Pokémon Alola Ninetales

[zCheshrye]

Ninetales-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Snow Cloak
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Freeze-Dry/Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind

I think this set on its own is pretty decent on it's own because this thing with Calm mind this thing can 6-0 some teams.I feel like this thing needs life orb because its attack is ok having 287 sp.atk with modest isn't the best attack so life orb is the way to go if your offensive Ninetales. This thing can spam blizzard since it's hidden ability is Snow Warning and freeze dry lets it hit water types that might be a problem for the team.Also Psyshock might work over freeze dry because it's it strongest psychic move to it (extrasensory being a thing also). .Also Moonblast is also probably a mandatory move on it to run because of the Ice/Fairy typing making this thing one of its best moves to run on it. I've decided to run calm mind on it because it can be a late game sweeper. Overall this mon is pretty good and I think it might be uu or ou material at most.

 

[Pushinguplilacs]

Ninetales-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Snow Cloak
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Freeze-Dry/Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Calm Min

I think this set on its own is pretty decent on it's own because this thing with Calm mind this thing can 6-0 some teams.I feel like this thing needs life orb because its attack is ok having 287 sp.atk with modest isn't the best attack so life orb is the way to go if your offensive Ninetales. This thing can spam blizzard since it's hidden ability is Snow Warning and freeze dry lets it hit water types that might be a problem for the team.Also Psyshock might work over freeze dry because it's it strongest psychic move to it (extrasensory being a thing also). .Also Moonblast is also probably a mandatory move on it to run because of the Ice/Fairy typing making this thing one of its best moves to run on it. I've decided to run calm mind on it because it can be a late game sweeper. Overall this mon is pretty good and I think it might be uu or ou material at most.

It's a cool option out side of screens but there's very little reason to try to sweep with this thing. Anything with bullet punch is killing it in one shot and doesn't care about any of its moves. That coverage isn't hitting steels which, this gen seems to be at least one on a team. It's a nice set but I don't see much reason to run it over the utility screener.

 

[zCheshrye]

It's a cool option out side of screens but there's very little reason to try to sweep with this thing. Anything with bullet punch is killing it in one shot and doesn't care about any of its moves. That coverage isn't hitting steels which, this gen seems to be at least one on a team. It's a nice set but I don't see much reason to run it over the utility screener.

Instead of having calm mind encore seems to maybe fit better to be honest

 

[Pushinguplilacs]

Instead of having calm mind encore seems to maybe fit better to be honest

I'd agree. But if you're doing that then might as well just run the screening set

 

[drakylon]

Is there really much of a point in running HP Water ever? Ground hits most relevant Fire-types already, and the only extra ones that Water hit (that Blizzard doesn't also hit neutrally) are Rotom-Heat and Volcarona. Meanwhile Ground also hits Steels such as Aegislash.

 

[Colonel M]

Is there really much of a point in running HP Water ever? Ground hits most relevant Fire-types already, and the only extra ones that Water hit (that Blizzard doesn't also hit neutrally) are Rotom-Heat and Volcarona. Meanwhile Ground also hits Steels such as Aegislash.

Like I said it was more for an honorable mention. I was thinking along the lines of being able to hit Talonflame and a few other airborne (not Zard-Y) mons weak to Water. Either way Ground or Fire are better options.

I'm not the biggest fan of Nasty Plot. The problem is Alola Ninetales does not really have coverage and really wants Freeze-Dry and Moonblast. Its Speed is great, but its Special Attack is underwhelming.

In fact I'm almost convinced to just keep Freeze-Dry as the main option and not have Blizzard slashed there. Rain is very popular at the moment and Ninetales can freeze the fun out of some of those Pokemon. I probably will move Blizzard to slot 4 or just in moves - Hidden Powers and Encore feel a bit more important than a slightly harder hitting STAB that can miss when the weather changes.

 

[viol and bass]

Would this be the appropriate place to discuss the hail playstyle as a whole? I'm not sure how relevant it is in OU but I'd like to compare notes with people who are using actual Hail teams.

 

[Pushinguplilacs]

Would this be the appropriate place to discuss the hail playstyle as a whole? I'm not sure how relevant it is in OU but I'd like to compare notes with people who are using actual Hail teams.

What are you running? I've been contemplating running an at least partial hail team. I've been running a Aurora veil support revenge killer set that would work pretty well as a hail support.

