rapidash. Because of this, having a teammate to deal with the likes of these threats like physically defensive Golem or Sandslash will put less pressure on Glaceon and give it more chances to set up and sweep. Since Fire- and Fighting-types will be putting offensive pressure on Glaceon, having a teammate like Poliwrath, Beheeyem, Mareanie, Kadabra, or Mr. Mime to put the pressure right back on them helps it out greatly. Having an answer to the special walls of the tier is definitely a must. Teammates like Swords Dance Combusken, Choice Band Muk, and Swords Dance Silvally-Fighting can severely damage them or remove them from the equation completely.

Moves Shadow Ball allows Glaceon 2HKO Bronzor after Stealth Rock damage and provides decent neutral coverage against Fire- and Water-types like Monferno and Pyukumuku. Hidden Power Ground nets big hits on Fire-types like Combusken, Rapidash, and Probopass. Hidden Power Electric is an alternative move that lets Glaceon hit Water-types like Silvally-Water and Poliwrath. Blizzard serves as a high-risk, high-reward move so that Glaceon can lock into its Ice-type coverage while still threatening to 2HKO bulkier Pokemon like Mareanie and Muk. Set Details A Modest nature is favored here to maximize attacking power, while Snow Cloak is the better ability despite hail being rare. Usage Tips Glaceon lacks much defensive utility, so bring it in after a KO or via a pivot move like U-turn, Volt Switch, or Parting Shot. In addition, bringing it in on foes that do not immediately endanger it like defensive Golem, Mareanie, and entry hazard setters like Torterra and Sandslash is a great way to utilize its wallbreaking potential. Bulky Water-types like Pyukumuku and specially defensive Mareanie give Glaceon a hard time, since they can easily switch into Ice Beam. Therefore, having them weakened beforehand is ideal for Glaceon to more easily spam Ice Beam. The same applies to Fire-types like Combusken, Rapidash, and Simisear, since all of them naturally outspeed Glaceon and take it down via their STAB moves. Make sure entry hazards like Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes are off the field because they limit Glaceon's ability to switch in and spam Ice Beam. Special walls like Lickilicky can eat up Glaceon's moves, recover with Wish + Protect, and stall out Glaceon's moves, so having these walls weakened enough to 2HKO puts less stress on Glaceon. Predict switches carefully so Glaceon can weaken or remove Ice Beam switch-ins with its coverage moves. It should also be careful of giving a Pokemon like Z-Mirror Move Swanna or Swords Dance Bouffalant setup opportunities if using Hidden Power Ground or Shadow Ball, respectively. Team Options Glaceon with Choice Specs is a powerhouse that fits onto offensive teams needing a strong special attacking presence. Since it will need to come in without the risk of damage being done to it, having a pivot like Silvally-Water or Choice Scarf Electivire is useful. Additionally, those two can bring Glaceon in on Grass-types like Torterra and Gourgeist-XL so it can remove them. Water-types like Pyukumuku, Silvally-Water, and Poliwrath can handle Glaceon's moves and then fight back to wear it down. Therefore, a Grass- or Electric-type partner like Simisage or Raichu helps to wear them down or remove them from the equation and make Glaceon's job easier. Entry hazard removal is essential for Glaceon to function properly by limiting residual damage. Partners like Swanna, Rotom-S, and Sandslash can clear them with Defog or Rapid Spin and pave the way for Glaceon to do its job. Another notable partner is Mareanie, which has a double purpose in absorbing Toxic Spikes and functioning as a Fighting- and Fire-type check to the likes of Combusken, Silvally-Fighting, and Rapidash. Since special walls are going to be a problem for Glaceon, having a physical wallbreaking partner like Choice Band Komala, Swords Dance Bouffalant, or Choice Band Golem is good, since they all have little to no issue taking down the special walls in the tier like Lickilicky, Dusclops, and Muk.

