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Despite being one of the most uncommon status conditions in thePokemonfranchise, Freezing is still renowned for being among the most annoying to deal with in battle. There isn’t really a good way for pokemon other thanIce-typesto avoid this frigid condition, therefore trainers should always be wary of it, even in modern Generation 8 games likePokemon Sword & Shield.
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However, in earlier generations, Freezing was much stronger and arguably overpowered in some cases. Those wishing to use this status condition to render foes helpless in such older games, or more recent releases likePokemon Sword & Shield, should take note of all the effects surrounding Freezing to stop enemies dead in their tracks.
Freezing Throughout The Generations Of Main Series Pokemon Games
Freezing In Generation 1 Pokemon Games
Freezing was once incurrable in battle without the use of specific items or triggers. As such, this made dealing with it virtually impossible in some scenarios. Here are the only ways to get rid of the Freezing status condition in Generation 1 games:
Freezing In Generation 2 Pokemon Games
Mercifully, in this generation, the developers decided to make it so that there is a 10% chance for the frozen pokemon to thaw itself each turn, despite still being unable to move until their next turn. In addition, during this generation only, if a frozen pokemon was hit by Tri Attack, there would be a 33% chance that they would defrost.
Furthermore, if the frozen pokemon uses certain Fire-type moves, they can thaw themselves while also attacking with it on the same turn. This list of self-thawing moves has been expanded over the years, but, during Generation 2, the only moves that could perform this function were Flame Wheel and Sacred Fire. Weather also influences Freezing in that it is impossible for a pokemon to become frozen if Sunny Day’s effects are active, however, these same effects do not affect a pokemon that is already frozen.
Freezing In Generation 3 Pokemon Games
The automatic chance of thawing out has been raised to 20% per turn, with freshly defrosted pokemon being able to attack during the same turn they are freed from their icy prison. The list of moves that can now allow a frozen pokemon to immediately self-thaw has been increased to include all damage-dealing Fire-type moves, though, the Normal-type Tri Attack is no longer able to defrost pokemon it hits. Finally, and most mysteriously, Freezing in this generation disables the effects of the ability Flash Fire.
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Freezing In Generation 4 Pokemon Games
There aren’t too many changes made between Generation 3 and Generation 4. The most major change was that Hidden Power with the Fire-type was added to the list of moves that frozen pokemon can use to defrost themselves. Additionally, for some reason, Shaymin in Sky Forme would revert to its Lane Forme if frozen.
Freezing In Generation 5 Pokemon Games
The issue causing Freezing to disable Flash Fire has been fixed and is the only notable change to the status condition in this generation.
Freezing In Generation 6 Pokemon Games & Beyond
Besides some animation changes from the previous generation, there were no changes made between Generation 5 and Generation 6. Furthermore, there were no changes made after this to the Freezing status condition in the main series games.
Secret Power
30%
Can only cause Freezing if on icy terrain in frigid locations
10%
A damage-dealing special move
A damage-dealing physical move
6.67%
Uniquely, there are no abilities or items that can cause Freezing. This is not seen with any of the other major status conditions in the game, making Freezing the sole move-only major status condition in the franchise.
Furthermore, there are no moves that are specifically designed to freeze a target. Every way to afflict Freezing onto a foe is the result of very low odds, which, to some degree, warrants its sometimes overpowered nature.