With mega abomasnow unavaliable atm I'm not sure if double setter is the way to go because I feel like hands down mega aboma/ alolan ninetails is the best dual setter combo for hail. the steel weakness is the biggest issue so running something that can eat bullet punches is a good plan. Idk, I'd love to bounce ideas off of ya before throwing a team together if you wanna chat about it.

 

[Sergeant Spooky]

I tried and made a half-assed hail team that didn't do too well. Maybe I just didn't try hard enough but there's, like, no good pokemon to abuse hail with, I just don't see the potential.

Sandslash and Beartic are so mediocre compared to the swift swimmers, sand rush excadrill, and honestly even chlorophyll users. Even at +2 they're sooo slow, at least compared to the base 70's and 80's you see in raid or sand (Jolly Sandslash just barely outpaces scarfchomp, Beartic can't even reach base 150's or scarfers above 83.) Steel is a really mediocre secondary STAB, Beartic doesn't even have one, neither of them have anything to get past waters or ground/fighting neutral steels, etc. To top it off, their main Ice STAB is 85 BP and 90% accurate, which make's Beartic impressive attack not that amazing anymore.

The only other obvious use of hail is 100% accurate blizzards, but as far as good ice types that can do that, there's... Kyurem? That's honestly all I can think of. Everything else is strong but slow as mud (Glaceon) or (kinda) fast but weak (Froslass) or inbetween (Jynx.) Oh and they're all frail, except Kyurem.

 

[MrCookiepants]

I tried and made a half-assed hail team that didn't do too well. Maybe I just didn't try hard enough but there's, like, no good pokemon to abuse hail with, I just don't see the potential.

Sandslash and Beartic are so mediocre compared to the swift swimmers, sand rush excadrill, and honestly even chlorophyll users. Even at +2 they're sooo slow, at least compared to the base 70's and 80's you see in raid or sand (Jolly Sandslash just barely outpaces scarfchomp, Beartic can't even reach base 150's or scarfers above 83.) Steel is a really mediocre secondary STAB, Beartic doesn't even have one, neither of them have anything to get past waters or ground/fighting neutral steels, etc. To top it off, their main Ice STAB is 85 BP and 90% accurate, which make's Beartic impressive attack not that amazing anymore.

The only other obvious use of hail is 100% accurate blizzards, but as far as good ice types that can do that, there's... Kyurem? That's honestly all I can think of. Everything else is strong but slow as mud (Glaceon) or (kinda) fast but weak (Froslass) or inbetween (Jynx.) Oh and they're all frail, except Kyurem.

Greninja could be a good Blizzard spammer. It'd help with coverage against those types the Slush Rushers can't deal with.

 

[Pushinguplilacs]

I tried and made a half-assed hail team that didn't do too well. Maybe I just didn't try hard enough but there's, like, no good pokemon to abuse hail with, I just don't see the potential.

Sandslash and Beartic are so mediocre compared to the swift swimmers, sand rush excadrill, and honestly even chlorophyll users. Even at +2 they're sooo slow, at least compared to the base 70's and 80's you see in raid or sand (Jolly Sandslash just barely outpaces scarfchomp, Beartic can't even reach base 150's or scarfers above 83.) Steel is a really mediocre secondary STAB, Beartic doesn't even have one, neither of them have anything to get past waters or ground/fighting neutral steels, etc. To top it off, their main Ice STAB is 85 BP and 90% accurate, which make's Beartic impressive attack not that amazing anymore.

The only other obvious use of hail is 100% accurate blizzards, but as far as good ice types that can do that, there's... Kyurem? That's honestly all I can think of. Everything else is strong but slow as mud (Glaceon) or (kinda) fast but weak (Froslass) or inbetween (Jynx.) Oh and they're all frail, except Kyurem.

The only thing I can think is stallrein having a lot more merit with aurora veil being a thing. But that's about it. Hail is still and probably always will be underwhelming.

 

[Martin]

The only thing I can think is stallrein having a lot more merit with aurora veil being a thing. But that's about it. Hail is still and probably always will be underwhelming.

Stallrein doesn't benefit from Aurora Veil at all tbh. Aurora Veil is a tool which only offensive teams can really put to good use 'cause they are generally able to put the added bulk to very good use in order to set up or have a frail 'mon fire off attacks with more security. Defensive teams simply don't capitalise on the very limited nature of it very well because they simply don't exert enough pressure on the opposing team to put the added bulk to good use.

