Ice Ball inflicts damage over five turns, doubling in power for each consecutive hit; the power will reset after five turns or if Ice Ball is interrupted. Ice Ball's power is doubled in addition if the user had previously used Defense Curl.
Ice Ball can also be used as part of a Pokémon Contest combination, with the user gaining extra three appeal points if move Hail was used in the prior turn. It is also a Contest Spectacular combination, with the user gaining an extra three appeal points if Defense Curl was used in the prior turn.
Table assumes the user is in the square marked by > facing to the right. Orange squares indicate spaces that are hit. Red squares indicate the knockback on hit Pokémon. A blue square indicates the user's position after performing the move.
★
Power = 18 | Accuracy = 90% | Effect = Doubles in power with each consecutive hit.
Inflicts damage on the target with attacks that continue in a single turn until one misses. Its power rises after each hit, and it can last for a maximum of 5 attacks.
Walrein opens its mouth and creates a ball of ice that it launches at the opponent. The move is used five times, and each time the ice ball gets bigger. Also, the bigger it is, the longer it takes to charge up.
Sealeo opens its mouth and creates a ball of ice that it launches at the opponent. The move is used five times in a row, and each time the ice ball gets bigger.
Ice Ball can reach the highest base power of all moves, tied with its variation, Rollout; if the attacking Pokémon has used Defense Curl and Ice Ball hits for a fifth consecutive time, its base power will reach 960.
A level 100 Shuckle can potentially deal the most (virtual) damage in one single attack with Ice Ball.
Though in the games, Ice Ball makes contact, the anime portrays the move as a projectile that does not involve the user and target making physical contact. A similar situation occurs with Petal Dance and Grass Knot, both of which have anime depictions that contradict the fact that they make contact in the games.
Conversely, the opposite is true for Sky Attack, which does not make contact in the games, but does so in the anime.
Ice Ball's anime depiction of a spherical projectile is more consistent with Ice Ball's designation as a ball move than its description in the games, which describes it as a rolling tackle in which the user coats itself with ice.
