>>28535999>The weight of the ice that covers its body makes these Alolan Sandslash heavier than normal Sandslash, and this causes them to be slower. Yet in snow fields and on ice, they move by creating a path with their claws, and so they’re able to move with swiftness.It can't get more speculative than this. The official site just gives flavor text, straight from the same guys who say Pidgeot goes at Mach 2 speed, then give it a 91 base speed. It clearly mentions how the species can compensate it, too. Also, regular Sandslash has Sand Rush as a HA, which might as well be a reference to it. The only way I see it being more defensive is due to typing, which is already a big change on itself.
If you give a Pokémon new typing, abilities and stats, why bother making the same Pokémon again?
