Pokémon Alola Ninetales

[GaRgAnt]

People still think Slush Rush is good? (Is this Merciless 2.0?)

 

[omgitzaxew]

I have updated the thread with some things that still work alongside Aurora Veil as well as removing things you should not use.

For our good friend omgitzaxew I have added the following to the second post to emphasize to NEVER USE SLUSH RUSH USERS IN OU WITH ALOLAN NINENTALES:

And for the record I'm still angry at the person who seriously suggested Attract as an option for Alolan Ninetales.

I'm flattered :')

Really tho I never even said anybody should try and abuse hail, I just used a Sandslash and with this in mind I ended up CHANGING the item on my Ninetails.
I whole heartedly agree that use should use light clay and a better sweeper mon than slush butt Sandslash to abuse Aurora Veil.

I am not trying to say we should use Sandslash but as far as a 2 Pokemon core goes it doesn't get much better. Alolan Ninetails takes care of fighting types that will give Sandslash a good fucking. A +4 sandslash (easily achievable with 2 swords dances) rips ass into a lot of the meta right now

+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Sandslash-Alola Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 20 Def Tapu Fini: 212-251 (119.7 - 141.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Sandslash-Alola Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Bulu: 460-541 (259.8 - 305.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Sandslash-Alola Iron Head vs. 164 HP / 92 Def Tapu Lele: 549-647 (330.7 - 389.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Sandslash-Alola Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko in Electric Terrain: 348-411 (238.3 - 281.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Sandslash-Alola Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 164-195 (104.4 - 124.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Sandslash-Alola Icicle Crash vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Pheromosa: 610-719 (417.8 - 492.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Sandslash-Alola Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Muk-Alola: 385-455 (181.6 - 214.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Sandslash-Alola Icicle Crash vs. 180 HP / 0 Def Celesteela: 253-300 (129.7 - 153.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Sandslash-Alola Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Marowak-Alola: 278-330 (166.4 - 197.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Sandslash-Alola Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 252 Def Magearna: 221-260 (141.6 - 166.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Sandslash-Alola Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Mimikyu: 445-525 (274.6 - 324%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Sandslash-Alola Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Mantine: 341-403 (177.6 - 209.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Can somebody provide a list of Pokemon that out speed this thing in hail??
I am in no means justifying a dedicated hail team but if you use a sandslash you need to be running icy rock with this thing, he is a stand alone beast. Pair those 2 with a strong water type like Gyarados and you have a GREAT 3 Pokemon core either to build a team around or dominate the battle tree with.












P.S. wanna battle? ;) i'll use Sandslash and a Vikavolt on my team lmao








You know what moderators just ban me already, I know how this ends.
Colon M says something else about Sandslash not being OU and irreverent. Then I say some really dumb shit I heard in a few rap songs.

 

[omgitzaxew]

Why are you posting +4 Calcs like they are relevant at all. You would be lucky to get one...

That's only 2 swords dances sirzor.
If you can't set up 2 swords dances than you may need to visit the typing page on bulbapedia and try learning what types are super effective // not very effective against others. Once you get that down, try finding a smogon page (that's all y'all like to look at) that shows the difference between "attack" and "special attack."

Now that we have learned the basics try implementing them into battle!!
So let's say you see a pokemon that is strong in "attack" and it's a type that isn't SUPER EFFECTIVE against you. Try throwing the Sandslash in on that after Auroras Veil is activated. Your opponent will either switch out (probably into a fire type that will be outsped and OHKO'd by a good ole' earthquake) and give you a free swords dance or they will stay in thinking they can attack you and you can use swords dance 3 times if you really wanted to be a doucebag (its what I usually do)


I am not on my computer or else I would give you a few calculations on the damage Sandslash takes after Auroras Veil has been set up and it's being attacked by a physical attacker.

I don't know why I have had to explain this to a group of people that should all know competitive battling. I DONT EVEN USE A FUCKING SANDSLASH

If you use Sandslash run an Icy Rock on your Alolan Ninetails if you don't you're a fool.


I pity the fool

 

[Martin]

If you use Sandslash run an Icy Rock on your Alolan Ninetails if you don't you're a fool.

or you could just not run alolan sandslash

 

[Dragontamer]

I am not on my computer or else I would give you a few calculations on the damage Sandslash takes after Auroras Veil has been set up and it's being attacked by a physical attacker.

