Cover image by Rivvon
Pokémon Sun and Moon Guides

7th Generation Pokémon Battling Viability (Singles)

Find out what the PokéCommunity thinks of the new Pokémon in generation seven in the Singles world! We’ve got analysis and sample sets for all the new Pokémon and Alolan forms.

Lurantis

70/105/90/80/90/45

Lurantis has average Special Attack and Speed with a shallow movepool. Fortunately it has access to Contrary, allowing it to gain boosts from its Leaf Storm stat decreases. With Life Orb, Lurantis can OHKO Politoad, 2HKO specially defensive Tyranitar, and OHKO Hippowdown with Leaf Storm. You could also run Grassium Z to turn Leaf Storm into Bloom Doom, serving as a one-time Grass-type nuke, or Leftovers for negating sandstorm or hail damage. For its second slot, Defog is a nice option to get rid of any sort of hazards or screens, or you could run Toxic for switch-ins like Latios, or Tangrowth. Synthesis is for recovery, and finally you can have either Hidden Power Fire to deal with Mega Scizor and other Steel-type pokémon, or have Aromatherapy for Lurantis to serve support by curing any sort of status aliments that your team has.

Lurantis

Held Item Grassium Z / Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability Contrary
EVs 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature  Modest
Moves
  • Leaf Storm
  • Hidden Power Fire
  • Synthesis
  • Defog / Toxic / Aromatherapy

Shiinotic

60/45/80/90/100/30
Shiinotic is a specially-oriented Grass/Fairy type. Shiinotic is a more defensive, utility Pokémon with solid defensive stats with its base 80 Defence and base 100 Special Defence. Its HP is unfortunately lacking; however, Shiinotic carries numerous different ways to recover its HP such as its Rain Dish ability that recovers health in the rain as well as useful moves like Leech Seed. Giga Drain and Strength Sap that provide recovery for Shiinotic at the expense of the opponents own HP or Attack. Combining these traits with Spore to put to sleep dangerous threats switching in or Substitute for added protection can make Shiinotic quite troublesome for the opponent under the right conditions.

Unfortunately, Shiinotic has a lot of detracting factors too. Firstly, it has little-to-no offensive presence at all. At first glance, a base 90 Special Attack isn’t half-bad, but Shiinotic can’t afford to run a boosting move in most cases, causing it to fall short of the bar in a Singles environment. This is a problem compounded by its movepool. Although it has excellent utility moves, Shiinotic is completely walled by Steel-, Poison-, and Fire-types. Shiinotic is dreadfully slow too, which is a problem made even worse by its numerous type weaknesses, including the aforementioned types that resist it.

Overall, Shiinotic can work if it is partnered with the right Pokémon on the right team and finds itself in the right circumstances. Creating those conditions can be hard work for the player though, and Shiinotic is generally outclassed by other Pokémon that can fill its role better.

Shiinotic

Held Item  Leftovers
Ability  Effect Spore / Rain Dish
EVs  252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Nature  Bold
Moves
  • Spore
  • Moonblast
  • Strength Sap
  • Leech Seed / Giga Drain

Salazzle

68/64/60/111/60/117

Salazzle is a great late game sweeper. It has a useful base Speed of 117. Salazzle has amazing coverage with Fire, Poison, and Hidden Power Ice as handy addition. It should be used as a late-game sweeper once all its checks have been knocked out.

Pokémon to look out for are Heatran, Tyranitar and Chansey. Everything else usually gets KOed after Stealth Rock and a Nasty Plot. The idea is to bring it in on something that doesn’t like it, such as Mega Scizor, set up a Nasty Plot on the switch and wreck everything that is brought in. Be careful with setting up before eliminating checks, as Heatran in particular walls Salazzle and potentially gets a Flash Fire boost if you misplay.

Salazzle

Held Item Life Orb / Poisonium Z
Ability Corrosion
EVs 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature Timid
Moves
  • Fire Blast / Flamethrower
  • Sludge Wave
  • Nasty Plot
  • Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Ground

Alolan Marowak

60/80/110/50/80/45

As something nobody really expected during the pre-release days to be any good at all, Alolan Marowak has proven itself to be decent in the early Sun/Moon OU metagame. While its typing comes with a few nasty weaknesses to common offensive types like Ghost, Dark, Ground, Water, and (Stealth) Rock, it also sports a number of useful resistances and immunities to Fighting, Fairy, Fire, Grass, and Electric (Lightning Rod is really the only ability worth using on it), as well as being unable to be burned or trapped. It normally finds use as a wallbreaker.

