Taken over from Davon
Overview
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Ninetales sets itself apart from other Fire-types in the tier with its excellent ability in Flash Fire and its ability to boost its Special Attack with Nasty Plot. Ninetales also has an excellent Speed stat that lets it outspeed or Speed tie with many offensive Pokemon, such as Typhlosion, Mesprit, Zangoose, Kangaskhan, Sawk, and Lilligant. Between its strong STAB moves and near-unresisted coverage movepool, Ninetales is a massive threat to common defensive cores in NU. Most notably, Ninetales's coverage moves hit common answers to Fire-types, such as Hariyama, Rhydon, and Seismitoad, for massive damage. Ninetales finds a solid spot on many playstyles, including bulky offense and balance, and it can even act as an effective win condition for stall teams, as well as having an excellent matchup versus common stall builds. Unfortunately, Ninetales's weaknesses to Stealth Rock and common attacking types such as Water, Rock, and Ground limit its ability to pivot throughout the match and find setup opportunities. In addition, only average stats overall leave Ninetales quite weak unboosted.
Nasty Plot
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name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 3: Energy Ball
move 4: Will-O-Wisp / Psyshock
ability: Flash Fire
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
========
Nasty Plot boosts Ninetales's average Special Attack to excellent levels, allowing it to OHKO or severely dent common defensive Pokemon. The choice of STAB move depends on whether you prefer reliability or power; Fire Blast trades accuracy for higher power, while Flamethrower is more consistent. Energy Ball provides important coverage against bulky Water- and Ground-types such as Seismitoad, Prinplup, Rhydon, and Sandslash. Will-O-Wisp spreads residual damage and cripples physical attackers, particularly Hariyama and Archeops. Alternatively, Psyshock can be used to hit specially bulky Pokemon such as Hariyama, Mantine, and opposing Ninetales. Hidden Power Water specifically targets Mega Camerupt, which survives Ninetales's other attacks even if boosted and OHKOes in return with Earth Power, but requires a significant amount of prior damage on Camerupt to finish it off.
Set Details
========
The given EV spread and a Timid nature maximize Ninetales's power and Speed. Alternatively, a slightly bulkier spread of 112 HP / 252 SpA / 144 Spe hits a Leftovers number and lets Ninetales outspeed Timid Rotom-S, while a spread of 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe lets Ninetales outspeed positive-natured base 90 Speed Pokemon such as Lilligant and Kangaskhan. Leftovers is the preferred item to provide passive recovery while Ninetales sets up, but Life Orb is a solid choice for a significant boost in power. If Life Orb is chosen, Psyshock should always be used over Will-O-Wisp because a +2 Psyshock is a guaranteed OHKO on Hariyama, and Fire Blast should be used over Flamethrower for the greater damage output. However, Fire Blast should still be used alongside Leftovers due to how weak Flamethrower is without a boosting item. Passho Berry can be used to weaken a Water-type attack, particularly an Aqua Jet from the likes of Feraligatr and Samurott in an attempt to pick off a weakened Ninetales.
Usage Tips
========
Thanks to Flash Fire, Ninetales acts as a great pivot into Fire-type attacks from opposing Fire-types such as Typhlosion and Pyroar, as well as Will-O-Wisps from the likes of Weezing and Mismagius. However, it is important to keep Stealth Rock off the field, as it hinders Ninetales's ability to pivot. When using Leftovers, don't set up too early in the game; it is more beneficial to hit switch-ins with the appropriate coverage move or a Will-O-Wisp. Alternatively, if your opponent has a specially bulky Pokemon that is not hit super effectively by Ninetales's coverage moves, such as Audino, use Nasty Plot on the switch to break through it. Life Orb variants of Ninetales should play more aggressively; they should launch off powerful Fire Blasts early-game while still utilizing coverage moves on appropriate targets. Setting up Nasty Plot with Life Orb variants at the correct time is important, as Ninetales can be worn down very quickly between entry hazard damage and Life Orb recoil.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard removal is very important for Ninetales, so Pokemon such as Cryogonal, Swanna, Prinplup, Archeops, and Sandslash make for excellent teammates. Cryogonal appreciates Ninetales crippling Hariyama with Will-O-Wisp or battering it down with a powerful Life Orb-boosted Psyshock. Prinplup appreciates Ninetales's ability to pressure bulky Grass-types, particularly Vileplume. Pairing Ninetales with other strong Fire-types such as Pyroar and Typhlosion creates a powerful wallbreaking core, as Ninetales breaks down common Fire-type switch-ins such as Hariyama and Seismitoad. Due to the fact that Ninetales is severely crippled by Toxic Spikes, Poison-types such as Garbodor, Qwilfish, and Vileplume are helpful teammates to absorb Toxic Spikes. The last is a notable choice because, unlike the other two, it does not stack a Ground-type weakness. Water Absorb users and bulky Grass-types such as Seismitoad, Poliwrath, Gourgeist, and Vileplume make for good partners to check faster Water- and Rock-types.