That said, hail stall has been a bit weird in gen 6 and is probably the same in gen 7, but I think it's less a matter of it as a playstyle being "bad" in the traditional sense so much as it is extremely overshadowed by other styles which are easier to use well, most notably including Sab Stall. In addition, I doubt that hail stall would opt to use Alolan Ninetales as opposed to Mega Abomasnow due to being able to check Manaphy with a SpD spread (Snow Warning overwrites rain if you come in after it uses it and it's fat enough to take a +3 Surf-->Hydro Vortex (+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Mega Abomasnow: 227-267 (59.1 - 69.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO) and OHKO back with Wood Hammer while not being that bad a stallmon between it's good bulk, hail chip damage and SubSeed).

 

[Colonel M]

I think the only real viable Slush Rush user at the moment is Alola Sandslash. It is a lot weaker than Excadrill in terms of Speed and Earthquake is a bit better neutrally than Ice or Steel, but at the least with Alola Ninetales potentially catching bulky Water-types it helps Alolan Sandslash against the rest.

Beartic just lacks way too much on the coverage side. He was only mentioned because, simply put, he has Slush Rush as his ability.

I will admit in terms of Speed abuse with weather Sand does it much better just because of Excadrill.

 

[viol and bass]

What are you running? I've been contemplating running an at least partial hail team. I've been running a Aurora veil support revenge killer set that would work pretty well as a hail support.

With mega abomasnow unavaliable atm I'm not sure if double setter is the way to go because I feel like hands down mega aboma/ alolan ninetails is the best dual setter combo for hail. the steel weakness is the biggest issue so running something that can eat bullet punches is a good plan. Idk, I'd love to bounce ideas off of ya before throwing a team together if you wanna chat about it.

I think the only real viable Slush Rush user at the moment is Alola Sandslash. It is a lot weaker than Excadrill in terms of Speed and Earthquake is a bit better neutrally than Ice or Steel, but at the least with Alola Ninetales potentially catching bulky Water-types it helps Alolan Sandslash against the rest.

Beartic just lacks way too much on the coverage side. He was only mentioned because, simply put, he has Slush Rush as his ability.

I will admit in terms of Speed abuse with weather Sand does it much better just because of Excadrill.

Yeah, hail is proving sort of hard to use. I really think its main problem is how many unfortunate weaknesses the Ice type has. If you're carrying more than say two Ice-types, you're making it easier for the opponent to wear down your Fighting/Fire/Steel/Rock resists and tear through your team. To me, that's the biggest issue. That said, Hail does have a unique tool now in Aurora Veil, and gaining some Ice-types with actually somewhat valuable secondary typings (Ninetales/Sandslash) really did help. In particular, I've actually been pretty impressed with Sandslash. Slash's defensive typing is somewhat nice for neutralizing ice's (Stealth) Rock and Steel weaknesses. He's weaker and slower than stuff like Excadrill for sure, but I think he outspeeds what he needs to (scarf Lando-T, for instance). He trades that extra speed and attack for a really valuable Ice STAB. Drill would love to be able to bop Lando-T and Hippowdon on the switch. A fast, strong Icicle Crash in combination with Iron Head and Earthquake can actually do a number on offense. Against bulkier teams, Slash can actually find opportunities to use Swords Dance with Aurora Veil support (which is extremely easy to set up). So I think Slash is certainly the best abuser, and helps give hail a bit of viability.

So all that said, I haven't used Beartic but I suspect it is terrible, because honestly on a Hail team, I feel like you need to diversify your Ice types' secondary typings to avoid needlessly stacking weaknesses. Beartic offers nothing on this front, on top of being actually too slow. I guess Aqua Jet helps with that? If someone else has used him effectively, I'd be very curious to hear about that.

What other Hail abusers have you guys been using? My team right now is honestly just Ninetales+Sandslash+4 mons that can deal with Ice's weaknesses. I'm curious to try Greninja with Blizzard as someone suggested earlier. Do you guys think that Hail should ultimately be heavy offense where you don't even worry about all the weaknesses your team has, you just smack your opponent with Blizzards left and right?

Edit: I also want to mention briefly that Hail gets chip damage every turn against essentially every mon on the opposing team (Ice types are fairly rare). Sandstorm has three types immune to the chip damage, including two of the best defensive types in the game; Hail has one. This is actually pretty awesome and helps secure 2HKOes.

