Cryogonal

Using Cryogonal in a Playthrough

Cryogonal is a single-stage pure Ice special attacker and support Pokemon with base 135 Special Defense, 105 Speed, and 95 Special Attack. Its physical durability improved substantially after Generation VI: HP rose from 70 to 80 and Defense from 30 to 50 in Generation VII, although physical attacks remain its obvious weak point. Levitate grants a complete Ground immunity, while Ice Beam, Freeze-Dry in later games, Recover, Rapid Spin, Haze, Reflect, Light Screen, and Flash Cannon allow Cryogonal to attack, heal, remove hazards, and reset stat boosts. Freeze-Dry is especially valuable where available because it hits Water-types super effectively despite being an Ice move. Pure Ice leaves weaknesses to Fire, Fighting, Rock, and Steel, and only resists Ice itself, so Cryogonal is much safer switching into special attacks or Ground moves than into physical neutral damage. Timid maximizes its useful base 105 Speed, while Calm emphasizes the enormous Special Defense.

Cryogonal in Competitive Pokémon

Cryogonal was an important BW RU support Pokemon because Rapid Spin was scarce and its base 135 Special Defense, base 105 Speed, Levitate, and Recover gave it unusual longevity for a hazard remover. Levitate also means Spikes and Toxic Spikes do not affect it, although Stealth Rock still removes a quarter of its HP on entry because pure Ice is weak to Rock. Smogon describes it as the best bulky Rapid Spin user in BW RU, with Haze, Toxic, Reflect, or offensive Ice coverage allowing it to contribute beyond hazard removal. Its original base 30 Defense was a severe weakness that forced careful investment and left it highly vulnerable to Pursuit and strong physical attacks. Generation VII improved that profile by raising HP to 80 and Defense to 50, while later access to Freeze-Dry and Heavy-Duty Boots gave it even better utility in modern lower tiers. Current SV tiering places Cryogonal in ZU, but the same combination of Rapid Spin, Recover, Haze, high Speed, and excellent special bulk continues to define it.

Cryogonal in Nuzlockes

Cryogonal is very useful in Nuzlockes against special attackers because base 135 Special Defense is exceptional and Recover can restore half of its HP repeatedly. Levitate adds a Ground immunity and Rapid Spin can remove hazards that would otherwise chip the entire team, while Haze can erase dangerous setup boosts without needing to win a stat war. Its physical Defense remains mediocre even after the Generation VII buff, so strong physical priority or coverage can be much more dangerous than the large Special Defense suggests. Fire, Fighting, Rock, and Steel attacks are all super effective, and Stealth Rock itself is especially annoying because Cryogonal loses 25 percent of its HP when switching into it before spinning. Timid helps it act before many threats, while Calm provides an enormous special safety margin.

Cryogonal is composed of living ice crystals and is said to form naturally inside snow clouds. A darker modern rumor claims that people and Pokemon who die on snowy mountains can be reborn as Cryogonal, but this is presented as folklore rather than established biology. When its body temperature rises too far, Cryogonal can turn into vapor and effectively disappear, returning to an icy form when the temperature falls again. It hunts with extendable chains of ice, constricting prey and flash-freezing victims at roughly −148 degrees Fahrenheit before carrying them away.