252 Atk Tough Claws Metagross-Mega Hammer Arm vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sandslash-Alola through Reflect: 262-310 (90 - 106.5%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Sandslash-Alola Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Metagross-Mega: 140-166 (46.5 - 55.1%) -- 65.2% chance to 2HKO

252 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sandslash-Alola through Reflect: 438-516 (150.5 - 177.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Sandslash-Alola Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Charizard-Mega-X: 166-196 (55.8 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Besides, you're walled by Bulky Moltres anyway and it Will-o-Wisps away your gains.

(That's called a joke... just in case no one gets it.)

 

[omgitzaxew]

252 Atk Tough Claws Metagross-Mega Hammer Arm vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sandslash-Alola through Reflect: 262-310 (90 - 106.5%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Sandslash-Alola Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Metagross-Mega: 140-166 (46.5 - 55.1%) -- 65.2% chance to 2HKO

Besides, you're walled by Bulky Moltres anyway.

You're right bulky Moltres walls Alolan Sandslash.
I wouldn't switch a Sandslash in on either of those thank you letting me know more about that.

 

[Dragontamer]

You're right bulky Moltres walls Alolan Sandslash.
I wouldn't switch a Sandslash in on either of those thank you letting me know more about that.

But I would switch a Mega-Metagross in on Ninetails. Which is the point. Your chain of logic is Ninetails + Aura Veil -> Sandslash. That's an incredibly fragile chain.

I really don't see how Sandslash is up for serious discussion as an offensive partner with Ninetails. At bare minimum, an offensive partner complements the original Pokemon.

-------

Your basics are correct with using a Set-up sweeper with A-Ninetails. But there are so many better offensive-setup sweepers in the OU tier that there's basically no point bringing up Sandslash.

Electric Z-Conversion Porygon-Z is something along the lines of what sets up behind A-Ninetails's aura veil. Covers that Steel-weakness, threaten with powerful Sp. Attacks, and for bonus points you can run Adaptability Thunderbolt + Blizzard even. I mean, if you really wanted Icy Rock to be used... even then, I think the defensive threat of 3 more turns of screens is more serious. Especially since Z-Conversion Porygon-Z can run Recover.

 

[Colonel M]

This is what I would do!

You're the only person in this thread at this time who is even making such a huge deal over nothing. What people have stated about Alolan Ninetales in OU is correct. The only item you should run is Light Clay. You should not use Icy Rock for any reason whatsoever. Alolan Sandslash is a bad Pokemon in OU and should never be used alongside Alolan Ninetales there. Furthermore, Hail as a commited playstyle in OU is usually bad as well with very few redeeming qualities. These solidify why Light Clay is the only item Alolan Ninetales should use.

Nevermind the plethora of Choice Scarf Pokemon still faster than Alolan Sandslash (Scarf Pheromosa says hello as one example), the fact it needs two boosts to OHKO some of these Pokemon is rather pathetic. As for your reply on what stops it 100%: Balloon Heatran.

I am trying to be quite level-headed in responding to your arguments, but your hot-headed attitude with ad hominems are not helping your argument either. Many Scarf Pokemon and those with priority can still overcome Alolan Sandslash. Mega Charizard Y can completely reset the weather and Mega Alakazam can trace the Slush Rush.

Finally, it is "irrelevant", not "irreverant."

 

[omgitzaxew]

You're the only person in this thread at this time who is even making such a huge deal over nothing. What people have stated about Alolan Ninetales in OU is correct. The only item you should run is Light Clay. You should not use Icy Rock for any reason whatsoever.

Nevermind the plethora of Choice Scarf Pokemon still faster than Alolan Sandslash (Scarf Pheromosa says hello as one example), the fact it needs two boosts to OHKO some of these Pokemon is rather pathetic. As for your reply on what stops it 100%: Balloon Heatran.

Finally, it is "irrelevant", not "irreverant."

I am trying to be quite level-headed in responding to your arguments, but your hot-headed attitude with ad hominems are not helping your argument either. Many Scarf Pokemon and those with priority can still overcome Alolan Sandslash. Charizard Y can completely reset the weather and Mega Alakazam can trace the Slush Rush.

