Best Movesets
Analysis
Avalugg wants so badly to be a good Pokemon in Gym Defense. It's got the stats and the moveset to be great, but that mono-Ice typing hurts it badly! Weaknesses to Fighting, Steel, Rock, and Fire make it very vulnerable to many of the top damage-dealers in the game, and its lone resistance to Ice doesn't help a whole lot. Honestly, its best place is between two 2x Ice weak Pokemon, and that's about it.
What? How does it do in raids? Are you kidding me? Do you really want to use an iceberg, a monolithic object noted for being slow-moving, in a mode where speed is the most important metric?
....eh, it's an okay second-string choice, actually.
Offense
- Ice Fang is the clear winner, and it should be paired with Avalanche.
- Bite and Crunch are okay moves, just not on Avalugg.
- Body Slam, Icy Wind, and Earthquake are sub-optimal for sure, and Mirror Coat is a joke.
Defense
- Ice Fang is generally the strongest defensive option, as Bite has half the power and won't be used any more frequently by a defender.
- Crunch and Body Slam are stellar on defense, with the former pulling ahead in most cases.
- Icy Wind is the best option among Avalugg's Ice Type Charged Moves
- Mirror Coat is acceptable, and has counter-coverage against Fighting Types.
- Avalanche is okay, but it comes out less frequently than Crunch or Body Slam, and has the same type as Ice Fang, which gives Ice resistant attackers an easy win.
- Earthquake is great, if it manages to be used and scores a hit. But with Avalugg's laundry list of very bad to have weaknesses and Earthquake's late damage window, it probably won't work out.
Ice Fang is superior to Bite due to STAB and higher energy generation. Ice is an excellent offensive type and dealing consistent Ice-type damage is the reason you use Avalugg.
Body Slam is necessary due to its low cost, making up for Ice Fang's low energy generation and providing coverage against Fire, Ice, and Water-types. Avalanche is one of the best charge moves in the game, coming at a moderate energy cost with a very high DPE of 2.0 (2.4 with STAB). However, as Avalugg already deals heavy Ice-type damage, Icy Wind's utility in guaranteeing an Attack debuff makes it a great alternative. Earthquake can be used over Avalanche as Avalugg's only way of threatening Steel-type Pokemon, although its heavy energy cost makes it extremely unreliable. Crunch is largely an outclassed option, as a neutral Avalanche is pretty much as strong as a super effective Crunch, but it can be useful for hitting Metagross, and the potential Defense drop helps make Ice Fang deadlier. Mirror Coat offers no practical use and should be avoided at all costs.
Avalugg possesses good overall stats, but suffers greatly from competition with other Ice-type Pokemon who either have a better moveset, better resistances, or both. Pokemon such as Alolan Ninetales, Abomasnow, Lapras, or Community Day Walrein should be considered first before thinking about Avalugg. Being a pure Ice-type also somewhat ruins Avalugg's good bulk, as it only resists Ice, while being weak to numerous common types. Since it does have good stats and an acceptable moveset, Avalugg can potentially shine in a Great League cup.
