Arctovish

Arctovish, the Fossil Pokémon. Though it's able to capture prey by freezing its surroundings, it has trouble eating the prey afterward because its mouth is on top of its head. The skin on its face is impervious to attack, but breathing difficulties made this Pokémon go extinct anyway.

Overview

Arcotvish, last and certainly least of the Galarian chimera fossils. While all its contemporaries possess superb offensive and/or defensive typings, Arctovish is stuck with the incredibly lackluster Water Ice typing with an easily resisted STAB combination and only resisting its own types. Horrid speed makes Fishious Rend’s boost difficult to activate and without Fishious Rend, Arctovish is rather middling offensively.

Slush Rush seems to be Arctovish’s one claim to fame, giving reliable access to full power Fishious Rends, but it is outclassed by every other possessor of the ability having higher Attack and, in most cases, equal or greater speed. Plying its bulk and Water Ice typing again finds stiff competition in Walrein, Lapras and Cloyster. While Arctovish certainly has its strong points -Fishious Rend is a fantastic move and numerous coverage options don’t leave it wanting, this nightmarish mish mash just pales in comparison to the rest.
Positives
Fishious Rend is an amazing move in tandem with Slush Rush, turning Arctovish into a fearsome Water sweeper on Hail teams.
Good movepool including options like Freeze Dry, Aurora Veil, Crunch and Stone Edge.
Good 90/100/90 Defenses ensures Arctovish can take a hit or two.
Negatives
Water Ice typing is horrid, only resisting itself and having numerous weaknesses in return alongside an easily resisted STAB combination.
Poor Speed leaves Arctovish reliant on Hail to get the most out of Fishious Rend
Stiff competition in any role it tries to perform.

Movesets

Upside-down Fish

-Fishious Rend
-Icicle Crash
-Psychic Fangs
-Freeze Dry
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Naďve Nature

Slush Rush sweeping Arctovish. The idea is sound -most Ice Resists don’t resist Water, and Arctovish can cleave through the Fire and Rock types that do threaten other Ice types with its massively boosted Fishious Rend. Icicle Crash is for secondary STAB, slamming the Grass and Dragon types that resist Fishious Rend and having a meaty Flinch chance. Psychic Fangs offers good coverage against Fighting types and has decent utility against Reflect and Light Screen. Freeze Dry rounds out the set, giving Arctovish an invaluable answer against Water types that otherwise resist both of its STABs.

DYNAMAX:
Not recommended. Arctovish is reliant on the boosts provided by Fishious Rend and Freeze Dry -Dynamaxing those moves deprives Arctovish of their beneficial effects, making Arctovish much weaker. Not that it is all bad, being able to self-set own hail for Slush Rush via Max Hailstorm and having a good amount of bulk to enjoy the extra bulk Dynamax Provides

EVs and Items:
Standard sweeper array. Max attack and speed to ensure Arctovish is as damaging as possible. Naďve nature so that Freeze Dry’s power isn’t reduced, though if not running Freeze Dry, Jolly is recommended. Life Orb for as mush power as possible while retaining the ability to switch, so Arctovish isn’t forced to flee from common pivots into Water moves.

Partners:
Any Hail setter is a must. Alolan Ninetales, Aurorus, Abomasnow, Vanilluxe all setup the vitally important Hail for Slush Rush, which also provides valuable chip damage for reaching other KOs. All of them also being able to setup Aurora Veil synergizes amazingly with Arctovish’s good bulk, making it rather frustrating to OHKO.
Grass types also make for decent partners, forming part of a Water/Fire/Grass core with Arctovish and able to pivot into the Electric and Grass moves that trouble it. Whimsicott is noticeable for its ability to support with Tailwind, triggering move Fishious rend opportunities while also resisting Fighting moves.

Other Options:
Stone Edge -punishes opposing Ice types harder than anything else in Arctovish’s moveset.
Hail + Aurora Veil -Arctovish can setup its own Hail and is a Slush Rush user with Aurora Veil, however this is better on a more supportive set and outclassed by other Screen setters.
Super Fang -Good for crippling walls that Arctovish can’t break through normally.

Countering Arctovish

Ferrothorn takes pittance from any of Arctovish’s moves and can use it as setup fodder or strike it down with Power Whip, though it doesn’t like getting its health halved by Super Fang. Rotom-Wash performs similarly, though it dislikes Freeze Dry. Regieleki stands out for naturally outspeeding Arctovish in Hail and easily grabbing the OHKO, but cannot switch in safely. Scarf Kartana and Zeraora perform similarly, reliably outspeeding and OHKOing Arctovish, but lack the bulk to switch into a Freeze Dry or Fishious Rend safely.

Locations in Games

Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game

Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game

Colosseum/XD:
Not in game

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game

Black/White:
Not in game

Black 2/White 2:
Not in game

X/Y:
Not in game

Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Not in game

Sun/Moon:
Not in game

Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Not in game

Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game

Sword/Shield:
Revive Fossilized Bird & Fossilized Dino in Route 6
Max Raid Battles: Snowslide Slope

Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Not in game

Legends: Arceus:
Not in game

Anime Appearences

Arctovish has not made an appearance in the anime as of writing.

# -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics
1139 A Pinch of This, a Pinch of That! Galar Fossils! Stick 'em Together!! Pics