You found a typing error and think you're cute, I digress.

 

[Dragontamer]

Please read above where I said the exact same thing.

Let me be more specific then about what I'm responding to.

I am not trying to say we should use Sandslash but as far as a 2 Pokemon core goes it doesn't get much better.

A-Sandslash and A-Ninetails are NOT good partners in singles battle. More than just the shared Fire Weakness, Sandslash offers no useful resistances to common switch-ins that counter Ninetails. Mega-Metagross was my example as a very common pokemon that likely enjoys switching into A-Ninetails (HP Fire is an lol 3HKO).

----------

In short: as others have said... you can just... not use Sandslash.

 

[Colonel M]

I believe it is best we moved on and perhaps stir some new discussion.

Has anyone had any success with Alolan Ninetales with different set up sweepers? Mega Gyarados was one of the bigger ones mentioned, but I thought a bit more during the heated debacle on how Mega Charizard X can appreciate the Aurora Veil - specifically if it packs Roost instead. The nice thing is Freeze-Dry from Alolan Ninetales helps a lot with keeping Tapu Fini pressured. You could probably use some lures alongside it too.

 

[Martin]

I've tried Salamence a bit and it's pretty fun. Getting one boost under your belt is scary enough as-is, but if you're able to secure two to stop random scarfers like Latios/Chomper/Nihilego picking you off it's extremely nice, or alternatively it just makes securing that one boost easier 'cause it can be a pain w/ mence a lot of the time.

 

[Sergeant Spooky]

I personally think that unless you're stacking Fire and Steel weaknesses, any sweeper/wallbreaker pairs pretty well Ninetales.

Mons with recovery or Substitute are the best users of Veil though.

SubDD Zygarde is very difficult to handle behind veil for pretty obvious reasons. Even with no investment, it's not easy to break its subs with neutral attacks, and even when you do break its sub, it can still take STAB SE hits. Only drawback is that it's a bit weak.

 

[omgitzaxew]

I personally think that unless you're stacking Fire and Steel weaknesses, any sweeper/wallbreaker pairs pretty well Ninetales.

Mons with recovery or Substitute are the best users of Veil though.

SubDD Zygarde is very difficult to handle behind veil for pretty obvious reasons. Even with no investment, it's not easy to break its subs with neutral attacks, and even when you do break its sub, it can still take STAB SE hits. Only drawback is that it's a bit weak.

I like Mega Gyarados because he can take care of the FIRE, ROCK, and even STEEL if you have EQ on your Gyarados. The M Gyarados also really appreciated Alolan Ninetails being able to take out FIGHTING and GRASS type.

 

[pika pal]

Might be an odd idea, but how would Nihilego work as a teammate to this thing? Does well against Fire and Poison attacks aimed at Ninetales, the latter being a 4x resist to help even on Physical hits, can set rocks to stack chip damage with Hail (while never Slush Rushing, it'll be up for the Veil), and Power Gem allows it to threaten Zard-Y, which switches in fairly easily against Ninetales and discourages Aurora Veil if it's Mega Evolved. Can also make a decent cleaner to finish the job done by a sweeper Ninetales sets up thanks to Beast Boost, and I saw a Z-Sandstorm set idea for the +1 Speed (and SpD Boost) in Nihilego's thread, which might be cool to snowball beast boosts with some prior damage. As for Ninetales offering, it can put a little dent into or otherwise scare bulky ground types that resist Nihilego's STABs if it's running HP Fire, like Zygarde or Landorus-T.

252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Nihilego: 124-147 (34.5 - 40.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Obvious shortcoming is shared Steel weakness and Ninetales offering no resists in return, but this is more as "4th mon" option once Ninetales is built into the team than as a core option. Then again, I'm having trouble finding too many things where Ninetales resists more than maybe one weakness for an upper rank mon. The other obvious options have been covered, but maybe Volcarona could benefit since Ninetales helps wear down bulky Waters with Freeze Dry and the Hail overwrites Rain so Volcarona can more easily use its Fire STAB uninhibited.

