UU Alolan Ninetales [QC: 3/3] [GP: 2/2]

[BigFatMantis]

[OVERVIEW]

Alolan Ninetales is the only relevant Pokemon in UU that can consistently set up Aurora Veil. Its great Speed tier allows it to set up Aurora Veil in front of almost all other UU foes, and its access to support moves like Hypnosis and Encore allows it to switch out to your sweepers more easily. Sadly, Ice / Fairy is not a great defensive typing, as Alolan Ninetales will drop easily to both offensive and defensive variants of Steel-types like Scizor, Jirachi, and Celesteela, making it difficult to consistently get Aurora Veil up against some teams. Additionally, a lot of common leads can give Alolan Ninetales a hard time, such as Zeraora with Knock Off, and Bullet Punch Scizor and Choice Scarf Jirachi KO it before it can set up Aurora Veil. Alolan Ninetales also faces heavy competition from Grimmsnarl because it is guaranteed to get one Light Clay-boosted screen up with Prankster before being knocked out, and it does not wear down its teammates with hail damage.

[SET]
name: Aurora Veil
move 1: Aurora Veil
move 2: Freeze-Dry
move 3: Hypnosis
move 4: Encore / Safeguard
item: Light Clay
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Setting up Aurora Veil at all costs is the main priority for Alolan Ninetales. Freeze-Dry is the only offensive move Alolan Ninetales needs, as it hits a substantial number of UU Pokemon such as Latias, Gyarados, and Amoonguss for super effective damage. However, you should not rely on Alolan Ninetales offensively at all and only use this if you need to chip certain foes to allow your sweepers to clean more easily. Hypnosis can be used to put Pokemon to sleep that threaten to remove Aurora Veil with Defog or after Aurora Veil is up to allow you to safely switch in one of your sweepers. You can also use it to cripple foes that threaten to KO Alolan Ninetales, but at 60% accuracy, this is very risky. Hypnosis can also be used when forcing out foes like Salamence, Rotom-W, and Kommo-o, as the free turn to use it has little downside and can be more beneficial than immediately setting up Aurora Veil. The main objective is to use it as a means to build momentum for your sweepers to come in safely. For the last slot, Encore is preferred because it can give you a safe switch to gain momentum for any of your sweepers. You can also use it to shut down Pokemon that attempt to set up, such as Calm Mind Latias, Substitute Primarina, and Nasty Plot Galarian Moltres. Safeguard can also be used so that your sweepers don't have to worry about status conditions when they come in, such as an opposing Primarina trying to burn your incoming sweeper with Scald. Hail is an option as well, although it is useful only against opposing weather teams that try to cancel the Snow Warning hail. These teams are not common, and Hail rarely offers any utility otherwise. Moonblast can also be considered to safely 2HKO Kyurem and OHKO Crawdaunt and Kommo-o, but a support move like Encore or Safeguard is usually preferred unless you have no other way of dealing with those foes. Since Alolan Ninetales is used for support, the EV distribution is focused on Speed and survivability to maximize its chances of successfully setting up Aurora Veil.

Alolan Ninetales should set up Aurora Veil as soon as it can. With its great Speed tier, there are few things in UU that can stop it from doing so. Alolan Ninetales fits exclusively on hyper offense teams, as only these teams can maximize the utility offered from Aurora Veil. Alolan Ninetales struggles mightily against faster Pokemon that can KO it, cripple it with Taunt, or remove its Light Clay with Knock Off before Aurora Veil is up. These Pokemon include Zeraora and Azelf, as well as Prankster Grimmsnarl and Choice Scarf Jirachi. As such, you need an answer to all of these when building your hyper offense team. A lead Krookodile can help threaten many of these checks and force them out, and it also helps get up Stealth Rock. Jirachi can also be used to set up Stealth Rock and also offers Healing Wish support to your other sweepers. Azumarill is typically a great partner, since it can help check Lycanroc-D and Grimmsnarl with unboosted STAB moves. Azumarill can also use Belly Drum more easily under Aurora Veil and proceed to clean out most of the enemy team, as it no longer has to rely exclusively on Aqua Jet while Aurora Veil is up. Alolan Ninetales struggles against all Steel-type Pokemon, including slower ones like Celesteela and Magnezone, which can OHKO it through Aurora Veil. A partner like Bulk Up Zeraora or Nasty Plot Thundurus-T can help ease the pressure from these foes, as both of them resist Steel and can absorb Electric-type attacks from Magnezone and other Electric-types. Other good teammates include offensive Steel-types like Autotomize Celesteela and Swords Dance Scizor, which are somewhat bulky and can set up very easily under Aurora Veil to begin a sweep. Calm Mind Jirachi can also set up freely against most opposing Steel-types, and Jirachi, Celesteela, and Scizor can all take advantage of common revenge killers to Alolan Ninetales like Choice Scarf Jirachi. Offensive Dragon-types like Clangorous Soul Kommo-o and Calm Mind Latias can also try to boost more than once under Aurora Veil. These Pokemon also help pressure Fire-types like Rotom-H and Volcanion, which would otherwise threaten Alolan Ninetales and can get rid of Aurora Veil with Defog. Galarian Moltres is also a good option, as it has significant bulk under Aurora Veil, allowing it to use Agility and take hits against foes like Zeraora to activate Weakness Policy and Berserk for damage boosts. Galarian Moltres also significantly pressures other common threats to Alolan Ninetales such as Victini and Jirachi.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Icy Rock can be used on a hail team with Slush Rush Arctozolt for more hail turns for Arctozolt to sweep. Using both Alolan Ninetales and Arctozolt stacks a Steel and Fire weakness, though, and you would need significant support from other teammates to check Pokemon like Scizor and Jirachi. A more offensive Aurora Veil set with Blizzard + Moonblast and maximum Special Attack can be considered to give Alolan Ninetales greater offensive presence. This allows it to more easily pressure many common threats like Latias, Krookodile, and Terrakion. Unfortunately, Alolan Ninetales has bad base Special Attack, so it is not going to do significant damage to anything that takes neutral damage or resists its attacks. Alolan Ninetales has access to Nasty Plot, which, combined with Moonblast, can significantly boost its offensive presence while maintaining some bulk investment. This lets it take advantage of its great offensive typing and Speed tier to try to sweep or do heavy damage on its own. Alolan Ninetales is very frail, though, and even under Aurora Veil, it would not get that many opportunities to set up with Nasty Plot. Alolan Ninetales also cannot break through most Steel- and Fire-types even with multiple Nasty Plot boosts. Disable is another support option that Alolan Ninetales can run, allowing it to totally shut down Choice item users. Encore and Safeguard are still generally better choices, as they both have more opportunities to be useful.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Alolan Ninetales is in big trouble against any Steel-type Pokemon, in particular Scizor, which can OHKO it with Bullet Punch, and Choice Scarf Jirachi, which will OHKO it with Iron Head before it can set up Aurora Veil. Slower Steel-types like Celesteela and Magnezone take negligible damage from Freeze-Dry and will OHKO Alolan Ninetales even after it sets up Aurora Veil.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types also resist Freeze-Dry, so Alolan Ninetales cannot do much against them. Victini will still OHKO Alolan Ninetales through Aurora Veil, and a Choice Scarf Victini will OHKO it before it can even get Aurora Veil set. Rotom-H is a great Defogger against Alolan Ninetales, as it takes negligible damage from Freeze-Dry and can remove Aurora Veil immediately once it is set up, as well as threaten Alolan Ninetales with Overheat.

**Faster Threats**: Alolan Ninetales struggles against Pokemon that are faster and can threaten to KO it or hinder its ability to properly set up Aurora Veil. Zeraora and Alakazam can remove its Light Clay with Knock Off before Aurora Veil is set up. Lycanroc-D and Jolly Scolipede are faster and can OHKO it. Azelf can use Taunt to prevent Aurora Veil and has access to Knock Off and Fire Blast, essentially shutting down Alolan Ninetales.

**Weather Changers**: Weather teams, in particular sun teams with Torkoal and rain teams with Politoed, will give Alolan Ninetales a hard time trying to keep Aurora Veil up. Alolan Ninetales will typically need to carry Hail in order to counteract the effects of the changing weather.

