Mega Glalie’s defining gimmick is Refrigerate turning Explosion into an Ice-type nuke. Explosion normally deals 250 base power but causes the user to faint — it’s a kamikaze move. Refrigerate makes it Ice-type, and STABSTABmechanicSame-Type Attack Bonus: a move deals ×1.5 damage when its type matches one of the user's types.Click to read more → raises it further. The result is the highest single-hit damage output available from any move in the format, at the cost of Mega Glalie’s life.
Beyond Explosion, Double-Edge (Normal converted to Ice STAB) and Return are high-power Normal moves that become powerful Ice STAB moves.
Refrigerate + Freeze-Dry
Freeze-Dry is an Ice move with a special property: it’s super-effective against Water types (unusual since Ice doesn’t normally hit Water). Mega Glalie has this as coverage, letting it threaten Water-type Pokémon that might try to wall out Ice attacks.
Self-destruct timing
Using Explosion or Refrigerate-boosted kamikaze moves requires careful timing. Mega Glalie teams plan a specific turn to use Explosion — typically when the opponent has one vulnerable Pokémon in range. After the explosion, a different Pokémon takes over.
What stops it
- Steel-type Pokémon — Steel resists Ice. Mega Glalie’s coverage moves can hit Fire and Rock types, but Steel remains awkward.
- Fire and Steel moves — Ice has 4 weaknesses: Fire, Fighting, Rock, and Steel. Rock SlideRock SlidemoveA Rock-type spread move with 75 base power and a 30% flinch chance on each target it hits.Click to read more → hits Mega Glalie for 2×.
- ProtectProtectmoveA move that makes the user immune to all moves for one turn. Fails if used consecutively.Click to read more → — Opponents use Protect to dodge Explosion. Mega Glalie has to commit to Explosion on an unprotected turn.