Alolan Ninetales Movesets & Competitive Sets

Alolan Ninetales is a crucial Pokemon on Ice thanks to its great typing and utility in Snow Warning and Aurora Veil. Moonblast threatens Fighting-, Dark-, and Dragon-types such as Galarian Zapdos, Crawdaunt, and Kyurem. Freeze-Dry hits Water-types like Swampert and Gastrodon. Encore allows Alolan Ninetales to punish passive walls, setup sweepers, and entry hazard setters like Corviknight, Tapu Fini, and Clefable. Light Clay is preferred to get maximum value from Aurora Veil, but Icy Rock can be run if using Arctozolt. A bulkier spread with maximum HP investment over Special Attack is an option to provide more opportunities to set up Aurora Veil. All of Alolan Ninetales's teammates appreciate Aurora Veil and it checking dangerous Fighting-types such as Urshifu-R. Kyurem can check Fire-types that wall and scare out Alolan Ninetales like Heatran and Volcanion and threaten them with Earth Power. Dragon Dance Kyurem, in particular, appreciates Alolan Ninetales's Aurora Veil to ease setting up Substitute and Dragon Dance. Piloswine is a more passive Pokemon that can perform a similar role in checking Fire-types such as Volcarona and Heatran with help from Aurora Veil while also being able to set Stealth Rock. Cloyster can get rid of entry hazards for Alolan Ninetales while also chipping Steel-types such as Melmetal with Rocky Helmet and bringing it in safely with Teleport. Galarian Darmanitan and Weavile are offensive wallbreakers that can abuse the special bulky Pokemon that wall Alolan Ninetales, like Slowking and Aegislash. Arctozolt can use Alolan Ninetales's Hail to decimate offensive teams and common checks to Alolan Ninetales like Celesteela and Corviknight. Mamoswine is an option for a more offensive Stealth Rock setter that can help preserve offensive momentum.

Alolan Ninetales's fast Aurora Veil allows Fairy teams to better take advantage of their setup sweepers. Freeze-Dry nails Water- and Ground-type Pokemon such as Hippowdon, Gastrodon, Seismitoad, and Pelipper, while Moonblast allows Alolan Ninetales to hit Dark-, Dragon-, and Fighting-type such as Sableye, Hydreigon, Kyurem-B, and Kommo-o hard. Encore enables Alolan Ninetales to lock setup sweepers such as Corviknight, Snorlax, and Centiskorch and defensive Pokemon like Toxapex and Hippowdon into inopportune moves. Light Clay and Snow Warning pair with Aurora Veil to maximize its duration and enable setup, enabling teammates such as Mimikyu to more easily take advantage of it. The given EVs and a Timid nature allow Alolan Ninetales to be as strong and fast as possible and take on Pokemon such as Cloyster and Toxapex. Alolan Ninetales should time when its sets Aurora Veil against other teams with access to weather, as it can easily be blocked if hail is overridden. All of Alolan Ninetales teammates appreciate its ability to set up Aurora Veil, especially the setup sweepers. Calm Mind Hatterene, Swords Dance Mimikyu, Bulk Up Grimmsnarl, and Nasty Plot Togekiss are the team's setup sweepers that can take advantage of Aurora Veil, allowing them to tank hits with more ease and making setting up easier. Hatterene also can bounce back entry hazards for Alolan Ninetales thanks to Magic Bounce, which also allows it to keep up Aurora Veil against Defog users such as Galarian Weezing and Pelipper. Other teammates such as Gardevoir and Primarina appreciate the Aurora Veil, as it allows them to spam their attacks with little drawback. Gardevoir especially helps Alolan Ninetales, as it can take advantage of opposing weather teams thanks to Trace and its Choice Scarf to revenge kill their sweepers with ease, such as Excadrill and Barraskewda. Clefable is another support Pokemon available to Aurora Veil teams, being able to support them with Thunder Wave and Healing Wish or set up Stealth Rock, allowing its teammates to break through the foe's team with more ease. Stealth Rock also allows Alolan Ninetales to at least 2HKO all Pokemon in the Water matchup, such as taking out Toxapex with Freeze-Dry and OHKOing Cloyster with Moonblast. Pokemon such as Grimmsnarl can take on Pokemon that can beat Ninetales such as Jirachi and Gengar with Sucker Punch, and Togekiss can tank attacks from Choice Scarf users that take can OHKO Alolan Ninetales such as Duraludon and paralyze them with Thunder Wave. Lastly, Ribombee's Sticky Web allows Alolan Ninetales to outspeed Choice Scarf users such as Terrakion, Dracovish, and Duraludon.