Choice Scarf Glaceon outspeeds the entire unboosted metagame, and its high Special Attack and strong STAB Ice Beam make it a threatening revenge killer. Despite Glaceon's Ice typing offering little defensive value, its high Defense can let it take a hit from foes like Persian and Emolga while shrugging off priority from Muk, Arbok, and Persian. Glaceon's STAB Ice Beam lacks Ice-immune switch-ins, is perfectly accurate, and can freeze unlucky foes, making it much more spammable than the STAB moves of other revenge killers like Persian, Simisear, and Grumpig. Ice-weak foes like Leafeon, Emolga, and Shelgon are excellent targets for Choice Scarf Glaceon to spam Ice Beam against. Glaceon's coverage moves are much less spammable than its STAB move but still cover its problematic matchups. Hyper Voice is consistent, strong, and reliable, making it a solid neutral option for foes like Simisear and Staryu. Shadow Ball nails several Ghost-weak foes that resist Ice, namely Grumpig, Frillish, and Lampent. Hidden Power Fighting covers Lairon and Walrein, two otherwise good checks to Glaceon. Balance teams appreciate Glaceon as strong and reliable speed control. Staryu can remove Stealth Rock to keep Glaceon healthy, and Glaceon makes up for Staryu lacking much power on its own. Mienfoo is an excellent partner to Glaceon, checking problematic foes like Wormadam-S, Lairon, Clefairy, and Munchlax, and it can bring Glaceon in safely with U-turn. Walrein is a good switch-in to many of Glaceon's moves, making Clefairy a great partner to handle Walrein. Stealth Rock setters like Wormadam-S, the aforementioned Clefairy, and Solrock can set up entry hazards to wear down Glaceon's checks. Glaceon also benefits offensively from Stealth Rock, reliably OHKOing Grumpig with Shadow Ball and 2HKOing Slaking and bulky Whiscash with Ice Beam. Special wallbreakers like Simisear, Raichu, and Choice Specs Mr. Mime can weaken special walls for Glaceon, letting it potentially sweep.

Glaceon makes full use of its OU-competitive Special Attack and Ice-type STAB moves, making a name for itself as the most immediately destructive wallbreaker in the tier. With Choice Specs, Glaceon is able to 2HKO even specially defensive Clefairy with its neutral STAB Ice Beam. While Raichu, Simisear, and Mr. Mime are capable of similar damage, they must also be carrying a damage-boosting item and either hit the inaccurate Focus Blast twice or set up a Nasty Plot. Glaceon's accurate and powerful Ice Beam has great targets, blowing through defensive staples like Meganium, Leafeon, and Hippopotas while doing upwards of 70% to the special tank Muk. Glaceon's sheer power limits the need to predict, as neutral targets and even foes that resist Ice like Staryu, Wormadam-S, and Pawniard take too much damage from a single Ice Beam to reasonably switch in. The choice of Hidden Power targets the few Pokemon that could reasonably switch into Ice Beam. Hidden Power Fighting is the preferred option, as hitting Walrein and Munchlax super effectively heavily limits the only Pokemon that don't mind Ice Beam in the tier, and it can dispatch Lairon in one attack. Hidden Power Fighting also hits Clefairy reasonably hard, easing prediction. Hidden Power Ground is an alternative, maintaining the OHKO on Lairon while also hitting Simisear and the rare Flareon, which could otherwise tank an Ice Beam in a pinch. Shadow Ball breaks the only other common Ice Beam pivots, Grumpig and Frillish, while hitting neutral targets like Walrein and other Glaceon for reasonable damage. The most common fourth option is Blizzard, whose power reaches absurd benchmarks such as OHKOing Whiscash and Kingler. This is usually a Hail Mary option, though, as missing is catastrophic and Blizzard reaches very few 2HKOs that Ice Beam does not. Icy Wind is a significantly weaker move than Ice Beam, but it can prevent Salac Berry users like Grumpig and Simisear from cleaning Glaceon's team. A Timid nature could be used to at minimum guarantee a Speed tie with Pelipper and Mienfoo while outrunning Pawniard and neutral-nature Kingler. However, the drop in power is substantial and makes Glaceon lose out on