Help with ninetales team

[oceanking33]

Okay, so I really want to build my team around ninetales but i know my team has several weaknesses.. fire type pokemon and earthquake completely destroy my team and i can't figure out a way to defend against that. any help/advice is appreciated :)

Ninetales-Alola @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Warning
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Encore
- Blizzard
- Protect
- Moonblast

Okay so I picked ninetales because i wanted to build my team around this, i really like alolan ninetales and it has the weather effect to counter against the torkoals. I gave it focus sash because a lot of times the earthquakes or fire type moves even posion jab one hit ko this pokemon so focus sash keeps it alive. the moveset is pretty standard but i dont find myself using moonblast alot? what situation would i use this in?

Sandslash-Alola @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Icicle Crash

Okay so we got sandslash here with slush rush ability because it goes hand in hand with ninetales. slush rush makes it extremely fast in the hail so we want hail up when this pokemon is out. the 3 attack moves in this pokemon all have a chance to flinch and we have rock slide in case we arent sure if they will protect or not we can still get a hit off on the other pokemon to play it safe.

Muk-Alola @ Black Sludge
Ability: Power of Alchemy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Protect
- Poison Jab
- Shadow Sneak

alolan muk is being used a lot more. we have power of alchemy on it in case sandslash dies while muk is out, muk will get slush rush making it just as fast because muk is a slow pokemon. knock off to hit off the item the pokemon has but its also dark type which ive found useful at times. shadow sneak because it goes first

Garchomp @ Assault Vest
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Dragon Claw

I put garchomp in here because i thought it'd be a way to deal with the earthquake abuse against my team but I feel like its useless because they can still earthquake the rest of my pokemon

Tapu Bulu @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Wood Hammer
- Stone Edge
- Zen Headbutt

i got tapu bulu in here to deal with the water type pokemon with wood hammer. it has choice band to make its attacks strongers, and stone edge to deal with fire types because i will be able to outspeed most.

Milotic @ Choice Specs
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Gentle Nature
- Protect
- Recover
- Dragon Tail
- Hydro Pump

i have milotic to lead whenever im up against an arcanine because of the competitive ability. it is also tanky and the hydro pump will kill most arcanines. dragon tail on here im not sure why but it doesnt get much use..

So there's my team, hopefully I can get some good advice on what to take out and what to replace, but I need to keep ninetales in the lineup. I appreciate all help, thanks:)

 

[Gaveon]

I believe your set for Ninetales is fine, just some change suggestions that may be of use
If you switch out blizzard for Freeze Dry, which allows you to hit Toxapex who currently walls you. It also lets you hit Pelliper, a rival weather setter, for 4X.
Moonblast is a very nice STAB but it doesn't add much more coverage over blizzard. you could switch it out for HP ground so you can hit the fires and steels that threaten but yeah probably wont be enough.
For personal preference i would switch out encore for Aurora Veil as i feel that's Ninetales main strength, but encore is definitely fine.

Milotic
Running Protect on a choice set is generally not something you want to lock into, may wish to change that for another move or item.
Milotics typing alllows it to make better use of Sitrus berry.
Maybe switch out Sandslashs Sitrus and give it Life orb for better KOing power.

Well hope that helps

 

[oceanking33]

I believe your set for Ninetales is fine, just some change suggestions that may be of use
If you switch out blizzard for Freeze Dry, which allows you to hit Toxapex who currently walls you. It also lets you hit Pelliper, a rival weather setter, for 4X.
Moonblast is a very nice STAB but it doesn't add much more coverage over blizzard. you could switch it out for HP ground so you can hit the fires and steels that threaten but yeah probably wont be enough.
For personal preference i would switch out encore for Aurora Veil as i feel that's Ninetales main strength, but encore is definitely fine.

Milotic
Running Protect on a choice set is generally not something you want to lock into, may wish to change that for another move or item.
Milotics typing alllows it to make better use of Sitrus berry.
Maybe switch out Sandslashs Sitrus and give it Life orb for better KOing power.

Well hope that helps

ok i have encore on ninetales but idk what situations to use it for i just seen someone else have it so i copied it
im interested in getting freeze dry though maybe switching it in for encore because blizzard is very useful when im unsure which pokemon will protect i can still hit both.

also thanks for the advice on my milotic and sandslash=)

 

[Gaveon]

Overlooked your Garchomp there
Assault Vest is something i don't see often - Garchomps usually run 252 ATK 252 SPE
But yeah could work well.
Assault Vest prevents use of non-damage moves, so you will be unable to use Protect
May want to either switch protect for Poision Jab for Fairy Types
or Assault Vest for Lum Berry, to protect from Burns

 

[Pyritie]

I believe your set for Ninetales is fine, just some change suggestions that may be of use
If you switch out blizzard for Freeze Dry, which allows you to hit Toxapex who currently walls you. It also lets you hit Pelliper, a rival weather setter, for 4X.
Moonblast is a very nice STAB but it doesn't add much more coverage over blizzard. you could switch it out for HP ground so you can hit the fires and steels that threaten but yeah probably wont be enough.
For personal preference i would switch out encore for Aurora Veil as i feel that's Ninetales main strength, but encore is definitely fine.

