How to Evolve Vulpix into Ninetales in Every Pokémon Game

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Get a Fire or Ice-type Ninetales with this easy guide
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Vulpix is a Fire-type, fox pokémon that’s been around since the Gen 1 Pokémon games. In Sun and Moon, an Ice-type variant of Vulpix was introduced. Both Vulpix forms evolve into the powerful Ninetales not by leveling up, but by receiving an evolution stone (Fire for the Kanto variant, Ice for the Alolan variant). In this article, we’ll explain how to get a Kanto and Alolan Vulpix in each game, where to find Fire and Ice Stones, and how to use them to get Ninetales.

What level does Vulpix evolve at?

Vulpix does not evolve into Ninetales by leveling up. Instead, you give it an evolution stone. To evolve the Kanto Vulpix, use a Fire Stone. To evolve the Alolan Vulpix, use an Ice Stone. You can evolve Vulpix at any level that you’d like, though you may want to wait until it’s learned certain moves.

Section 1 of 3:

Evolving a Kanto Vulpix

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  1. 1
    Catch a Vulpix in your game, or trade for it. You can find a Vulpix in lots of different areas, depending on the game you’re playing. Vulpix isn’t available in some games, so you may need to trade for it. Below are all the places you can find Vulpix in each game: [1]
    • Blue : Routes 7 and 8, as well as the Pokémon Mansion.
    • Red : Trade from Blue.
    • Yellow : Rocket Game Corner in Celadon City.
    • Silver : Routes 7, 8, 36, and 37.
    • Gold and Crystal : Trade from Silver.
    • Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald : Outside of Mt. Pyre.
    • LeafGreen : Routes 7 and 8, as well as the Pokémon Mansion.
    • FireRed : Trade from LeafGreen.
    • Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum : Routes 209 and 214, but only when the LeafGreen game cartridge is inserted in your DS. Or, trade from SoulSilver. [2]
    • SoulSilver : Routes 7, 8, 36, 37, and 48.
    • HeartGold : Trade from SoulSilver.
    • Black and White : The Abundant Shrine.
    • Black 2 and White 2 : The Abundant Shrine.
    • X and Y : Breed a Ninetales with another Ninetales of the opposite gender, or a Ditto, at the Day Care on Route 7. [3] You can catch Ninetales from the Friend Safari (Fire-type safari), which is accessible after you beat the Pokémon League. [4] Or, trade for a Vulpix from Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire.
    • Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire : Outside of Mt. Pyre, or in the Mirage Forest north of Route 124. You get to the forest by soaring on Latias/Latios. Mirage spots reset daily, so there’s a random chance of getting a specific spot.
    • Sun and Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon : Transfer to the Pokémon Bank from X, Y, Omega Ruby, or Alpha Sapphire. [5]
    • Sword : Route 3, Axew’s Eye, Dappled Grove, East Lake Axewell, Giant’s Seat, Motostoke, North Lake Miloch, Rolling Fields, South Lake Miloch, Watchtower Ruins, and West Lake Axewell. You can also get it in Max Raid Battles in the Dusty Bowl, Giant’s Cap, Hammerlocke Hills, Lake of Outrage, and Stony Wilderness.
    • Shield : Dusty Bowl, Hammerlocke Hills, and Motostoke.
    • Shining Pearl : In the Grand Underground, specifically the Spacious, Volcanic, Sandsear, and Typhlo Caves, once you have the National Pokédex.
    • Brilliant Diamond : Trade from Shining Pearl.
    • Scarlet and Violet : Transfer from a previous game using Pokémon HOME. [6] If you have The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC, find Vulpix on Reveler’s Road, Kitakami Hall, Mossfell Confluence, Fellhorn Gorge, Oni Mountain, Oni’s Maw, Infernal Pass, Crystal Pool, Chilling Waterhead, Wistful Fields, Paradise Barrens, Kitakami Wilds, or the Timeless Woods.

    Note: Sun and Moon introduced an Alolan version of Vulpix that evolves differently from the Kanto form. We’ll explain how to find and evolve an Alolan Vulpix in the section below!