Blizzard is Alolan Ninetales's best attacking move and a strong spread move in itself, hitting common Pokemon like Rillaboom and Landorus. Encore gives Alolan Ninetales the ability to punish Pokemon using Fake Out and Protect, while Moonblast allows it to OHKO Urshifu-R and deal a decent amount of damage to Kyurem-B. Aurora Veil reduces the amount of damage Alolan Ninetales's teammates take, which can make attackers like Urshifu-R and Kyurem much harder to handle. Protect can stall out Trick Room and Tailwind turns and allow a teammate to switch in to support Alolan Ninetales while keeping it safe. Light Clay extends how long Aurora Veil is active, reducing how often Alolan Ninetales is required to set it in a game. Snow Warning allows Aurora Veil to be used and makes Blizzard perfectly accurate for Alolan Ninetales and Kyurem. A Timid nature is needed to outspeed Landorus and Urshifu-R so that Alolan Ninetales can either set Aurora Veil before they attack or offensively check them.

Alolan Ninetales is the tier's only viable Hail setter, functioning as a strong support member on Hail teams while providing a solid resistance to Dark to help with Ash-Greninja. It can set hail throughout the game because of its respectable Speed tier that lets it outspeed the likes of Garchomp, Hydreigon, and Landorus-T and its good support movepool that consists of options such as Pain Split and Aurora Veil. However, Alolan Ninetales is extremely weak and has terrible bulk, which is further exacerbated by its horrid Stealth Rock weakness. Furthermore, its extreme passivity allows threats such as Mega Medicham and Heatran to switch in for free. Aurora Veil allows Alolan Ninetales to provide increased opportunities to switch in for teammates like Arctozolt, as well as let partners like Volcanion and Corviknight more comfortably check threats such as Heatran and Mega Medicham. Pain Split serves the dual purpose of providing Alolan Ninetales with a form of recovery to aid its poor longevity so that it can more consistently provide Hail support and wearing down bulkier teams due to its low HP stat. Encore prevents threats like Mega Latias and Clefable from taking advantage of its passivity, as well as letting teammates like Arctozolt, Volcanion, and Mega Diancie switch in unpunished. Freeze-Dry is a solid STAB option that allows Alolan Ninetales to threaten Ground- and Water-types and prevent the likes of Gastrodon, Pelipper, and Gliscor from completely taking advantage of it. It also allows you to win the weather war against Pelipper and generally pressure rain teams hard. Alolan Ninetales works best on hail teams, so Arctozolt is its premier partner, as it can make use of the hail to annihilate unprepared teams. Arctozolt also appreciates Alolan Ninetales luring and weakening Gastrodon for it, as well as providing safer opportunities to switch in through Encore and Aurora Veil. Due to its susceptibility to being taken advantage of by Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, and Mega Scizor, strong Fire- and Ground-types such as Landorus-T, Volcanion, and Heatran are solid partners. Volcanion in particular checks Ash-Greninja together with Alolan Ninetales thanks to its immunity to Water. Finally, Alolan Ninetales's severe weakness to Stealth Rock basically mandates extremely strong entry hazard control. As such, Pokemon like Corviknight and Mega Diancie work really well with it.