the very likely Clefairy 2HKO. Glaceon is excellent on teams that want a reliable and self sufficient wallbreaker that can all but guarantee KOs. It is a balance team's strongest tool against opposing balance, as with defensive support, it is able to push for kills and pivot out to defensive partners after the foes try to revenge kill it. Clefairy is a near-perfect partner for this, checking faster special attackers and threatening them with Thunder Wave while potentially setting Stealth Rock or generating free turns with encore to take advantage of. Pivots like Mienfoo and Emolga are also great options, luring in Muk and Solrock, respectively, which Glaceon can force KOs against. Mienfoo's ability to check strong physical attackers like Lairon and Pawniard gives Glaceon a strong defensive backbone to fall back on, allowing it to use Ice Beam without worry. Emolga's fast Taunt and Encore are unmatched in generating free turns, which Glaceon can exploit harder than nearly any wallbreaker in the tier. Staryu's Rapid Spin and Thunder Wave are excellent support options for Glaceon's Stealth Rock weakness and middling Speed. Staryu also acts as a decent check to Simisear and can be given Thunderbolt to check Walrein as well. Glaceon also has a solid niche on more offensive teams, as although its team cannot cover for it defensively, it can immediately begin to break the opposing team to clear a path for teammates. Lairon is a prime beneficiary of this, appreciating damage or KOs on Muk, Meganium, Clefairy, Hippopotas, and Solrock so that it can sweep late-game with Rock Polish. It is also an excellent user of Stealth Rock that tends to draw in the Grass- and Ground-types that Glaceon can easily take advantage of. Special sweepers such as Agility Pelipper and Salac Berry Raichu can have a path cleared for them by Glaceon's wallbreaking, taking advantage of KOed Frilish and Clefairy, respectively. Offensive pivots like Emolga and Mienfoo are just as useful on offense as balance, but Persian is especially effective. Its Speed easily allows it to revenge kill anything that KOes Glaceon, and its fast Taunt and ability to clean up complement Glaceon's ability to get KOs almost instantly. Choice Specs Glaceon is pretty consistently revenge killed by Simisear, Choice Scarf Mienfoo, and Psychic-types, so setup Pokemon that can take advantage of these Pokemon in some capacity are good partners. Grumpig, Pelipper, and Whiscash are all capable of threatening or setting up on these Pokemon, made all the more consistent if the revenge killer has been confirmed as a Choice Scarf user.

Similar to the Trick Room set, Glaceon aims to spam Blizzard to maximize its damage output. Utilizing a Choice Scarf, Glaceon can outrun more threats, such as Garchomp and Zapdos, and its mediocre Speed isn't such a problem. Its other moves are very situational, and should only be used if Blizzard runs out of PP, or a specific threat needs to be removed. Shadow Ball is used to help against any Ghost-types, Hidden Power Ground has the ability to hit Steel-types that otherwise wall Glaceon, and Signal Beam can be used against Ludicolo. Maximum Speed and 248 Special Attack EVs ensure Glaceon is as fast as possible, while dishing out a heap of damage. Because it runs Hidden Power Ground, there is no difference between 248 and 252 Special Attack EVs. The remaining EVs can be placed into HP, giving it an extra point. Blizzard is the only move it should be using, but the other moves might come in handy in specific situations. Glaceon works very well alongside Infernape and Terrakion—Infernape can take out Pokemon that are resistant to Blizzard, and it can deal with Pokemon that give hail teams trouble, such as Tyranitar. Infernape and Glaceon also provide incredible coverage, and Infernape easily KOes Pokemon that give Glaceon trouble, such as Scizor, Tyranitar, and Heatran. Along with Fake Out support, it allows Glaceon to dish out constant Blizzard, while protecting it from dangerous attacks. Terrakion plays a similar role to Infernape; with a higher Attack stat, it can hit Rock- and Fire-types, such as Chandelure, Volcarona, and Tyranitar.