 

[ScottyAdams]

I love this mon so much. Prolly my fave 'new' mon from this gen and so damn majestic. Tho I do use the Nasty Plot set more than the Aurora Veil version. Btw: Irrelevant calc, I know but: +2 252 SpA Ninetales-Alola Blizzard vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Skarmory: 348-411 (104.1 - 123%) -- guaranteed OHKO (that is PsyDef Skarm and after just 1 Nasty Plot boost)

Now, maybe this would work more in lower tiers but has anyone thought about D-Dance Kommo-O as a partner for this mon. Kommo can take the Fire, Steel and Rock moves aimed at Ninetales (resisting Fire and Rock and being netural to Steel) whilst Ninetales can take the Ice, Dragon and Fairy moves that are aimed at Kommo-O. Aurora Veil also allows Kommo to begin setting up D-Dances.

 

[Sun King]

Z-Rain Dance Manaphy adores Aurora Veil. All you really need to do is dent his checks and ur good.

 

[ScottyAdams]

Might have to try that combo at one point. Always been a fan of Manaphy

 

[Aurinko]

I found it to be effective paired with either Volcarona or Charizard-X since Ninetales-A lures in the Steels these set up on and pressures Tapu Fini at the same time.

 

[ScottyAdams]

I defo like this working with Volca/Zard X for those reasons. Tho you need to pair that with a defogger (which you should be doing anyways lol) due to the rock weakness they share. It can work with a lot of sweepers tbh

 

[Jojobobo]

So, I thought of an Alolan Sandslash you would actually want to use with Alolan Ninetales...

It's a BALLIN' SWORDS DANCE MOFO-ING SLUSH RUSH SWEEPER utility set:

Sandslash-Alola @ Light Clay
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 8 Def / 248 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Aurora Veil
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake / Hail / whatever

A-Ninetales in my experience can be a little tricky to set Aurora Veil with itself due to its many weaknesses, and of course it's rocks weak so it appreciates Defog/Rapid Spin support. I tried Mew for this kind support (I went for defensive EV spread with SR/Aurora Veil/Defog/U-turn with Light Clay, hoping to get a slow U-turn to something to abuse the dual screens), but it feels sucky given it's so hard on the utility and has no real offensive pressure.

In this way, I think Alolan Sandslash is massively better at the same role. While you don't get SR support (which I'm starting to question whether offensive Aurora Veil teams need to a large extent, given Hail provides chip damage to remove sashes and Sturdies), you get Rapid Spin and a blazing speed tier to use Aurora Veil with. That speed tier and Aurora Veil are cool, as it means you can outspeed scarfed 252+ 102s (Garchomp) as well as all the nasty +1 252+ 100s (Zard-X, Volcarona) and still set Aurora Veil - taking the wind out of their sails and giving you the clutch you might need against such offensive mons.

On top of this, there is some defensive synergy with A-Ninetales too. Apart from the Fire weaknesses they share Ninetales is Rock, Steel and Poison weak, while Sandslash is Poison immune and Rock and Steel neutral. Slash is Fighting and Ground weak, while Ninetales is neutral to both and offensively threatens both. It goes without saying that Slush Rush allows for some late game cleaning if you get the opportunity.

Rapid Spin and Aurora Veil are a must, as I think are the speed EVs (248 is used as you don't outspeed anything additional with 252, and 8 Def to give odd HP), but I'm unsure on the rest of what to give this mon. Possibly a defensive set is better with 248 HP and 12 Def, or different coverage. I'm going to try the pair on the ladder with some set-up mons and see what happens and if I can further tweak the set, though suggestions are welcome for improvements and EVs. I think most people know by now that offensive Slush Rush sweepers, while not impossible to run, are very tricky to effectively implement on an OU team - to me at least this Slash set seems like a sensible fit for the new Aurora Veil niche of Hail.

 

[dwarfstar]

In this way, I think Alolan Sandslash is massively better at the same role. While you don't get SR support (which I'm starting to question whether offensive Aurora Veil teams need to a large extent, given Hail provides chip damage to remove sashes and Sturdies), you get Rapid Spin and a blazing speed tier to use Aurora Veil with.