While it has a very underwhelming base Attack stat of 80, Thick Club doubles its Attack stat, giving it the power it needs to fulfill the role. You can further boost its power with Swords Dance if you choose to run that and smash stall teams. Many walls–such as the stalwart Toxapex–have trouble stomaching its attacks, and few things really want to switch into it either due to its power and coverage.

One still has to be careful with Alolan Marowak though, as it is slow, vulnerable to all forms of entry hazards, and lacks recovery. While there is some level of bulk, it is nothing special and will die to stronger attacks.

Alolan Marowak

Held Item Thick Club
Ability Lightning Rod
EVs 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature Adamant
Moves
  • Shadow Bone
  • Fire Punch / Flare Blitz
  • Swords Dance / Bonemerang
  • Stealth Rock / Will-O-Wisp

Bewear

120/125/80/55/60/60

Bewear has pretty good bulk, and a really good Attack stat. Its Fluffy ability halves contact moves that Bewear would take, allowing it to dish out powerful moves and take them as well. However, Fluffy also makes Bewear take x2 damage from Fire-type moves, so it’s recommended to avoid them. This set allows it to become a Swords Dance user, taking advantage of its bulk and great Attack stat. Hammer Arm and Return are its Fighting- and Normal-type STAB moves respectively, and Ice Punch deals super effective damage against Landorus-T.

Bewear

Held Item Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability Fluffy
EVs 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature  Adamant
Moves
  • Swords Dance
  • Return
  • Hammer Arm
  • Ice Punch

Tsareena

72/120/98/50/98/72

Tsareena has many utility moves such as Rapid Spin or the dual screen moves. With its Queen Majesty ability, it prevents it to be targeted by priority moves too. While it can set up Reflect and Light Screen for your Pokémon, other Pokémon such as Klefki or even Virizion are better at performing the role. Rapid Spin capitalizes on its niche as one of the only two Grass-types that learn the move (Dhelmise being the other). Tsareena can utilize U-turn to switch them in depending on your current situation during play. Trop Kick is an interesting move that lowers the opposing Pokémon’s Attack by one stage when it makes contact, so it’s quite handy if you don’t like Tsareena being passive. The EVs are standard: to be as fast as possible to set up the screens, and to hit as hard as possible with U-turn and Trop Kick.

Tsareena

Held Item  Leftovers
Ability Queenly Majesty
EVs 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature  Adamant
Moves
  • Rapid Spin
  • Trop Kick
  • High Jump Kick
  • U-turn / Synthesis

Comfey

51/52/90/82/110/100

Competing against other clerics, Comfey has an useful ability called Triage, making healing moves have +3 priority when used by this Pokémon. So, you’ll be able to perform faster Synthesis or Draining Kiss moves for quicker healing. With Calm Mind, Comfey be a unique win condition, especially in the lower-tier metagames. It has access to Taunt, so it could prevent opposing slower Pokémon from using Taunt themselves or other moves that you find difficult to deal with. You could also have Aromatherapy as a saving grace at times where you’re poisoned or paralyzed. Getting rid of Steel and Poison-type Pokémon is appreciated for this set, so use strong Fire- or Ground-type Pokémon to cover them like Salazzle or Flygon.

Comfey

Held Item Leftovers
Ability Triage
EVs 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Nature Bold
Moves
  • Calm Mind
  • Draining Kiss
  • Synthesis
  • Taunt / Aromatherapy

Oranguru

90/60/80/90/110/60

Oranguru is a fairly standard Calm Mind user with average bulk and average Special Attack, but is rather slow. Thanks to its typing, it leaves itself vulnerable to common Dark-type moves. Psychic or Psyshock is preferable depending on what sort of move would work better for your team. Focus Blast gets super effective damage against Ferrothorn and Heatran. You can use either Shadow Ball to hit Psychic-types super effectively or Thunderbolt to hit Skarmory and bulky Water-types such as Manaphy.

