Ninetales
Abilities: Snow Cloak / Snow Warning (Available)
Stats: 73 HP / 67 Atk / 75 Def / 81 SpA / 100 SpD / 109 Spe
Moveset:
Level Up
Start - Powder Snow
L4 - Tail Whip
L7 - Roar
L9 - Baby-Doll Eyes
L10 - Ice Shard
L12 - Confuse Ray
L15 - Icy Wind
L18 - Payback
L20 - Mist
L23 - Feint Attack
L26 - Hex
L28 - Aurora Beam
L31 - Extrasensory
L34 - Safeguard
L36 - Ice Beam
L39 - Imprison
L42 - Blizzard
L44 - Grudge
L47 - Captivate
L50 - Sheer Cold
TMs
TM05 - Roar
TM06 - Toxic
TM07 - Hail
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM13 - Ice Beam
TM14 - Blizzard
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM20 - Safeguard
TM21 - Frustration
TM27 - Return
TM32 - Double Team
TM42 - Facade
TM44 - Rest
TM45 - Attract
TM48 - Round
TM66 - Payback
TM70 - Aurora Veil
TM77 - Psych Up
TM79 - Frost Breath
TM87 - Swagger
TM88 - Sleep Talk
TM90 - Substitute
TM97 - Dark Pulse
TM100 - Confide
Egg moves
Egg - Freeze-Dry
Egg - Hypnosis
Egg - Flail
Egg - Spite
Egg - Disable
Egg - Howl
Egg - Agility
Egg - Encore
Egg - Moonblast
Egg - Power Swap
Egg - Secret Power
Egg - Charm
Egg - Tail Slap
Egg - Extrasensory
Start - Powder Snow
L4 - Tail Whip
L7 - Roar
L9 - Baby-Doll Eyes
L10 - Ice Shard
L12 - Confuse Ray
L15 - Icy Wind
L18 - Payback
L20 - Mist
L23 - Feint Attack
L26 - Hex
L28 - Aurora Beam
L31 - Extrasensory
L34 - Safeguard
L36 - Ice Beam
L39 - Imprison
L42 - Blizzard
L44 - Grudge
L47 - Captivate
L50 - Sheer Cold
TMs
TM05 - Roar
TM06 - Toxic
TM07 - Hail
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM13 - Ice Beam
TM14 - Blizzard
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM20 - Safeguard
TM21 - Frustration
TM27 - Return
TM32 - Double Team
TM42 - Facade
TM44 - Rest
TM45 - Attract
TM48 - Round
TM66 - Payback
TM70 - Aurora Veil
TM77 - Psych Up
TM79 - Frost Breath
TM87 - Swagger
TM88 - Sleep Talk
TM90 - Substitute
TM97 - Dark Pulse
TM100 - Confide
Egg moves
Egg - Freeze-Dry
Egg - Hypnosis
Egg - Flail
Egg - Spite
Egg - Disable
Egg - Howl
Egg - Agility
Egg - Encore
Egg - Moonblast
Egg - Power Swap
Egg - Secret Power
Egg - Charm
Egg - Tail Slap
Egg - Extrasensory
Level Up
Start - Dazzling Gleam
Start - Dazzling Gleam
Start - Imprison
Start - Nasty Plot
Start - Ice Beam
Start - Ice Shard
Start - Confuse Ray
Start - Safeguard
TMs
TM03 - Psyshock
TM04 - Calm Mind
TM05 - Roar
TM06 - Toxic
TM07 - Hail
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM13 - Ice Beam
TM14 - Blizzard
TM15 - Hyper Beam
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM20 - Safeguard
TM21 - Frustration
TM27 - Return
TM32 - Double Team
TM42 - Facade
TM44 - Rest
TM45 - Attract
TM48 - Round
TM66 - Payback
TM68 - Giga Impact
TM70 - Aurora Veil
TM77 - Psych Up
TM79 - Frost Breath
TM85 - Dream Eater
TM87 - Swagger
TM88 - Sleep Talk
TM90 - Substitute
TM97 - Dark Pulse
TM99 - Dazzling Gleam
TM100 - Confide
Egg moves
Egg - Freeze-Dry
Egg - Hypnosis
Egg - Flail
Egg - Spite
Egg - Disable
Egg - Howl
Egg - Agility
Egg - Encore
Egg - Moonblast
Egg - Power Swap
Egg - Secret Power
Egg - Charm
Egg - Tail Slap
Egg - Extrasensory
Start - Dazzling Gleam
Start - Dazzling Gleam
Start - Imprison
Start - Nasty Plot
Start - Ice Beam
Start - Ice Shard
Start - Confuse Ray
Start - Safeguard
TMs
TM03 - Psyshock
TM04 - Calm Mind
TM05 - Roar
TM06 - Toxic
TM07 - Hail
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM13 - Ice Beam
TM14 - Blizzard
TM15 - Hyper Beam
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM20 - Safeguard
TM21 - Frustration
TM27 - Return
TM32 - Double Team
TM42 - Facade
TM44 - Rest
TM45 - Attract
TM48 - Round
TM66 - Payback
TM68 - Giga Impact
TM70 - Aurora Veil
TM77 - Psych Up
TM79 - Frost Breath
TM85 - Dream Eater
TM87 - Swagger
TM88 - Sleep Talk
TM90 - Substitute
TM97 - Dark Pulse
TM99 - Dazzling Gleam
TM100 - Confide
Egg moves
Egg - Freeze-Dry
Egg - Hypnosis
Egg - Flail
Egg - Spite
Egg - Disable
Egg - Howl
Egg - Agility
Egg - Encore
Egg - Moonblast
Egg - Power Swap
Egg - Secret Power
Egg - Charm
Egg - Tail Slap
Egg - Extrasensory
Overview
A Pokemon walled by a Fire-type that has nine tales...
