Shadow Ninetales
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Best Movesets
Analysis
Not even having a coveted Shadow Forme is enough to make Ninetales viable. It just doesn't have the base power to compete in a meta as crowded as Fire.
Offense
- Fire Spin is superior to Ember or Feint Attack, offering the highest DPS for slightly less energy gains.
- Weather Ball Fire is the best charge move available, and also the most consistent as a 3-bar move.
- Overheat is a step down, but still serviceable if TMs are lacking.
- Flamethrower, Heat Wave, and Fire Blast are inferior to Overheat, though Flamethrower can be more consistent than the rest due to requiring only half as much energy.
- Psyshock, Scorching Sands, and Solar Beam don't get STAB and should be TM'd.
Defense
- Fire Spin is the best fast move on defense, featuring the highest base power.
- Feint Attack isn't particularly impressive, but at least it's less likely to be resisted by attackers.
- Weather Ball Fire is the best charge move for defense on paper thanks to it being a 3-bar move, but the fact that it shares a type with Fire Spin makes it easy to wall out.
- Scorching Sands is the best option on defense
- Flamethrower and Psyshock are more likely to be used before Ninetales faints, the former benefiting from STAB while the latter offering greater coverage.
- Heat Wave, Fire Blast, Solar Beam, and Overheat are too slow to be effective on defense.
Ember is the fast move of choice, as it has high energy generation and reasonable damage output as well.
The addition of Weather Ball (Fire) is incredibly important for Ninetales, as it offers a cheap energy charge move option, and can be used frequently. Energy Ball provides important coverage against Water Types, and Ninetales can basically spam it with Ember, making it surprisingly threatening even when facing down something that SHOULD counter it.
Shadow Ninetales has its genuine utility; with just how spammy it is, this thing can pose a MASSIVE threat to several top-tier Pokemon, but its performance differs from its base forme a bit, with a few matchups flipping due to the stat switch-up. As always, check its matchups against Pokemon that you want it to cover before picking which variant of Ninetales best suits your needs.
