Utility
Pivot
410Average
90Moderate
CTier

Mid-stage Pokemon like Ponyta rarely see competitive play outside of special formats. It's a waypoint on the road to Rapidash, which is where the real potential kicks in. Sits at a decent but contested Speed tier. Only weak to Water, Ground, and Rock.

Everything pushes toward mixed damage here. Ponyta's Speed does the work, HP pays the price. But you're still getting 1 Speed EV per KO. Common in the wild, on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
410Above
HP50
D
Attack85
C
Defense55
D
Sp. Atk65
C
Sp. Def65
C
Speed90
B
Total410
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Ponyta yields +1 Spe
HPAtkDefSpASpDSpe+1
Details
Catch190Easy•Medium Fast1M XP•1m / 3'03"•30kg / 66.1 lbs•82Base XP
Pokedex Entries

Capable of jumping incredibly high. Its hooves and sturdy legs absorb the impact of a hard landing.

Yellow

Ponyta Weakness

Avg

Water, Ground, and Rock-type moves hit Ponyta for super-effective damage. The Fire typing picks up 4 resistances to work with. Not too many gaps in the chart, 3 weaknesses to account for.

Gen I Type Chart
  • Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
  • Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
  • Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
WaterGroundRock
½xResisti
FireGrassIceBug
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
None
STAB (3)i
GrassIceBug
3Weak
4Resist
0Immune
Scorei-2
Stealth Rock25% on switch
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
Run AwayEnsures success fleeing from wild battles.
Flash FireProtects against fire moves. Once one has been blocked, the Pokémon's own Fire moves inflict 1.5× damage until it leaves battle.
Flame BodyHAHas a 30% chance of burning attacking Pokémon on contact.
Flash Fire grants Fire immunity

You'll evolve Ponyta into Rapidash the traditional way. This Fire type doesn't breed despite having a chain ahead. The evolved forms gain up to 90 total stats over Ponyta.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Ponyta
#077Ponyta
40
Level 40
Rapidash
#078Rapidash
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Ponyta
Fire
Rapidash
Fire
HP
50
65+15
ATK
85
100+15
DEF
55
70+15
SP.ATK
65
80+15
SP.DEF
65
80+15
SPE
90
105+15
BST
410D-Tier
500C-Tier+90
ROLE
Balanced
Sweeper
TYPE
Physical
Physical
Breeding not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Start with flexible EVs EVs. A nature nature gives Ponyta the right balanced lean, an item adds extra utility, and an ability works in the background. Toxic is the main damage option.

Best Build

Utility
Ability
Not in Gen 1
Item
Not in Gen 1
Nature
Not in Gen 1

Best Ponyta Moveset

  • ToxicUtility
  • AgilitySetup
  • Fire SpinSTAB
  • Unknown

Recommended Teammates

Tauros
TaurosExcellent
Diglett
DiglettExcellent
Jynx
JynxGood

The level-up pool is slim, so TMs matter here. Ponyta's Normal coverage all comes from technical machines, built on top of Fire Blast and Ember for same-type damage. Take Down and Double-Edge are the payoff moves.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Ember
4010025Fire
Lv 30
Tail Whip
—10030Normal
Lv 32
Stomp
6510020Normal
Lv 35
Growl
—10040Normal
Lv 39
Fire Spin
357015Fire
Lv 43
Take Down
908520Normal
Lv 48
Agility
——30Psychic

TM Moves

Src
TM34
Bide+1
——10Normal
TM08
Body Slam
8510015Normal
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM10
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
TM38
Fire Blast
120855Fire
TM07
Horn Drill
—305Normal
TM31
Mimic
——10Normal
TM20
Rage
2010020Normal
TM33
Reflect
——20Psychic
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM40
Skull Bash
10010010Normal
TM50
Substitute
——10Normal
TM39
Swift
60—20Normal
TM09
Take Down
908520Normal
TM06
Toxic
—9010Poison

Egg Moves

Ponyta doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Ponyta can't learn any Tutor moves

decent spawn rates for Ponyta across 1 locations in mid-game routes. Nothing complicated. Check the sorted list below, compare the top few options, and head to whichever is closest.

Best Locations

Route 17
GrassLv.28-32UncommonMidRoute
EASY

  • At 410 BST, Ponyta is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Rapidash before bringing it to any serious fight.

  • Watch for Starmie (Water), Golem (Ground), and Aerodactyl (Rock) when using Ponyta. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB.

  • Ponyta can evolve into Rapidash and Galarian Rapidash depending on the method. Ponyta is the base form in a 3-stage evolutionary line.

  • Ponyta is leaning toward the physical side (base 85 Attack). But the speed tells the real story — base 90 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many. Fits the pivot role.

  • Ponyta appears in 20 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

Available since Red & Blue, Ponyta appears in 20 games spanning 9 generations. Beyond its original form, it gained a Galarian form in Generation 8.