 

[Bugzy]

Yeah, hail is proving sort of hard to use. I really think its main problem is how many unfortunate weaknesses the Ice type has. If you're carrying more than say two Ice-types, you're making it easier for the opponent to wear down your Fighting/Fire/Steel/Rock resists and tear through your team. To me, that's the biggest issue. That said, Hail does have a unique tool now in Aurora Veil, and gaining some Ice-types with actually somewhat valuable secondary typings (Ninetales/Sandslash) really did help. In particular, I've actually been pretty impressed with Sandslash. Slash's defensive typing is somewhat nice for neutralizing ice's (Stealth) Rock and Steel weaknesses. He's weaker and slower than stuff like Excadrill for sure, but I think he outspeeds what he needs to (scarf Lando-T, for instance). He trades that extra speed and attack for a really valuable Ice STAB. Drill would love to be able to bop Lando-T and Hippowdon on the switch. A fast, strong Icicle Crash in combination with Iron Head and Earthquake can actually do a number on offense. Against bulkier teams, Slash can actually find opportunities to use Swords Dance with Aurora Veil support (which is extremely easy to set up). So I think Slash is certainly the best abuser, and helps give hail a bit of viability.

So all that said, I haven't used Beartic but I suspect it is terrible, because honestly on a Hail team, I feel like you need to diversify your Ice types' secondary typings to avoid needlessly stacking weaknesses. Beartic offers nothing on this front, on top of being actually too slow. I guess Aqua Jet helps with that? If someone else has used him effectively, I'd be very curious to hear about that.

What other Hail abusers have you guys been using? My team right now is honestly just Ninetales+Sandslash+4 mons that can deal with Ice's weaknesses. I'm curious to try Greninja with Blizzard as someone suggested earlier. Do you guys think that Hail should ultimately be heavy offense where you don't even worry about all the weaknesses your team has, you just smack your opponent with Blizzards left and right?

Edit: I also want to mention briefly that Hail gets chip damage every turn against essentially every mon on the opposing team (Ice types are fairly rare). Sandstorm has three types immune to the chip damage, including two of the best defensive types in the game; Hail has one. This is actually pretty awesome and helps secure 2HKOes.

Yea I think heavily offensive is definitely the way to go for hail. I was impressed by Alola Slash too when I was messing around with him, I ran a set with swords dance and the ice z crystal and it was pretty easy to bring him in on something he resists (which is allot, I think people keep looking at his X4 weaknesses and ignoring all his resistances) grab a swords dance when they switch out then sub zero slammer whatever comes in next. I found it doing significant damage even on things that resist ice. The problem I had is that I felt like I needed more hail setters for him (I tried running him with the move hail for a while actually so he could set it himself but then you can't run swords dance and the extra power was really nice) and the other snow warning mons are kinda bad and finding a mon to run the move hail is kinda hard, always felt wasteful.

 

[viol and bass]

Yea I think heavily offensive is definitely the way to go for hail. I was impressed by Alola Slash too when I was messing around with him, I ran a set with swords dance and the ice z crystal and it was pretty easy to bring him in on something he resists (which is allot, I think people keep looking at his X4 weaknesses and ignoring all his resistances) grab a swords dance when they switch out then sub zero slammer whatever comes in next. I found it doing significant damage even on things that resist ice. The problem I had is that I felt like I needed more hail setters for him (I tried running him with the move hail for a while actually so he could set it himself but then you can't run swords dance and the extra power was really nice) and the other snow warning mons are kinda bad and finding a mon to run the move hail is kinda hard, always felt wasteful.

Right, without Mega Abomasnow we're kind of lacking solid setters. Ninetales is pretty solid as a setter because of its very good speed tier (outspeeding Keldeo and Garchomp and shit is very nice), in combination with Aurora Veil and its decent typing. I've found that it can usually come in a few times throughout the match to set Hail 'n Veil. But yeah, you probably want another setter for a full hail team. Has anybody tried Vanilluxe? It's got the same typing woes I mentioned earlier, but it's got decent Kommo-o tier mixed offenses.

Edit: Also since Tales is the only hail setter that gets Aurora Veil, I'm curious about using alternative Veil setters like potentially Mew (the only non-ice type that gets it other than Smeargle), in combination with Vanilluxe or regular Abomasnow.

 

[Bugzy]

Right, without Mega Abomasnow we're kind of lacking solid setters. Ninetales is pretty solid as a setter because of its very good speed tier (outspeeding Keldeo and Garchomp and shit is very nice), in combination with Aurora Veil and its decent typing. I've found that it can usually come in a few times throughout the match to set Hail 'n Veil. But yeah, you probably want another setter for a full hail team. Has anybody tried Vanilluxe? It's got the same typing woes I mentioned earlier, but it's got decent Kommo-o tier mixed offenses.

