Special
Pivot
505High
100Fast
BTier

Ninetales's stats are solid on their own, but Drought is what pushes it over the line. It sets sun on switch-in. Only weak to Water, Ground, and Rock. Known as the Fox Pokemon. Flexible enough to run physical or special sets.

Nothing fancy in Ninetales's spread. It leans mixed with Sp. Def out front. And you'll get 2 Sp. Def and Speed EVs per KO for it. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
505High
HP73
C
Attack76
C
Defense75
C
Sp. Atk81
C
Sp. Def100
B
Speed100
B
Total505
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Ninetales yields +1 SpD, +1 Spe
HPAtkDefSpASpD+1Spe+1
Details
Catch75Challenging•Medium Fast1M XP•1.1m / 3'07"•19.9kg / 43.9 lbs•177Base XP
Pokedex Entries

Some legends claim that each of its nine tails has its own unique type of special mystical power.

Heart Gold

Its nine beautiful tails are filled with a wondrous energy that could keep it alive for 1,000 years.

Soul Silver

Ninetales Weakness

Avg

Type-wise, Ninetales takes extra damage from Water, Ground, and Rock. The Fire typing picks up 5 resistances to work with. Flash Fire grants an additional Fire immunity, reshaping the matchup chart. Ninetales's special bulk (base 100 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.

Gen IV Type Chart
  • Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
  • Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
WaterGroundRock
½xResisti
FireGrassIceBugSteel
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
Fire
STAB (4)i
GrassIceBugSteel
3Weak
5Resist
1Immune
Scorei-1
Stealth Rock25% on switch
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
Flash FireProtects against fire moves. Once one has been blocked, the Pokémon's own Fire moves inflict 1.5× damage until it leaves battle.
DroughtHASummons strong sunlight that lasts indefinitely upon entering battle.
Flash Fire grants Fire immunity

Ninetales evolved from Vulpix's chain using an evolution item. It's a non-standard trigger, so check the details below. Breed this form to get Vulpix eggs (average hatch time). The evolution from Vulpix pushed Ninetales to 505 total stats. HP saw the largest single gain at +35.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Vulpix
#037Vulpix
Fire Stone
Ninetales
#038Ninetales
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Vulpix
Fire
Ninetales
Fire
HP
38
73+35
ATK
41
76+35
DEF
40
75+35
SP.ATK
50
81+31
SP.DEF
65
100+35
SPE
65
100+35
BST
299D-Tier
505B-Tier+206
ROLE
Balanced
Pivot
TYPE
Utility
Mixed
Breeding
Easy

Breed with Ninetales to get Vulpix eggs easily using 131 partners from the Ground egg group. Notable egg moves include Disable, Energy Ball, Extrasensory and 9 more.

Egg Groups
Ground
Gender
♂25.0%♀75.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
12moves
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokquagsirenidorinofarfetchdflaaffy
12 of 131·

Flamethrower is the main STAB option after a Nasty Plot boost. Salacberry gives Ninetales extra utility to survive the setup turn, and max Sp. Atk and Speed EVs make the boosted hits count. The remaining moves catches resists.

Best Build

Special Setup Sweeper
Ability
Flashfire
Item
SalacberryRECOVERY
Nature
Timid+SPE
EVs

Best Ninetales Moveset

  • Energy Ball
  • Nasty Plot
  • FlamethrowerSTAB
  • Fire BlastSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Gengar
GengarDecent
Crobat
CrobatDecent
Forretress
ForretressDecent

Breeding's the move. Disable and Energy Ball give Ninetales options it can't learn any other way, and coverage across 7 types already covers a decent range on top of Overheat and Flare Blitz. The egg moves push it further.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Confuse Ray
—10010Ghost
Lv 1
Ember
4010025Fire
Lv 1
Nasty Plot
——20Dark
Lv 1
Quick Attack+1
4010030Normal
Lv 1
Safeguard
——25Normal