Oranguru

Held Item Leftovers
Ability Inner Focus
EVs 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Nature Modest
Moves
  • Psychic / Psyshock
  • Calm Mind
  • Focus Blast
  • Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt

Passimian

100/120/90/40/60/80

Passimian has a combination of high Attack and decent HP, Defense, and Speed, making it an ideal Choice Scarf user. Sadly its Hidden Ability, Defiant, hasn’t been released yet, so for right now it can’t take advantage of Defog or Intimidate users. Its set is fairly straight forward: Close Combat is its STAB fighting move, U-Turn is good for scouting, and Earthquake is very effective against Fire-types like Heatran or Torkoal. Depending on what your team needs the most, you could run Iron Head for Fairy types like Tapu Lele or Rock Slide for Flying-types like Mega Charizard Y.

Passimian

Held Item Choice Scarf
Ability Receiver
EVs 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature Jolly
Moves
  • U-turn
  • Close Combat
  • Earthquake
  • Iron Head / Rock Slide

Golisopod

75/125/140/60/90/40

The Bug/Water Pokémon Golisopod, while not completely viable, has good niches. Golisopod has three priority attacks to make up for its bad Speed (First Impression, Aqua Jet, Sucker Punch) in addition to its solid Attack and bulk. Though its Emergency Exit Ability hampers its ability to stay on the field for too long, it can be used to your advantage by bringing in an appropriate check or counter. However, hazard clearing support may be needed to make sure Emergency Exit doesn’t trigger at inappropriate times. Golisopod also has Leech Life to sustain itself when necessary.

Golisopod

Held Item Leftovers / Assault Vest
Ability Emergency Exit
EVs 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Nature Adamant
Moves
  • First Impression
  • Liquidation
  • Leech Life
  • Spikes / Aqua Jet / Sucker Punch

Palossand

85/75/110/100/75/35

Palossand is quite odd. Its ability allows it to gain two stages in Defense whenever it has been hit with a Water-type move, which may seem questionable considering it’s a Ground-type. However, it has very respectable defenses. With this, it’s rather tough to OHKO Palossand, even with a super effective move. Its signature move is Shore Up, which allows it to regain HP depending on the weather. During a Sandstorm, it regains 3/4 of its HP. Otherwise, it will only regain 1/2 of its HP. Its movepool works better on the special side, so having Shadow Ball is great for its STAB move. Giga Drain is super effective against Water- or Ground-type Pokémon. You can also use Earth Power for a Ground-type STAB move.

Palossand

Held Item Leftovers
Ability Water Compaction
EVs 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Nature Calm
Moves
  • Earth Power
  • Shadow Ball
  • Shore Up
  • Toxic

Silvally

95/95/95/95/95/95

You may call Silvally a “mini Arceus”. Thanks to its RKS System ability, it could change into any type depending on what sort of memory disc you give it, and it even has a Judgment-like ability called Multi-Attack. It also has very well-rounded and balanced stats allowing it to be decent overall. With Choice Band, it can hit extremely hard with Explosion, allowing it to OHKO most Pokémon. Double-Edge is its other Normal-type STAB move. Parting Shot lowers the opponent’s Attack and Special Attack stats, then it can switch out for another Pokémon, which could provide many opportunities for your Pokémon to set-up, like Magearna with Shift Gear. You could have Crunch to deal with Ghost-types or Iron Head to fair better against Fairy-types.

Silvally

Held Item Choice Band
Ability RKS System
EVs 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Nature Adamant
Moves
  • Double-Edge
  • Parting Shot
  • Explosion
  • Crunch / Iron Head

Minior

60/60/100/60/100/60
60/100/60/100/60/120 (<50% health)

Minior is a new Shell Smash user that was introduced this generation. What makes Minior stand out from other Shell Smash users such as Cloyster and Barbaracle is its signature ability, Shields Down. When Minior is first sent into battle, it starts in its Meteor form, which has high defenses of 100 in exchange for low offenses and Speed of 60 each. This form is also immune to status problems. When Minior’s HP gets down to 50% or less, Shields Down activates, changing Minior to its Core form, which has twice the Speed as its Meteor form and inverted offensive and defensive stats. Other Shell Smash users commonly run White Herb to offset the defensive drops; however, Minior has access to a STAB Acrobatics to let it do massive damage after it sets up.

While Minior has decent bulk in its Meteor form, it’s somewhat hampered by common weaknesses like Water and Ice, as well as a weakness to Stealth Rock. Even though this helps get it into Core form faster, there’s also the possibility that Minior will be KOed without changing to its Core form at all, leaving the player with little control over when it changes form. As a Flying Pokémon, Minior is unaffected by Psychic Terrain, making it vulnerable to priority attacks. With that said, it’s best used mid to late game, once priority users are weakened or KOed.

