Ice/Steel Type

IceSteel

Quick Summary

⚠️ Main Weaknesses:

4× weak to Fire, Fighting
2× weak to Ground

✓ Main Resistances:

¼× resists Ice
½× resists Normal, Grass, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Dragon, Fairy

Ice/Steel strategy: Poison immunity with two 4× emergencies

Ice/Steel and Steel/Ice are the same defensive pairing; this page uses ice-steel as the canonical URL. Ice/Steel combines useful offensive Ice pressure with Steel utility, but its defensive chart is defined by severe Fire and Fighting risk. Representative Pokémon include Alolan Sandshrew, Alolan Sandslash. The standard type chart gives this combination 4× weak to Fire, Fighting and 2× weak to Ground. It is immune to Poison. Its main defensive value comes from ¼× resists Ice; ½× resists Normal, Grass, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Dragon, Fairy, but stats, ability, item, and format still decide whether a real Pokémon can use those entries repeatedly.

Offensive plan

Ice STAB threatens Dragon, Flying, Grass, and Ground targets, while Steel STAB pressures Fairy, Ice, and Rock targets. Fire and Fighting both hit for 4×, Ground hits for 2×, and Poison is fully blocked. The typing needs strict support because its many resistances do not save it from the two major emergency lanes.

Counterplay and defensive risks

To counter Ice/Steel, start with the chart pressure: Fire, Fighting, Ground. If a 4× weakness is listed, preserve that attack type before revealing it; if there is no 4× weakness, repeated 2× pressure and hazard chip usually matter more than a single surprise hit. Scout for abilities, Terastallization, weather, recovery, and pivot moves before assuming the visible multiplier ends the exchange.

Team-building advice

Ice/Steel needs Fire and Fighting answers before anything else, plus a Ground plan. Water, Fairy, Ghost, Flying, and Ground-immune partners can help while Ice/Steel handles Poison, Ice, Fairy, and Dragon-adjacent pressure. Use the Team Calculator to check whether the rest of the six stacks the same Fire, Fighting problem, then compare the full defensive chart before choosing moves or teammates.

Read the best Pokémon type combinations guide for a side-by-side defensive comparison.

Continue with Type Chart, Dual Type Calculator, Electric/Steel guide, and Dragon/Ice guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ice/Steel weak to?

Ice/Steel is 4× weak to Fire, Fighting and 2× weak to Ground under the standard type chart.

Is Steel/Ice a different type combination?

No. Steel/Ice and Ice/Steel use the same two types, so they share the same weaknesses, resistances, and immunities.

What is Ice/Steel immune to?

It is immune to Poison.

TypeMatchup Original Analysis

Coverage Value

2

Internal score from immunities, resistances, weaknesses, and 4× pressure.

Profile

balanced defensive tradeoff

Main Planning Risk

Protect the Fire, Fighting 4× weakness before relying on this pairing as a switch-in.

How to interpret this pairing

Ice/Steel should be judged by the trade it creates, not by the raw number of weaknesses alone. It offers safe entry into Poison, Ice, Normal, Grass, Flying, Psychic, which means it can buy turns when those attack types are predictable. In exchange, the opponent will usually try to line upFire, Fighting, Ground, so the pairing needs either speed, bulk, recovery, pivoting, or a teammate ready to absorb that pressure.

Team-building partners

Based on TypeMatchup's own defensive coverage pass, useful single-type partners to test first are Flying for Fighting, Ground; Bug for Fighting, Ground; Fire for Fire; Water for Fire; Grass for Ground. These are not automatic best teammates; they are a shortlist for reducing repeated weaknesses before you choose actual Pokémon, moves, items, abilities, and battle format.

When this combination is worth using

Use this combination when its resisted or immune entries match threats you expect to face repeatedly. Avoid using it only because the summary looks efficient: a 4× weakness can dominate a matchup, while even a strong resistance profile can fail if the Pokémon lacks recovery, speed control, or meaningful pressure after switching in. For a six-Pokémon build, run this pairing through the Team Calculator and check whether another teammate shares the same Fire, Fighting problem.

Defensive Type Matchups

Quadruple Weak (4×)

FireFighting

Weak (2×)

Ground

Resistant (½×)

NormalGrassFlyingPsychicBugDragonFairy

Double Resistant (¼×)

Ice

Immune (0×)

Poison
Show Normal Effectiveness Types (6)
WaterElectricRockGhostDarkSteel

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