POTW Pokémon of the Week #88: Ponyta & Rapidash

Cresselia92 · May 5, 2018

In the World of Pokémon, there lives a vast number and variety of amazing creatures to befriend and collect. Every week, we will be focusing on a single one of these Pokémon or evolutionary line and talking about what makes it special. This week's Pokémon of choice is...

Rapidash, the Fire Horse Pokémon!

So, I'm the Chairman of the Pokémon Fan Club! I have more than 100 Pokémon, but today I will be talking about my favorite, which is Rapidash!

So Rapidash... is cute... lovely... amazing... don't you think so? It has that long and beautiful horn... and it looks so graceful... fiery... I love it! It's so warm... you should hug it... before sleeping... it's so perfect for naps... really! No, do not be afraid of its fire! It's not that harmful!

And its skills? It's really... really fast! So fast... and it loves to run... a lot! if you start running... it will start chasing you... to reach you... but not in a bad way! It just loves racing! When it runs at top speed... it looks like it is... gliding... almost... it barely touches the ground... because it's that fast! But do not make it mad! Its fiery mane is beautiful... but when it's furious... it becomes scary... very scary!

It's usually calm, though... and can be seen cantering in fields... with Ponytas! The babies are so cute... and agile... and fast... almost like their parents! They also are clumsy at birth. They barely stand! But be careful with their hooves, though! They are hard... really hard... harder than diamonds, even! And painful! I've got experience with one of their kicks... and that was bad!

Now, about their attacks... they have many! Mostly Fire attacks! Like Flame Wheel... Flame Charge... Fire Spin... Flare Blitz... or Inferno! They can also Bounce high... and throw Double Kicks... or show their High Horsepower... or heal with Morning Sun! I hate seeing them hurt, so I love that move! Other attacks include Hypnosis... and Charm... and Ally Switch! As a Rapidash... it can learn moves with its horn... like Megahorn... or Poison Jab... or Drill Run... or Smart Strike! Because it is that smart! Otherwise, it can use Wild Charge... or Iron Tail... or Solar Beam... or Will-O-Wisp! No Rock or Water Pokémon should harm this beauty!

They also have great abilities! They can Run Away from predators without problems! Or absorb fire with their amazing body! While increasing the power of their own Fire attacks! Their body can also become overheated at times... and if you touch it... you will be burned! So beware of overheats!

This Pokémon also appeared in the anime! And it was magnificent! It appeared as a Ponyta in The Flame Pokémon-athon!... and it initially didn't like Ash much! But Ponytas are clever! It understood that Ash was a good boy... and it let him ride on its back! Such honor! It then participated to a racing competition... and it became so competitive... that it evolved! And won the race! I was so happy!

There is also an important Rapidash in the manga! It belongs to Platinum... and it is a very loyal Rapidash! Just like mine! It mainly was Platinum's steed... but also showed to have good battling skills... even if it lost often! Such Pokémon shouldn't lose! And... Oops! Look at the time! I kept you too long!

Thanks for hearing me out! I want you to give your opinion about it! So, here are some questions I want to ask you. You don't have to answer all of them or any of them in your post, but I wish you did! Rapidash is that awesome! However, if you want to suggest another Pokémon, you can do so! As long as you answer my questions, that's it!

Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
How is this Pokémon in-game?
How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
Do you think this line should have gotten a secondary typing, like Normal or Fairy?
What other mythical creature you would like to be turned into a Pokémon?
Don't you agree that Rapidash is really beautiful... and warm... and nice to cuddle?

If you have any suggestions for Pokémon you'd like to discuss in the future just leave your ideas at the bottom of your post. Make sure you give your thoughts about the current Pokémon first!

Thank you to @Rick for suggesting this Pokémon of the Week!

Previous Pokémon of the Week:

Nicolas721 · May 5, 2018

While their palettes are simple and they don't look as the perfect horse Pokemon, they are great. Ponyta's cuteness is underappreciated, and Rapidash looks very majestic.

In the games, they played a role in Gen IV, as one of the few fire-type Pokemon available. I had one in my time and she was pretty strong, despite only having Fire-type moves. However, they became totally ignored in Gens 5-7, but that didn't stopped fans from asking for a Pegasus evolution, mega evolution and regional variant. I'd prefer to see the pegasus concept on a new mon, as I like Rapidash' simplicity.

Once I read a theory which says that this Pokemon is based on the belief that a Fire horse combination in the Chinese Zodiac was considered very unlucky, and indeed when the combination happened in 1966, the birth rate in Japan was lower. Ponyta was described as a weakling in the Pokedex entries, but eventually it proved everyone that the belief was wrong so it evolved into a beautiful Quilin. According to the theory, this had to be done by someone who was born in 1966...Ken Sugimori.

Jinjo · May 5, 2018

Ponyta and Rapidash are so beautiful. I've never used them in game because I already had a fire type Pokemon on my team. The episode with Ponyta is one of my favorite and I loved watching it evolve. Ponyta/Rapidash don't need a secondary typing and they are fine the way they are. Unicorns and pegasus are my favorite mythical creatures and I would love to see a pegasus turned into a Pokemon. I agree that Rapidash is really beautiful, warm, and I'm not so sure about the cuddle because in the anime, I remember when Ash first got on Ponyta's back, he got burned by Ponyta's fire mane.

Rick · May 7, 2018

Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?

Rapidash is tied with Mewtwo for my favorite pokémon, and pretty much since Gen I I've always had one on my team when possible. I also ride and work with horses irl, so my liking comes mostly from that, though I already liked it before.

