Special
Sweeper
CTier
100Speed · Fast

Stats & Training

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

Base Stats
High
HP73
C
Attack76
C
Defense75
C
Sp. Atk100
B
Sp. Def100
B
Speed100
B
Total524
Details
Catch Rate
Challenging75 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Fast1M XP
Height1.1 m
3'07"Small
Weight19.9 kg
43.9 lbsFeather
Base XP177
Average
Abilities
Abilities were introduced in Generation III. Shown below for reference.
Flash Fire
Protects against fire moves. Once one has been blocked, the Pokémon's own Fire moves inflict 1.5× damage until it leaves battle.
DroughtHA
Summons strong sunlight that lasts indefinitely upon entering battle.
Flash Fire grants Fire immunity
EV Yield
HPAtkDefSpASpD+1Spe+1
Special Defense training target
Pokedex Entries

Very smart and very vengeful. Grabbing one of its many tails could result in a 1000-year curse.

Ninetales Weakness

Type-wise, Ninetales takes extra damage from Water, Ground, and Rock. The Fire typing picks up 4 resistances to work with. Ninetales's special bulk (base 100 Special) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.

Ninetales Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Water, Ground, Rock
0.5x (Resist)Fire, Grass, Ice, Bug
Type ChartAvg
3Weak
4Resist
0Immune
Score-2
Gen I Type Chart
  • Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
  • Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
  • Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
WaterGroundRock
½xResist
FireGrassIceBug
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
None
STAB (3)
GrassIceBug
How to Beat Ninetales in Red & Blue (Best Counters)

In Red & Blue, Cloyster's Explosion hits Ninetales for 76-90%. Golem threatens a KO with Earthquake (112-132%). Nidoking's Earthquake also KOs at 98-115%.

Cloyster
Cloyster
WaterIce
A
Recommended Build
Moves
  • Explosion
  • ClampSTAB
  • BlizzardSTAB
  • RestRecovery
Damage vs Ninetales
Explosion
76-90%
Clamp 2x
24-28%
Blizzard
18-21%
View Cloyster builds →

Red & Blue Evolution

Vulpix's chain leads to Ninetales (using a Fire Stone). A Fire type at 524 stats, sitting in the Undiscovered group. The evolution from Vulpix pushed Ninetales to 524 total stats. Special saw the largest single gain at +50. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Vulpix
#037Vulpix
Fire Stone
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 not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Red & Blue Ninetales Best Moveset

Best Build

Experimental
Utility
Ability
Not in Gen 1
Item
Not in Gen 1
Nature
Not in Gen 1

Utility Moveset

  • Confuse Ray
  • Fire SpinSTAB
  • Fire BlastSTAB
  • Body Slam

Recommended Teammates

Tauros
TaurosGood
Snorlax
SnorlaxGood
Chansey
ChanseyDecent

Moves

Most of Ninetales's flexibility comes from TMs. Same-type output runs through Fire Blast and Ember, but Normal and Ground and the rest of the TM pool push it from predictable to genuinely threatening.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Ember
C4010025Fire
Lv 1
Quick Attack+1
D4010030Normal
Lv 1
Roar-6
———20Normal
Lv 1
Tail Whip
——10030Normal

TM Moves

TM
TM34
Bide+1
———10Normal
TM08
Body Slam
A8510015Normal
TM28
Dig
—10010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM10
Double-Edge
C12010015Normal
TM38
Fire Blast
S120855Fire
TM15
Hyper Beam
B150905Normal
TM31
Mimic
———10Normal
TM20
Rage
—2010020Normal
TM33
Reflect
B——20Psychic
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM40
Skull Bash
C10010010Normal
TM50
Substitute
C——10Normal
TM39
Swift
C60—20Normal
TM09
Take Down
—908520Normal
TM06
Toxic
A—9010Poison

Egg Moves

Ninetales doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Ninetales can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Ninetales in Red & Blue

Ninetales doesn't appear wild. Catch Vulpix instead, it shows up at decent 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 Red & Blue

Vulpix is your first catch on the way to Ninetales. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 15-35 across 6 total spots in the chain.

  1. Vulpix
    Step 1Catch Vulpix
    Route 8
    Grass Lv.15-18 Route
    25%Early
    Route 7
    Grass Lv.18-20 Route
    10%Mid
    Pokémon Mansion - 2F
    Grass Lv.32 Building
    20%Late
    Pokémon Mansion - 3F
    Grass Lv.33 Building
    20%Late
    Pokémon Mansion - 1F
    Grass Lv.34 Building
    10%Late
    Pokémon Mansion - B1F
    Grass Lv.35 Building
    10%Late
  2. Ninetales
    Step 2Ninetales ✓

Ninetales Guide

  • In Red & Blue, Ninetales works as a sweeper with 524 BST behind it. C-Tier on our list: a niche pick in Red & Blue's meta. Confuseray anchors the moveset.

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

  • Ninetales is a special attacker with base 100 Special. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. Speed tells the real story. Base 100 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. Fits the sweeper role.

  • For Red & Blue, the core moveset is Confuseray, Fire Spin, Fire Blast, and Body Slam. Confuseray leads at 24% usage. This set covers the sweeper role with a mix of damage and utility.

  • In Red & Blue, the best way to handle Ninetales: Priority moves (Mach Punch, Aqua Jet, Ice Shard) bypass its speed. Bulky walls that resist its STAB also shut it down.

Game Availability

Available since Red & Blue, Ninetales appears in 21 games spanning 10 generations. Beyond its original form, it gained an Alolan form in Generation 7.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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