Glalie

In caves and mountainous areas with cold climates, Glalie appears as a rocky sphere protected by an ice shell. It freezes moisture in the air to reinforce its body, change the look of its icy layer or trap prey in an instant. It then devours it slowly, a behaviour also described in several Pokédex entries. Other stories link it to mountaineers lost on snowy peaks, as if its existence were born from the accumulated desolation of those places.

Its rounded body resembles a hockey mask or a face carved from ice. It is a pure Ice-type Pokémon and belongs to the Face Pokémon species. Within its evolutionary line, it comes from Snorunt, which evolves into Glalie when it reaches level 42. That same Pokémon can also follow another path: female Snorunt evolve into Froslass when exposed to a Dawn Stone. Glalie also has a Mega form, tied to an earlier stage of the series.

Glalie stands out neither as an attacker nor as a wall. All six of its base stats are 80, so it distributes its resources evenly without reaching a figure that lets it impose itself through power, durability or speed. That consistency is useful for putting teams together in a normal playthrough, but it does not make up for its pure Ice typing, which only resists Ice and leaves it exposed to Fire, Fighting, Rock and Steel.

Moody is the ability that defines its riskiest approach: at the end of each turn, it sharply raises one stat and lowers another. With Substitute and Protect, it can try to gain turns and take advantage of a favourable boost, although the result depends on luck and any strong hit can stop the sequence. Ice Body offers a steadier option in hailstorms, since it restores some HP, while Inner Focus prevents flinching.

Its best practical use lies in Spikes, which punishes the opponent for switching, and in taking advantage of its balanced spread to combine Blizzard, Crunch or Earthquake depending on the available coverage. Freeze-Dry lets it pressure Water-type Pokémon, and Sheer Cold provides an Ice-type threat that does not depend on overcoming conventional defences. Even so, its lack of resistances, base 80 Speed and vulnerability to very common attacks mean that it needs support to come in safely or must face a passive opponent. In casual battles, it can work as a hazard setter or an unpredictable Moody user; in serious competition, its plan is too easy to disrupt.

Glalie belongs to the Fairy and Mineral Egg Groups. Its gender ratio is 50%, so it can breed as either a father or a mother when paired with a compatible partner. Hatching requires 20 cycles, equivalent to approximately 5355 steps using the usual formula.

It does not receive Egg Moves that change the way it plays. Its useful movepool comes from levelling up and TMs, with options such as Spikes, Protect, Substitute, Blizzard, Earthquake and Freeze-Dry.

Within its evolutionary line, Snorunt becomes Glalie when it reaches level 42. If it is female, it can also evolve into Froslass when exposed to a Dawn Stone; that gender condition does not apply to its evolution into Glalie. Its cave habitat fits the image of a creature that appears among rock, ice and frozen moisture. With a catch rate of 75, it is not an easy catch: weaken it carefully and bring suitable Poké Balls, especially if it appears away from the early stretches of a playthrough.