**Entry Hazards**: Since Alolan Ninetales needs to run Light Clay, it is vulnerable to all entry hazards, in particular Stealth Rock. This will prevent Alolan Ninetales from continuously coming in to set up Aurora Veil when multiple hazards are laid down, as the hazard damage will wear it down very quickly.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[BigFatMantis, 507497]]
- Quality checked by: [[Twilight, 344575], [Estarossa, 461329], [martha, 384270]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073], [Eyan, 226777]]

 

[Twilight]

[OVERVIEW]

- Ninetales-Alola is the only relevant Pokemon in the UU metagame that can set up Aurora Veil consistently.
- Its great speed tier allow it to set up Veil in front of almost all other UU foes.
- Access to support moves like Hypnosis and Encore allows you to switch out to your sweepers more easily.
- Ice/Fairy is a great offensive typing, and Freeze Dry can hit almost half of the entire UU tier (19 different pokemon) for Super Effective damage, but Ninetales-A has very bad Special Attack and cannot utilize offense effectively. Freeze Dry alone punishes a lot of things and for the most part it doesn't need Moonblast so mentioning its Fairy-typing has no effect here. This comment about Freeze Dry can just be used in set comments.
- Ice/Fairy is also a terrible defensive typing, and Ninetales will not last long, especially against Steel types like Scizor, Jirachi, or Celesteela.
- Since setting up veil relies on Hail, your sweepers will unfortunately end up taking light chip damage
- Relying on Hypnosis as a 60 ACC move usually yields inconsistent results.
- Even though Ninetales is fast, it is still outsped by plenty of UU mons, including Alakazam, Azelf, Lycanroc-D, and Zeraora, all of which can either Taunt or Knock Off the Light Clay before screens are up (or just KO you in Lycanroc's case) You should also mention Scizor BP and scarf Jirachi.

I'd make a direct comment about Grimmsnarl and how this makes it a more favorable screen setter most of the time due to these things

[SET]
name: Aurora Veil
move 1: Aurora Veil
move 2: Freeze-Dry
move 3: Hypnosis
move 4: Hail (space) / (space) Encore
item: Light Clay
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Timid
evs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe

Hail shouldn't be the primary slash rn. Make it Encore / Safeguard. Drizzle teams are extremely rare. So it is mainly there for the sun matchup but again that isn't the most common archetype going around. With hippo not being here the need to set hail is limited and these other moves give more utility.

[SET COMMENTS]

Paragraph 1
- The set is very straightforward - you set up Aurora Veil as soon as you can. With its great Speed tier, there are few things in UU that can stop it from doing so. This is repetitive info and should probably come in the second para. remove
- Hypnosis has three main purposes - sleep pokemon that threaten to KO Ninetales, This point is a little sketchy because its a 60% accurate move. I'd rather get veil up once than risk missing and not setting it at all. sleep pokemon that threaten to defog the screens, or sleep a pokemon after screens are up to allow you to safely switch in one of your sweepers. You should be using it for the latter reason the most, as getting a safe switch in is important for building momentum.
- Freeze-Dry is the only offensive move it needs, as it hits 19 different UU Pokemon Just give some examples of stuff it punishes instead. for Super Effective damage. However, you should not rely on Ninetales offensively at all, and only use this if you need to chip certain mons to allow your sweepers to clean more easily.
- For the last slot, Hail is preferred so that you can set up screens more easily in case the Hail has faded. This also helps against weather teams that try to cancel the hail to prevent setting up screens. Encore can also be used though, and it is a good support move that allows you to plan a safe switch to gain momentum for any of your sweepers. You'll obviously need to change this. Make encore the main point, then why safeguard can be considered. Keep hail as a mention though for the rare weather war matchups.
- Light Clay is the only item to be considered, as the main job of Nintales-A is to keep screens up, and Light Clay is the only item that can help extend the screens duration. This isn't true because hail teams with Arctozolt usually run Icy Rock. Either way remove this line, it's useless info.
- Since Ninetales-A is used as support, the EV distribution is focused on Speed and survivability to maximize your chances of successfully setting up screens.

Give a mention to Moonblast. It lets you 2HKO Kyurem. Garuantees OHKOs on Crawdaunt and Kommo-o. It is also the best means of chipping away Thick Fat Mamoswine too.

Paragraph 2
- Ninetales-A fits exclusively on a Hyper Offensive Screens team, as only these types of teams can maximize the utility offered from Aurora Veil.
- Ninetales-A struggles mightily against faster pokemon that can KO it, taunt it, or Knock Off its Light Clay before veil is up. These pokemon include Zeraora, Alakazam, Azelf, Lycanroc-Dusk, as well as Prankster Grimmsnarl, Scizor with Bullet Punch, Zygarde-10% with Iron Tail, and Choice Scarf Jirachi. As such, you need an answer to all of these when building your Hyper Offensive team. Azumarill is typically a great partner since it can help check Lycanroc-D, Grimmsnarl, and Zygarde-10% with unboosted STAB moves, as well as threaten Azelf, Jirachi, and Alakazam with unboosted Knock Off. Azumarill can also use Belly Drum more easily under Veil and proceed to clean out most of the enemy team. There are not many good Hyper Offensive answers to Zeraora, but Krookodile can help mitigate the damage by Intimidating, absorbing Knock Off, and forcing it out. Tapu Bulu can also help check Zeraora, and Thundurus-T can absorb an Electric attack, but is prone to Knock Off.

Okay so this is messy. This list is too long, you don't have to mention everything because you mentioned a bunch of them in the overview. Just give 2 to 3 examples and leave it at that. Honestly I would link your Krook point with this because you can run sash lead on it, which picks off many of these Pokemon. Make that the follow up point then you can go into Nidoqueen as a substitute.

Make Azumarill its own point about setting up a Belly Drum easier and lets it be less reliant on Aqua Jet because veil lets you safely take more hits.

- Ninetales also struggles against all Steel Type pokemon, including slower ones like Celesteela and Magnezone, which can OHKO Ninetales-A through Veil. A partner like Bulk Up Zeraora or and Thundurus-T can help ease the pressure from these, as both of them resist Steel and are immune to Electric.
- Hazards help your cleaners do their job more easily, so something that can put up some sort of hazard, either rocks or spikes, is usually a good utility partner for Ninetales-A in maximizing your team's ability to clean. Krookodile, having access to Intimidate and Taunt, is a great option for this. Nidoqueen is also an option and another possible answer to Zeraora if you want to use it primarily as a hazard setter with Stealth Rock or Toxic Spikes.
- Other good teammates are any Pokemon that can set up and sweep to take advantage of the screens, especially Pokemon that can boost Speed as well. These include Celesteela, Moltres-G, Gyarados, Kommo-O, Mew, Nihilego, Salamence, Scolipede, Polteageist, and Thundurus-T. Additionally, you can use other Pokemon that can set up and sweep without needing to boost Speed, such as Zeraora, Thundurus-I, Terrakion, Conkeldurr, Scizor, Latias, and Bisharp.

Again you've listed about 15 Pokemon for the sake of it. You won't be able to mention all of them. Keep the offensive Steel-types being Scizor and Celesteela. Make a point about the offensive Dragon-types like Clangorous Kommo-o and CM Latias. Remove everything else.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

- Ninetales-A has access to Nasty Plot, which combined with Hypnosis can significantly boost its offensive presence. Since almost half of the UU Tier is weak to Freeze Dry, you could run this set and take advantage of certain matchups, setting up your own screens and attempting to sweep or do heavy damage with Ninetales-A's great speed tier. Unfortunately, Ninetales-A has bad base Special Attack at 81, so even with some investment and a Nasty Plot boost, you will be doing very poor damage to anything that takes neutral damage or resists it. Also, while you are busy trying to boost and sweep, the Hail and Veil will run out, forcing you to have to switch out and then switch back in to set up Veil for the rest of your team. If you were to use Nasty Plot it would be over Hypnosis and then you'd run Moonblast over Encore because you need that second coverage. You don't have to write so much about this. Just say it could be an option to let Ninetales take advantage of its offensive typing to wall break but the utility is usually preferred.
- Disable and Heal Bell are other Support options that Ninetales-A can run instead of Hail/Encore. Disable allows Ninetales to totally shut down Choice users, while Heal Bell can help alleviate debilitating status effects on your sweepers, such as burn on your physical sweepers or Toxic on a bulky sweeper. Hail and Encore are still generally better choices, as Hail allows Ninetales to continually get Veil up, which is its main job, and Encore helps you gain momentum with a safer switch in to one of your sweepers. Remove Heal Bell, it is just a worse Safeguard on Ninetales because you have to keep coming in to cure status rather than having it up for multiple turns.

Mention Icy Rock as an option on teams using Arctozolt.

Mention Blizzard + Moonblast on the standard veil set with max SpA

Change the order to be Blizzard + Moonblast, Icy Rock, NP, Disable.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel Types**: Ninetales-A is in big trouble against any Steel type pokemon, in particular Scizor, which can OHKO it with Bullet Punch, and Scarf Jirachi, which will OHKO it with Iron Head before it can set up screens. Even slower steel types, like Celesteela and Magnezone, take negligible damage from Freeze Dry and will OHKO Ninetales even after it sets up Veil.