The below set is Minior’s most common, if not only viable, set. Once White Herb is consumed, Acrobatics becomes Minior’s primary STAB attack. Stone Edge or Power Gem serve as Minior’s secondary STABs, while Earthquake lets it hit Steel Pokémon. Max Speed EVs are preferred so that Minior isn’t too reliant on Shell Smash to sweep. However, 176 HP / 252 Atk / 80 Spe can be used instead for more bulk while still outrunning the fastest relevant Choice Scarf user, Tapu Koko.

Minior

Held Item White Herb
Ability Shields Down
EVs 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature Adamant / Naughty
Moves
  • Shell Smash
  • Acrobatics
  • Stone Edge / Power Gem
  • Earthquake

Komala

65/115/65/75/95/65

Komala comes with the unique Comatose Ability. It results in Komola being treated as if it was Asleep; ergo it can use Snore and Sleep Talk whenever it wants, and avoid any additional Status effects like Burns. It can even attack as normal! Of course it’s not all good news – Komala is also vulnerable to the likes of the Bad Dreams Ability, Nightmare, etc.

It has a respectable Special Defense stat but poor HP and Defense. Its highlight is its 115 Base Attack stat, and not having to worry about Burns is great. It also gets Wish and Charm via Egg Moves (the former which could be used in combination with Toxic and Protect for a stall set), and could try a Bulk Up set with Return, Brick Break and Play Rough as options. It can also try Rapid Spin. Choice Band with Sleep Talk is not advised due to the randomness factor. It’s sadly not a top tier threat despite its overall strong Ability – the average Speed and lack of standout coverage and defences lets it down, keeping it in the likes of NeverUsed.

Rapid Spin, Wish, Protect and U-Turn is what we suggest. U-Turn helps with momentum against Ghost-types, but could be replaced with Toxic, for example. Other options to consider is a defensive Bulk Up Set to complement its decent Special Defense, with the option of replacing one of the moves with Wish to allow it to live longer (Leftovers if you opt for that path), or Rapid Spin to remove entry hazards. You’ll want to consider what format you’re playing Komala in as well as your team and what they’d prefer for support, ultimately.

Komala

Held Item Leftovers
Ability Comatose
EVs 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Nature Careful
Moves
  • Rapid Spin
  • Wish
  • Protect
  • U-Turn/Toxic

Turtonator

60/78/135/91/85/36

Turtonator is very strong on the special side, and its overall bulk is not bad either. Thanks to its typing, it has access to Dragon- and Fire-type moves such as Draco Meteor and Overheat, which very few Pokémon in the OU tier can switch into. You could also choose Fire Blast and Dragon Pulse if you don’t like the Special Attack drops. Focus Blast hits super effective damage against Heatran which could otherwise come in against Turtonator’s Dragon- and Fire-type moves. Flash Cannon is good against Fairy-type Pokémon like Tapu Lele.

Turtonator

Held Item Choice Specs
Ability Shell Armor
EVs 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Nature Modest
Moves
  • Overheat
  • Draco Meteor
  • Focus Blast
  • Flamethrower / Flash Cannon

Togedemaru

65/98/63/40/73/96

Overall, Togedemaru has average stats. However, as an Electric-type Pokémon, it could use some very interesting and decent moves. For example, with Fell Stinger, it boosts its Attack by three whenever it finishes a Pokémon, potentially allowing Togedemaru to become a threat if underestimated. Zing Zap is Togedemaru’s signature STAB Electric-type move that has a 30% chance of making the opponent flinch, so it’s a decent move to rely on. U-turn gives Togedemaru scouting purposes, and Magnet Rise removes its x4 weakness against Ground attacks temporarily. You could also run Poison Jab for Fairy-type Pokémon like Tapu Bulu or Clefable. Nuzzle is useful for spreading paralysis.