Alolan Ninetales is a great asset to Ice-type teams due to summoning hail and using Aurora Veil to allow its teammates to take less damage from attacks. Alolan Ninetales's Fairy typing is good to threaten Fighting- and Dark-types like Keldeo and Mega Sableye with STAB Moonblast, and it has a great Speed tier to outpace Pokemon such as Keldeo and Terrakion. Freeze-Dry is used to hit Water-types such as Swampert, Pelipper, Mantine, and Gastrodon. Encore allows Alolan Ninetales to lock entry hazard settlers and setup sweepers like Galarian Corsola, Torkoal, and Bisharp into non-damaging moves. Light Clay is used to maintain Aurora Veil for eight turns, and Snow Warning is needed to summon hail. 252 Special Attack EVs make Alolan Ninetales hit as hard as possible. A Timid nature with 252 Speed EVs is vital for Alolan Ninetales to outpace Keldeo and Hydreigon. All teammates appreciate Alolan Ninetales providing Aurora Veil to help take attacks and its Moonblast threatening Keldeo and Terrakion. Alolan Sandslash loves Alolan Ninetales summoning hail to enable Slush Rush, allowing it to outpace Mega Aerodactyl and Mega Diancie. Alolan Ninetales in return can take care of Landorus and Nidoking outside hail. Avalugg is a great wall that can come in on Excadrill's and Bisharp's attacks and take care of them with Body Press. It can also use Rapid Spin to get rid of entry hazards that prevent Alolan Ninetales from repeatedly coming in. Cloyster is a great partner, as it loves the support from Aurora Veil to safety set up and sweep and can take care of troublesome Rock- and Fire-types once it set up, like Mega Tyranitar, Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Charizard Y, and Victini. Piloswine is also a great partner that can take care of Volcarona and Mega Charizard Y thanks to Thick Fat and provide Stealth Rock. Mamoswine is another option, as it can also provide Stealth Rock support, takes neutral damage from Fire- and Rock-type attacks and helps against Rock-, Fire-, Steel- and Poison-types like Tyranitar, Heatran, Magnezone, and Toxapex. Kyurem is a great wallbreaker; helps out Alolan Ninetales by taking care of troublesome Steel-types such Heatran, Excadrill, and Magnezone with Earth Power; and helps out in the Water-type matchup with Freeze-Dry to 2HKO Toxapex, which Alolan Ninetales has trouble beating. Choice Scarf Galarian Darmanitan is a great wallbreaker and a great way to take care of troubling Steel-types like Excadrill, Heatran, and Jirachi that threaten Alolan Ninetales out. Choice Scarf Weavile is a great check to a set-up Cloyster thanks to Foul Play and troublesome Ghost- and Psychic-types like Gengar, Blacephalon, Victini and Jirachi thanks to Knock Off and Pursuit. Knock Off is also useful to get rid of Heavy-Duty Boots from Blissey, Leftovers from Tyranitar, and Eviolite from Porygon2.

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Moves Blizzard gives Alolan Ninetales a spread move that also functions as a more powerful attacking move than Freeze-Dry, which can be useful against neutral targets; for example, while Freeze-Dry never OHKOes Kartana, Blizzard has a 43.8% chance to OHKO non-Assault Vest Kartana. Freeze-Dry hits a plethora of threats, such as Gyarados, Pelipper, Gastrodon, Garchomp, and Salamence for 4x damage, the former three of which would otherwise take on Alolan Ninetales quite easily. Aurora Veil functions as an all-in-one Reflect and Light Screen, reducing the damage Alolan Ninetales and its teammates take from attacks for five turns, or eight turns with Light Clay. Icy Wind enables Alolan Ninetales to provide its team with speed control. Protect grants Alolan Ninetales a turn of protection, allowing it to be safe for a turn as its partner handles threats to it, such as Celesteela, Alolan Marowak, and Kartana. Dropping Protect is an option if you want Alolan Ninetales to have two of Blizzard, Icy Wind, and Encore, as opposed to just one, or just have another move in general; Moonblast, for example. Set Details Maximum investment in Special Attack and Speed with a Timid nature is necessary to ensure Alolan Ninetales's attack(s) hit harder than a wet tissue and to Speed tie with Kartana, respectively. Focus Sash enables Alolan Ninetales to survive an attack that would have otherwise taken it out, while Light Clay extends the duration of Aurora Veil to eight turns. Icy Rock is an option if you have Alolan Sandslash on your team, extending the number of turns Alolan Sandslash has available to take advantage of Slush Rush. Snow Warning is necessary to ensure Aurora Veil succeeds, as the move requires hail to be active in order to be used. Usage Tips You should generally avoid directly switching Alolan Ninetales in on an attack, as its mediocre bulk doesn't allow for it to take many hits if Aurora Veil isn't up. Alolan Ninetales doesn't necessarily have to go for Aurora Veil turn one; for example, when facing Pokemon such as Pelipper or Gyarados, it is much better to go for the OHKO with Freeze-Dry so as to get these threats out of the way as soon as possible. If you see Torkoal or another non-rain weather setter on the opposing Pokemon's team, don't bring Alolan Ninetales; due to Alolan Ninetales's Speed, its weather will be erased by any slower opposing weather setter, while Alolan Ninetales struggles to do any damage back to them, making it a sitting duck. Team Options Tapu Lele protects Alolan Ninetales from priority attacks; this is especially handy if it carries a Focus Sash, as this will prevent its Focus Sash from being broken by Fake Out. Tapu Bulu also makes for a good teammate as Grassy Terrain will negate hail damage done to Alolan Ninetales's grounded allies; however, it also negates hail damage done to its grounded opponents. As the best user of Slush Rush, Alolan Sandslash makes for another good teammate for Alolan Ninetales. Due to its vulnerability to Steel-types like Celesteela and Kartana, Fire-type Pokemon like Arcanine and Alolan Marowak make for great partners. Water-types like Gastrodon, Gyarados, Milotic, and Araquanid massively help Alolan Ninetales against opposing Fire-types. Gastrodon is a particularly noteworthy team option here as it can assist Alolan Ninetales against Alolan Muk as well as Fire-types.