**Fire Types**: Fire types also resist Freeze Dry, so Ninetales-A cannot do much against them. Victini will still OHKO Ninetales through Veil, and the rare scarf Victini scarf tini isn't rare will OHKO it before it can even get Veil set. Rotom-H can shrug off Freeze Dry and defog the Veil, as well as threaten Ninetales-A with Overheat.

**Weather Changers**: Weather teams, in particular sun teams with Torkoal, will give Ninetales-A a hard time trying to keep Veil up. Ninetales-A will typically need to carry Hail in order to counteract the effects of the changing weather. Rain and Sand teams are not prevalent in the current UU metagame, but the occasional sun team with Torkoal will show up and give Ninetales-A some trouble. Gigalith is unranked. Give Drizzle the same amount of respect as Drought here because you may as well generalize it.

**Entry Hazards**: Since Ninetales-A needs to run Light Clay, it is vulnerable to all entry hazards, in particular Stealth Rock. This will prevent Ninetales-A from continuously coming in to set up Veil when multiple hazards are laid down, as the hazard damage will wear it down very quickly.

**Defog, Taunt, Knock Off**: These three moves significantly hinder Ninetales-A's job of keeping up Veil. Zeraora, Azelf, and Alakazam are all faster than Ninetales-A and can knock off the Light Clay before screens are set up. Azelf can also Taunt to prevent Veil, as can Grimmsnarl with Prankster. Finally, Rotom-H is a great defogger against Ninetales-A, as it takes negligible damage from Freeze Dry and can defog Veil immediately once it is set up.

This is a difficult title to compress into one slot under checks and counters. Call it faster Pokemon or something. Lycanroc-D and Jolly Scolipede threaten to OHKO it. You can then mention how Zera and Zam can Knock while Azelf just shuts it down.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[BigFatMantis, 507497]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

BigFatMantis give me another tag or msg on discord when done so I can give another look over before 1/3.

 

[Twilight]

[OVERVIEW]

- Ninetales-Alola is the only relevant Pokemon in the UU metagame that can set up Aurora Veil consistently.
- Its great speed tier allow it to set up Veil in front of almost all other UU foes.
- Access to support moves like Hypnosis and Encore allows you to switch out to your sweepers more easily.
- Ice/Fairy is a terrible defensive typing, and Ninetales will not last long, especially against Steel types like Scizor, Jirachi, or Celesteela.
- Since setting up veil relies on Hail, your sweepers will unfortunately end up taking light chip damage
- Relying on Hypnosis as a 60 ACC move usually yields inconsistent results.
- Even though Ninetales is fast, it is still outsped by plenty of UU mons, including Alakazam, Azelf, Lycanroc-D, and Zeraora, all of which can either Taunt or Knock Off the Light Clay before screens are up (or just KO you in Lycanroc's case). Scizor with Bullet Punch and Scarf Jirachi also KO it before it can set up Veil.
- Grimmsnarl is an alternative to Ninetales-Alola that doesn't have any of these drawbacks, although it has its own drawbacks in that needs two turns to set up screens and does not have a support move like Encore or Hypnosis to help gain momentum. You don't need to list the drawbacks of Grimm, that will be done in its own analyses. Just focus on the fact that unlike Ninetales it can garuanteed get one screen up boosted by Light Clay before being Knocked and doesn't have the downside of wearing down its own teammates.

[SET]
name: Aurora Veil
move 1: Aurora Veil
move 2: Freeze-Dry
move 3: Hypnosis
move 4: Encore / Safeguard
item: Light Clay
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Timid
evs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Paragraph 1
- Setting up Aurora Veil at all costs is the main priority that you should always have when using Ninetales-Alola.
- Hypnosis can be used to sleep pokemon that threaten to defog the screens, or sleep a pokemon after screens are up to allow you to safely switch in one of your sweepers. You should be using it for the latter reason the most, as getting a safe switch in is important for building momentum. You can also use it to sleep foes that threaten to KO Ninetales, but at 60% accuracy this is very risky.
- Freeze-Dry is the only offensive move it needs, as it hits a substantial number of UU Pokemon including Latias, Gyarados, and Amoonguss for Super Effective super effective damage. However, you should not rely on Ninetales offensively at all, and only use this if you need to chip certain mons to allow your sweepers to clean more easily.
- For the last slot, Encore is preferred as it is a good support move that allows you to plan a safe switch to gain momentum for any of your sweepers. Safeguard can also be used so that your sweepers don't have to worry about status conditions when they come in. Hail is an option as well, although it is most useful only against opposing weather teams that try to cancel the Snow Warning Hail.
- Moonblast can also be considered to safely 2HKO Kyurem and OHKO Crawdaunt and Kommo-o, but a support move like Encore or Safeguard is usually preferred unless you have no other way of dealing with those foes.
- Since Ninetales-A is used as support, the EV distribution is focused on Speed and survivability to maximize your chances of successfully setting up screens.

Paragraph 2
- The set is very straightforward - you set up Aurora Veil as soon as you can. With its great Speed tier, there are few things in UU that can stop it from doing so.
- Ninetales-A fits exclusively on a Hyper Offensive Screens team, as only these types of teams can maximize the utility offered from Aurora Veil.
- Ninetales-A struggles mightily against faster pokemon that can KO it, taunt it, or Knock Off its Light Clay before veil is up. These pokemon include Zeraora and Azelf, as well as Prankster Grimmsnarl and Choice Scarf Jirachi. As such, you need an answer to all of these when building your Hyper Offensive team. A lead Krookodile can help threaten many of these and force them out, and also helps get up Stealth Rock.
- Azumarill is typically a great partner since it can help check Lycanroc-D, Grimmsnarl, and Zygarde-10% with unboosted STAB moves, as well as threaten Azelf, Jirachi, and Alakazam with unboosted Knock Off. Azumarill can also use Belly Drum more easily under Veil and proceed to clean out most of the enemy team, as it no longer has to rely exclusively on Aqua Jet while Veil is up. You don't rly need to give examples of what Knock Off hits
- Ninetales also struggles against all Steel-type Type pokemon, including slower ones like Celesteela and Magnezone, which can OHKO Ninetales-A through Veil. A partner like Bulk Up Zeraora and Thundurus-T can help ease the pressure from these, as both of them resist Steel and are immune to Electric.
- Hazards help your cleaners do their job more easily, so something that can put up some sort of hazard, either rocks or spikes, is usually a good utility partner for Ninetales-A in maximizing your team's ability to clean. Krookodile, having access to Intimidate and Taunt, is a great option for this. Nidoqueen is also an option and another possible answer to Zeraora if you want to use it primarily as a hazard setter with Stealth Rock or Toxic Spikes. You mentioned Krook already. What I meant in my last check was just move this point about Nidoqueen straight after your Krookodile comment as an alternative rocker. You can also bring up Terrakion here too.
- Other good teammates are any Pokemon that can set up and sweep to take advantage of the screens, especially Pokemon that can boost Speed as well. Some of these options include offensive Steel Types like Celesteela and Scizor, which are somewhat bulky and can set up very easily under Veil to begin a sweep. Offensive dragon types like Clangorous Soul Kommo-O and Calm Mind Latias can also try to boost more than once under Veil. Make the Dragon-type one its own point and say how they can set up on Fire-types Alolan Ninetales brings in. This being key against Rotom-H and Volcanion that commonly carry Defog and can pressure Ninetales. Due to Volcanion's Fire-typing Freeze Dry is neutral and so puts too much pressure on it.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

- A more offensive Veil set with Blizzard + Moonblast and max Special Attack can be considered to give Ninetales-A an immediate offensive presence. This allows you to more easily pressure many common threats like Latias, Krookodile, and Terrakion. Unfortunately, Ninetales-A has bad base Special Attack at 81, so it is not going to do significant damage to anything that takes neutral damage or resists it.
- Icy Rock can be used on a Hail Sweeper team with Arctozolt to allow more Hail turns for Arctozolt to sweep. There are not any other great Hail abusers viable in UU besides Arctozolt though, so Light Clay is generally better to maximize the duration of Veil. You don't need to list the downsides here because it is for an exclusive playstyle. Also, there is Alolan Sandslash.
- Ninetales-A has access to Nasty Plot, which combined with Moonblast can significantly boost its offensive presence. This lets it take advantage of its great offensive typing to try to sweep or do heavy damage on its own with Ninetales-A's great speed tier. Ninetales-A is very frail though, and even under Veil it would not get that many opportunities to set up with Nasty Plot. Unfortunately Ninetales-A still cannot break through most Steel and Fire types even with multiple Nasty Plot boosts.
- Disable is another Support option that Ninetales-A can run, allowing it to totally shut down Choice users. Encore and Safeguard are still generally better choices, as gaining momentum for your sweepers is the main priority.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel Types**: Ninetales-A is in big trouble against any Steel type pokemon, in particular Scizor, which can OHKO it with Bullet Punch, and Scarf Jirachi, which will OHKO it with Iron Head before it can set up screens. Even slower steel types, like Celesteela and Magnezone, take negligible damage from Freeze Dry and will OHKO Ninetales even after it sets up Veil.