Togedemaru

Held Item Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability Lightning Rod
EVs 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature  Jolly
Moves
  • Zing Zap
  • U-turn
  • Fell Stinger / Nuzzle
  • Poison Jab / Nuzzle / Magnet Rise

Alolan Golem

80/120/130/55/65/45

Alolan Golem is very unique, because its Galvanize ability can turn its Normal-type moves to Electric-types while giving them a 20% increase in power. That allows it to deal very powerful Electric-type moves like Electric-boosted Return, Double-Edge, and Explosion. Defensively Alolan Golem, unlike regular Golem, does not have x4 Water and Grass weaknesses, and it loses weaknesses to Steel and Ice. Thanks to its Electric typing, it also gains an immunity to paralysis, and its Attack benefits from Electric Terrain. However, it resists Electric-type moves instead of nullifying them, and gains a x4 weakness to Ground.

While Return can serve as Alolan Golem’s primary STAB move, Double-Edge has more power for the cost of recoil damage, so it’s up to you. Stone Edge is its secondary STAB move, and Earthquake still deals great damage to Heatran or opposing Electric-types. Explosion is a final option to deal heavy damage against bulkier Pokémon, or Volt Switch could be there to allow scouting and to bring in Pokémon on the field safely.

Tapu Koko is a great option as a teammate, because it has the ability to set up Electric Terrain to boost Alolan Golem’s Electric-type moves even more. Alolan Golem has the power to easily dispatch opposing bulky Water-type Pokémon as well as Skarmory, so Pokémon like Landorus-T or Magearna with Steelium Z could appreciate this.

Alolan Golem

Held Item Choice Band / Life Orb
Ability Galvanize
EVs 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Nature  Adamant
Moves
  • Return / Double-Edge
  • Stone Edge
  • Earthquake
  • Explosion / Volt Switch

Mimikyu

55/90/80/50/105/96

Mimikyu has a unique ability to essentially have a free Substitute, preventing damage from the first direct attack it takes.  It’s quite easy to set up, thus its most-effective set is Swords Dance. Shadow Claw is its strongest Ghost-type STAB move, while Play Rough is its strongest Fairy-type STAB move. Together, they both provide enough coverage to allow Mimikyu to hit any Pokémon in the OU tier for neutral damage. Once Mimikyu’s disguise is broken, it becomes very easy to revenge kill because it has frail defenses, so Shadow Sneak is provided against Pokémon that Mimikyu is outsped by such as Mega-Pinsir or Kartana.

Its recommended to use Mimikyu during late-game, because it can serve as a very effective late-game cleaner thanks to its Disguise ability. Entry hazards are also handy to have because of this, so Pokémon like Heatran or Ferrothorn could provide them. Or you could have U-turn or VoltTurn users like Landorus-T or Rotom-W to allow Mimikyu come in the field more safely, leaving its Disguise intact.

Mimikyu

Held Item Ghostium Z / Life Orb
Ability Disguise
EVs 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Nature Jolly / Adamant
Moves
  • Shadow Claw
  • Swords Dance
  • Shadow Sneak
  • Play Rough

Bruxish

68/105/70/70/70/92

Bruxish has pretty decent Speed and Attack. Thanks to its Strong Jaw ability, it increases the power of its biting moves like Crunch or Psychic Fangs by 33%. Thanks to its Psychic and Water typing, you can have Psychic Fangs and Waterfall serve as STAB moves. Psychic Fangs deals with Mega-Venusaur, while Waterfall is good against Heatran or Landorus-T. Aqua Jet is a priority move for cleaning up or picking off weakened Pokémon. Crunch can be its last move slot for opposing Psychic-type Pokémon like Tapu Lele. Ice Fang is a secondary option for Dragon-type Pokémon like Garchomp or Dragonite. Swords Dance with Waterium Z or Life Orb is also an option for pulling off a sweep.

Bruxish

Held Item Choice Band
Ability Strong Jaw
EVs 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature Adamant
Moves
  • Psychic Fangs
  • Aqua Jet
  • Waterfall
  • Crunch / Ice Fang

Drampa

78/60/85/135/91/36
Drampa has a very good movepool. Thanks to its high special attack, it can serve as a strong special attacker. However, its poor speed won’t allow it to outspeed much of anything in the OU tier. You can either run Sap Sipper, allowing it to be a nice switch-in for Grass-types like Tangrowth or Mega Venusaur, or use the Berserk ability to raise its Special Attack when it’s hit by an attack that causes its HP to become half or less. Just note that this only applies to direct damage, so if you drop below 50% by any way that isn’t direct damage from your opponent such as Leech Seed or Pain Split, Berserk won’t activate.

