Ninetales
Encyclopedia
Ninetales, known as is a Pokémon species in Nintendo
and Game Freak
's Pokémon
franchise. Ninetales evolves from Vulpix
when exposed to a special item. Created by Ken Sugimori
, it first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue
and later appear in subsequent sequels, various merchandise, spinoff titles, and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. It is known as the Fox
Pokémon.
Ninetales, also known as the Fox Pokémon, is a golden-white nine-tailed fox, based on the kitsune
, a Japan
ese fox spirit. The , which held similar powers such as shapeshifting, were the main inspiration for the Pokémon. Ninetales' name was derived from the number of its tails, nine, and the fact that the idea for it came primarily from ancient Japanese tales. This fox-like Pokémon is covered with a thick, luxurious golden-white fur, with a fluffy crest atop its head and a similar ruff around its neck. Ninetales have gleaming red eyes that are said to give them the power of mind control. Its nine different tails hold strange, cosmic powers, that let it live for 1,000 years, Ninetales are highly intelligent Pokémon that understand human speech. They are very vengeful and have been known to curse those who mistreat them for 1000 years. Many legends surround this Pokémon, one of which stating that Ninetales was born when 9 saints were united and reincarnated as this Pokémon.
, though it was only obtainable in Blue without trading. It has since appeared in every main Pokémon title since, including remakes of the original games including Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
. Outside of the main titles, it appears in the Pokémon Pinball
titles, Pokémon Trozei!
, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
titles, the Pokémon Ranger
titles, Pokémon Rumble
, and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure.
In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team
, Ninetales cast a curse on a human that would turn it into a Pokémon, bringing on many natural disasters. The player is blamed for this and travels to the home of Ninetales at the top of Mt. Freeze to learn the truth. Ninetales later appears when Gengar
wishes to right what he did to Gardevoir.
in their Gym battle.
In the Pokémon Adventures
manga, Red and Blue both tried catching the same Ninetales. In the scuffle for its Poké Ball, Blue managed to grab it first. Magma Admin Courtney uses a Ninetales as her main battler. In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team
, the curse that Ninetales can conjure is one of the main points of the plot.
called Ninetales "one heck of a Pokemon that too many people tend to overlook" and a surprise "bombshell-dropper". The reviewer continued, exaggerating that Ninetales may be "considered the new god of all that is holy." IGN also called it "one of the most visually impressive Pokemon." The Capital Times concurred that Ninetales was "particularly powerful". However, IGN also noted that the character served little purpose until later games beyond looking attractive. Many reviewers have commented on the perceived aesthetic beauty of Ninetales. IGN claimed that, while Ninetales may not be as cute as other Pokémon in the series, it makes up for this with sheer beauty. Another noted Ninetales primarily for its visual appeal. Several sources have commented on Ninetales' name, with various reporters calling it "whimsical" and "fanciful". Another IGN reviewer expressed a particular fondness for Ninetales, calling it "elegant". GamesRadar
's Brett Elston wrote that Ninetales was inferior to Arcanine
, both statistically and in terms of Fire techniques. Bitmob's Chas Guidry wrote that the introduction of the Dream World would have a "tremendous affect " on the competitive Pokémon scene due to Ninetales' "more modest builds in comparison to their legendary counterparts." Authors Tracey West and Katherine Noll named Ninetales the sixth best Pokémon and wrote that Ninetales is both "powerful" and "fast and fiery".
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
and Game Freak
Game Freak
is a Japanese video game developer that currently creates games exclusively for Nintendo. It has developed the Pokémon series of role-playing games and several other games.-History:...
's Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
franchise. Ninetales evolves from Vulpix
Vulpix
Vulpix, known in Japan as is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Vulpix evolves into Ninetales when exposed to a special item. Created by Ken Sugimori, they first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and later appear in subsequent sequels, various...
when exposed to a special item. Created by Ken Sugimori
Ken Sugimori
is a Japanese video game designer, illustrator, manga artist, and director. He is most famous as the character designer and art director for the Pokémon franchise. Sugimori is also credited with the art direction for other titles, including Pulseman. Sugimori drew all of the original 151 Pokémon...
, it first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
and later appear in subsequent sequels, various merchandise, spinoff titles, and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. It is known as the Fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
Pokémon.
Concept and characteristics
Kitsune
is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume...
, a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese fox spirit. The , which held similar powers such as shapeshifting, were the main inspiration for the Pokémon. Ninetales' name was derived from the number of its tails, nine, and the fact that the idea for it came primarily from ancient Japanese tales. This fox-like Pokémon is covered with a thick, luxurious golden-white fur, with a fluffy crest atop its head and a similar ruff around its neck. Ninetales have gleaming red eyes that are said to give them the power of mind control. Its nine different tails hold strange, cosmic powers, that let it live for 1,000 years, Ninetales are highly intelligent Pokémon that understand human speech. They are very vengeful and have been known to curse those who mistreat them for 1000 years. Many legends surround this Pokémon, one of which stating that Ninetales was born when 9 saints were united and reincarnated as this Pokémon.