Unfortunately, Glaceon suffers from having a limited movepool; however, it can cause massive damage with the moves it does have. Blizzard is Glaceon's main move; with such raw power, it can easily take out common Pokemon such as Garchomp, Zapdos, Latios, Tornadus, and Thundurus. However, many other Pokemon resist Glaceon's Blizzard, such as Chandelure, Metagross, and Scizor. The rest of Glaceon's movepool is to target these specific Pokemon. Shadow Ball is used to hit Ghost types that resist Blizzard, such as Chandelure and Jellicent. Fake Tears and Hidden Power Ground should be considered, depending on the rest of your team. Fake Tears may seem like a poor suggestion, but in a 1 vs 1 stall war against Pokemon such as Cresselia and Suicune—who can constantly heal damage by using Rest, it gives a significant advantage. It can also be used to get some surprise KOs with its partner; lower an opponent's Special Defense with Fake Tears, and OHKO it with a strong special attack. Hidden Power Ground is an alternative in order to gain more coverage—with Hidden Power Ground, Glaceon can hit Pokemon that otherwise wall it, such as Heatran and Metagross. Protect is a given on Glaceon in order for it to survive as long as possible. Glaceon runs max HP and 248 Special Attack EVs to give it both stability and strength. Should Glaceon run Hidden Power Ground, 248 and 252 Special Attack EVs serve the same purpose, so the remaining EVs can be placed into Special Defense. Glaceon's bulk allows it to take Heat Wave and Rock Slide and has enough firepower to KO Pokemon back. For example, Adamant 4/0 Garchomp with Yache Berry is always OHKOed by Blizzard after hail damage. Iron Ball is used in order to outspeed Pokemon under Trick Room that would normally be slower than Glaceon. Snow Cloak makes it much harder for moves with 90 accuracy to hit, and helps Glaceon survive longer. In order to spam Blizzard, it must be used in hail for maximum effect, due to its otherwise-shaky accuracy. Therefore, it is best paired with Abomasnow who can easily set up hail. However, you must be wary as both Glaceon and Abomasnow share weaknesses to Fire-, Rock-, and Fighting-type attacks. In order to utilize Glaceon, it must be sent out when you have the weather under control. Should your opponent have a weather-changing Pokemon, such as Politoed, Tyranitar, or Ninetales, you must prioritize to KO them first. Glaceon also wants to be put on a team that can easily set up Trick Room for it to sweep. Bulky Pokemon that can easily set up Trick Room include Jellicent, Reuniclus, and Cofagrigus. Be sure to utilize the 4 turns of Trick Room efficiently, because Glaceon cannot survive more than 2 or 3 attacks.

Glaceon's low Speed and high Special Attack make Choice Scarf the best option for its item. With a Choice Scarf and a Timid nature, Glaceon can outspeed Pokemon with a base Speed of 120, which includes all of UU and NU (except for Swellow and Electrode). Blizzard does plenty of damage even without a boost, making Glaceon a potent revenge killer under hail conditions. Many frail sweepers, such as Alakazam, are OHKOed by Blizzard after Stealth Rock, which means that Glaceon is extremely threatening to offensively oriented teams. This set can also be used with Choice Specs and a Modest nature, which shifts the focus from overwhelming sweepers to breaking past walls. Glaceon generally functions better in the former role, however, as it is easily revenge killed without Choice Scarf's Speed boost. Hidden Power Ground adds coverage against Fire-types and Aggron, and allows Glaceon to at least dent Registeel. Hidden Power Grass is only recommended in conjunction with Choice Specs, as the Special Attack boost is required in order to 2HKO Bold Milotic. Baton Pass allows Glaceon to scout its counters, and is extremely effective together with Dugtrio to trap Registeel and Fire-types. Ice Beam lets Glaceon function outside of hail, but Shadow Ball is an option to provide coverage on Slowbro and Slowking, as well as the rare Jynx and Grumpig. If you are using Choice Specs and Hidden Power Grass, you can use Water Pulse, which OHKOes most Fire-types after Stealth Rock damage. However, the low Base Power makes it generally unappealing.