**Fire Types**: Fire types also resist Freeze Dry, so Ninetales-A cannot do much against them. Victini will still OHKO Ninetales through Veil, and a scarf Victini will OHKO it before it can even get Veil set. Rotom-H is a great defogger against Ninetales-A, as it takes negligible damage from Freeze Dry and can defog Veil immediately once it is set up, as well as threaten Ninetales-A with Overheat.

**Weather Changers**: Weather teams, in particular sun teams with Torkoal and rain teams with Politoed, will give Ninetales-A a hard time trying to keep Veil up. Ninetales-A will typically need to carry Hail in order to counteract the effects of the changing weather.

**Entry Hazards**: Since Ninetales-A needs to run Light Clay, it is vulnerable to all entry hazards, in particular Stealth Rock. This will prevent Ninetales-A from continuously coming in to set up Veil when multiple hazards are laid down, as the hazard damage will wear it down very quickly.

**Faster Threats**: Ninetales-A struggles against Pokemon that are faster can threaten to KO it or hinder its ability to properly set up Veil. Lycanroc-Dusk and Jolly Scolipede are faster and can OHKO it. Zeraora and Alakazam can knock off the Light Clay before screens are set up. Azelf can Taunt to prevent Veil and has access to Knock Off and Fire Blast, essentially shutting down Ninetales.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[BigFatMantis, 507497]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

Couple of GP things you'll need to fix:

When talking about types it should be Steel-type, Dragon-type, etc. Where you've done Fire Type please change it to how I've shown.

Where you have put the word veil, you'll need to write out the whole move so you may as well make those changes now. So correct all of those to Aurora Veil.

Where you have put Ninetales, Ninetales-Alola, or Ninetales-A needs to be changed to Alolan Ninetales.

Where you have written pokemon, it should be capitalized.

1/3 when implemented

 

[BigFatMantis]

Changes made, this is now ready for a second QC check.

 

[Estarossa]

[OVERVIEW]

- Alolan Ninetales is the only relevant Pokemon in the UU metagame that can set up Aurora Veil consistently.
- Its great speed tier allow it to set up Aurora Veil in front of almost all other UU foes.
- Access to support moves like Hypnosis and Encore allows you to switch out to your sweepers more easily.
- Ice/Fairy is a terrible defensive typing, and Alolan Ninetales will not last long, especially against Steel types like Scizor, Jirachi, or Celesteela. Given the nature of hyper offenses you fit snowtales on and the sort of mon it is, i wouldnt rly say you expect it to last long anyway. The issue here with these Pokemon more is that it gives easy opportunities to dangerous stuff like SD Scizor and Auto Steela that HO dislikes, while Jirachi / defensive Steela can still mess with it.
- Since setting up Aurora Veil relies on Hail, your sweepers will unfortunately end up taking light chip damage
- Relying on Hypnosis as a 60 ACC move usually yields inconsistent results. So I'd comment a bit further here and say that you can't really rely on it because of your poor bulk and typing especially if you need to keep ninetales healthy to set screens up later, but that you are often better off using it to take advantage of switches you an force such as against a Salamence or an Encore'd CM latias.
- Even though Alolan Ninetales is fast, it is still outsped by plenty of UU mons, including Alakazam, Azelf, Lycanroc-D, and Zeraora, all of which can either Taunt or Knock Off the Light Clay before screens are up (or just KO you in Lycanroc's case). Scizor with Bullet Punch and Scarf Jirachi also KO it before it can set up Aurora Veil. This list is quite long, and Azelf isn't really a great Pokemon atm. You can easilymake a point here about how a lot of popular pokemon such as Scizor, Lycanroc, Jirachi, and Zeraora give it a poor matchup in the lead slot meaning its often forced into finding set up opportunities a bit later, compared to Grimmsnarl which can still set up a Prankster Screen on zeraora / jirachi etc.
- Grimmsnarl is an alternative to Alolan Ninetales that is guaranteed to get one Light Clay boosted Screen up with Prankster before being knocked out, and does not wear down its teammates with Hail damage.

[SET]
name: Aurora Veil
move 1: Aurora Veil
move 2: Freeze-Dry
move 3: Hypnosis
move 4: Encore / Safeguard
item: Light Clay
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Timid
evs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Paragraph 1
- Setting up Aurora Veil at all costs is the main priority that you should always have when using Alolan Ninetales.
- Hypnosis can be used to sleep Pokemon that threaten to defog the screens, or sleep a Pokemon after screens are up to allow you to safely switch in one of your sweepers. You should be using it for the latter reason the most, as getting a safe switch in is important for building momentum. You can also use it to sleep foes that threaten to KO Alolan Ninetales, but at 60% accuracy this is very risky. Worth noting that its also a strong option to use it when forcing out something like a Salamence, Rotom-W, Kommo-o etc, as this is a much safer opportunity to click it, and can be a lot better than just immediately clicking Aurora Veil in these situations.
- Freeze-Dry is the only offensive move it needs, as it hits a substantial number of UU Pokemon including Latias, Gyarados, and Amoonguss for super effective damage. However, you should not rely on Alolan Ninetales offensively at all, and only use this if you need to chip certain mons to allow your sweepers to clean more easily.
- For the last slot, Encore is preferred as it is a good support move that allows you to plan a safe switch to gain momentum for any of your sweepers. You can also use it to shut down stuff like CM Latias, Sub Prim, NP Goltres etc to name a few that could otherwise potentially be irritating. Safeguard can also be used so that your sweepers don't have to worry about status conditions when they come in. Hail is an option as well, although it is most useful only against opposing weather teams that try to cancel the Snow Warning Hail. Would just make a comment here to say that these teams are in general not very common however, and this doesn't offer remotely as much utility in terms of set up opportunities.
- Moonblast can also be considered to safely 2HKO Kyurem and OHKO Crawdaunt and Kommo-o, but a support move like Encore or Safeguard is usually preferred unless you have no other way of dealing with those foes.
- Since Alolan Ninetales is used as support, the EV distribution is focused on Speed and survivability to maximize your chances of successfully setting up screens.

Paragraph 2
- The set is very straightforward - you set up Aurora Veil as soon as you can. With its great Speed tier, there are few things in UU that can stop it from doing so.
- Alolan Ninetales fits exclusively on a Hyper Offensive Screens team, as only these types of teams can maximize the utility offered from Aurora Veil.
- Alolan Ninetales struggles mightily against faster Pokemon that can KO it, taunt it, or Knock Off its Light Clay before Aurora Veil is up. These Pokemon include Zeraora and Azelf, as well as Prankster Grimmsnarl and Choice Scarf Jirachi. As such, you need an answer to all of these when building your Hyper Offensive team.
- A lead Krookodile can help threaten many of these checks and force them out, and also helps get up Stealth Rock. Nidoqueen is also an option and another possible answer to Zeraora if you want to use it primarily as a hazard setter with Stealth Rock or Toxic Spikes. dno about the nidoqueen mention, dont tend to see it on HO at all and in theory if you were to run it on screens it would fit better with grimmsnarl since it adds an extra layer of vulnerability to latias and grimm offers a fantastic switch in to it. reealistically if you were to mention anything else at all i'd be more inclined to mention eg. jirachi with rocks + hw support.
- Azumarill is typically a great partner since it can help check Lycanroc-D, Grimmsnarl, and Zygarde-10% with unboosted STAB moves. Azumarill can also use Belly Drum more easily under Aurora Veil and proceed to clean out most of the enemy team, as it no longer has to rely exclusively on Aqua Jet while Aurora Veil is up.
- Alolan Ninetales also struggles against all Steel-type Pokemon, including slower ones like Celesteela and Magnezone, which can OHKO Alolan Ninetales through Aurora Veil. A partner like Bulk Up Zeraora and Thundurus-T this almost reads like you are suggesting Bulk Up Thundy-T here, would be careful of your wording. can help ease the pressure from these, as both of them resist Steel and are immune to Electric. would maybe specify what electrics these are helping with, ie. that thundy-t can help a little with zeraora (its still losing 1v1 though unfortunately)
- Other good teammates are any Pokemon that can set up and sweep to take advantage of the screens, you've already mentioned some of these technically, so this reads a bit odd especially Pokemon that can boost Speed as well. Some of these options include offensive Steel-types like Celesteela specify autotomize here imo and Scizor, which are somewhat bulky and can set up very easily under Aurora Veil to begin a sweep. Consider a CM jirachi mention too, comment on how these steel-types can take advantage of revenge killers like scarf jirachi for free set up opportunities.
- Offensive Dragon-types like Clangorous Soul Kommo-O and Calm Mind Latias can also try to boost more than once under Aurora Veil. These Pokemon also help pressure Fire-types like Rotom-Heat and Volcanion, which would otherwise threaten Alolan Ninetales and can Defog away Aurora Veil.