  2. 2
    Find a Fire Stone in the game you’re playing. Vulpix does not evolve at a certain level. Instead, you evolve it into Ninetales using a Fire Stone. You can evolve your Vulpix into a Ninetales at any level you wish, though you may want to wait until it learns certain moves (which we’ll explain in the sections below ). Here are the locations for Fire Stones in every game: [7]
    • Red, Blue, and Yellow : Buy at the Celadon Department Store.
    • Gold, Silver, and Crystal : Receive one from Bill's grandfather on Route 25 after showing him a Vulpix or Growlithe. On Route 36, Schoolboy Alan will give you one if you have his phone number.
    • Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald : Along the Fiery Path under Mt. Chimney (near the southwest corner). You can also trade a Red Shard for a Fire Stone from the Treasure Hunter on Route 124.
    • FireRed and LeafGreen : Buy at the Celadon Department Store. You can also find two inside Mt. Ember.
    • Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum : Mine for it in the Underground. You can also find one inside Fuego Ironworks. In Pokémon Platinum, you can find one inside Solaceon Ruins and Stark Mountain.
    • HeartGold and SoulSilver : Receive one from Bill's grandfather on Route 25 after showing him a Vulpix or Growlithe. School kid Alan also gives you one on Route 36. You can buy them at the Pokéathlon Dome on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. It is also the prize for winning the Bug-Catching Contest.
    • Black and White : Receive one from the Scientist in Castelia City (Ocean Piers) and find another along the Desert Resort. You can buy it in Black City (Black only) or find it in the White Forest (White only).
    • Black 2 and White 2 : Find one in Lentimas Town and another along the Desert Resort. You can also buy them at the Battle Subway, the Pokémon World Tournament, and the Antique Shop in Join Avenue. They also appear in Dust Clouds and Hidden Grottos.
    • X and Y : Along Routes 9 and 13. Or, buy it at the Stone Emporium in Lumiose City.
    • Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire : Along the Fiery Path under Mt. Chimney. You can also trade for it with the Treasure Hunter on Route 124. You can also get it as a prize after battling Inver in Mauville City. There’s a 5% chance of receiving one after rematching Kindler Bernie on Route 114. You can also get it by Super Training your Pokémon.
    • Sun and Moon : Along Diglett’s Tunnel or by exploring Isle Aphun on Poké Pelago. You can also buy them at the jewelry shop in Konikoni City.
    • Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon : Same places as Sun and Moon. You can also receive one at the Pokémon Nursery after showing a breeder an Eevee you hatched from an egg.
    • Sword and Shield : Along the Motostoke Riverbank and Lake of Outrage. You can also receive them from the Digging Duo brothers at Bridge Field and from Poké Jobs.
    • Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl : Find one inside Fuego Ironworks and receive another from Mr. Fuego. You can also find them in the Grand Underground.
    • Scarlet and Violet : Find one in East Province Area Two and Area Three, as well as inside Area Zero. You can also buy them at Delibird Presents. It is also the prize for registering 60 pokémon in your Pokédex.
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  3. 3
    Use a Fire Stone on Vulpix to evolve it into Ninetales. When you’re ready to evolve Vulpix, open up your Bag and find the Fire Stone in your items. Simply select it and use it on Vulpix. The evolution animation will immediately start and your Vulpix will evolve into Ninetales! [8]
    • Ninetales is a Fire-type pokémon.
    • Remember, you can evolve Vulpix into Ninetales at any time you want—it doesn’t have to be at a specific level to evolve.
    • Make sure your Vulpix isn’t holding an Everstone, as this will prevent it from evolving.
    • Don’t press "B" while Vulpix is evolving. This stops the evolution and wastes the Fire Stone you just used.
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Section 2 of 3:

Evolving an Alolan Vulpix

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  1. Pokémon Sun and Moon introduced a regional variant of Vulpix, which is an Ice-type rather than a Fire-type! You can find and catch an Alolan Vulpix in Sun and Moon and many of the games released after it, or trade for it. Below are all the places you can find an Alolan Vulpix: [9]
    • Sun and Ultra Sun : In Tapu Village and along the Upper Reaches of Mount Lanakila.
    • Moon and Ultra Moon : Trade from Sun or Ultra Sun.
    • Sword and Shield : Transfer from Sun or Ultra Sun using the Pokémon Bank or Pokémon HOME. If you have the Isle of Armor DLC, a hiker in the Fields of Honor gives you an Alolan Vulpix for finding 30 of his Digletts. [10]
    • Scarlet and Violet : Transfer from previous games using Pokémon HOME. If you have Scarlet and The Hidden Treasures of Area Zero (Indigo Disk) DLC, you can find Alolan Vulpix in the Polar Biome of the Blueberry Academy Terarium.