Toxapex isn't relevant in VGC, but you're right in that freeze-dry is a good move on it for blowing up pelipper, gyarados, and gastrodon, all of which are common. Moonblast doesn't really hit anything that your ice moves don't hit for SE already (except for niche stuff like hariyama, sableye, etc) so that can be dropped. If you're using ninetales you should definitely try out Aurora Veil though, as that's a massive asset it can bring to your team that no other weather setter can do.

Try out Aurora Veil / Protect / Two of encore, blizzard, and freeze-dry.

Sandslash-Alola @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Icicle Crash

Okay so we got sandslash here with slush rush ability because it goes hand in hand with ninetales. slush rush makes it extremely fast in the hail so we want hail up when this pokemon is out. the 3 attack moves in this pokemon all have a chance to flinch and we have rock slide in case we arent sure if they will protect or not we can still get a hit off on the other pokemon to play it safe.

The moves look fine but you should take a closer look at those EVs. Sandslash is pretty slow, so you'll want to invest as many EVs as you can in its speed to outspeed relevant opponents while slush rush is active, and put the rest in bulk. Life Orb would also be a cool item choice here to let you get off extra damage.

Muk-Alola @ Black Sludge
Ability: Power of Alchemy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Protect
- Poison Jab
- Shadow Sneak

alolan muk is being used a lot more. we have power of alchemy on it in case sandslash dies while muk is out, muk will get slush rush making it just as fast because muk is a slow pokemon. knock off to hit off the item the pokemon has but its also dark type which ive found useful at times. shadow sneak because it goes first

I think gluttony + figy would be better here. Even with slush rush, muk would still be too slow to outspeed much, and none of the other abilities on your team are really worth copying. Gluttony and a Figy Berry (or another similar berry to match your nature) effectively gives muk 150% of its normal HP, which is a huge asset.

Garchomp @ Assault Vest
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Dragon Claw

I put garchomp in here because i thought it'd be a way to deal with the earthquake abuse against my team but I feel like its useless because they can still earthquake the rest of my pokemon

Assault vest and protect together is useless. Either get rid of AV or get rid of protect. Poison Jab is also a good move on garchomp to let it hit tapu bulu.

Garchomp should almost always be jolly nature to take advantage of its excellent speed tier.

Milotic @ Choice Specs
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Gentle Nature
- Protect
- Recover
- Dragon Tail
- Hydro Pump

I have no idea what you are trying to do here. Only one of your moves is boosted by the choice specs, two of them are stupid to lock yourself into, and your nature, EVs, moves, and item don't match up at all. What is your milotic trying to do, do damage or stick around?

 

[oceanking33]

Toxapex isn't relevant in VGC, but you're right in that freeze-dry is a good move on it for blowing up pelipper, gyarados, and gastrodon, all of which are common. Moonblast doesn't really hit anything that your ice moves don't hit for SE already (except for niche stuff like hariyama, sableye, etc) so that can be dropped. If you're using ninetales you should definitely try out Aurora Veil though, as that's a massive asset it can bring to your team that no other weather setter can do.

Try out Aurora Veil / Protect / Two of encore, blizzard, and freeze-dry.


The moves look fine but you should take a closer look at those EVs. Sandslash is pretty slow, so you'll want to invest as many EVs as you can in its speed to outspeed relevant opponents while slush rush is active, and put the rest in bulk. Life Orb would also be a cool item choice here to let you get off extra damage.



I think gluttony + figy would be better here. Even with slush rush, muk would still be too slow to outspeed much, and none of the other abilities on your team are really worth copying. Gluttony and a Figy Berry (or another similar berry to match your nature) effectively gives muk 150% of its normal HP, which is a huge asset.




Assault vest and protect together is useless. Either get rid of AV or get rid of protect. Poison Jab is also a good move on garchomp to let it hit tapu bulu.

Garchomp should almost always be jolly nature to take advantage of its excellent speed tier.



I have no idea what you are trying to do here. Only one of your moves is boosted by the choice specs, two of them are stupid to lock yourself into, and your nature, EVs, moves, and item don't match up at all. What is your milotic trying to do, do damage or stick around?

okay thanks for the big help man. and for the milotic i thought it was a pretty tanky pokemon, so i wanted it to stick around but mainly its there to deal with the threat of ground type pokemon or arcanines