Would mention Double Dance Goltres somewhere in here, its one of the nastiest wallbreakers on screens atm with weakness policy, and can nicely take advantage of some of ninetals checks, such as being able to get a free Agility against an opposing Zeraora while either forcing it immediately out or causing it to activate WP + berserk and give it +2 spe +3 spa. Also takes advantage of some other stuff like Victini etc!


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

- A more offensive Aurora Veil set with Blizzard + Moonblast and max Special Attack can be considered to give Alolan Ninetales an immediate offensive presence. This allows you to more easily pressure many common threats like Latias, Krookodile, and Terrakion. Unfortunately, Alolan Ninetales has bad base Special Attack at 81, so it is not going to do significant damage to anything that takes neutral damage or resists it. curious if you'd ever run this without doing nasty plot on this set? if answer is no then i'd probably merged the NP points into here, unless you specifically meant your NP snowtales to be bulky spread still.
- Icy Rock can be used on a Hail Sweeper team with Arctozolt to allow more Hail turns for Arctozolt to sweep. given how valuable the support options are on ninetales and how an offensive spread really doesn't accomplish much, i'd honestly put this to the first option in OOs. I would mention how this stacks a further weakness to threatening Pokemon like Scizor and Jirachi though.
- Alolan Ninetales has access to Nasty Plot, which combined with Moonblast can significantly boost its offensive presence. This lets it take advantage of its great offensive typing to try to sweep or do heavy damage on its own with Alolan Ninetales's great speed tier. Alolan Ninetales is very frail though, and even under Aurora Veil it would not get that many opportunities to set up with Nasty Plot. Unfortunately Alolan Ninetales still cannot break through most Steel and Fire-types even with multiple Nasty Plot boosts.
- Disable is another Support option that Alolan Ninetales can run, allowing it to totally shut down Choice users. Encore and Safeguard are still generally better choices, as gaining momentum for your sweepers is the main priority. This still generates momentum when you shut things down though, the issue is more the consistency as encore will typically present a lot more opportunities to actually be useful, similarly safeguard is more likely to actually come into effect by eg, letting you set up with scizor against a scald primarina without fear of just getting burned.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Alolan Ninetales is in big trouble against any Steel-type Pokemon, in particular Scizor, which can OHKO it with Bullet Punch, and Scarf Jirachi, which will OHKO it with Iron Head before it can set up screens. Even slower Steel-types, like Celesteela and Magnezone, take negligible damage from Freeze Dry and will OHKO Alolan Ninetales even after it sets up Aurora Veil.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types also resist Freeze Dry, so Alolan Ninetales cannot do much against them. Victini will still OHKO Alolan Ninetales through Aurora Veil, and a scarf Victini will OHKO it before it can even get Veil set. Rotom-H is a great defogger against Ninetales-A, as it takes negligible damage from Freeze Dry and can defog Veil immediately once it is set up, as well as threaten Alolan Ninetales with Overheat.

**Weather Changers**: Weather teams, in particular sun teams with Torkoal and rain teams with Politoed, will give Alolan Ninetales a hard time trying to keep Aurora Veil up. Alolan Ninetales will typically need to carry Hail in order to counteract the effects of the changing weather.

**Entry Hazards**: Since Alolan Ninetales needs to run Light Clay, it is vulnerable to all entry hazards, in particular Stealth Rock. This will prevent Alolan Ninetales from continuously coming in to set up Aurora Veil when multiple hazards are laid down, as the hazard damage will wear it down very quickly.

**Faster Threats**: Alolan Ninetales struggles against Pokemon that are faster can threaten to KO it or hinder its ability to properly set up Aurora Veil. Lycanroc-Dusk and Jolly Scolipede are faster and can OHKO it. Zeraora and Alakazam can knock off the Light Clay before screens are set up. Would put the Zeraora mention to be the first one here givven its the biggest major issue with Snowtales teams. Azelf can Taunt to prevent Aurora Veil and has access to Knock Off and Fire Blast, essentially shutting down Alolan Ninetales.

Reorder this to be Steels > Fires > Faster > Hazards > weather changes imo, weather teams aren't exactly common and zeraora is one of the biggest issues in terms of snowtales teams.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[BigFatMantis, 507497]]
- Quality checked by: [[Twilight, 344575], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

QC 2/3 when implemented.

 

[BigFatMantis]

Changes made and proofread - this is now ready for a third QC Check.

 

[autumn]

QC 3/3
I underlined stuff that needs GP changes and can be easily fixed

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Alolan Ninetales is the only relevant Pokemon in the UU metagame that can set up Aurora Veil consistently. Its great Speed (stats should be capitalised) tier allows it to set up Aurora Veil in front of almost all other UU foes. Access to support moves like Hypnosis and Encore allows you (don't refer to pokemon as you) to switch out to your sweepers more easily. Since setting up Aurora Veil relies on Hail, your sweepers will unfortunately end up taking light chip damage. (this point isn't super relevant to ninetales so i'd remove it from the overview because overviews aim to give the strengths and weaknesses of a pokemon directly) Ice / Fairy is not a great defensive typing, and Alolan Ninetales will drop easily to Steel types (hyphenate types like Steel-types) like Scizor, Jirachi, or Celesteela, whether they are offensive or defensive variants. (link this poor typing to how it might struggle to get veil up consistently vs some teams) Given the poor bulk and defensive typing of Alolan Ninetales, it cannot rely on Hypnosis as a 60 Accuracy move when your goal is to remain healthy enough to set up Aurora Veil consistently, and it is better used to take advantage of foes you force to switch out like Salamence or an Encored Calm Mind Latias. (i really don't know what this is trying to say at all so i'd just remove it and talk about hypnosis in moves because it's not a super relevant overview point) A lot of common leads can give Alolan Ninetales a hard time, such as Zeraora with Knock Off and Lycanroc-D with Accelerock. (lycan is faster and only ohkos w edge if running it so cut the mention) Scizor with Bullet Punch and Choice Scarf (don't just say band x scarf x and say the full item) Jirachi also KO it before it can set up Aurora Veil. Alolan Ninetales faces heavy competiton from Grimmsnarl because it is an alternative to Alolan Ninetales that is guaranteed to get one Light Clay boosted Screen up with Prankster before being knocked out, and does not wear down its teammates with Hail (decapitalise when talking about the weather condition) damage. (edited to link it back to alolatales)

[SET]
name: Aurora Veil
move 1: Aurora Veil
move 2: Freeze-Dry
move 3: Hypnosis
move 4: Encore / Safeguard
item: Light Clay
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Timid
evs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Setting up Aurora Veil at all costs is the main priority for Alolan Ninetales. Freeze-Dry is the only offensive move Alolan Ninetales needs, as it hits a substantial number of UU Pokemon including Latias, Gyarados, and Amoonguss for super effective damage. However, you should not rely on Alolan Ninetales offensively at all, and only use this if you need to chip certain foes to allow your sweepers to clean more easily. (moved to reflect move order. make sure these paragraphs follow the order of the set) Hypnosis can be used to sleep Pokemon that threaten to defog (capitalise moves) the screens (just saying screens isn't good gp wise and also isn't accurate so i'd replace mentions with Aurora Veil), or sleep a Pokemon after screens are up to allow you to safely switch in one of your sweepers. You can also use it to sleep foes that threaten to KO Alolan Ninetales, but at 60% accuracy this is very risky. Hypnosis can also be used when forcing out foes like Salamence, Rotom-W, and Kommo-o, as the free turn to use it has little downside and can be more beneficial than immediately clicking Aurora Veil. The main objective is to use it as a means to build momentum for your sweepers to come in safely. Freeze-Dry is the only offensive move Alolan Ninetales needs, as it hits a substantial number of UU Pokemon including Latias, Gyarados, and Amoonguss for super effective damage. However, you should not rely on Alolan Ninetales offensively at all, and only use this if you need to chip certain foes to allow your sweepers to clean more easily. For the last slot, Encore is preferred as it is a good support move that allows you to plan a safe switch to gain momentum for any of your sweepers. You can also use it to shut down Pokemon that attempt to set up, such as Calm Mind Latias, Substitute Primarina, and Nasty Plot Galarian Moltres. Safeguard can also be used so that your sweepers don't have to worry about status conditions when they come in. Hail is an option as well, although it is most useful only against opposing weather teams that try to cancel the Snow Warning Hail. These teams are not common and Hail rarely offer any utility otherwise. Moonblast can also be considered to safely 2HKO Kyurem and OHKO Crawdaunt and Kommo-o, but a support move like Encore or Safeguard is usually preferred unless you have no other way of dealing with those foes. Since Alolan Ninetales is used as support, the EV distribution is focused on Speed and survivability to maximize your chances of successfully setting up screens.