    Note: You can’t catch or trade for an Alolan Vulpix in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. The Alolan Vulpix isn’t available in these games.

  2. Like the Kanto Vulpix, the Alolan Vulpix doesn’t evolve at a certain level, but rather by giving it an evolution stone. Since the Alolan Vulpix is an Ice-type, you evolve it into Ninetales using an Ice Stone. Here are the locations for Ice Stones in the game: [11]
    • Sun and Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon : Find one in Po Town or by exploring Isle Aphun on Poké Pelago.
    • Sword and Shield : Along Route 9 or the Lake of Outrage. You can also receive them from the Digging Duo brothers at Bridge Field.
    • Scarlet and Violet : On Glaseado Mountain and along Dalizapa Passage. If you have The Hidden Treasures of Area Zero (Indigo Disk) DLC, you can also find one in the Polar Biome.
  3. When you’re ready to evolve Vulpix into Ninetales, open up your Bag and find the Ice Stone in your items. Just click on it, select your Vulpix, and press “Use.” [12]
    • Ensure your Vulpix isn’t holding an Everstone, as this stone prevents your pokémon from evolving.
  4. As soon as you use the Ice Stone on your Vulpix, it will start evolving into Ninetales. Just wait until the animation stops and enjoy your Ninetales!
    • The Alolan Ninetales is an Ice and Fairy-type pokémon.
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Section 3 of 3:

When is the best time to evolve a Vulpix?

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  1. Evolve your Kanto or Alolan Vulpix once it learns all the moves you want. In most games, Ninetales doesn’t learn any additional moves by leveling up. So, the best strategy is to level up your Vulpix until it learns all the moves you want it to know. Then, use your Fire or Ice Stone to evolve it into Ninetales.
    • Check out guides from Bulbapedia #By_leveling_up) and Serebii to look up the movesets Vulpix learns and at what level in each game.
    • When to evolve Kanto Vulpix : You may want to wait until Vulpix reaches the mid-40s, as this is when it usually learns its most powerful moves, like Fire Spin, Extrasensory, and Fireblast. Again, look up the movesets it learns and at what level in the specific game you’re playing.
    • When to evolve Alolan Vulpix : You may want to wait until Vulpix reaches the mid-40s to 50s, as this is when it learns powerful moves like Sheer Cold and Blizzard.
    • There are also plenty of TMs you can use on Vulpix and Ninetales to teach them specific moves.

Community Q&A

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  • Question
    What type is Alolan Ninetales?
    Hannah Creasor
    Community Answer
    Alolan Vulpix is ice type. Kanto Vulpix is a fire type. When Alolan Vulpix evolves, it becomes an Ice/Fairy type.
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  • Question
    Why wont’t my Vulpix evolve using a Fire Stone in Pokémon Emerald?
    Victoria
    Top Answerer
    Check to make sure your Vulpix is not holding an Everstone (an item that would prevent it from evolving), and be sure you aren’t holding down the “B” button during the evolutionary sequence. Also, you’ll want to double check that it isn’t at level 100, since Pokémon at that level can no longer evolve.
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      • If you want to breed another Alolan Vulpix in Sword and Shield or Scarlet and Violet, give your Alolan Vulpix or Ninetales an Everstone to hold. Then, breed it with a Ditto or a Vulpix/Ninetales of the opposite gender. If the Vulpix or Ninetales isn’t holding an Everstone during breeding, you’ll get a Kanto Vulpix.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.serebii.net/pokedex/037.shtml
      2. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Dual-slot_mode
      3. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pokémon_breeding
      4. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Friend_Safari
      5. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pokémon_Bank
      6. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pokémon_HOME
      7. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Fire_Stone#Acquisition
      8. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Ninetales_(Pokémon)
      9. ↑ https://www.serebii.net/pokedex-sm/037.shtml
      1. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Fields_of_Honor#Diglett_Trainer
      2. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Ice_Stone#Acquisition
      3. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Ninetales_(Pokémon)

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