Edit: Also since Tales is the only hail setter that gets Aurora Veil, I'm curious about using alternative Veil setters like potentially Mew (the only non-ice type that gets it other than Smeargle), in combination with Vanilluxe or regular Abomasnow.

I haven't tried it myself yet but I did play against someone running an Abomasnow + Tales hail team but I crushed him pretty easy with a normal team...

Idk it's a tricky thing to balance, I really think Tales and Sandslash are decent but it's like if you want to support Sandslash more you have to add these terrible weak pokemon to your team and it just brings the whole thing down.

 

[Martin]

So yeah I've been playing more with this thing and It's rlly good. Like, it's stats aren't anything spectacular but god damn Aurora Veil is insanely good, as is the ability to disrupt+pull apart rain 'mons with Snow Warning+Freeze Dry. I've found it consistently puts in large amounts of work every game and it is really, really understated just how much of an effect a great move+ability has on something's viability. Like, genuinely this thing's support is completely invaluable for offensive teams to have, as between the added security firing off lots of hits and the added security in setting up it can turn a series of reasonably irritating Pokémon into complete assholes to have to deal with in a single turn of setup--which is completely huge. In particular, one core which has been tearing up the ladder for me is this:

Ninetales-Alola @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aurora Veil
- Freeze Dry
- Moonblast
- Encore

Porygon-Z @ Normalium Z
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 44 Def / 212 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt / Shadow Ball
- Conversion
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt

Slash order matters 'cause first slot determines STAB post-Conversion, hence the colouration.

 

[Misharu]

Think this could find a place on a mono-ice team? Cloyster could be a good partner, covering it's fire weakness and overall providing a good counterpart that can hit strong. Thick Fat Mamoswine could also be useful, covering it's steel weakness while setting up Stealth Rock to potentially soften up any baddies? I just feel like Snow Warning + Aurora Veil could be a good way to add a little needed shielding onto a mono-ice team, but I could be off-base on that idea.

 

[FizzTheHuman]

So yeah I've been playing more with this thing and It's rlly good. Like, it's stats aren't anything spectacular but god damn Aurora Veil is insanely good, as is the ability to disrupt+pull apart rain 'mons with Snow Warning+Freeze Dry. I've found it consistently puts in large amounts of work every game and it is really, really understated just how much of an effect a great move+ability has on something's viability. Like, genuinely this thing's support is completely invaluable for offensive teams to have, as between the added security firing off lots of hits and the added security in setting up it can turn a series of reasonably irritating Pokémon into complete assholes to have to deal with in a single turn of setup--which is completely huge. In particular, one core which has been tearing up the ladder for me is this:

Ninetales-Alola @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aurora Veil
- Freeze Dry
- Moonblast
- Encore

Porygon-Z @ Normalium Z
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 44 Def / 212 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt / Shadow Ball
- Conversion
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt

Slash order matters 'cause first slot determines STAB post-Conversion, hence the colouration.

Couple questions involving Porygon-Z: Would it benefit from running Blizzard over Ice Beam for synergy with Hail, and to piggyback off of that, would it ever be a good idea to Z-Conversion into Ice?

Also, how does Reuniclus fare these days as far as another member on a Hail team?

 

[Martin]

Couple questions involving Porygon-Z: Would it benefit from running Blizzard over Ice Beam for synergy with Hail, and to piggyback off of that, would it ever be a good idea to Z-Conversion into Ice?

Also, how does Reuniclus fare these days as far as another member on a Hail team?

Hail as a playstyle really sucks tbh. Also it's not rlly worth running Blizzard imo as the hail only lasts 5 tuns, which means that, assuming you try to set up immediately and you bring Ninetales in on a faint rather than a switch, turn 1 is used setting up Aurora Veil, turn 2 is used up switching or letting Ninetales die, turn 3 is used setting up. In addition to this, I doubt going for STAB Ice is really worth it considering that the other two types are just more valuable to have as STAB and Ice Beam KOs most of it's key targets at +1 without STAB anyway, and it also leaves your typing super abusable when you don't OHKO something which really, really sucks.