Blizzard is Alolan Ninetales's go-to STAB move, never missing in hail and dealing damage to both opposing Pokemon. Freeze-Dry allows Alolan Ninetales to deal super effective damage to Water-type Pokemon, a trait that is especially handy against Pelipper, Ludicolo, and Gastrodon. Furthermore, as it's a single-target move, it gives Alolan Ninetales a move to use when faced against Wide Guard. Aurora Veil gives Alolan Ninetales and its teammates damage reduction against both physical and special attacks, improving their staying power. Protect allows Alolan Ninetales to protect itself from attacks like Mega Metagross's Iron Head and Aegislash's Flash Cannon while its teammate takes care of these Pokemon. Icy Wind allows Alolan Ninetales to provide speed control for its team, making it an option if its team struggles to find a place to put speed control. Alolan Ninetales can also make use of Encore to lock foes into status moves like Substitute and Protect and potentially force switches. Alolan Ninetales should run an EV spread of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe with a Timid nature, as it needs as much power and speed as it can get. Furthermore, defensive investment is unlikely to prove beneficial, given its subpar bulk sans Aurora Veil. Snow Warning is obligatory, seeing as hail enables the use of Aurora Veil and turns Blizzard into a reliable attack. Focus Sash is the preferred item on Alolan Ninetales, given that it enables it to survive attacks it wouldn't otherwise take, including Kartana's Smart Strike and Mega Metagross's Iron Head. Light Clay extends the duration of Aurora Veil from five turns to eight turns. This may be considered on more defensively oriented and setup-focused teams that can truly reap the benefits of an extended duration of Aurora Veil. As Aurora Veil enhances the bulk of Alolan Ninetales and its teammates, it makes Alolan Ninetales a solid consideration on teams that use setup Pokemon like Snorlax and Calm Mind Tapu Fini or rock-solid defensive Pokemon like Celesteela and Ferrothorn. Given Alolan Ninetales's vulnerability to Steel-type Pokemon like Celesteela and Aegislash, it should be paired with Fire- and Ground-type Pokemon like Landorus-T, Heatran, and Volcarona that can take care of them. Since Mega Charizard Y and Tyranitar are both difficult for Alolan Ninetales, given their ability to completely block Aurora Veil, lower Blizzard's accuracy, and OHKO it altogether, it is a good idea to use Pokemon like Landorus-T and Terrakion with it—the former should be used with Choice Scarf and Rock Slide to even be considered a check to Mega Charizard Y, though.