As for its moves, Dragon Pulse or Draco Meteor serve as its Dragon-type STAB moves, along with Hyper Voice as its Normal-type STAB move. Fire Blast hits Grass-, Steel-, or Ice-type Pokémon like Scizor, Alolan Ninetales, or Tapu Bulu. For its last move slot, you could run Focus Blast for Pokémon like Heatran, Roost for recovery, Calm Mind with Dragon Pulse to set up a sweep, Thunderbolt for bulky Water-type Pokémon like Manaphy or Tapu Fini, or Ice Beam to deal 4x super effective damage against Landorus-T or Garchomp. It all depends on what sort of move would work best for your team overall.

Since it does have very a low Speed stat, try using Drampa in Trick Room teams where it can take advantage of Trick Room’s effect that allows slower Pokémon to move first in battle. Drampa’s most effective role is to deal as much damage as it can for your other MVPs, so try to use it as early as you can to deal the most damage.

Drampa

Held Item Life Orb
Ability Sap Sipper / Berserk
EVs 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Nature Modest / Quiet
Moves
  • Dragon Pulse / Draco Meteor
  • Hyper Voice
  • Fire Blast
  • Focus Blast / Roost / Calm Mind

Alolan Sandslash

75/100/120/25/65/65

Hail received a few new toys to play with this generation; one of those being the new ability Slush Rush, the Hail version of Sand Rush (doubling its Speed in Hail). Alolan Sandslash is basically a poor man’s Excadrill. It gets Earthquake and Steel STAB along with the useful Rapid Spin, but it is slower, has less Attack, and an arguably worse defensive typing.

You probably only want to use Alolan Sandslash on a dedicated Hail team, and obviously with Aurora Veil Snow Warning Alolan Ninetales as support. Even so, with maximum Speed investment and a Jolly nature, it hits 502 Speed in Hail, outspeeding even relatively fast Choice Scarf users such as Garchomp. That should give you an idea of how fast it is.

Alolan Sandslash

Held Item Life Orb
Ability Sand Slush
EVs 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Nature Adamant / Jolly
Moves
  • Icicle Crash
  • Iron Head
  • Earthquake
  • Rapid Spin / Swords Dance

Alolan Ninetales

73/67/75/81/100/109

Alolan Ninetales is pretty fragile, and its typing cuts its longevity by being quadruple weak to Steel and weak against Rock, which means it has a weakness to Stealth Rock damage. It also does not have a diverse enough movepool to make it an effective sweeper in the OU metagame.

On the other hand, it has been given the ability to use Aurora Veil, which is a move that is basically Light Screen and Reflect in one. It also has been given Snow Warning as a Hidden Ability, providing instant Hail weather to allow it to use Aurora Veil. Therefore, with such an efficient way to reduce all physical and special damage by half in one move for at least five turns, it has seen some good usage in hyper offensive playstyles in OU.

Take advantage of Alolan Ninetales’s utility by pairing it up with Pokémon who can set up effectively to sweep. For example, Mega Gyarados and Mega Charizard X can cover Alolan Ninetales against Pokémon like Heatran and Scizor, thanks to their typing and natural bulk. In turn, Alolan Ninetales can provide Aurora Veil screen support for those two to set up Dragon Dance and take reduced damage.

Alongside Aurora Veil, Alolan Ninetales has Moonblast to apply super effective damage against Fighting- and Dragon-type Pokémon. Freeze-Dry is an Ice-type move that hits super effective damage against Water-type Pokémon, so try using it against pesky Water-types like Toxapex.

By using Encore, you can take advantage of Pokémon who would use Alolan Ninetales as set-up bait and lock them into attacks that don’t necessarily harm it and the rest of your team. Nasty Plot can be a set-up option to take advantage alongside Aurora Veil and clean up or heavily damage defensive Pokémon.

You’ll want to have 252 Speed with a Timid nature to make Alolan Ninetales as fast as possible for setting up Aurora Veil. As a side note, Alolan Ninetales has 9 more Base Speed than its natural form. 252 Special Attack is ideal to dent Pokémon as hard as it can to prevent Pokémon like opposing Gyarados from freely setting up on you. Light Clay increases the time Aurora Veil lasts from five turns to eight.

Alolan Ninetales

Held Item Light Clay
Ability Snow Warning
EVs 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature Timid
Moves
  • Freeze-Dry
  • Moonblast
  • Aurora Veil
  • Encore / Nasty Plot