...Well this is awkward.
Alola Ninetales is a Pokemon that was given an alternative form to its regular form in Alola. With it brought the gift of Snow Warning - an ability that was once only available to Auroros and (Mega) Abomasnow. Gen VII brought a few new toys to Hail teams in the form of Aurora Veil, an attack that gives Reflect and Light Screen in one move while Hail is on the field, and Slush Rush abilities for Alola Sandslash and Beartic. The increased Speed is very noteworthy because it bypasses a lot of Pokemon that Ninetales could not outspeed before such as Terrakion, Garchomp, and Salamence. The Alola Form has some pretty cool (pun intended) things going on for it.
Alola Ninetales is still plagued by a myriad of issues, though. For starters its quadruple Steel-type weakness cannot be ignored. This makes it prone to Bullet Punch users such as Metagross and Scizor. Furthermore, the Stealth Rock weakness is ever-present on Alola Ninetales. This cuts into Alola Ninetales's longevity. Finally, lacking moves that hit Fire- and Steel-types is a major issue for it as well. Still, Alola Ninetales has a couple neat tricks going for it that we're going to discuss in-depth.
Potential Movesets:
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Aurora Veil
move 2: Freeze-Dry
move 3: Moonblast
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Encore
item: Light Clay / Leftovers
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
- Aurora Veil gives Alola Ninetales a great niche in being the fastest and most reliable user of the move thanks to Snow Warning and high Speed.
- Freeze-Dry gives Alola Ninetales a fighting chance against Water-types. This is best against Toxapex, who otherwise resists STAB Moonblast, or Pelipper, Quagsire and Mantine, who is quadruple weak to Freeze-Dry.
- If Water-types are of no major concern Blizzard can be used for a stronger STAB Ice-type attack. Considering Rain's popularity at this time, though, Blizzard probably won't be seen as a superior option anytime soon.
- Moonblast gives Alola Ninetales an option to hit Pokemon such as Kyurem-B, Keldeo, and Tyranitar.
- Encore allows Alola Ninetales to take advantage of Pokemon who would use Alola Ninetales as setup bait and lock them onto attacks that don't necessarily harm Ninetales.
- Hidden Power Fire gives Alola Ninetales a way to prevent Scizor from switching in freely.
- Hidden Power Ground helps Alola Ninetales become as least susceptible to Heatran as possible.
- Hidden Power Water gets an honorable mention for handling Fire-types who otherwise really wreck Alola Ninetales.
- Hypnosis gives Alola Ninetales an option to attempt to cripple one Pokemon on the opponent's team; however, the 60% accuracy makes it a shoddy option.
Set Details
- Max Speed to allow Alola Ninetales to outspeed as many threats as possible while tying, at worst, with Kartana.
- Max Special Attack allows Alola Ninetales to hit as hard as possible. This prevents it from being potential setup bait from Pokemon such as Gyarados who, otherwise, could take advantage of weaker STAB Blizzards and set up on Alola Ninetales.
- Maximizing durability in place of offense is a valid option as Aurora Veil can allow Ninetales to survive an attack a bit easier.
- Light Clay helps maximize Aurora Veil's effect as long as possible.
Other Options
- Nasty Plot bolster's Alola Ninetale's offenses further, though its lack of coverage moves hinder such a setup.
- Power Swap can also help Alola Ninetales prevent being used as setup bait by swapping its offenses with the opponent.
- Safeguard can further protect the team from status. Also an okay option.
- RestTalk - if only for lasting longer. Not really recommended
Aurora Veil, Snow Warning, Freeze-Dry, and decent typing help make Alola Ninetales a pretty chill Pokemon. It may not be a Pokemon that will remain in OU forever, though I could see it pop in and out every now and then to utilize some of its interesting perks. The common weaknesses of Fire, Rock, and Steel do not help Alola Ninetales. Furthermore, Alola Ninetales struggles a lot against Fire and Steel thanks to the lack of the diversity in its movepool.
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