Is Ninetales Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Fast and durable on the special side. In Blue version, Ninetales is your best Fire-type option unless you picked Charmander. Handles Erika and contributes against Lorelei's Ice-types. The problem is availability: you need a Fire Stone, and Vulpix doesn't show up until mid-game. Worth it if you need Fire coverage on a Blue team.
Vulpix trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Misty's team hits Vulpix's weaknesses hard.
Vulpix has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Ninetales has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Ninetales has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Ninetales trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Ninetales trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Ninetales trades roughly evenly with Giovanni's team.
Ninetales trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Ninetales has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Ninetales has the type edge here and should clean up Agatha's team.
Lance's team hits Ninetales's weaknesses hard.
Ninetales trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catch Vulpix
Catch Vulpix on Route 8 (walking, Lv 15-18, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket thief after you defeat him in Cerulean City
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- LV 28GhostConfuse RayPower —Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- LV 35FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
Evolve Vulpix to Ninetales
Vulpix evolves into Ninetales with a Fire Stone. You can buy the Fire Stone at the Celadon Department Store on the 4th floor (₽2,100).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 24)
- LV 24FireEmberPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket thief after you defeat him in Cerulean City
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
How to Get Ninetales in Red & Blue
Vulpix is the bottleneck here, not the Fire Stone, since the fox is Blue-only and never appears in Red. Use the stone on one and Ninetales is yours, with no wild version to catch.
Catch Vulpix at any of these 3 spots to eventually evolve into Ninetales.
Encountered via tall grass encounters
- 1Catch Vulpix
- 2Evolve NinetalesUse Fire Stone
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7How to Obtain Ninetales in RB
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.
- Step 2Ninetales ✓
Ninetales Weakness
Type-wise, Ninetales takes extra damage from Water, Ground, and Rock. Ninetales's special bulk (base 100 Special) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Ground, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Grass, Bug |
- 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
What is Ninetales Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Ninetales
 Omastar RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Omanyte (Cinnabar Island Gift) | ||
 Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ninetales View Rhydon builds →Earthquake 2x122-143%KO Rock Slide 2x92-108%KO Surf 2x27-32% | ||
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Gift) | ||
 Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Cinnabar Island Gift) | ||
 Starmie WaterPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Staryu (Cinnabar Island Super Rod) | ||
 Dewgong WaterIce | C | |
 Lapras WaterIce | B | |
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift | ||
 Seadra Water | C | |
 Blastoise Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Squirtle (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ninetales View Blastoise builds →Hydro Pump 2x80-95% Earthquake 2x56-66% | ||
 Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Nidorino (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ninetales View Nidoking builds →Earthquake 2x99-117%KO Surf 2x42-50% Rock Slide 2x50-59% | ||
 Golduck Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ninetales View Golduck builds →Hydro Pump 2x88-103%KO Dig 2x55-65% | ||
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ninetales View Slowbro builds →Surf 2x74-87% Earthquake 2x52-61% | ||
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ninetales View Graveler builds →Earthquake 2x93-109%KO Rock Slide 2x70-83% | ||
Ninetales Evolutions
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
RB Ninetales Best Moveset
100 Special and 100 Speed, one of the faster Fire attackers available. MoveFire Blast hits hard and MoveConfuse Ray disrupts, though MoveEarthquake saturation punishes the typing. The Speed tier earns respect even when the Fire type doesn't.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Confuse Ray
- Fire Spin
- Fire Blast
- Body Slam
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 16 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Very smart and very vengeful. Grabbing one of its many tails could result in a 1000-year curse.
Ninetales Red & Blue Guide
In Red & Blue, Ninetales plays as a sweeper. It outspeeds most threats, so it can pressure opponents before they move.
Yes. Alolan Ninetales is a regional variant with different typing and a reworked stat spread. Introduced in Gen 7. Plays completely differently from the original.
Game Availability
Available since Red & Blue, Ninetales appears in 21 games spanning 9 generations. Beyond its original form, it gained an Alolan form in Generation 7.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SMAlolan
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Ninetales.
Keep playing · Red & BlueRed & Blue Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Red & Blue Tier List