In the video games
Ninetales first appeared in Pokémon Red and BluePokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
, though it was only obtainable in Blue without trading. It has since appeared in every main Pokémon title since, including remakes of the original games including Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
are enhanced remakes of the original Pokémon Red and Blue video games, which were released in 1996. The new titles were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance and have compatibility with the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter, which originally came bundled with...
. Outside of the main titles, it appears in the Pokémon Pinball
Pokémon Pinball
is a pinball-based Pokémon spin-off video game for the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on April 14, 1999, and in North America on June 28, 1999. In it, the ball is a Poké Ball, and most of the objects on the table are Pokémon-related....
titles, Pokémon Trozei!
Pokémon Trozei!
, released as Pokémon Link! in Europe, is a Pokémon-themed puzzle video game for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan on October 20, 2005, in North America on March 6, 2006, in Australia on March 30, 2006, and in Europe on May 5, 2006.-Gameplay:...
, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
- Manga :*Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team, manga adaption of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team*Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blazing Exploration Team, manga adaption of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness, and Explorers of Sky.-...
titles, the Pokémon Ranger
Pokémon Ranger
is an action/role-playing video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS video game console. The game was released at various dates, varying between continents. The game was first released in Japan on March 22, 2006 and was later released in North America and...
titles, Pokémon Rumble
Pokémon Rumble
Pokémon Rumble is a Pokémon video game for WiiWare. It was developed by Ambrella. Pokémon Rumble was rated "E10+" by the ESRB, making it the first Pokémon video game to be given an ESRB rating higher than "E" for Everyone...
, and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure.
In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team
and are a matched pair of Pokémon games for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, respectively. These two games were developed by Chunsoft and were published by Nintendo....
, Ninetales cast a curse on a human that would turn it into a Pokémon, bringing on many natural disasters. The player is blamed for this and travels to the home of Ninetales at the top of Mt. Freeze to learn the truth. Ninetales later appears when Gengar
Gengar
Gengar, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Designed by Game Freak, their name it is both the singular and plural name of the species. First appearing in Pokémon Red and Blue, they later appeared in subsequent sequels, spin-off games, related...
wishes to right what he did to Gardevoir.
In other media
Ninetales first appeared in the anime in Beauty and the Breeder. A friend of Suzy named Zane had a Ninetales and used it in a Pokémon breeding contest. In Just Waiting On A Friend, a very old Ninetales befriended Brock, who bore a resemblance to her long lost master. This Ninetales created all sorts of illusions, including one of a woman through which it spoke. Many other Ninetales have made minor appearances such as one being used by Blaine to battle AshAsh Ketchum
Ash Ketchum, known as for all appearances in Japan, is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise owned by Nintendo. He was created by, and named after, Satoshi Tajiri as the protagonist of the anime and manga series, as well as on various merchandise related to the franchise...
in their Gym battle.
In the Pokémon Adventures
Pokémon Adventures
Pokémon Adventures, released in Japan as , is a Pokémon-related manga based on the video games. Satoshi Tajiri once stated that the Pocket Monsters Special series is closest to what he imagined the Pokémon world to be:...
manga, Red and Blue both tried catching the same Ninetales. In the scuffle for its Poké Ball, Blue managed to grab it first. Magma Admin Courtney uses a Ninetales as her main battler. In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team is a 6-part manga serial that first appeared in Japan's CoroCoro Comic in the fall of 2005...
, the curse that Ninetales can conjure is one of the main points of the plot.
Reception
Ninetales has had generally positive reception. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
called Ninetales "one heck of a Pokemon that too many people tend to overlook" and a surprise "bombshell-dropper". The reviewer continued, exaggerating that Ninetales may be "considered the new god of all that is holy." IGN also called it "one of the most visually impressive Pokemon." The Capital Times concurred that Ninetales was "particularly powerful". However, IGN also noted that the character served little purpose until later games beyond looking attractive. Many reviewers have commented on the perceived aesthetic beauty of Ninetales. IGN claimed that, while Ninetales may not be as cute as other Pokémon in the series, it makes up for this with sheer beauty. Another noted Ninetales primarily for its visual appeal. Several sources have commented on Ninetales' name, with various reporters calling it "whimsical" and "fanciful". Another IGN reviewer expressed a particular fondness for Ninetales, calling it "elegant". GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
's Brett Elston wrote that Ninetales was inferior to Arcanine
Arcanine
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Arcanine first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels. They have later appeared in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise...
, both statistically and in terms of Fire techniques. Bitmob's Chas Guidry wrote that the introduction of the Dream World would have a "tremendous affect " on the competitive Pokémon scene due to Ninetales' "more modest builds in comparison to their legendary counterparts." Authors Tracey West and Katherine Noll named Ninetales the sixth best Pokémon and wrote that Ninetales is both "powerful" and "fast and fiery".