Other Options
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A set with Substitute and Calm Mind takes a slower and bulkier approach to setting up. Hidden Power Ground provides decent coverage with Ninetales's Fire-type attacks and hits Mega Camerupt, Probopass, and the obscure Bastiodon harder than any of its other moves. Air Balloon allows Ninetales to check Ground-types in a pinch, most notably Mega Camerupt.
Checks & Counters
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**Entry Hazards**: Ninetales is easily worn down by Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and especially Stealth Rock.
**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Archeops resists Ninetales's STAB moves, outspeeds it, and OHKOes with Earthquake, but it must be wary of Will-O-Wisp. Swellow can OHKO Ninetales with a Guts-boosted Facade but doesn't appreciate switching into a Flamethrower or Fire Blast. Faster Rock-, Water-, and Ground-types such as Simipour, Archeops, and Floatzel can check Ninetales fairly easily.
**Status**: Thunder Wave cripples Ninetales's sweeping potential by halving its Speed. Toxic wears down Ninetales very quickly because it needs a turn to boost.
**Offensive Water-types**: Water-types such as Feraligatr and Samurott can easily check Ninetales with Aqua Jet, as Ninetales has a poor Defense stat. Feraligatr and Samurott can easily survive an Energy Ball from full HP, but they cannot switch in safely. Naturally faster Water-types such as Floatlzel also check Ninetales. These Pokemon need to watch out for Passho Berry variants of Ninetales, though.
**Probopass**: Probopass doesn't take much damage from Ninetales's Fire-type attacks and can hit Ninetales with a super effective STAB Power Gem or cripple it with a status condition.
**Special Tanks**: Specially bulky Pokemon such as Mega Camerupt, Mantine, Flareon, and Piloswine can tank a hit and deal heavy damage back or cripple Ninetales with Toxic.
Overview
########
Ninetales sets itself apart from other Fire-types in the tier with its excellent ability in Flash Fire and its ability to boost its Special Attack with Nasty Plot. Ninetales also has an excellent Speed stat that lets it outspeed or Speed tie with many offensive Pokemon, such as Typhlosion, Mesprit, Zangoose, Kangaskhan, Sawk, and Lilligant. Between its strong STAB moves and near-unresisted coverage movepool, Ninetales is a massive threat to common defensive cores in NU. Most notably, Ninetales's coverage moves hit common answers to Fire-types, such as Hariyama, Rhydon, and Seismitoad, for massive damage. Ninetales finds a solid spot on many playstyles, including bulky offense and balance, and it can even act as an effective win condition for stall teams, as well as having an excellent matchup versus common stall builds. Unfortunately, Ninetales's weaknesses to Stealth Rock and common attacking types such as Water, Rock, and Ground limit its ability to pivot throughout the match and find setup opportunities. In addition, only average stats overall leave Ninetales quite weak unboosted.
Nasty Plot
########
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 3: Energy Ball
move 4: Will-O-Wisp / Psyshock
ability: Flash Fire
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
========
Nasty Plot boosts Ninetales's average Special Attack to excellent levels, allowing it to OHKO or severely dent common defensive Pokemon. The choice of STAB move depends on whether you prefer reliability or power; Fire Blast trades accuracy for higher power, while Flamethrower is more consistent. Energy Ball provides important coverage against bulky Water- and Ground-types such as Seismitoad, Prinplup, Rhydon, and Sandslash. Will-O-Wisp spreads residual damage and cripples physical attackers, particularly Hariyama and Archeops. Alternatively, Psyshock can be used to hit specially bulky Pokemon such as Hariyama, Mantine, and opposing Ninetales. Hidden Power Water specifically targets Mega Camerupt, which survives Ninetales's other attacks even if boosted and OHKOes in return with Earth Power, but requires a significant amount of prior damage on Camerupt to finish it off.
