Ninetales full form

[OVERVIEW]

Ninetales is a threatening wallbreaker thanks to its Drought ability and access to Nasty Plot. It also gets Solar Beam and Psyshock giving it a way of beating Water- and Rock-type as well as Kommo-o and Dragalge. Drought combined with its good special bulk makes it more effective against Water-types then any of its competitors. While decent speed it still suffers from faster attackers such as Aerodactyl and Choice Scarfed Flygon who can check or revenge. It also faces stiff competition from similar attackers like Salazzle who can also utilize Nasty Plot but has better speed, special attack and a secondary type for coverage. On top of this Torkoal is prefered as a weather setter for its access to Stealth Rock, Explosion and having more switchin opportunities then Ninetales.

[SET]
name: Nasty Plot Wallbreaker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Solar Beam
move 3: Psyshock
move 4: Nasty Plot
item: Firium Z / Grassium Z
ability: Drought
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fire Blast is your main and most powerful attack. It alone is able to threaten a KO against anything that doesn't resist fire. Solar Beam greatly complements this by giving it almost all the needed coverage to hit Rock and Water type pokemon such as Rhyperior, Milotic and Slowking. Psyshock gives coverage against Dragalge and Kommo-o. Both of which need prior damage before being able to pick up a 2HKO. Lastly Ninetales can use Nasty Plot to increase its special attack enough to 1HKO the vast majority of pokemon.


Set Details
========

The 252 SpA / 252 Spe EV's optimizes Ninetales offenses to optimal damage output and speed. With a Timid nature you are able to speed tie with max speed Shaymin and Mega Glalie while outspeeding anything below unboosted base 100 speed. The remaining 4 SpD increases the likelihood of suviving hits from it's setup opportunities. Firium Z gives Ninetales the ability to break past defensive walls and give opening for a sweep. Notable KO's include Nidoqueen, Gardevoir and Gligar after Stealth Rock damage and after a +2 you also 1HKO Kommo-o, Cresselia, Umbreon, Gluttony Snorlax, Reuniclus, Moltres and Rotom-Heat. Grassium Z can be a prefered item as it grants Ninetales the ability to break past Gigalith, Diancie and Assault Vest Slowking with a +2 boosted Doom Bloom.

Usage Tips
========

Do not directly switch Ninetales into any neutral attacks as that will hinder its ability to setup at a later point. Only attempt to setup pokemon that can't hurt you like Fairy-types such as Florges and Comfey or weaker Grass-types like Chesnaught and Roserade. Other passive walls like Registeel and Umbreon can also be used to setup on but watch out for status like Toxic or Thunder Wave. Before all this you need to make sure sun answeres like Thick Fat Snorlax, Gigalith and Goodra are removed before attempting to sweep. Also look for the possibility of Haze users, specifically Mantine who could stop you in your tracks. Having your own Stealth Rock or Spikes on the field greatly improves its ability to wallbreak. And finally, utilizing slow U-turn or Volt Switch users gives you more opportunities to safely come in and setup.


Team Options
========

Ninetales works best on offensive and balance oriented teams who can provide additional offensive pressence or slow momentum gain respectively. Pokemon such as Rotom-Heat can use Volt Switch, Choice lock walls or Burn Ninetales most prominent answers. Choice Scarfed Flygon can be a worthy partner for ability to beat Gigalith and Goodra alongside having U-turn to pivot out of its bulkier counters who you can then utilize as setup fodder. Shaymin can also synergise greatly as both can whittle or threaten each other's answeres. Furthermore a Choice Scarfed set can provide much appreciated Healing Wish support. Victreebel can also be considered for its ability to check Diancie while also taking advantage of Sun using its Chlorophyll ability. It should be noted however that Victreebel won't be able to reliably take advantage of this weather condition, so making those turns count is important. Notable wallbreakers include Heracross and Gardevoir who pressure any wall that could stop Ninetales. Additionally Choice Scarfed Gardevoir is capable of proving Healing Wish support. Rhyperior and Gigalith both provide Stealth Rock while also dealing with faster attackers like Swellow and Aerodactyl. Lastly having hazard removal makes it harder to wither down Ninetales. Ideal users such as Gligar, Donphan and Dhelmise can fulfill this need while simultaniously being able to beat Gigalith and Diancie. In addition Gligar provides slow U-turn support.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Flame Charge could be used to increase its speed tier to become more threatening against offense but this would go at the cost of having Nasty Plot or Psyshock. One may consider using Will-O-Wisp to catch physical attackers, specifically Goodra and Gigalith intrade having of Psyshock. But this would also make you more vulnerable against Dragalge and Kommo-o. Life Orb can be utilized to increase instant damage without removing its ability to setup but will at the same time wear it down, discouraging its ability to setup. A Heat rock set can be used to support sun teams but that would limit its ability to wallbreak and is overall done better by Torkoal. One may consider using Choice Specs but it is compleatly inferior to Life Orb as it removes your ability to utilize Nasty Plot.


Checks and Counters
===================

**Special Tanks**: Pokemon with high Special Defense and a Fire resistance like Goodra and Thick Fat Snorlax take any of Ninetales moves and can in return heavily damage or outright KO Ninetales. Mantine with Haze can also answere Ninetales by stalling out sun and preventing its ability to setup. Without Haze however, Mantine will become setup fodder. Lastly Assault Vest Slowking can check Ninetales using Future Sight and Scald but has to look out for Grassium Z varients.

**Faster Attackers**: Because of its speed limitation faster attackers such as Aerodactyl, Swellow, Noivern and common Choice Scarf users such as Flygon can check or revenge Ninetales after Stealth Rock damage.

**Rock Types**: Special Defensive Diancie can take a +2 Solar Beam and retaliate with Diamond Storm. Gigalith is specifically worrisome as it removes sun with Sand Stream and increases its own Special Defense simultaneously. Both of these still have to look out for a +2 Doom Bloom as that will 1HKO.

**Residual damage/Status**: Stealth Rock, Spikes, Paralysis and even being Toxicated all can hinder Ninetales ability to setup and sweep. Because of this walls like Registeel and Cresselia become riskier to use as setup fodder.