The set is very straightforward - you Alolan Ninetales should set up Aurora Veil as soon as you can. With its great Speed tier, there are few things in UU that can stop it from doing so. Alolan Ninetales fits exclusively on a Hyper Offensive Screens hyper offense team, as only these types of teams can maximize the utility offered from Aurora Veil. Alolan Ninetales struggles mightily against faster Pokemon that can KO it, taunt it, or Knock Off its Light Clay before Aurora Veil is up. These Pokemon include Zeraora and Azelf, as well as Prankster Grimmsnarl and Choice Scarf Jirachi. As such, you need an answer to all of these when building your Hyper Offensive team. A lead Krookodile can help threaten many of these checks and force them out, and also helps get up Stealth Rock. Jirachi can also be used to set up Stealth Rock and also offers Healing Wish support to your other sweepers. Azumarill is typically a great partner since it can help check Lycanroc-D, Grimmsnarl, and Zygarde-10% (is that really relevant) with unboosted STAB moves. Azumarill can also use Belly Drum more easily under Aurora Veil and proceed to clean out most of the enemy team, as it no longer has to rely exclusively on Aqua Jet while Aurora Veil is up. Alolan Ninetales struggles against all Steel-type Pokemon, including slower ones like Celesteela and Magnezone, which can OHKO Alolan Ninetales through Aurora Veil. A partner like Bulk Up Zeraora and Nasty Plot Thundurus-T can help ease the pressure from these, as both of them resist Steel and can absorb Electric attacks from Magnezone and other Electric-types. Other good teammates include offensive Steel-types like Automotize Celesteela and Swords Dance Scizor, which are somewhat bulky and can set up very easily under Aurora Veil to begin a sweep. Calm Mind Jirachi can also set up freely against most opposing Steel-types, and Jirachi, Celesteela, and Scizor can all take advantage of common revenge killers to Alolan Ninetales like Choice Scarf Jirachi. Offensive Dragon-types like Clangorous Soul Kommo-o and Calm Mind Latias can also try to boost more than once under Aurora Veil. These Pokemon also help pressure Fire-types like Rotom-Heat and Volcanion, which would otherwise threaten Alolan Ninetales and can Defog away Aurora Veil. Galarian Moltres is also a good option, as it has significant bulk under Aurora Veil, allowing it to use Agility and take hits against foes like Zeraora to activate Weakness Policy, and also activate Berserk for a further boost. Galarian Moltres also significantly pressures other common threats to Alolan Ninetales such as Victini and Jirachi.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Icy Rock can be used on a Hail Sweeper team with Arctozolt to allow more Hail turns for Arctozolt to sweep. Using both Alolan Ninetales and Arctozolt stacks a Steel and Fire weakness, and you would need significant support from other teammates to check Pokemon like Scizor and Jirachi. A more offensive Aurora Veil set with Blizzard + Moonblast and max Special Attack can be considered to give Alolan Ninetales an immediate offensive presence. This allows you to more easily pressure many common threats like Latias, Krookodile, and Terrakion. Unfortunately, Alolan Ninetales has bad base Special Attack at 81, so it is not going to do significant damage to anything that takes neutral damage or resists it. Alolan Ninetales has access to Nasty Plot, which combined with Moonblast can significantly boost its offensive presence while maintaining some bulk investment. This lets it take advantage of its great offensive typing to try to sweep or do heavy damage on its own with Alolan Ninetales's great speed tier. Alolan Ninetales is very frail though, and even under Aurora Veil it would not get that many opportunities to set up with Nasty Plot. Alolan Ninetales also cannot break through most Steel and Fire-types even with multiple Nasty Plot boosts. Disable is another Support option that Alolan Ninetales can run, allowing it to totally shut down Choice users. Encore and Safeguard are still generally better choices, as they both have more opportunities to be useful, such as situations where Encore can shut down foes that try to set up, and where Safeguard can prevent foes like Primarina try to burn your sweepers with Scald.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Alolan Ninetales is in big trouble against any Steel-type Pokemon, in particular Scizor, which can OHKO it with Bullet Punch, and Scarf Jirachi, which will OHKO it with Iron Head before it can set up Aurora Veil. Slower Steel-types, like Celesteela and Magnezone, take negligible damage from Freeze Dry and will OHKO Alolan Ninetales even after it sets up Aurora Veil.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types also resist Freeze Dry, so Alolan Ninetales cannot do much against them. Victini will still OHKO Alolan Ninetales through Aurora Veil, and a scarf Victini will OHKO it before it can even get Aurora Veil set. Rotom-H is a great defogger against Ninetales-A, as it takes negligible damage from Freeze Dry and can defog Aurora Veil immediately once it is set up, as well as threaten Alolan Ninetales with Overheat.

**Faster Threats**: Alolan Ninetales struggles against Pokemon that are faster can threaten to KO it or hinder its ability to properly set up Aurora Veil. Zeraora and Alakazam can knock off the Light Clay before screens are set up. Lycanroc-Dusk and Jolly Scolipede are faster and can OHKO it. Azelf can Taunt to prevent Aurora Veil and has access to Knock Off and Fire Blast, essentially shutting down Alolan Ninetales.

**Weather Changers**: Weather teams, in particular sun teams with Torkoal and rain teams with Politoed, will give Alolan Ninetales a hard time trying to keep Aurora Veil up. Alolan Ninetales will typically need to carry Hail in order to counteract the effects of the changing weather.

**Entry Hazards**: Since Alolan Ninetales needs to run Light Clay, it is vulnerable to all entry hazards, in particular Stealth Rock. This will prevent Alolan Ninetales from continuously coming in to set up Aurora Veil when multiple hazards are laid down, as the hazard damage will wear it down very quickly.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[BigFatMantis, 507497]]
- Quality checked by: [[Twilight, 344575], [Estarossa, 461329], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

 

[BigFatMantis]

We are ready for GP checks

 

[Rabia]

add remove comments

gp

[OVERVIEW]

Alolan Ninetales is the only relevant Pokemon in the UU metagame that can consistently set up Aurora Veil consistently. Its great Speed tier allows it to set up Aurora Veil in front of almost all other UU foes,(period -> comma) and its access to support moves like Hypnosis and Encore allows it to switch out to your sweepers more easily. Sadly,(AC) Ice / Fairy is not a great defensive typing, and Alolan Ninetales will drop easily to Steel-types like Scizor, Jirachi, or and Celesteela (RC) whether they are offensive or defensive variants, making it difficult to consistently get Aurora Veil up against some teams. Additionally, a lot of common leads can give Alolan Ninetales a hard time, such as Zeraora with Knock Off,(period -> comma) and Bullet Punch Scizor with Bullet Punch and Choice Scarf Jirachi also KO it before it can set up Aurora Veil. Alolan Ninetales also faces heavy competiton competition from Grimmsnarl because it is guaranteed to get one Light Clay-boosted(AH) screen up with Prankster before being knocked out, and it does not wear down its teammates with hail damage.