Set Information Nasty Plot boosts Alolan Ninetales's Special Attack to threatening levels, allowing it to break through frailer Pokemon and clean up weakened teams. Ice Beam nets good coverage on the tier and hits Pokemon like Rhydon and Nidoqueen very hard. Dazzling Gleam is used a secondary STAB attack that breaks through Dark-types like Mega Gyarados. Dark Pulse is the most consistent option in the last slot, getting a harder hit on Mew and Melmetal. Encore can also be used, as locking a foe into a move like Stealth Rock can give Alolan Ninetales setup opportunities. Hypnosis is another option, potentially incapacitating a check like Melmetal; its shaky accuracy makes it unreliable, though. Usage Tips Bring Alolan Ninetales in via VoltTurn support or on double switches; it's not bulky enough to switch into anything, and its poor defensive typing doesn't help it. Bringing it in when a teammate faints works too. Try to set up on Pokemon that cannot OHKO Alolan Ninetales like Sandslash, Substitute Mega Gyarados, and Zapdos. Don't set up until Pokemon like Melmetal and Mew have been weakened significantly, as they can easily grind Alolan Ninetales's sweep to a halt. If a faster revenge killer like Mega Beedrill or Mega Aerodactyl is still alive on the opponent's team, try to take it out before attempting to sweep. Team Options Good Melmetal checks are always necessary, but this is doubly true when using Alolan Ninetales. Pokemon like Mega Gyarados, Zapdos, and Poliwrath are all great teammates for this reason. Contrarily, teammates that appreciate Melmetal being weakened like Dragonite, Mega Beedrill, and Mega Aerodactyl are excellent, as Alolan Ninetales is one of the most reliable ways of forcing chip damage on Melmetal. Melmetal itself is also a good teammate, being able to handle Pokemon like Mega Beedrill and Mega Aerodactyl for Alolan Ninetales. Starmie is a good teammate thanks to its ability to handle Fire-types like Mega Charizard X, as well as acting as a backup check to Melmetal. Nasty Plot Mew is an effective teammate that shares many checks with Alolan Ninetales; this means that they can break through Pokemon like Melmetal and Alolan Muk for each other, enabling their partner's sweep. Stealth Rock support is helpful when using Alolan Ninetales, as many of its best offensive checks like Mega Aerodactyl are weak to it. Setters like Rhydon, Sandslash, and Nidoqueen are all good teammates. Dual screens support from Electrode can be helpful to give Alolan Ninetales more setup opportunities, as the boost in bulk makes Alolan Ninetales quite tough to take down.

Moves Aurora Veil gives Alolan Ninetales's entire team increased survivability against both physical and special attacks. Freeze-Dry is the Ice-type STAB move of choice due to its ability to hit Water-types such as Swampert, Mantine, and Pelipper super effectively. Moonblast is the strongest Fairy-type STAB move Alolan Ninetales has access to and is able to hit Dark- and Fighting-types such as Mega Sableye, Buzzwole, and Keldeo hard. Encore is used to cripple entry hazard setters like Forretress and Torkoal as well as setup sweepers like Bisharp and Volcarona. Blizzard can be used as a more powerful Ice-type STAB move that has perfect accuracy in hail and can OHKO Mega Pinsir and 2HKO Skarmory. Hidden Power Fire is another alternative to keep Mega Scizor from setting up for free while also targeting Ferrothorn. Set Details Maximum investment in Special Attack and Speed allows Alolan Ninetales to be as strong and as fast as possible. A Timid nature allows it to outspeed Terrakion, Keldeo, and Mega Pinsir. Snow Warning is vital in order to set up Aurora Veil and give Slush Rush Pokemon like Alolan Sandslash and Beartic doubled Speed. Light Clay is the item used to increase the duration of Aurora Veil to eight turns. Usage Tips Try switching in with Alolan Ninetales frequently to set up Aurora Veil to increase its teammates' survivability. Keep entry hazards like Stealth Rock and Spikes off the field as much as you can, since they wear down Alolan Ninetales quickly and limit the number of times it can switch in. With its high Speed stat, Alolan Ninetales ends up losing many lead matchups against opposing weather setters like Torkoal and Tyranitar, which can result in an inability to set up Aurora Veil and a huge loss of momentum. As such, it's best not to lead with Alolan Ninetales immediately in these situations. However, it would be a great idea to lead with Alolan Ninetales otherwise in order to get up Aurora Veil as soon as possible. If you're running Encore, try switching into a Rapid Spin or Defog from entry