The primary purpose of Stealth Rock isn't breaking Sturdy and Focus Sash (Skarmory is the only OU-viable Sturdy mon and there's a total of two mons that actually use Focus Sash, one of which just dies to Stealth Rock anyway). The chip damage per turn from Stealth Rock is greater than that from Hail against anything that doesn't resist Rock, and that extra chip damage brings a lot of mons into OHKO/2HKO range that otherwise wouldn't be. Hail can do that eventually, but requires multiple turns to achieve the same result, making it inefficient to rely on that instead of SR to back up your sweepers or breakers. I'd still find a place for Stealth Rock on the team.

Now, as for the set itself, I don't think A-slash is worth the teamslot as a second veil setter. Assuming you're not taking any SE hits, A-tales will typically be around to set your screen about twice per match in my experience, which is kinda all you need. Aurora Veil isn't something to try and have up every turn in battle because that gets to be a large and very predictable momentum drain that the opponent can take advantage of for free switches/setup - you set it up right before you send in the sweeper or other intended beneficiary to maximize what you can get out of it. Besides, A-slash still doesn't have good defensive synergy with A-tales and doesn't really contribute anything notable to the team outside of having another veil setter (there are plenty of better choices for hazard removal - Tapu Fini, Excadrill, Latios, you name it). There's better uses for that teamslot.

 

[Jojobobo]

The primary purpose of Stealth Rock isn't breaking Sturdy and Focus Sash (Skarmory is the only OU-viable Sturdy mon and there's a total of two mons that actually use Focus Sash, one of which just dies to Stealth Rock anyway). The chip damage per turn from Stealth Rock is greater than that from Hail against anything that doesn't resist Rock, and that extra chip damage brings a lot of mons into OHKO/2HKO range that otherwise wouldn't be. Hail can do that eventually, but requires multiple turns to achieve the same result, making it inefficient to rely on that instead of SR to back up your sweepers or breakers. I'd still find a place for Stealth Rock on the team.

I do know how SR works, but I guess it's never safe to assume the person who you are addressing isn't an idiot.

The point is most Aurora Veil teams are built on bulky or strong set-up sweepers (as you've mentioned), and as such you come in and try KO as much as you can. Therefore your opponent isn't actually doing that much switching to take on the threat, they're bringing in one thing and doing what they can then bringing in the next thing. The style of play means that you're not going to be generating much chip damage from your rocks, as their switching is minimal.

However, I'm trying a rocker on my team also, if for nothing else that it's a great way to generate a free turn against an opponent that is overly keen on getting rocks away. I just think it's less necessary for a dual screens team with inherent chip damage than for other teams, but that's good in a way as it takes the pressure off the rocker to get them set.

Now, as for the set itself, I don't think A-slash is worth the teamslot as a second veil setter. Assuming you're not taking any SE hits, A-tales will typically be around to set your screen about twice per match in my experience, which is kinda all you need. Aurora Veil isn't something to try and have up every turn in battle because that gets to be a large and very predictable momentum drain that the opponent can take advantage of for free switches/setup - you set it up right before you send in the sweeper or other intended beneficiary to maximize what you can get out of it. Besides, A-slash still doesn't have good defensive synergy with A-tales and doesn't really contribute anything notable to the team outside of having another veil setter (there are plenty of better choices for hazard removal - Tapu Fini, Excadrill, Latios, you name it). There's better uses for that teamslot.

That was not my experience with A-Ninetales, I have not found it trivial to get two settings of Aurora Veil as Ninetales is threatened by so much (it's speed tier is only good not great, it doesn't have a huge offensive presence to force stuff out and it's has those galling weaknesses) - so I think a secondary setter is definitely worth it. I laddered to around the 1400 mark with A-Ninetales, which I think is enough to get a grasp on what is a problem for the team.

Beyond that, what Defogger/Spinner actually fits with Ninetales? Fini is okay but doesn't make good use of the protection dual screens provides as it's purely a utility set (I found poor OU traction with CM/Surf/Moon Blast/Defog personally), likewise the same with a utility Mew. I personally don't agree Excadrill or Latios serve the role better, although they are more offensive Excadrill is slow and counterable without Sand support (though Mold Breaker is arguably quite nice) and Latios isn't very relevant anymore because of the Tapus and Greninja.