[SET]
name: Aurora Veil
move 1: Aurora Veil
move 2: Freeze-Dry
move 3: Hypnosis
move 4: Encore / Safeguard
item: Light Clay
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Timid
evs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Setting up Aurora Veil at all costs is the main priority for Alolan Ninetales. Freeze-Dry is the only offensive move Alolan Ninetales needs, as it hits a substantial number of UU Pokemon including such as Latias, Gyarados, and Amoonguss for super effective damage. However, you should not rely on Alolan Ninetales offensively at all, and only use this if you need to chip certain foes to allow your sweepers to clean more easily. Hypnosis can be used to put Pokemon to sleep Pokemon that threaten to Defog remove Aurora Veil (RC) with Defog or sleep a Pokemon after Aurora Veil is up to allow you to safely switch in one of your sweepers. You can also use it to sleep cripple foes that threaten to KO Alolan Ninetales, but at 60% accuracy this is very risky. Hypnosis can also be used when forcing out foes like Salamence, Rotom-W, and Kommo-o, as the free turn to use it has little downside and can be more beneficial than immediately setting up Aurora Veil. The main objective is to use it as a means to build momentum for your sweepers to come in safely. For the last slot, Encore is preferred as because it allows can give you to plan a safe switch to gain momentum for any of your sweepers. You can also use it to shut down Pokemon that attempt to set up, such as Calm Mind Latias, Substitute Primarina, and Nasty Plot Galarian Moltres. Safeguard can also be used so that your sweepers don't have to worry about status conditions when they come in. Hail is an option as well, although it is most useful only against opposing weather teams that try to cancel the Snow Warning hail. These teams are not common,(AC) and Hail rarely offer any utility otherwise. Moonblast can also be considered to safely 2HKO Kyurem and OHKO Crawdaunt and Kommo-o, but a support move like Encore or Safeguard is usually preferred unless you have no other way of dealing with those foes. Since Alolan Ninetales is used as for support, the EV distribution is focused on Speed and survivability to maximize its chances of successfully setting up Aurora Veil.

Alolan Ninetales should set up Aurora Veil as soon as it can. With its great Speed tier, there are few things in UU that can stop it from doing so. Alolan Ninetales fits exclusively on a hyper offense teams, as only these types of teams can maximize the utility offered from Aurora Veil. Alolan Ninetales struggles mightily against faster Pokemon that can KO it, taunt cripple it with Taunt, or Knock Off remove its Light Clay with Knock Off before Aurora Veil is up. These Pokemon include Zeraora and Azelf, as well as Prankster Grimmsnarl and Choice Scarf Jirachi. As such, you need an answer to all of these when building your hyper offensive team. A lead Krookodile can help threaten many of these checks and force them out, and it also helps get up Stealth Rock. Jirachi can also be used to set up Stealth Rock and also offers Healing Wish support to your other sweepers. Azumarill is typically a great partner,(AC) since it can help check Lycanroc-D and Grimmsnarl with unboosted STAB moves. Azumarill can also use Belly Drum more easily under Aurora Veil and proceed to clean out most of the enemy team, as it no longer has to rely exclusively on Aqua Jet while Aurora Veil is up. Alolan Ninetales struggles against all Steel-type Pokemon, including slower ones like Celesteela and Magnezone, which can OHKO Alolan Ninetales it through Aurora Veil. A partner like Bulk Up Zeraora and or Nasty Plot Thundurus-T can help ease the pressure from these foes, as both of them resist Steel and can absorb Electric-type attacks from Magnezone and other Electric-types. Other good teammates include offensive Steel-types like Automotize Autotomize Celesteela and Swords Dance Scizor, which are somewhat bulky and can set up very easily under Aurora Veil to begin a sweep. Calm Mind Jirachi can also set up freely against most opposing Steel-types, and Jirachi, Celesteela, and Scizor can all take advantage of common revenge killers to Alolan Ninetales like Choice Scarf Jirachi. Offensive Dragon-types like Clangorous Soul Kommo-o and Calm Mind Latias can also try to boost more than once under Aurora Veil. These Pokemon also help pressure Fire-types like Rotom-H and Volcanion, which would otherwise threaten Alolan Ninetales and can Defog away get rid of Aurora Veil with Defog. Galarian Moltres is also a good option, as it has significant bulk under Aurora Veil, allowing it to use Agility and take hits against foes like Zeraora to activate Weakness Policy (RC) and also activate Berserk for a further boost damage boosts. Galarian Moltres also significantly pressures other common threats to Alolan Ninetales such as Victini and Jirachi.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Icy Rock can be used on a hail Sweeper team with Arctozolt to allow for more hail turns for Arctozolt to sweep. Using both Alolan Ninetales and Arctozolt stacks a Steel and Fire weakness, though,(AC) and you would need significant support from other teammates to check Pokemon like Scizor and Jirachi. A more offensive Aurora Veil set with Blizzard + Moonblast and maximum Special Attack can be considered to give Alolan Ninetales an immediate greater offensive presence. This allows it to more easily pressure many common threats like Latias, Krookodile, and Terrakion. Unfortunately, Alolan Ninetales has bad base Special Attack at 81, so it is not going to do significant damage to anything that takes neutral damage or resists its attacks. Alolan Ninetales has access to Nasty Plot, which,(AC) combined with Moonblast,(AC) can significantly boost its offensive presence while maintaining some bulk investment. This lets it take advantage of its great offensive typing to try to sweep or do heavy damage on its own with Alolan Ninetales's its great Speed tier. Alolan Ninetales is very frail,(AC) though, and even under Aurora Veil it would not get that many opportunities to set up with Nasty Plot. Alolan Ninetales also cannot break through most Steel-(AH) and Fire-types even with multiple Nasty Plot boosts. Disable is another support option that Alolan Ninetales can run, allowing it to totally shut down Choice item users. Encore and Safeguard are still generally better choices, as they both have more opportunities to be useful, such as situations where Encore can shut down foes that try to set up (RC) and where Safeguard can prevent foes like Primarina try from trying to burn your sweepers with Scald.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Alolan Ninetales is in big trouble against any Steel-type Pokemon, in particular Scizor, which can OHKO it with Bullet Punch, and Choice Scarf Jirachi, which will OHKO it with Iron Head before it can set up Aurora Veil. Slower Steel-types, like Celesteela and Magnezone, take negligible damage from Freeze-Dry and will OHKO Alolan Ninetales even after it sets up Aurora Veil.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types also resist Freeze-Dry, so Alolan Ninetales cannot do much against them. Victini will still OHKO Alolan Ninetales through Aurora Veil, and a scarf Choice Scarf Victini will OHKO it before it can even get Aurora Veil set. Rotom-H is a great Defogger against Alolan Ninetales, as it takes negligible damage from Freeze-Dry and can Defog remove Aurora Veil immediately once it is set up, as well as threatening Alolan Ninetales with Overheat.

**Faster Threats**: Alolan Ninetales struggles against Pokemon that are faster and can threaten to KO it or hinder its ability to properly set up Aurora Veil. Zeraora and Alakazam can knock off the remove its Light Clay with Knock Off before screens are set up. Lycanroc-D and Jolly Scolipede are faster and can OHKO it. Azelf can use Taunt to prevent Aurora Veil and has access to Knock Off and Fire Blast, essentially shutting down Alolan Ninetales.

**Weather Changers**: Weather teams, in particular sun teams with Torkoal and rain teams with Politoed, will give Alolan Ninetales a hard time trying to keep Aurora Veil up. Alolan Ninetales will typically need to carry Hail in order to counteract the effects of the changing weather.

**Entry Hazards**: Since Alolan Ninetales needs to run Light Clay, it is vulnerable to all entry hazards, in particular Stealth Rock. This will prevent Alolan Ninetales from continuously coming in to set up Aurora Veil when multiple hazards are laid down, as the hazard damage will wear it down very quickly.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[BigFatMantis, 507497]]
- Quality checked by: [[Twilight, 344575], [Estarossa, 461329], [martha, 384270]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

you left an excessive number of double spaces---nearly 20---in your prose from martha's check. be more diligent when implementing mine. gp 1/2 when done.

 

[autumn]

make the set 252 hp / 4 spa / 252 speed because the 248 hp doesn’t actually do anything

 

[BigFatMantis]

Changes implemented - this is ready for a second GP check. Apologies for the double spaces, very bad habit of mine I will fix.

 

[Eyan]

GP 2/2
add / correct remove comments

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Alolan Ninetales is the only relevant Pokemon in UU that can consistently set up Aurora Veil. Its great Speed tier allows it to set up Aurora Veil in front of almost all other UU foes, and its access to support moves like Hypnosis and Encore allows it to switch out to your sweepers more easily. Sadly, Ice / Fairy is not a great defensive typing, and as Alolan Ninetales will drop easily to both offensive and defensive variants of Steel-types like Scizor, Jirachi, and Celesteela whether they are offensive or defensive variants, making it difficult to consistently get Aurora Veil up against some teams. Additionally, a lot of common leads can give Alolan Ninetales a hard time, such as Zeraora with Knock Off, and Bullet Punch Scizor and Choice Scarf Jirachi KO it before it can set up Aurora Veil. Alolan Ninetales also faces heavy competition from Grimmsnarl because it is guaranteed to get one Light Clay-boosted screen up with Prankster before being knocked out, and it does not wear down its teammates with hail damage.

