[OVERVIEW]
Alolan Ninetales carves out a niche for itself thanks to the combination of its high Speed and being the only relevant Pokemon with access to both Aurora Veil and Snow Warning. In conjunction with Encore to cripple slower Pokemon that often use status moves like Bisharp and Cresselia, this lets it support its teammates fairly well. Its high Speed lets it outrun foes like Salamence as well as non-Choice Scarf Krookodile, and the Defense boost provided by snow lets it take priority moves from slower wallbreakers like Mimikyu and Crawdaunt. Additionally, Alolan Ninetales can act as a rare specially offensive Ice-type with Nasty Plot to punch holes in teams. However, its typing leaves it with a myriad of common weaknesses, including to Stealth Rock; this often forces Alolan Ninetales to choose between extending the duration of its snow or not getting nailed by entry hazards. Without Terastallization, offensive Alolan Ninetales sets lack the coverage to muscle through the Steel-types that resist both of its STAB moves, like Jirachi and Registeel, which limits the flexibility of its team. Alolan Ninetales' Special Attack is also low, meaning without sufficient boosts it's walled by Pokemon like Volcanion and Hisuian Goodra. Additionally, while Alolan Ninetales' speed is solid, it's still outsped by common Pokemon like Gengar and Hisuian Zoroark.
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Freeze-Dry / Blizzard
move 3: Tera Blast
move 4: Encore / Moonblast
item: Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Snow Warning
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
tera type: Ground
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Alolan Ninetales leverages its high Speed and rare typing to act as an effective Nasty Plot sweeper that can dismantle common threats such as Cyclizar, Slowbro, and Krookodile. Freeze-Dry is a reliable STAB option that hits Water-types that could wall Alolan Ninetales otherwise for super effective damage like Gastrodon and Suicune. Blizzard is Alolan Ninetales's most powerful STAB move, notably guaranteeing an OHKO on Rhyperior after a Nasty Plot boost; however, it has less PP and is much less accurate outside of snow. Encore can be used to cripple setup sweepers like Calm Mind Cresselia as well as utility Pokemon like Vaporeon, while Moonblast is a consistent STAB option that targets the likes of Slither Wing and Umbreon. Tera Blast Ground patches up Alolan Ninetales's biggest offensive weaknesses, targeting Steel-types like Magnezone and Jirachi as well as Fire-types like Armarouge and Volcanion. Defensively, Tera Ground removes many of Alolan Ninetales's weaknesses, notably giving it a resistance to Rock-type attacks from the likes of Rhyperior and Terrakion as well as an immunity to Thunder Wave from Jirachi. However, Terastallizing removes the Defense boost snow provides, putting Alolan Ninetales at risk of being OHKOed by Slither Wing's Close Combat.
Nasty Plot Alolan Ninetales fits best on bulky offense structures that can whittle down its checks. Entry hazard removal from the likes of Cyclizar and Talonflame ensure that Alolan Ninetales can come in safely even if its Heavy-Duty Boots is removed. Knock Off from the aforementioned Cyclizar as well as Krookodile can remove Leftovers from defensive Pokemon that lack reliable recovery, such as Hisuian Goodra and Registeel, as well as Heavy-Duty Boots from the likes of Volcanion and Fezandipiti, making them easier to wear down so that Alolan Ninetales can sweep. Fighting- and Ground-types like Galarian Zapdos, Slither Wing, and Krookodile also make for great partners by virtue of being able to threaten the Steel-types that otherwise check Alolan Ninetales while appreciating its ability to dispatch of physically bulky Pokemon like Hippowdon and Galarian Weezing. Water-types like Crawdaunt and Basculegion-F appreciate Alolan Ninetales's ability to break past Grass-types such as Wo-Chien and Chesnaught; in exchange, they can threaten the Fire-types that resist its STAB combination like Armarouge. Barraskewda is another great Water-type partner for Alolan Ninetales, as it can threaten to KO faster Pokemon like Choice Scarf Krookodile thanks to its blistering Speed and access to Aqua Jet. Choice Scarf revenge killers, such as Jirachi and Krookodile, can handle faster threats like Gengar in order to enable a sweep. Setup sweepers, like Bisharp and Salamence, appreciate Alolan Ninetales's ability to create setup opportunities with Encore.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
On the Nasty Plot set, Aurora Veil can be run over Encore in order to bolster Alolan Ninetales's defenses as it sweeps. Ice Beam is an alternative Ice-type STAB move that has higher Base Power than Freeze-Dry as well as more PP than Blizzard while being consistently accurate, making it more reliable against bulky teams. A Calm Mind + Draining Kiss set can be used to wear down bulkier structures while keeping Alolan Ninetales healthy; however, its low Special Attack means that it requires multiple boosts in order to properly muscle through defensive Pokemon like Umbreon.
Checks and Counters
====
**Steel-types**: When Alolan Ninetales lacks Tera Blast Ground, defensive Steel-types like Registeel, Jirachi, and Empoleon can comfortably take hits from it before threatening it with a 4x super effective STAB move. More offensive Steel-types like Bisharp and Magnezone also threaten it; however, neither likes taking Nasty Plot-boosted attacks from Alolan Ninetales, and Bisharp risks being locked into Swords Dance or Sucker Punch by Encore.
**Fire-types**: Armarouge, Volcanion, and Entei resist both of Alolan Ninetales' STAB moves and can retaliate with super-effective STAB moves of their own. However, all three must be wary of Tera Blast Ground.
**Faster Threats**: Gengar and Maushold are able to comfortably outspeed Alolan Ninetales before either nailing it with their powerful attacks or crippling it with Trick or Encore. Choice Scarf Pokemon like Terrakion and Krookodile are also able to outspeed and revenge kill it.
**Opposing Weather**: In addition to being able to take Alolan Ninetales's attacks fairly comfortably, Politoed can prevent Aurora Veil from being set at all simply by switching in and replacing snow with rain. Hippowdon and Ninetales can also set sand or sun, respectively, in order to deny Aurora Veil; however, the former has difficulty switching in due to its Ice weakness, and the latter is a rather niche option.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bice.236507/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ryu.645507/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/flampoke.654091/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/machjacob.555741/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/powerofmemes.583607/
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