Welcome to Pokemon of the Week! This week we'll be focusing on weather again, possibly for the last time before 6th generation arrives. When the sun shines it's brightest in the OU tier, you can bet there's a fox causing it. This week, we focus on Ninetales.

Ninetales has always been a fan favorite, especially among female fans. Back in the days of RBGY, Ninetales was sort of a counterpart to Arcanine, with each one being version exclusive and each one evolving with a Fire Stone. Ninetales has an appealing design and has always had average battling stats, with an okay offensive and defensive movepool. The problem for Ninetales has always been that there are better options, and since last generation, it has also had to deal with the nuisance of Stealth Rock chipping 25% of it's health off. This generation, however, has given Ninetales something it has always dreamed of...

With the advent of Dream World, Ninetales has been blessed with Drought, finally giving it a niche in the metagame. Effectively doubling it's STAB attacks, Ninetales has suddenly become a threat not only in it's own right, but given the proper team support, Ninetales can be a threat even if all it manages to do is keep sunlight up for the whole game.

Not everything is all sunshine for Ninetales, though. Tyranitar and Politoed both resist Fire, both change the weather (Rain weakens Fire even further, while Sand boosts Tyranitar's Sp. Defense), and both force Ninetales out, while Tyranitar can even Pursuit Ninetales to weaken it further and ensure that it comes out on top of the weather war. Ninetales also has to deal with the aforementioned Stealth Rock, which effects it much more than the other 2 OU weather inducers. Still, Ninetales can be used in conjunction with Chlorophyll Pokemon, and teammate options are what set Ninetales apart from Politoed and Tyranitar, in my opinion. It might be difficult to use Sunlight effectively, but it would be unwise to overlook it entirely, as Sun teams can be very dangerous when used correctly.

Ninetales@ Leftovers Drought Timid nature (+Speed, -Attack) EVs: 252 HP / 120 Defense / 136 Speed Sunny Day Will-O-Wisp Flamethrower Hypnosis / Roar / Toxic / Substitute

Defensive Ninetales aims to win the weather wars by any means necessary. Sunny Day is absolutely essential, as any Politoed or Tyranitar that switch in to ruin your weather are immediately met with Sun once again. Will-O-Wisp Burns physical attackers, and will especially annoy the aforementioned Tyranitar if it switches in on it. Flamethrower is backed by STAB and Sunlight with perfect accuracy, giving you a reliable attack to use to prevent you from becoming Taunt bait.

The last slot is a mixup of various options. Hypnosis is wonderful for catching an opponent that switches in. Once again, Politoed or Tyranitar that switch in on this move are immediately put at a huge disadvantage, giving you a much needed upper hand in the weather war as they slumber their lives away. Roar prevents opposing setup sweepers, such as Substitute Calm Mind Latias, which would otherwise be a terror for Ninetales to face down as it began boosting and you scrambled to stop it. Toxic is a much more annoying status move for opposing Politoed to switch into, putting it on a timer every time it comes into battle. This is especially annoying for defensive Politoed, but good for nearly all versions. Finally, Substitute blocks status attacks and allows you to scout the foe's move, but can sometimes be a wasted moveslot if the opponent just keeps up the offensive as you use it, so choose your option carefully.

Ninetales@ Leftovers / Air Balloon Drought Timid nature (+Speed, -Attack) EVs: 252 Sp. Attack / 252 Speed / 4 Sp. Defense Sunny Day Fire Blast Solar Beam Hidden Power Ice / Will-O-Wisp / Nasty Plot

Offensive Ninetales, while not the most powerful Pokemon, can definitely be terrifying to face down under sunlight. Sunny Day keeps your Sunlight up, helping you win the weather war. Fire Blast is your STAB attack, and it hits very hard in the Sun. Solar Beam utilizes Sunlight for a one-turn Grass attack, but be very careful of using this move, as any other weather Pokemon can switch in on it and force you into a charging state that you cannot switch out of. Both Politoed and Tyranitar can withstand a Solarbeam and OHKO back with Hydro Pump and Stone Edge, respectively, so use this with caution.

Hidden Power Ice is most commonly the best move for the final slot, allowing Ninetales to hurt most Dragons. Will-O-Wisp is an option for spreading Burn around the opponent's team, but this does limit the coverage you have. Nasty Plot is another option, but this needs to be played even more carefully, as even with a Nasty Plot boost, you still have to keep Sunlight up to win, and the opponent can freely switch Politoed and Tyranitar in on Nasty Plot, forcing you into a weak Fire Blast after the weather has changed, or forcing you out completely, as setting up Sunny Day after they come in is nearly ensured suicide.

For both Ninetales sets, it is recommended that a dedicated team be built around Ninetales since setting up Sun is the only redeeming factor that Ninetales possesses in OU. Utilizing Sunlight is very difficult even for the most experienced battlers, so practice and tweaking your team to fix any issues it has will be necessary for success.

Vulpix can be found in Abundant Shrine in Black, White, Black2, and White2. But if you want the best kind of Ninetales that money can buy, you'd best be looking in Dream World's Pleasant Forest, as that grants Ninetales the ability Drought, which gives it immediate power. If your team does not benefit from infinite Sun, however, feel free to go with Flash Fire Ninetales.

Ninetales Flamethrower Solar Beam / Energy Ball Extrasensory Dark Pulse / Will-O-Wisp / Toxic

Ninetales has a horrid movepool, if that's not obvious. It consists of about 6 or so types of attacks, and they don't cover much ground. Anyway, Flamethrower is your STAB attack. Reliable, consistent, 10% Burn chance. Solar Beam is for use alongside Drought ONLY, as it removes the charge turn. Energy Ball is for Flash Fire Ninetales. Extrasensory hits Fighting types... so that's nice I guess. Dark Pulse hits Ghosts and Psychic types, but it's a tutor attack, and even still... ehhhh... it's not that great of an option. Will-O-Wisp Burns things, which I guess could be helpful sometimes. Toxic wears down Water types and specially bulky things. Honestly... take a look through Ninetales' movepool, it's dreadful for a special attacker. Hex is worth mentioning, but only because it learns it via level-up and Hex isn't even good.

Okay, this one's a bit different because I actually like Ninetales. It's got a really cool design and it's just so damn mysterious. It can apparently curse people for 1,000 years, which is pretty horrifying. I wonder how they even know that? Is part of the curse having unnatural long life? Maybe this isn't so bad after all. Anyway, Ninetales found itself in an awkward position this generation, as a Pokemon who is overshadowed by it's own ability. Nobody uses Ninetales in OU because it's Ninetales, they use it because of Drought, and Ninetales is often a burden to use because of how susceptible it is to opposing weather and entry hazards. I almost feel bad for poor Ninetales... but then that damn Chlorophyll Venusaur switches in and I loathe Ninetales once again. Of the weather trio, this one's still my favorite, though, because of how much of an underdog it is.

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