NationalDex
ninetales
#038

Ninetales

Fox Pokémon

Fire

It has nine long tails and fur that gleams gold. It is said to live for 1,000 years.

Base Stats

HP 73
Attack 76
Defense 75
Sp. Atk 81
Sp. Def 100
Speed 100
Total 505

Type Effectiveness

Abilities

Held Items

Evolution Chain

Moves

Details

Category Fox Pokémon
Height 1.1 m
Weight 19.9 kg
Base Exp 177
Growth Rate Medium
Capture Rate 75
Base Happiness 70
Gender 25% ♂ / 75% ♀
Habitat Grassland
Egg Groups Ground

Sprites

ninetales Front Front
ninetales Back Back
ninetales Front Shiny Front Shiny
ninetales Back Shiny Back Shiny
ninetales Official Art Official Art
ninetales Official Art (Shiny) Official Art (Shiny)

Competitive

nu Usage: 0.4%
Nasty Plot
Moves
Energy Ball / Hidden Power Electric
Item
Life Orb
Nature
Timid
EVs
SpA 252
SpD 4
Spe 252

Strategy Overview

Ninetales distinguishes itself from other Fire-types in the tier with its access to a Special Attack-boosting move in Nasty Plot, as well as a very useful ability in Flash Fire, which allows it to pivot into predicted Fire-type attacks from the likes of Magmortar, Pyroar and Combusken and absorb Will-O-Wisp from Gourgeist-XL and Mismagius. Ninetales also has good coverage with moves such as Psyshock and Energy Ball, allowing it to get past many traditional Fire-type checks, namely Hariyama and Rhydon. Additionally, a great Speed stat allows Ninetales to outspeed many common offensive Pokemon, including Mesprit, Lilligant, Jynx, Vivillon, and Haunter. However, Ninetales is easily revenge killed by faster threats such as Archeops, Tauros, and Floatzel. Unfortunately, Ninetales also has a reliance on boosting with Nasty Plot in order to hit anything substantially hard due to its middling power and is easily worn down due to its dependence on Life Orb and susceptibility to all forms of entry hazards, particularly Stealth Rock.

Most Used Moves

Psyshock
50.5%

Most Used Items

Leftovers
16.6%

Competitive data from Smogon University via data.pkmn.cc