I was on serebii earlier today and decided to give my theory of it being a Kitsune a push to see what kind of discussion I could get out of it, and one member posted some gold:
Riolucario;11038227 said:I researched Kitsune mythology for a book I am writing. I read somewhere that the tails were an indication of how aged (and therefore powerful) the Kitsune are. This is why Vulpix is depicted with six tails, and Ninetails depicted with nine. The numbers 1, 5, 7 and 9 are most common tail numbers. I also read that not all Kitsune physically show their tails. They may appear as normal foxes - with one tail in physical form.
It should be noted that they are known are Yokai (I think that is how it is spelt...) which are types of spirits in Japan. Phantom Ruler Z. Yeah.
Erm what else... Of course yes, they can shapeshift, but are only said to be able to acquire this power once they achieve a certain age (one thousand years or so).
The creators of this Pokémon could be taking a more stylistic choice with this Pokémon if it is a Kitsune, rather than the obvious depiction Ninetales had. Either way, I don't think it is related to Ninetales.
Also, adding to my previous post... Just found an interesting site:
http://listverse.com/2009/10/26/10-mythological-creatures-and-shapeshifters/
Scroll down to the Kitsune entry.
Mentions fire, lighting, a fear of dogs (Entei, Suicune, Raikou?) and the ability to bend time and space (Celebi?) clone the appearance of an individual (Evil Ash?) and create illusions (somewhere it's mentioned that the film title is something to do with Illusions, right?)