Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are less than three weeks away from launch now, and while The Pokemon Company hasn't been revealing much about Gen 9 before release, many new and old fans are hyped to get their hands on a new chapter in the saga. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet only revealed a handful of Pokemon before launch, with Greavard being the twentieth, including the three starters and the box Legendaries. It's possible that more pieces of information will be shared as the release date approaches, but there are some interesting things to note from what has transpired so far between old trailers and the recent hands-on previews.

The Farigiraf trailer for Gen 9 showcased a Tera Raid battle and how the combat is much more fluid now compared to Gen 8, but there's a tiny detail that was easy to overlook there, and that's the fact that Farigiraf attacked once while asleep, as it had the Sleep status icon on it. This means it's likely that Gen 9 will actually make Pokemon Legends: Arceus' Drowsy the new Sleep status, which makes sense and makes for more interesting interactions, or at the very least, it means that Drowsy will be in the game alongside Sleep. Because Drowsy was not the only new ailment in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, this means that there's a chance Frostbite will be coming back too, and it could very well mean that Ice-type moves and Pokemon will become more viable.

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Why Frostbite and Terastallization Can Make Ice-Types Better in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Frostbite applies a Burn-like effect on the victim, dealing residual damage every turn and also reducing the target's Special Attack, whereas Burn reduces the Attack stat. This alone could be a game-changer for Ice-type critters in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet because their moves have always relied on the Freeze mechanic, which is arguably one of the worst in the series as a whole.

Freeze is completely random on most Pokemon moves, with examples like Ice Beam sitting at a 10% proc chance. Even then, Freeze's other major issue is the fact that a Pokemon can thaw from its condition randomly at the beginning of every turn; otherwise, it will stay Frozen, which is very unforgiving in most scenarios. If Pokemon Scarlet and Violet bring Frostbite back, it could not only make Ice-types inherently more valuable across the board but also quite viable in competitive battles, especially with the help of Terastallization.

Based on the trailers for Gen 9, Terastallization seems to work differently from what fans thought in the beginning, in the sense that it does change a Pokemon's type to a different one (or just to an existing one), but the critter doesn't lose its STAB damage on moves with the original typing. This means that a Pokemon could Terastallize from Dark/Electric to Ground, for example, but still deal STAB damage on all three types instead of just the newly acquired one -- namely, Ground. What this means is that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Terastallization does have many uses both offensively and defensively, but it also means that one doesn't have to sacrifice one type for the other all the time.

Ice Pokemon are typically considered bad because of their many weaknesses, but Terastallization and the potential return of Frostbite make them one of the better types in the game if played right. In fact, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's trainers could use Terastallization to change the type of their pocket monsters from Ice to something like Ghost to not only lose their weakness to Fighting moves but also become immune to them. Overall, there's a good chance that Gen 9 will make amends for Ice Pokemon's many weaknesses, and that's a sign that The Pokemon Company is aware of the power discrepancies between types.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release on November 18 for Nintendo Switch.

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