What it does
Ice Beam is an Ice-type special move that deals standard damage and has a chance to inflict Freeze. Freeze is one of the most punishing statuses in Champions: the frozen Pokémon can't act until it thaws, and thawing is random. Even a single freeze proc can unravel an entire game plan.
Ice hits Dragon, Flying, Grass, and Ground for super-effective damage. Dragon coverage alone justifies the slot — Dragons are a constant presence in the current doubles meta and Ice Beam is among the cleanest answers to them that a special attacker can run.
100% accuracy. No miss anxiety. That alone separates it from every high-power Ice alternative that asks you to gamble.
Ice Beam hits one target in doubles — no spread penalty. The full damage number lands, which matters when you're trying to hit exact KO thresholds on a fast Dragon.
Who runs it
Starmie at 38% has the Speed to threaten Dragons before they can move. Ice Beam is the main reason Starmie sees play in coverage-focused builds — it patches the Dragon weakness that its Water and Psychic typing can't solve alone.
Empoleon at 37% is already resistant to Dragon via Steel typing. Ice Beam adds super-effective Ice damage on top of that, so Dragons face a bad type matchup and a hard-hitting coverage move at the same time.
Milotic at 25% and Blastoise at 24% both use Ice Beam to round out their Water-type sets with complementary coverage. Dragons and Flyers that expect to freely click into them take a nasty surprise.
Politoed at 22% mainly contributes Drizzle, but keeps Ice Beam so a fast Dragon doesn't just run over its team while it sits helplessly.
Starmie, Vanilluxe, Slowbro, and Primarina each have niche roles — Slowbro in Trick Room teams, Vanilluxe as an Ice STAB user.
How to use it
When Dragons or Flying-types are on the opposing team, your Ice Beam user's value spikes. Scout for these targets in team preview and plan to matchup your Ice Beam user against them directly.
The freeze chance is upside, not a strategy. When you get the freeze, immediately press the advantage — doubled-down offenses on a frozen target convert wins. But don't hold your action planning hostage to 'maybe it freezes.'
Tips & strategy
Water-types are immune. Ice-types take half. If you're clicking Ice Beam into either of those, stop and reassess.
The freeze threat is also a psychological tool — opponents who know you carry Ice Beam will respect the freeze chance and play more conservatively around their key Pokémon. That caution alone can affect their decision-making.