 

[Sun King]

Okay I want to leave this replay here to highlight the disgusting core this thing has with Mega Gyarados (I'll edit in sprites later, but for now just read the post XD)

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankou-483980248

I know my team is pretty cancerous, but w/e...it's effective for now. Something that's maybe flown under the radar is Alola Ninetales' speed tier of 109. It's obviously something that people aren't used to, and even when they are, it's incredibly useful for outspeeding a ton of bulky stuff. Setting up Aurora Veil is amazing...Encore on Ground moves to safely bring in Gyarados is even better. Pretty much nothing can beat a +2 M-Gyarados behind an Aurora Veil. Seriously, I expect this core to be a hugely popular one in the coming months.

For reference, I have RP Landorus on this team, and it's also an amazing late game partner for Ninetales. Seriously like half my team should be banned, but w/e it wins games...

EDIT: My sets, in case you're wondering:

Team

Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam

Pheromosa @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Poison Jab
- U-turn
- Ice Beam

Ninetales-Alola @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aurora Veil
- Freeze-Dry
- Encore
- Moonblast

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Atk / 112 SpD / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Bonemerang
- Shadow Bone
- Will-O-Wisp

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Earthquake

Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Psychic
- Rock Polish

EDIT: I also want to highlight how great of teammates Genesect and Marowak are. If you find yourself in a situation where you're facing down strong Steel or Poison STAB, you can hit one of them up; losing Ninetales prematurely will tank this team. Marowak is awesome for when you run into Genesect; Genesect is pretty cool for when you run into Greninja. Both of those guys will threaten Ninetales with strong super effective STAB/coverage.

One last note: Ninetales' Hail breaks Focus Sashes/Sturdy/Multiscale for your sweepers/cleaners.

 

[Kutscher]

Okay I want to leave this replay here to highlight the disgusting core this thing has with Mega Gyarados (I'll edit in sprites later, but for now just read the post XD)

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankou-483980248

I know my team is pretty cancerous, but w/e...it's effective for now. Something that's maybe flown under the radar is Alola Ninetales' speed tier of 109. It's obviously something that people aren't used to, and even when they are, it's incredibly useful for outspeeding a ton of bulky stuff. Setting up Aurora Veil is amazing...Encore on Ground moves to safely bring in Gyarados is even better. Pretty much nothing can beat a +2 M-Gyarados behind an Aurora Veil. Seriously, I expect this core to be a hugely popular one in the coming months.

For reference, I have RP Landorus on this team, and it's also an amazing late game partner for Ninetales. Seriously like half my team should be banned, but w/e it wins games...

EDIT: My sets, in case you're wondering:

Team

Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam

Pheromosa @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Poison Jab
- U-turn
- Ice Beam

Ninetales-Alola @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aurora Veil
- Freeze-Dry
- Encore
- Moonblast

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Atk / 112 SpD / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Bonemerang
- Shadow Bone
- Will-O-Wisp

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Earthquake

Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Psychic
- Rock Polish

EDIT: I also want to highlight how great of teammates Genesect and Marowak are. If you find yourself in a situation where you're facing down strong Steel or Poison STAB, you can hit one of them up; losing Ninetales prematurely will tank this team. Marowak is awesome for when you run into Genesect; Genesect is pretty cool for when you run into Greninja. Both of those guys will threaten Ninetales with strong super effective STAB/coverage.

One last note: Ninetales' Hail breaks Focus Sashes/Sturdy/Multiscale for your sweepers/cleaners.

i've being using A-ninetales + mega gyarados, and it's so good, the utility that aurora veil + encore + freeze dry brings it's insane, pair this with gyarados nice bulk + intimidate + the fact that the only relevant bulky grass at the moment is mega venu(my team have magnezone for ferro) and you have a core really hard to get trough. marowak is also an awesome partner for this core cause beat ferro, phemorosa, tapu koko/bulu and can use rocks/wow and weaken some shits for gyara.

 

[Kutscher]

i just wanna show this replay that really put a spotlight on a-ninetales, showing all the utility it can bring(even tough aurora veil didn't really help it could help if moltres atacked me)
http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/battle-gen7pokebankou-484786345

i have a lot of replays of A-ninetales + mega gyarados breaking teams almost alone too:

alolan ninetales and mega gyarados a love story

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankou-484509472
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankou-484504296
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankou-484525881
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankou-484433641
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankou-484414227
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankou-484263990
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankou-484263041

 

[Ema Skye]

Thirding Alolatales + M Gyarados. It's so good!

I don't run Encore though; I can't find room. I'm running Blizzard/Moonblast/Aurora Veil/Freeze-Dry.

I also really like slow U-Turn/Baton Pass to bring Tales in easier. Right now I'm using Pyukumuku for that role and it's putting in work.