hazard removers such as Forretress and Mandibuzz or a setup move from Bisharp or Clefable in order to cripple them and give yourself a free opportunity to set up Aurora Veil. It is also beneficial to switch in when the foe tries to set up Stealth Rock in order to cripple them with Encore without taking any hazard damage. Keep Alolan Ninetales away from status as much as possible, as paralysis can halve its Speed and poison will slowly wear it down each turn. Team Options Everything on Ice appreciates the extra survivability Alolan Ninetales provides with Aurora Veil, as well as its ability to check Fighting-types like Buzzwole and Keldeo. Avalugg is a great partner that can remove entry hazards for Alolan Ninetales with Rapid Spin as well as switch into threatening physical attackers like Jirachi, Excadrill, and Alolan Muk. In return, Alolan Ninetales can offensively check special attackers that threaten Avalugg, such as Landorus and Hydreigon. Piloswine and Mamoswine can both set up Stealth Rock for Alolan Ninetales while also taking neutral damage from Rock- and Fire-type attacks thanks to their typing and Thick Fat and resisting Poison-type attacks. Piloswine is able to phaze setup Pokemon with priority like Mega Scizor and Azumarill as well as switch into threatening special attackers like Heatran and Nihilego. Mamoswine on the other hand is able to offensively check weather setters like Torkoal and Tyranitar, as well as Steel- and Poison-types like Heatran, Magnezone, and Alolan Muk. In return, Alolan Ninetales can deal with bulky Water-types like Slowbro and Swampert. Kyurem-B can break through special walls like Empoleon, Celesteela, and Heatran, and Alolan Ninetales can remove Water-types that are immune to Fusion Bolt like Swampert and Seismitoad as well as switch into Dragon-type attacks. Lapras and Walrein can switch into Fire- and Steel-type attacks for Alolan Ninetales. They also serve as checks towards Fire- and Steel-types like Heatran, Alolan Marowak, Ferrothorn, and especially Mega Scizor, which is the most potent counter to Alolan Ninetales. Weavile can Pursuit trap Ghost- and Psychic-types that threaten to KO Alolan Ninetales such as Gengar, Victini, and Jirachi while removing items with Knock Off and dealing with special walls. Alolan Ninetales in return deals with physically defensive Water-types like Swampert and Toxapex. Cloyster appreciates Alolan Ninetales's Aurora Veil, as it gives Cloyster an easier time setting up with Shell Smash. Cloyster can take on Fire-, Steel-, and Rock-types that threaten Alolan Ninetales such as Victini, Excadrill, and Nihilego after setting up. Alolan Sandslash and Beartic greatly benefit from Alolan Ninetales's Snow Warning ability, doubling their Speed and allowing them to effectively sweep. They also break through special walls that give Alolan Ninetales a hard time. Alolan Sandslash offers entry hazard removal with Rapid Spin, as well as Rock and Steel neutralities and a Poison immunity. Beartic is capable of breaking through special walls like Chansey and Ferrothorn as well as outspeeding and revenge killing Mega Charizard Y and Volcarona in hail with Stone Edge.

Moves Blizzard is Alolan Ninetales's best Ice-type STAB attack thanks to its high Base Power and ability to deal spread damage. Freeze-Dry is a more reliable option, as it does not require hail to have 100% accuracy and allows Alolan Ninetales to hit Tapu Fini, Gastrodon, and common rain sweepers, such as Kingdra and Mega Swampert, for super effective damage. Aurora Veil is the main reason to use Alolan Ninetales. This move single-handedly makes Alolan Ninetales a viable support Pokemon. Encore is another move that boosts Alolan Ninetales's utility by enabling it to punish foes using Protect to stall out hail or trying to take advantage of Alolan Ninetales's passivity by setting up on it. Protect shields Alolan Ninetales from a potential OHKO and can let its partner deal with the threat. Keep in mind the hail turns when using Protect because you might accidentally help stall it out. Icy Wind can be used in either of the last two slots to give Ninetales a bit of extra utility in the form of Speed control. Set Details Maximum Speed EVs with a Timid nature ensure that Alolan Ninetales is as fast as possible. 