[SET]
name: Aurora Veil
move 1: Aurora Veil
move 2: Freeze-Dry
move 3: Hypnosis
move 4: Encore / Safeguard
item: Light Clay
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Timid
evs: 248 HP / 8 SpA 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe (with reference to martha's above post. tag in the UU discord if you're not sure why 248 HP is pointless)

[SET COMMENTS]

Setting up Aurora Veil at all costs is the main priority for Alolan Ninetales. Freeze-Dry is the only offensive move Alolan Ninetales needs, as it hits a substantial number of UU Pokemon such as Latias, Gyarados, and Amoonguss for super effective damage. However, you should not rely on Alolan Ninetales offensively at all, (rc) and only use this if you need to chip certain foes to allow your sweepers to clean more easily. Hypnosis can be used to put Pokemon to sleep Pokemon that threaten to remove Aurora Veil with Defog or after Aurora Veil is up to allow you to safely switch in one of your sweepers. You can also use it to cripple foes that threaten to KO Alolan Ninetales, but at 60% accuracy, (ac) this is very risky. Hypnosis can also be used when forcing out foes like Salamence, Rotom-W, and Kommo-o, as the free turn to use it has little downside and can be more beneficial than immediately setting up Aurora Veil. The main objective is to use it as a means to build momentum for your sweepers to come in safely. For the last slot, Encore is preferred because it can give you a safe switch to gain momentum for any of your sweepers. You can also use it to shut down Pokemon that attempt to set up, such as Calm Mind Latias, Substitute Primarina, and Nasty Plot Galarian Moltres. Safeguard can also be used so that your sweepers don't have to worry about status conditions when they come in. Hail is an option as well, although it is most useful only against opposing weather teams that try to cancel the Snow Warning hail. These teams are not common, and Hail rarely offers any utility otherwise. Moonblast can also be considered to safely 2HKO Kyurem and OHKO Crawdaunt and Kommo-o, but a support move like Encore or Safeguard is usually preferred unless you have no other way of dealing with those foes. Since Alolan Ninetales is used for support, the EV distribution is focused on Speed and survivability to maximize its chances of successfully setting up Aurora Veil.

Alolan Ninetales should set up Aurora Veil as soon as it can. With its great Speed tier, there are few things in UU that can stop it from doing so. Alolan Ninetales fits exclusively on hyper offense teams, as only these teams can maximize the utility offered from Aurora Veil. Alolan Ninetales struggles mightily against faster Pokemon that can KO it, cripple it with Taunt, or remove its Light Clay with Knock Off before Aurora Veil is up. These Pokemon include Zeraora and Azelf, as well as Prankster Grimmsnarl and Choice Scarf Jirachi. As such, you need an answer to all of these when building your hyper offensive offense team. A lead Krookodile can help threaten many of these checks and force them out, and it also helps get up Stealth Rock. Jirachi can also be used to set up Stealth Rock and also offers Healing Wish support to your other sweepers. Azumarill is typically a great partner, since it can help check Lycanroc-D and Grimmsnarl with unboosted STAB moves. Azumarill can also use Belly Drum more easily under Aurora Veil and proceed to clean out most of the enemy team, as it no longer has to rely exclusively on Aqua Jet while Aurora Veil is up. Alolan Ninetales struggles against all Steel-type Pokemon, including slower ones like Celesteela and Magnezone, which can OHKO it through Aurora Veil. A partner like Bulk Up Zeraora or Nasty Plot Thundurus-T can help ease the pressure from these foes, as both of them resist Steel and can absorb Electric-type attacks from Magnezone and other Electric-types. Other good teammates include offensive Steel-types like Autotomize Celesteela and Swords Dance Scizor, which are somewhat bulky and can set up very easily under Aurora Veil to begin a sweep. Calm Mind Jirachi can also set up freely against most opposing Steel-types, and Jirachi, Celesteela, and Scizor can all take advantage of common revenge killers to Alolan Ninetales like Choice Scarf Jirachi. Offensive Dragon-types like Clangorous Soul Kommo-o and Calm Mind Latias can also try to boost more than once under Aurora Veil. These Pokemon also help pressure Fire-types like Rotom-H and Volcanion, which would otherwise threaten Alolan Ninetales and can get rid of Aurora Veil with Defog. Galarian Moltres is also a good option, as it has significant bulk under Aurora Veil, allowing it to use Agility and take hits against foes like Zeraora to activate Weakness Policy and Berserk for damage boosts. Galarian Moltres also significantly pressures other common threats to Alolan Ninetales such as Victini and Jirachi.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Icy Rock can be used on a hail team with Slush Rush Arctozolt for more hail turns for Arctozolt to sweep. Using both Alolan Ninetales and Arctozolt stacks a Steel and Fire weakness, though, and you would need significant support from other teammates to check Pokemon like Scizor and Jirachi. A more offensive Aurora Veil set with Blizzard + Moonblast and maximum Special Attack can be considered to give Alolan Ninetales greater offensive presence. This allows it to more easily pressure many common threats like Latias, Krookodile, and Terrakion. Unfortunately, Alolan Ninetales has bad base Special Attack at 81 (the stats at the top of dex page will show this), so it is not going to do significant damage to anything that takes neutral damage or resists its attacks. Alolan Ninetales has access to Nasty Plot, which, combined with Moonblast, can significantly boost its offensive presence while maintaining some bulk investment. This lets it take advantage of its great offensive typing and Speed tier to try to sweep or do heavy damage on its own with its great Speed tier. Alolan Ninetales is very frail, though, and even under Aurora Veil, (ac) it would not get that many opportunities to set up with Nasty Plot. Alolan Ninetales also cannot break through most Steel- and Fire-types even with multiple Nasty Plot boosts. Disable is another support option that Alolan Ninetales can run, allowing it to totally shut down Choice item users. Encore and Safeguard are still generally better choices, as they both have more opportunities to be useful, such as situations where Encore can shut down foes that try to set up and where Safeguard can prevent foes like Primarina from trying to burn your sweepers with Scald. (examples feel redundant here, considering you talked about Safeguard in the previous section. Maybe mention the Primarina trying to burn example there instead)

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Alolan Ninetales is in big trouble against any Steel-type Pokemon, in particular Scizor, which can OHKO it with Bullet Punch, and Choice Scarf Jirachi, which will OHKO it with Iron Head before it can set up Aurora Veil. Slower Steel-types, (rc) like Celesteela and Magnezone, (rc) take negligible damage from Freeze-Dry and will OHKO Alolan Ninetales even after it sets up Aurora Veil.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types also resist Freeze-Dry, so Alolan Ninetales cannot do much against them. Victini will still OHKO Alolan Ninetales through Aurora Veil, and a Choice Scarf Victini will OHKO it before it can even get Aurora Veil set. Rotom-H is a great Defogger against Alolan Ninetales, as it takes negligible damage from Freeze-Dry and can remove Aurora Veil immediately once it is set up, as well as threatening Alolan Ninetales with Overheat.

**Faster Threats**: Alolan Ninetales struggles against Pokemon that are faster and can threaten to KO it or hinder its ability to properly set up Aurora Veil. Zeraora and Alakazam can remove its Light Clay with Knock Off before screens are Aurora Veil is (for consistency) set up. Lycanroc-D and Jolly Scolipede are faster and can OHKO it. Azelf can use Taunt to prevent Aurora Veil and has access to Knock Off and Fire Blast, essentially shutting down Alolan Ninetales.

**Weather Changers**: Weather teams, in particular sun teams with Torkoal and rain teams with Politoed, will give Alolan Ninetales a hard time trying to keep Aurora Veil up. Alolan Ninetales will typically need to carry Hail in order to counteract the effects of the changing weather.

**Entry Hazards**: Since Alolan Ninetales needs to run Light Clay, it is vulnerable to all entry hazards, in particular Stealth Rock. This will prevent Alolan Ninetales from continuously coming in to set up Aurora Veil when multiple hazards are laid down, as the hazard damage will wear it down very quickly.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[BigFatMantis, 507497]]
- Quality checked by: [[Twilight, 344575], [Estarossa, 461329], [martha, 384270]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073], [username2, userid2]]

 

[BigFatMantis]

Changes made - proofreading done. This now ready to upload!

 

[Hilomilo]

https://www.smogon.com/dex/ss/pokemon/ninetales-alola/
uploaded