Set Details
========
The given EV spread and a Timid nature maximize Ninetales's power and Speed. Alternatively, a slightly bulkier spread of 112 HP / 252 SpA / 144 Spe hits a Leftovers number and lets Ninetales outspeed Timid Rotom-S, while a spread of 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe lets Ninetales outspeed positive-natured base 90 Speed Pokemon such as Lilligant and Kangaskhan. Leftovers is the preferred item to provide passive recovery while Ninetales sets up, but Life Orb is a solid choice for a significant boost in power. If Life Orb is chosen, Psyshock should always be used over Will-O-Wisp because a +2 Psyshock is a guaranteed OHKO on Hariyama, and Fire Blast should be used over Flamethrower for the greater damage output. However, Fire Blast should still be used alongside Leftovers due to how weak Flamethrower is without a boosting item. Passho Berry can be used to weaken a Water-type attack, particularly an Aqua Jet from the likes of Feraligatr and Samurott in an attempt to pick off a weakened Ninetales.
Usage Tips
========
Thanks to Flash Fire, Ninetales acts as a great pivot into Fire-type attacks from opposing Fire-types such as Typhlosion and Pyroar, as well as Will-O-Wisps from the likes of Weezing and Mismagius. However, it is important to keep Stealth Rock off the field, as it hinders Ninetales's ability to pivot. When using Leftovers, don't set up too early in the game; it is more beneficial to hit switch-ins with the appropriate coverage move or a Will-O-Wisp. Alternatively, if your opponent has a specially bulky Pokemon that is not hit super effectively by Ninetales's coverage moves, such as Audino, use Nasty Plot on the switch to break through it. Life Orb variants of Ninetales should play more aggressively; they should launch off powerful Fire Blasts early-game while still utilizing coverage moves on appropriate targets. Setting up Nasty Plot with Life Orb variants at the correct time is important, as Ninetales can be worn down very quickly between entry hazard damage and Life Orb recoil.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard removal is very important for Ninetales, so Pokemon such as Cryogonal, Swanna, Prinplup, Archeops, and Sandslash make for excellent teammates. Cryogonal appreciates Ninetales crippling Hariyama with Will-O-Wisp or battering it down with a powerful Life Orb-boosted Psyshock. Prinplup appreciates Ninetales's ability to pressure bulky Grass-types, particularly Vileplume. Pairing Ninetales with other strong Fire-types such as Pyroar and Typhlosion creates a powerful wallbreaking core, as Ninetales breaks down common Fire-type switch-ins such as Hariyama and Seismitoad. Due to the fact that Ninetales is severely crippled by Toxic Spikes, Poison-types such as Garbodor, Qwilfish, and Vileplume are helpful teammates to absorb Toxic Spikes. The last is a notable choice because, unlike the other two, it does not stack a Ground-type weakness. Water Absorb users and bulky Grass-types such as Seismitoad, Poliwrath, Gourgeist, and Vileplume make for good partners to check faster Water- and Rock-types.
Other Options
########
A set with Substitute and Calm Mind takes a slower and bulkier approach to setting up. Hidden Power Ground provides decent coverage with Ninetales's Fire-type attacks and hits Mega Camerupt, Probopass, and the obscure Bastiodon harder than any of its other moves. Air Balloon allows Ninetales to check Ground-types in a pinch, most notably Mega Camerupt.
Checks & Counters
########
**Entry Hazards**: Ninetales is easily worn down by Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and especially Stealth Rock.
**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Archeops resists Ninetales's STAB moves, outspeeds it, and OHKOes with Earthquake, but it must be wary of Will-O-Wisp. Swellow can OHKO Ninetales with a Guts-boosted Facade but doesn't appreciate switching into a Flamethrower or Fire Blast. Faster Rock-, Water-, and Ground-types such as Simipour, Archeops, and Floatzel can check Ninetales fairly easily.
**Status**: Thunder Wave cripples Ninetales's sweeping potential by halving its Speed. Toxic wears down Ninetales very quickly because it needs a turn to boost.
**Offensive Water-types**: Water-types such as Feraligatr and Samurott can easily check Ninetales with Aqua Jet, as Ninetales has a poor Defense stat. Feraligatr and Samurott can easily survive an Energy Ball from full HP, but they cannot switch in safely. Naturally faster Water-types such as Floatlzel also check Ninetales. These Pokemon need to watch out for Passho Berry variants of Ninetales, though.
**Probopass**: Probopass doesn't take much damage from Ninetales's Fire-type attacks and can hit Ninetales with a super effective STAB Power Gem or cripple it with a status condition.
**Special Tanks**: Specially bulky Pokemon such as Mega Camerupt, Mantine, Flareon, and Piloswine can tank a hit and deal heavy damage back or cripple Ninetales with Toxic.
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