184 HP and 72 Defense EVs allow Alolan Ninetales to take a Double-Edge from 180 Attack Mega Salamence. Snow Warning is the only ability to use because it allows Alolan Ninetales to use Aurora Veil, makes Blizzard perfectly accurate, and provides nice chip damage. Light Clay is the preferred item to prolong Aurora Veil's effects. For a bit of extra Speed, a Choice Scarf set can be used. This would allow Ninetales to outspeed and OHKO such notable threats as Mega Salamence, both formes of Choice Scarf Landorus, post-Clangorous Soulblaze Kommo-o, and +1 Speed Zygarde. Blizzard, Freeze-Dry, Moonblast, and Aurora Veil should be the moves accompanying a Choice Scarf, while a simple EV spread of 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe and Timid Nature maximize Ninetales' Speed and power. Usage Tips Use Aurora Veil when Alolan Ninetales's partner is planning to set up. Keep in mind that Aurora Veil only works under hail, so if the foe has a Pokemon that can change the weather, such as Tyranitar or Pelipper, be wary of using it. Alolan Ninetales relies heavily on hail, so if the opponent has a Pokemon that can change the weather, try to get rid of it as soon as possible. Preserve Alolan Ninetales in that situation so it can win the weather war, since it needs hail to function. Keep in mind that due to Alolan Ninetales's Speed, it will almost always set up weather first, so if the opponent has any weather setters, don't lead with Alolan Ninetales, or else its weather will be overridden if the opponent also leads with their weather setter. If switching Alolan Ninetales in, try to switch it into neutral special attacks. Never switch it into a physical attack, unless resisted, since it is pretty frail physically. Be careful of Trick Room, as once it is set up, Alolan Ninetales is useless. Team Options Alolan Ninetales is great next to setup sweepers thanks to Aurora Veil. Zygarde is a great partner, as it threatens Fire- and Steel-types that threaten Alolan Ninetales. In return, Alolan Ninetales discourages and threatens Salamence and Landorus-T, two common Intimidate users, from switching in, which allows Zygarde to set up more easily. Porygon-Z benefits greatly from the added padding from Aurora Veil, as it is very frail. Porygon-Z can also effectively use Blizzard when paired up with Alolan Ninetales, which is a step up from Ice Beam. The added chip damage from hail is also nice for Porygon-Z to get some KOs that it normally might not get, such as on Tapu Lele. Fire-types, most notably Volcanion, can threaten opposing Steel-types and easily switch into any Fire-type attacks aimed at Alolan Ninetales.

Moves With Snow Warning, Alolan Ninetales can set Aurora Veil, which halves incoming damage from physical and special attacks. This exclusive team support can aid Pokemon like Mega Charizard X and Mega Gyarados, which will be significantly more threatening under the better setup conditions. Aurora Veil also makes revenge killing much more difficult for Mimikyu and priority move users such as Breloom and Mamoswine. Encore locks a foe into the same move for three turns, preventing Alolan Ninetales from being easily set up on. Locking a foe into status or setup moves can potentially generate better setup conditions for Alolan Ninetales's teammates. Blizzard gives Alolan Ninetales an acceptable amount of offensive presence, becoming a perfectly accurate attack under hail. Sheer Cold is the best move to allow Ninetales to threaten bulky foes like Porygon2 and alleviate its matchup against defensive teams in a single moveslot. Freeze-Dry can be a solid option to beat Water-types such as Gyarados and Tapu Fini, as well as heavily threatening common Water-types found on rain teams like Pelipper, Mega Swampert, and Kingdra. Icy Wind eases prediction against setup sweepers like Mega Gyarados that Alolan Ninetales can survive a hit from, letting it safely scout the first move they use and lock them into that move with Encore. Set Details Maximum investment in Special Attack and Speed with a Timid nature enables Alolan Ninetales to fully take advantage of its good Speed and have as much offensive presence as possible. Alolan Ninetales's meager offensive presence also gives it room to invest in HP as opposed to Special Attack, giving it enough bulk to survive Thunderbolt from Choice Specs Tapu Koko and Psychic from Modest Choice Scarf Tapu Lele. Jolly Choice Scarf Landorus-T also has unfavorable odds to OHKO maximum HP Alolan Ninetales with Stone Edge. Light Clay is typically preferred, as Alolan Ninetales setting Aurora Veil and potentially locking a foe into Encore gives its teammates very few turns to take advantage of Aurora Veil otherwise. Focus Sash can be used instead to guarantee that Alolan Ninetales survives an attack from full health to improve the chances that Aurora Veil is set, and it is more justifiable with Alolan Ninetales's teammates typically using different items due to hail damage. Snow Warning summons hail when Alolan Ninetales