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
—10015Normal
TM04
Calm Mind
——20Psychic
TM78
Captivate
—10020Normal
TM79
Dark Pulse
8010015Dark
TM28
Dig
8010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM85
Dream Eater
10010015Psychic
TM58
Endure+4
——10Normal
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM38
Fire Blast
120855Fire
TM35
Flamethrower
9510015Fire
TM21
Frustration
—10020Normal
TM68
Giga Impact
150905Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM23
Iron Tail
1007515Steel
TM83
Natural Gift
—10015Normal
TM50
Overheat
140905Fire
TM66
Payback
5010010Dark
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM77
Psych Up
——10Normal
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM27
Return
—10020Normal
TM05
Roar-6
——20Normal
TM20
Safeguard
——25Normal
TM43
Secret Power
7010020Normal
TM82
Sleep Talk
——10Normal
TM22
Solar Beam
12010010Grass
TM90
Substitute
——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
—9015Normal
TM06
Toxic
—8510Poison
TM61
Will-O-Wisp
—7515Fire

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Disable
—8020Normal
Egg
Energy Ball
8010010Grass
Egg
Extrasensory
8010030Psychic
Egg
Feint Attack
60—20Dark
Egg
Flail
—10015Normal
Egg
Flare Blitz
12010015Fire
Egg
Heat Wave
1009010Fire
Egg
Howl
——40Normal
Egg
Hypnosis
—7020Psychic
Egg
Power Swap
——10Psychic
Egg
Psych Up
——10Normal
Egg
Spite
—10010Ghost

Tutor Moves

Src
Tutor
Headbutt
7010015Normal
Tutor
Heat Wave
1009010Fire
Tutor
Ominous Wind
601005Ghost
Tutor
Pain Split
——20Normal
Tutor
Role Play
——10Psychic
Tutor
Snore
4010015Normal
Tutor
Spite
—10010Ghost
Tutor
Swift
60—20Normal
Tutor
Zen Headbutt
809015Psychic

Reminder Moves

Src
Rem
Captivate
—10020Normal
Rem
Extrasensory
8010030Psychic
Rem
Fire Blast
120855Fire
Rem
Fire Spin
357015Fire
Rem
Flamethrower
9510015Fire
Rem
Grudge
——5Ghost
Rem
Imprison
——10Psychic
Rem
Payback
5010010Dark
Rem
Roar-6
——20Normal
Rem
Tail Whip
—10030Normal
Rem
Will-O-Wisp
—7515Fire

Transfer Moves

Src
Gen 3
Body Slam
8510015Normal
Gen 3
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
Gen 3
Mimic
——10Normal

Ninetales doesn't appear wild. Catch Vulpix instead, it shows up at solid rates. Evolve it through a special method to get Ninetales. The 2-stage line is mapped in the step cards below.

How to Obtain Ninetales in HeartGold & SoulSilver

Vulpix is your first catch on the way to Ninetales. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 13-25 across 10 total spots in the chain.

  1. Vulpix
    Step 1Catch Vulpix
    Route 7
    GrassLv.15-18CommonEarlyRouteDay
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 36
    GrassLv.13UncommonEarlyRouteMorning/night
    EASY
    Route 36
    GrassLv.13-15UncommonEarlyRouteDay
    EASY
    Route 37
    GrassLv.14UncommonEarlyRouteMorning/night
    EASY
    Route 37
    GrassLv.14-15UncommonEarlyRouteDay
    EASY
    Route 48
    GrassLv.21-25CommonMidRouteNight
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 7
    GrassLv.18UncommonMidRouteMorning/night
    EASY
    Route 8
    GrassLv.18UncommonMidRouteMorning/day
    EASY
    Route 8
    GrassLv.17RareMidRouteNight
    CHALLENGING
    Route 48
    GrassLv.21RareMidRouteMorning/day
    CHALLENGING
  2. Ninetales
    Step 2Ninetales ✓

  • Ninetales looks average on paper at 505 BST. But Drought is why it sees play — build around that and it pulls its weight. B-Tier pivot on our tier list.

  • Ninetales's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Rhydon (Ground), and Golem (Rock), all carrying super-effective STAB moves.

  • Vulpix evolves into Ninetales using a Fire Stone. Ninetales is the final evolution in a 3-stage line starting from Vulpix. At 505 BST, it's got solid stats to work with.

  • Ninetales gets Drought and Flash Fire. But Drought is the one that matters — it's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.

  • Ninetales is a special attacker with base 81 Sp. Atk. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. But the speed tells the real story — base 100 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. Fits the pivot role.

  • Ninetales appears in 21 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

Available since Red & Blue, Ninetales appears in 21 games spanning 9 generations. Beyond its original form, it gained an Alolan form in Generation 7.