How is this Pokémon in-game?

It's kinda decent, but it really depends on what game is it. It could be kinda broken in Gen I because of how Fire Spin and Crits worked back then. Plus X-Accuracy used to give Horn Drill perfect accuracy, or give Fire Spin perfect accuracy which was pretty much the same thing but took longer. It lost all that in Gen II, even though the X-Accuracy still worked the same untill it got fixed in Gen III. Gen IV was when it got the most usage since it was pretty much the only Fire-type you could get besides Infernape before post-game.

How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?

In competitive... yeah, not even Gen IV's physical/special split can save it. Flare Blitz is the only physical Stab it gets, and with only 65 HP it kills itself in recoil after 2 or 3 uses, and its main coverage Wild Charge adds more recoil. Also, 105 Speed is actually not very fast, especialy for a pokémon that's gonna take a ton of recoil from its moves. For a pokémon that was entitled "the fastest sprinter in the world", it's not even in the Top 100 in-game, even though I know the Speed stat is the most inconsistent one for comparisons to the anime (looking at you Pigeot, who flies at mach 1 and barely goes above 100 Speed) It was good in Gen I, but today most offensive pokémon are faster than that. It's not a useless pokémon though. A Flare Blitz coming from a 100 Atk is still gonna hurt, especialy with Flash Fire activated. I always pair it with a Grass-type that can attract other Fire-types so I can switch into them. Leafeon goes pretty well with it since it also gets Swords Dance and Baton Pass.

Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?

I did like the race episode it got featured, even though it was just a short appearance at the end. I think I prefered the most recent appearance in the SM series. I still wish they could show it actually fighting, but I guess the mane would take extra time for them to animate.

If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?

Stat-wise, it needs more Speed. About 125 would be great, and would put it closer to the stat increase the other pokémon get from evolving as it only gets 90 from Ponyta (and half of those 90 are wasted in unuseful stats). Move-wise, I think Blaze Kick would be the least they could give to it. Yes, Flare Blitz is stronger, but the recoil is a serious problem. Blaze Kick would let it use a Life Orb to boost its other coverage moves, and you wouldn't be forced to use a slot in Morning Sun 'cause the recoil wouldn't be as much of a concern. There are other moves I would love it to get, like Jump Kick as an alternative to Low Kick with a fixed BP, Horn Leech as an alternative way to mitigate recoil, or Solar Blade for a Sunny Day set or Sun team, but I really don't see any of that happening. Extreme Speed wouldn't be bad either, but I don't think it would compete with other more important moves for a slot. And last: replace Run Away for something else, as that ability is pretty useless even in-game. There's Speed Boost, Limber, Competitive and Quick Feet that I feel would fit the Pokémon, though Speed Boost would probably be the only one to compete with Flash Fire. Also, something not related to the battling aspect... I really wish Shiny Rapidash kept the blue flames from Ponyta. I don't get the idea of why the heck did it turn gray...

Do you think this line should have gotten a secondary typing, like Normal or Fairy?

Nope. Fire is good the way it is, and I don't think of any other type it could get along with Fire. Although I wouldn't mind if it got a Fire/Flying mega in form of a pegasus, but Game Freak seems to have droped the concept of megas with Gen VII, at least for non-legendaries (Ultra Necrozma is pretty much a Mega with a different lore).

Camille · May 7, 2018

Ponyta and Rapidash are adorable, and Ponyta was actually the first shiny Pokemon I have ever caught, on Kindle Road during my first FireRed playthrough. I also wish Rapidash kept Ponyta's shiny colours, since currently it just looks dull, although it kind of looks like it is literally covered in ashes, which is a possible inspiration for its name. Rapidash's physical movepool is actually pretty diverse, with moves like Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, Low Kick, Megahorn, Smart Strike, High Horsepower, Double-Edge, and Throat Chop, as well as Quick Attack for priority and Morning Sun/Will-o-Wisp for support. I only raised it during the main storyline once in Platinum, despite the fact more Fire Pokemon were available, unlike in Diamond/Pearl, but thanks to learning Flame Wheel naturally at a low level, it was quite helpful. I've never even considered raising one in D/P, since its level-up moves weren't that good.
I think Rapidash needs a Mega, maybe even a Fire/Fairy one, with obvious boosts in Speed and Attack at the cost of Special Attack, since its only special attacks are Fire moves and Solar Beam.
I liked Ponyta/Rapidash's debut episode, it was definitely one of the best fillers in OS.

Zeb · May 9, 2018

I find this line, and especially all the pegasus evolution/Mega speculation, really boring. However, even with my massive disinterest in them, I would like to see them get a regional variant that does something more with their design, give them some interesting lore, etc. It's one of those Gen 1 Pokemon that seems relatively forgotten and in need of a refresh (imo).

I will say they have a great physical movepool, with the likes of Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, Megahorn, High Horsepower/Drill Run, Low Kick, Poison Jab, Bounce, Throat Chop, Smart Strike/Iron Tail. There's so much coverage there it's crazy. I wish Game Freak would be as generous to Zebstrika, which has the physical movepool of a puddle. Other than that, I can't say I care for them one bit.

POTW Pokémon of the Week #88: Ponyta & Rapidash

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Cresselia92

Just Your Average Writer

Nicolas721

Well-Known Member

Jinjo

I'm a Girl

Rick

Member

Camille

Call of Fate

Zeb

what is your spaghetti policy here?

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