A-Slash provides you with an Aurora Veil that's almost impossible to block due to the speed tier, and Rapid Spin support, and revenge/cleaner capabilities - that's a hell of lot to have on just one mon other than toothless utility, and it's not too hard to double switch to bring it in safely. Again, I realise that the idea of an Aurora Veil team isn't to maintain Aurora Veil constantly, it's to bring something in and set up. However when that mon goes down, you're going to need to set Aurora Veil again - the combo of A-Slash and A-Ninetales does that much better than A-Ninetales alone.

Regardless, I'll test the pairing to put my money where my mouth is, and make an RMT if the results are good.

 

[Martin]

1. It's not hard to set Aurora Veil multiple times in a match with Alolan Ninetales provided that you're not playing completely awfully.
   
2. By using Alolan Sandslash to set veil, it takes 2-3 turns due to needing hail up in order to set it in the first place, which is a) unreliable, b) inefficient and c) outclassed by ordinary screens. (Hint: Aurora Veil is only viable on Pokémon with Snow Warning.)
   
3. This requires wasting a team slot, which could be used on something which a) isn't redundant, b) fills a role that's not already filled sufficiently by a mandatory partner and c) isn't terrible, on Alolan Sandslash.
   • For example, if you want hazard removal, you could run something like Latios or Tapu Fini, or if you want Aurora Veil you can just... y'know, use it on Alolan Ninetales (who does it better due to Encore and access to Snow Warning).
4. SD+3 Atks is better than this set because it at least does something that isn't completely redundant while not being hard walled by a large swathe of the meta, even if it's still god awful.
5. Have fun stopping a Volcarona sweep consistently when it a) sets up on partner Ninetales with complete impunity and b) you can't even 2HKO it; same goes for Charizard X, except exchange "2HKO" with "get remotely close to OHKOing". Beyond these two 'mons, Mamoswine and Weavile achieve basically everything this set achieves with regards to revenge killing bar, like, Scarf Lele (which you need Iron Head on Slash to do consistently) due to their access to Ice Shard, lack of reliance on hail and the latter being naturally faster than a big chunk of the meta.
   
6. This set is so immensely forced that I'm quite frankly shocked that you haven't hit your internal "fuck it" button and given up on the idea that Alolan Sandslash is even remotely viable by this point.

 

[Jojobobo]

Just because you make your points in a rude and blunt fashion doesn't make them good.

It's not hard to set Aurora Veil multiple times in a match with Alolan Ninetales provided that you're not playing completely awfully.

Mega Metagross is everywhere currently and completely counters Ninetales, as do many OU mons (Scizor, Magearna, Celesteela, etc). If you read what I said, I said that it is not trivial to set Aurora Veil more than once - which it isn't. I wouldn't say it's incredibly difficult to set more than once, but super duper easy it isn't, and so a second screen setter does make that process trivial.

But thanks for undermining my ability as a player, even though I don't really think you read what I said properly in the first place - i.e. I never said setting Aurora Veil was incredibly difficult.

By using Alolan Sandslash to set veil, it takes 2-3 turns due to needing hail up in order to set it in the first place, which is a) unreliable, b) inefficient and c) outclassed by ordinary screens. (Hint: Aurora Veil is only viable on Pokémon with Snow Warning.)

It takes two turns, one where you auto-hail and one where you bring the secondary Aurora Veil user in (if not Slash as that double switch can be so terribly tricky, then Mew, as it doesn't share Ninetales' weaknesses and so a manual switch is more reasonable).

You say it's (a) unreliable, why? There's not many weather pokemon that want to be switching into Ninetales (only Zard-Y after it has mega evolved), so having hail up for 2-3 turns is IMO in no way an un-reliable phenomenon. All you have to do is get that pokemon out at some point if a few turns time.

You say it's (b) inefficient, and sure you're right it is. But you're missing the point, it's a secondary setter providing additional utility with Rapid Spin also. You are still supposed to set Aurora Veil with Ninetales, but hypothetically let's paint a situation. You and your opponent have three pokemon left, and you end up with Ninetales against Mega Metagross. Ninetales has set hail, so even though it gets the OHKO from Metagross, your secondary setter can now set Aurora Veil - allowing whatever you had in slot three to set up even though the odds looked unfavourable.

