Alolan Sandslash

Alolan Sandslash has a cool typing to leverage on offense, but it doesn't have any of the cool things that distinguish it in the main Pokemon games. Even among Ice-types, its Attack stat doesn't quite cut it.

Best PvE Offensive Moveset

• You really want Powder Snow in tandem with Blizzard.
• Shadow Claw* has no use for offense. 
• Ice Punch is inferior, but at least it gets STAB. 
• Metal Claw with Gyro Ball is a Steel moveset, but why?
• With no STAB, don't even think about Bulldoze, Aerial Ace, or Drill Run for offense.

Best PvE Defensive Moveset

• Shadow Claw* is recommended for defense since it's less likely to be resisted by attackers. 
• Powder Snow's high energy gain gives Alolan Sandslash better odds to use a charged move.
• Metal Claw doesn't have a valuable typing against Alolan Sandslash's counters 
• Aerial Ace sports very valuable counter-coverage and 3-bars, making it the defensive Charged Move of choice.
• Ice Punch sports the earliest damage window. 
• Drill Run has great counter-coverage and comes out reasonably often
• Bulldoze and Gyro Ball are ridiculously slow
• With double weaknesses to Fire and Fighting, good luck using Blizzard before fainting.

Shadow Claw* has a great profile, making it ideal to pair with Ice Punch for a spammable Charge Move, as well as Drill Rush with good power and useful coverage.

The move rebalance on September 27, 2019 gave Alolan Sandslash the much needed Ice Punch, which is mandatory due to its low energy cost compared to A-Sandslash's other options. Benefiting from STAB, this is its main charge move and also acts as a shield bait.

Starting in June 1 2023, Alolan Sandslash gained access to Drill Run. It provides nearly perfect coverage when combined with Ice Punch, and is a much better move than Bulldoze.

Gyro Ball is amongst one of the worst moves in PvP, and Alolan Sandslash should not use it despite receiving STAB. Blizzard can pull off surprise KOes, but is far less consistent than Ice Punch due to its extreme cost.