switches in, allowing it to quickly set Aurora Veil. Usage Tips Depending on the matchup, Alolan Ninetales should be used with caution. Faster checks like Mega Gengar and Bullet Punch users like Mega Metagross, Mega Scizor, and Mega Lucario can lead against Alolan Ninetales to prevent it from setting Aurora Veil and potentially take advantage of the forced switch. Handing momentum to these threats is going to be problematic even if Alolan Ninetales's teammates can take on them well, as Alolan Ninetales's effectiveness will progressively diminish throughout the match as its teammates will lose health from combat. Opposing weather setters can be problematic as well, as they simply prevent Alolan Ninetales from setting Aurora Veil. With the exception of Hippowdon, all weather setters can switch into Alolan Ninetales safely as long as Sheer Cold doesn't end up hitting them. If there are Pokemon like Tyranitar, Pelipper, and Politoed in Team Preview, consider benching Alolan Ninetales. In matchups where no particular foe can outspeed and OHKO Alolan Ninetales or change weather, leading with Alolan Ninetales is often the most sensible strategy for various reasons. While setting Aurora Veil early is important to minimize the incoming damage, hail damage from early-game can also limit the usefulness of Focus Sash users like Mimikyu and Breloom from the opposing team, and any passive damage dealt to problematic walls like such as Porygon2 and defensive Landorus-T can be helpful to Alolan Ninetales's teammates. With Icy Wind and Encore, Alolan Ninetales can also prevent a good number of threats from setting up too early. Note that Alolan Ninetales doesn't have to set Aurora Veil immediately. Foes like Mega Gyarados, which Alolan Ninetales can survive a hit from without Aurora Veil, can have their first move scouted by Icy Wind, preventing them from outspeeding Alolan Ninetales after using Dragon Dance. Make sure that Aurora Veil is set against threatening foes like Mega Mawile and Mega Blaziken immediately, however. Alolan Ninetales will have more room to breathe against slower and bulkier foes, but it is less likely that they will mind Aurora Veil on the field. Passive foes like Toxapex will use Scald and Haze to take care of its counters, and Chansey will Toxic stall most special attackers and do consistent damage with Seismic Toss. In these kinds of matchups, Alolan Ninetales can still aim to either provide its teammates with a free setup opportunity with Encore or set Aurora Veil and repeatedly use Sheer Cold. Overly passive Pokemon will struggle to take down Alolan Ninetales behind Aurora Veil before it ends up hitting Sheer Cold at least once. Team Options Setup sweepers that typically engage in direct combat with foes or need multiple boosts to be successful can greatly benefit from Aurora Veil. Porygon-Z, which may have a hard time setting up against faster threats, can easily gain boosts under Aurora Veil and can become a terrifying sweeper. Mega Gyarados can easily pivot into Bullet Punch targeted at Alolan Ninetales and take full advantage of Aurora Veil if carrying Taunt or Substitute by preventing status moves and weak attacks. To a lesser extent, other setup sweepers like Mega Salamence, Mega Charizard X, and Naganadel are less vulnerable to Mimikyu behind Aurora Veil and can set up more easily. Teammates that do not necessarily need Aurora Veil should also be present on the team to discourage foes like Mega Gengar and Mega Metagross from easily anti-leading Alolan Ninetales. One of the aspects of using Alolan Ninetales includes luring in foes that remove hail and OHKOing them swiftly. Offensive Ground-types like Garchomp can be considered to counterlead Steel-types and threaten Tyranitar. Pokemon that can beat Mega Gengar and Tapu Koko should also be considered, as they may carry Taunt. Fire-types such as Volcarona and both formes of Blaziken are good partners to have around, whether Alolan Ninetales will be used or not. Both of them can punish Steel-types drawn in after seeing Alolan Ninetales in Team Preview, and they become significantly more difficult to take down behind Aurora Veil. Mega Charizard Y is a considerable option for similar reasons, and it can hinder sand or and rain teams that attempt to remove Alolan Ninetales's hail. Rain teams are possible as well due to Swift Swim sweepers such as Mega Swampert and Kingdra pressuring Steel- and Fire-types that typically lead against Alolan Ninetales. Choice Scarf users like Tapu Lele that will limit Alolan Ninetales to using only one utility move and faster foes like Mega Gengar are also vulnerable to said archetype.