Alolan Ninetales is one of the best Pokémon in Pokémon UNITE. Many of the game’s top-ranked Master players, including the number one ranked player in the world, use Alolan Ninetales as their main Pokémon. Upcomer’s Master ranked player, Warren Younger also uses Alolan Ninetales in many situations. Here is a quick guide on what items to use, what moves to upgrade, and what Alolan Nintetales playstyle is.
Alolan Ninetails Playstyle guide
Alolan Ninetales plays the role of an Utility Attacker. Ninetales does an incredible amount of damage, but also has CC and an AoE damage reduction circle built into its kit. Alolan Ninetales excels in the top or bot lane and can either be the support or carry of a team. In many cases, Alolan Ninetales is both at the same time. If players want to play a Pokémon that can truly fit any mold, Alolan Ninetales is the one for you.
Items
Right now in the game, there is a staple build for held items. Almost every single Pokémon in the game should be using this combination of items. Alolan Ninetales is no different. The three held items Alolan Ninetales should be using are Muscle Band, Focus Band and Buddy Barrier.
Muscle Band is the premier damage item in the game. When it comes to base stats, Muscle Band grants the wearer bonus attack damage and attack speed. Muscle Band’s special ability grants the wearer more attack damage on hit based on a percentage of the opponent’s maximum HP. At level 20, this bonus is 3% on each auto attack.
Focus Band is a top tier defensive item. The base stats Focus Band gives are Defense and Special Defense. When it comes to the special ability of Focus Band, once the wearer drops to low HP, Focus Band heals the wearer for a percentage of its missing HP for three seconds. The percentage of healing is a whopping 14% each second for the duration once the item is level 20.
The most overturned item in the game and most impactful is Buddy Barrier. Buddy Barrier is the premier health item in the game granting the wearer flat HP. If the item is max level this bonus is 600 but at a more reasonable level 20, the item still grants 400. But the reason this item is so good is its special effect. When the wearer uses their UNITE move, that Pokémon and the nearby ally Pokémon with the lowest HP are granted a shield equal to 40% of their maximum HP. This essentially gives two Pokémon in a crucial team fight an extra life and makes sure that the UNITE Move will go off properly.
As for the Battle item, Eject Button is the standard. Eject Button is similar to Flash in League of Legends. Being able to get out of bad situations or take advantage of enemy mistakes is too good to pass up.
Move path
Alolan Ninetales has two options for its first move upgrade at level 4. The two options are Avalanche and Dazzling Gleam. Dazzling Gleam is the optimal upgrade here because it acts as a stun that shoots out in a cone. This is a fantastic engagement tool for team fights while also being clutch at escaping sticky situations. Another thing to note is that the move can also be used in conjunction with Alolan Ninetales’ other upgraded move to easily win 1v1 fights.
That other move becomes available at level seven; players are given the option between Blizzard and Aurora Veil. Aurora Veil is the optimal choice here. Aurora Veil grants a big AoE circle in which Alolan Ninetales and allies in the circle take reduced damage while the it’s active. Also, while the circle is active, Alolan Ninetales has increased movement speed and all of its attacks are boosted. These boosted attacks deals damage to nearby Pokémon and also decreases their movement speed for a short duration.
These two moves allow Ninetales to fulfill the position of a utility attacker that can dish out big damage while also giving the team much needed CC and AoE defense. Its UNITE move, Snow Globe pairs nicely with these two moves as it’s a huge AoE nuke similar to Nunu’s Ultimate in League of Legends.
