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The Pokemon series has a long list of gym leaders, many of which possess a team and gym centered on a single elemental type. For example, six gym leaders across the game series are dedicated to Ice-type Pocket Monsters and surround themselves with trainers who also use Ice-types. But which of these frigid gym leaders is the strongest, and which fails to measure up to their status?
By examining each gym leader's team and the battle gimmicks like Gigantamax or Terastallization they may have access to, we can rank the relative strength of each Ice-type leader in the core series. It should be noted that this list will rank the leaders by their first encounter battles in the game generation they were introduced in.
Ranking the Pokemon series' Ice-type gym leaders from weakest to strongest
6) Pryce
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Team: Seel (Lv. 27), Dewgong (Lv. 29), Piloswine (Lv. 31)
Known as the "Teacher of Winter's Harshness" in Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, there isn't much that's particularly harsh about Pryce or his team. Seel and Dewgong are easily dispatched by a moderately-trained Electric-type Pocket Monster. Piloswine is a different story since it's part Ground-type, but a Fighting, Fire, Grass, Steel, or Water-type can easily dispatch it.
By the time that trainers reach Mahogany Town and face Pryce, they should have countless Pocket Monsters that are more than capable of wiping the floor with Pryce's team. Sadly, this Ice-type gym leader suffers from being an opponent very late in the gym progression for Johto, when players are more than prepared for most challenges.
5) Brycen
Team: Vanillish (Lv. 37), Cryogonal (Lv. 37), Beartic (Lv. 39)
Brycen's team of creatures are all pure Ice-types, making them easy prey for any player who knows their type matchups well. Without any secondary typings on his team, the battle against Brycen in the first Black and White games is about as straightforward as it gets. As long as trainers have the right counters in place and they're at an equal level or higher, this Ice-type leader won't put up much fight.
Fire and Rock-types might have a little trouble against Beartic since it knows the move Scald, but otherwise, any other conventional counter to Ice-types (Fighting and Steel) aren't likely to have any issues.
4) Wulfric
Team: Abomasnow (Lv. 56), Cryogonal (Lv. 55), Avalugg (Lv. 59)
Wulfric does have the benefit of having one dual-type creature on his team in Abomasnow (Grass/Ice), but it's horrendously weak to Fire-type moves. Meanwhile, Cryogonal and Avalugg are both pure Ice-types despite having pretty high levels for a Pokemon gym leader team. Regardless, as long as trainers have the usual counters at the same level or higher, Wulfric won't be much of a challenge.
The Pokemon X and Y games are well-known for being much easier than some series entries, and Wulfric is just one such example despite being stronger than most other Kalos gym leaders. Perhaps if Mega Abomasnow had been released in X and Y, Wulfric may have served as a better challenge.
3) Grusha
Teams: Frosmoth (Lv. 47), Beartic (Lv. 47), Cetitan (Lv. 47), Altaria (Lv. 48)
Since Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's gyms can be challenged in any order, Grusha can be more or less challenging depending on your progress. Even so, she has a few surprises that might catch an unaware trainer off-guard. Specifically, her Altaria can Terastallize into an Ice-type and remove its Dragon/Flying weaknesses.
One might think that an Ice-type Altaria would be as straightforward to beat as her Beartic or Cetitan, but its access to the move Moonblast allows it to counter Fighting-types. Moreover, her Beartic knows Earthquake to account for Fire-type and Steel-type counters, and Cetitan can counter Fire-types with Liquidation, so conventional counters have to be picked carefully or Terastallization must be used.
2) Melony
Team: Frosmoth (Lv. 40), Galarian Darmanitan (Lv. 40), Eiscue (Lv. 41), Lapras (Lv. 42)
An exclusive to Pokemon Shield, Melony might seem like an easy out at first, but things can get complicated quickly. Specifically, the presence of her Eiscue can be a pain for trainers because of its ability Ice Face, which forces players to hit it with a physical attack before it can take damage. Additionally, if Eiscue or another creature activates Hail, Eiscue reactivates Ice Face, which is inconveniencing.
On top of it all, Melony still has her Gigantamax Lapras at her disposal, which is no pushover despite its Water/Ice type combination, especially if it manages to sing a trainer's team to sleep.
1) Candice
Team: Snover (Lv. 38), Sneasel (Lv. 38), Medicham (Lv. 40), Abomasnow (Lv. 42)
Although Candice is a relatively late-game gym leader in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, her team is far from conventional for an Ice-type trainer. Snover and Abomasnow are both Grass/Ice-type, Sneasel is a Dark/Ice-type, and her Medicham is a Fighting/Psychic-type. It's quite confusing that Medicham is on her team at all, but it throws a pretty significant monkey wrench into counter strategies.
Although a powerful Fire-type or Fighting-type (or both with a Sinnoh starter like Infernape) can handle her team well, Medicham still forces trainers to account for it and respect it, something that most other gym leaders can't claim as their teams are much more straightforward.