Or better yet, your opponent had a surprise scarf and OHKOed Ninetales. You now have an opportunity to easily set AV and then set up with something else, as there's little Slash can't outspeed. The point is, the secondary setter is opening more opportunities to set Aurora Veil that you didn't have previously.

You say it's (c) outclassed by ordinary screens, I really wouldn't say that's true. Yes, hail has to be in effect, but all that means is Ninetales has to be out a single turn and then you have 4 turns to secondary set. As mentioned, bringing in additional weather doesn't happen much in practice as Ninetales deals with them well already, so setting Aurora Veil inside of those turns isn't a problem. To me, it edges conventional screens as they take two turns to set (literally providing your opponent a free switch if you insist on both) and they don't expire on the same turn - giving a one turn disparity in your defences which, while not awful, still is worse than when the effects go away at the same time.

This requires wasting a team slot, which could be used on something which a) isn't redundant, b) fills a role that's not already filled sufficiently by a mandatory partner and c) isn't terrible, on Alolan Sandslash.

For example, if you want hazard removal, you could run something like Latios or Tapu Fini, or if you want Aurora Veil you can just... y'know, use it on Alolan Ninetales (who does it better due to Encore and access to Snow Warning).

You've already covered these points elsewhere, as have I in previous posts, so your comment here was pointless. Rapid Spin/Revenge-killing and cleaning/opening up more opportunities to set AV that differ to the opportunities that Ninetales in does not strike me as redundant or terrible, and though the role is filled by a partner it doesn't hurt to have something secondary filling that role as well as others (teams that have two Taunt users, etc.). Neither Latios nor Fini can dual screen in one turn, which is the point of an Aurora Veil team in general. Slash supports that crucial team role better than they do.

Also as I keep mentioning, I never said that Ninetales shouldn't be your primary Aurora Veil setter.

SD+3 Atks is better than this set because it at least does something that isn't completely redundant while not being hard walled by a large swathe of the meta, even if it's still god awful.

SD+3 Atks has poor mileage given that an Aurora Veil Ninetales needs to hold Light Clay and not an Icy Rock to make good use of Aurora Veil. Further, the typing doesn't exactly lend itself to a set-up turn. With the high speed tier, the suggested Slash set is doing something (setting Veil mostly without fail against fast mons) which as you point out the hard walled SD set rarely does.

Have fun stopping a Volcarona sweep consistently when it a) sets up on partner Ninetales with complete impunity and b) you can't even 2HKO it

You're completely right, I can't 2HKO it, what I can do is OHKO it and outspeed it at the +1:

252 Atk Sandslash-Alola Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Volcarona: 388-460 (124.7 - 147.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Or even with a more defensive spread:

8 Atk Sandslash-Alola Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Volcarona: 312-368 (100.3 - 118.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

I think you got a little caught up in the vigorous nay-saying to engage your brain.

...same goes for Charizard X, except exchange "2HKO" with "get remotely close to OHKOing". Beyond these two 'mons, Mamoswine and Weavile achieve basically everything this set achieves with regards to revenge killing bar, like, Scarf Lele (which you need Iron Head on Slash to do consistently) due to their access to Ice Shard, lack of reliance on hail and the latter being naturally faster than a big chunk of the meta.

Ninetales outspeeds Zard-X, so even if you can't take a hit from it you can set Aurora Veil, which is fine late game as it puts X massively on the back foot. Slash doesn't have a reliance on its speed and hail to necessarily Rapid Spin all the time, and as I mentioned earlier Slash can run Hail to set it itself. And sure, Mamoswine and Weavile are better and faster revenge killers, but they don't revenge kill and offer utility. Plenty of people run Rapid Spin on Sand Rush Excadrill with TTar, whose speed tier is similar - really how is that any different?

This set is so immensely forced that I'm quite frankly shocked that you haven't hit your internal "fuck it" button and given up on the idea that Alolan Sandslash is even remotely viable by this point.

Well it's rude, belligerent and unpleasant people like you who sustain me and give me the will to go on. Have a nice day.