Ninetales (キュウコン, Kyūkon?, Kyukon in original Japanese language versions) is one of 493 fictional species of Pokémon in the Pokémon franchise. It is the evolved form of Vulpix, and one of the original 150. Ninetales is inspired by a Japanese fox spirit, the kitsune. As a kitsune grows older, it gains more tails; the kyūbi-no-kitsune is a fox demon with nine tails, the most a kitsune can get (except for Inari, who is sometimes depicted as a ten-tailed kitsune). So, too, is Ninetales the most experienced fox Pokémon. Much like a kitsune, Ninetales is very clever and sinister. Also like the kitsune, when Vulpix evolves into a Ninetales, Vulpix's red fur turns pale yellow. If the Vulpix is shiny (gold), it will turn silver.
The name Ninetales is a reference to Ninetales' nine tails. The name is also a reference to a Chinese myth of a nine-tailed fox spirit who serves under Nuwa, and the Japanese. Ninetales' Japanese name, Kyukon, is probably a portmanteau of the Japanese word for nine (九, kyū?) and kon, which comes from kon kon, an onomatopoeia describing the bark of a fox. In the beta, it was known as Nine Tales.
