Pokémon Ninetales (Kanto)

[Bice]

the cooler delphox

Base Stats: 73 / 76 / 75 / 81 / 100 / 100
Abilities: Flash Fire / Drought
Notable Moves (italics indicate STAB):
- Fire Blast
- Nasty Plot
- Solar Beam
- Will-O-Wisp
- Weather Ball
- Hypnosis
- Healing Wish
- Psyshock

Full Movepool

Level-Up
1 - Flamethrower
1 - Tail Whip
1 - Quick Attack
Move Reminder
- Disable
- Ember
- Fire Spin
- Confuse Ray
- Fire Blast
- Spite
- Safeguard
- Will-O-Wisp
- Imprison
- Extrasensory
- Nasty Plot
- Incinerate
- Inferno
TMs
- Take Down
- Charm
- Fake Tears
- Agility
- Protect
- Confuse Ray
- Fire Spin
- Facade
- Hex
- Snarl
- Swift
- Flame Charge
- Stored Power
- Night Shade
- Endure
- Sunny Day
- Psyshock
- Dig
- Zen Headbutt
- Foul Play
- Body Slam
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
- Imprison
- Dark Pulse
- Substitute
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball
- Heat Wave
- Energy Ball
- Encore
- Flamethrower
- Calm Mind
- Helping Hand
- Baton Pass (banned)
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Giga Impact
- Overheat
- Hyper Beam
- Flare Blitz
- Solar Beam
- Tera Blast
- Roar
- Spite
- Weather Ball
- Burning Jealousy
Egg Moves
- Roar
- Hypnosis
- Flail
- Memento
- Howl
- Healing Wish
- Flame Charge
- Baby-Doll Eyes

Positives
- Has the rare Drought ability
- Compared to Torkoal, it has higher Speed and Special Defense, letting it actually outspeed things and tank special Water moves in the sun respectively
- Nasty Plot is an excellent boosting move, giving it more of an offensive presence than Torkoal

Negatives
- Though it has a few advantages compared to Torkoal, the Coal Pokemon's wider utility movepool and role compression make it the preferred sun setter in almost all cases
- Movepool in general is very shallow; while it has coverage to hit some of its checks unlike its Alolan counterpart, it's still very predictable and easy to wall
- Much like its Alolan cousin, its Special Attack stat of 81 doesn't cut it in this powercrept meta
- Unlike its Alolan cousin, speed creep has been even crueler to it, as many threats outrun it comfortably
- Picking between Heat Rock and Heavy-Duty Boots sucked for Torkoal, and it sucks for Ninetales
- Even as an offensive Sun attacker it faces stiff competition from the likes of Iron Moth

Tera Potential

- A very simple option that puts some oomph behind Ninetales' STABs

- Boosts Solar Beam and flips its Water weakness on its head

- Flips its Stealth Rock weakness and lets it hit other Fire-types, namely Heatran. Sound familiar?

Potential Set
Walkin' On Sunshine (Offensive Sun Setter)
Ninetales @ Heat Rock / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Drought
Tera Type: Fire / Grass / Ground
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Nasty Plot
- Hypnosis / Tera Blast / Healing Wish / Psyshock
Ninetales is best off leveraging its few advantages over Torkoal, specifically its higher Speed and access to Nasty Plot, in order to find a niche as a set-up sweeper on sun teams. Fire Blast is a powerful STAB option, especially under sun. Solar Beam hits the Water-types sun teams despise, such as Dondozo and Azumarill. Nasty Plot makes Ninetales's underwhelming Special Attack into something salvageable. The last slot is fairly flexible; Hypnosis allows for Ninetales to offer some utility for its team, Tera Blast (which should only be used if Tera Ground is being used) provides solid coverage against Iron Moth and Heatran, Healing Wish is an excellent utility move that can bring back teammates such as Walking Wake, and Psyshock lets it hit the former without the need to Terastallize. Heavy-Duty Boots can be used if Ninetales is being used as a backup sun setter alongside Torkoal, though this probably isn't a great idea.

Conclusion
Even though this generation was exceedingly kind to the sun playstyle, Ninetales is quite the underwhelming addition to the tier. Torkoal's utility is simply too valuable, especially for an archetype that struggles to find it elsewhere. I expect Ninetales to drop to the lower tiers (likely RU or NU), where it'll be a decent offensive Fire-type. But in OU, the Fox Pokemon struggles to stand out much at all.

 

[Eeveeto]

One cool niche is Healing Wish. Just when you thought Walking Wake is almost dead, bop! He is back!