In Red & Blue, Rapidash has a 500 base stat total and ranks as C-Tier: a niche pick in Red & Blue's meta. It works best as a setup sweeper. Fire Spin anchors the moveset.

What is Rapidash weak to?

In Red & Blue, Rapidash's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Rhydon (Ground), and Golem (Rock), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Rapidash's base 105 Speed lets it outpace many threats and strike first, which matters more than trying to tank hits.

What role does Rapidash play in battle?

In Red & Blue, Rapidash fills the setup sweeper role. It's a special attacker with base 80 Special. Base 105 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.

What counters Rapidash?

In Red & Blue, the best way to handle Rapidash: Priority moves (Mach Punch, Aqua Jet, Ice Shard) bypass its speed. Bulky walls that resist its STAB also shut it down.

How do you use Rapidash in battle?

In Red & Blue, Rapidash plays as a setup sweeper. It outspeeds most threats, so it can pressure opponents before they move.

Rapidash - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Special

Setup Sweeper

CTier

105Speed · Fast

Stats & Training

Rapidash's built around mixed offense. Speed leads the charge, HP pays for it. Moderately hard to find, worth 2 Speed stat exp. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats

High

HP65

Attack100

Defense70

Sp. Atk80

Sp. Def80

Speed105

Total500

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging60 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Fast1M XP

Height1.7 m

Weight95.0 kg

Base XP175

Abilities

Abilities were introduced in Generation III. Shown below for reference.

Run Away

Ensures success fleeing from wild battles.

Flash Fire

Protects against fire moves. Once one has been blocked, the Pokémon's own Fire moves inflict 1.5× damage until it leaves battle.

Flame BodyHA

Has a 30% chance of burning attacking Pokémon on contact.

Flash Fire grants Fire immunity

EV Yield

HPAtkDefSpASpDSpe+2

Speed training target

Pokedex Entries

Very competitive, this POKéMON will chase anything that moves fast in the hopes of racing it.

Rapidash Weakness

Type-wise, Rapidash takes extra damage from Water, Ground, and Rock. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Rapidash leans offensive (base 100 Atk) rather than trying to tank its weaknesses.

Rapidash Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Water, Ground, Rock
0.5x (Resist)	Fire, Grass, Ice, Bug

Type ChartAvg

3Weak

4Resist

0Immune

Score-2

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

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Water Ground Rock

½xResist

Fire Grass Ice Bug

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (3)

Grass Ice Bug

How to Beat Rapidash in Red & Blue (Best Counters)

In Red & Blue, Cloyster can KO Rapidash with Explosion (85-100%). Golem threatens a KO with Earthquake (125-147%). Nidoking's Earthquake also KOs at 109-128%.

Cloyster WaterIce	A
Recommended Build Moves Explosion ClampSTAB BlizzardSTAB RestRecovery Damage vs Rapidash Explosion 85-100%KO Clamp 2x 30-35% Blizzard 23-27% View Cloyster builds →
Golem RockGround	B
Recommended Build Moves EarthquakeSTAB Explosion Rock Slide Body Slam Damage vs Rapidash Earthquake 2x 125-147%KO Explosion 104-122%KO Rock Slide 2x 94-111%KO Body Slam 35-42% View Golem builds →
Nidoking PoisonGround	C
Recommended Build Moves EarthquakeSTAB Rock Slide Thunderbolt Ice Beam Damage vs Rapidash Earthquake 2x 109-128%KO Rock Slide 2x 54-64% Thunderbolt 25-30% Ice Beam 13-15% View Nidoking builds →

Red & Blue Evolution

Ponyta's chain leads to Rapidash (at level 40). A Fire type at 500 stats, sitting in the Undiscovered group. Evolving from Ponyta gave Rapidash the biggest boost in HP (+15), bringing the total to 500 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#077Ponyta

Level 40

#078Rapidash

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Ponyta

Fire

Rapidash

Fire

65+15

ATK

100+15

DEF

70+15

SP.ATK

80+15

SP.DEF

80+15

SPE

105+15

BST

410D-Tier

500C-Tier+90

ROLE

Balanced

Sweeper

TYPE

Physical

Breeding not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Red & Blue Rapidash Best Moveset

Best Build

Experimental

Utility

Ability

Not in Gen 1

Item

Not in Gen 1

Nature

Not in Gen 1

Utility Moveset

Fire SpinSTAB
Body Slam
StompCoverage
Fire BlastSTAB

Recommended Teammates

SandslashDecent

ChanseyDecent

PinsirDecent

Moves

TMs define Rapidash's movepool. The natural moves cover basics with Fire Blast and Ember, but the real versatility comes from technical machines giving it Normal coverage. That's where the options open up.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Ember

D4010025Fire

Lv 1

Growl

D—10040Normal

Lv 1

Stomp

S6510020Normal

Lv 1

Tail Whip

——10030Normal

Lv 30

Tail Whip

——10030Normal

Lv 32

Stomp

S6510020Normal

Lv 35

Growl

D—10040Normal

Lv 39

Fire Spin

S357015Fire

Lv 47

Take Down

—908520Normal

Lv 55

Agility

A——30Psychic

TM Moves

TM34

Bide+1

———10Normal

TM08

Body Slam

S8510015Normal

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM10

Double-Edge

B12010015Normal

TM38

Fire Blast

A120855Fire

TM07

Horn Drill

——305Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

B150905Normal

TM31

Mimic

———10Normal

TM20

Rage

—2010020Normal

TM33

Reflect

C——20Psychic

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM40

Skull Bash

B10010010Normal

TM50

Substitute

A——10Normal

TM39

Swift

D60—20Normal

TM09

Take Down

—908520Normal

TM06

Toxic

A—9010Poison

Egg Moves

Rapidash doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Rapidash can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Rapidash in Red & Blue

Can't catch Rapidash directly. Start with Ponyta at solid rates from the locations below, then evolve at level 40. The 2-stage line from Ponyta to Rapidash is where the leveling time goes.

How to Obtain Rapidash in Red & Blue

The path to Rapidash starts with Ponyta at Lv. 28-36 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.

Step 1Catch Ponyta
Pokémon Mansion - 1F
BlueGrass Lv.28-34 Building
35%Mid
Pokémon Mansion - 1F
RedGrass Lv.28-34 Building
35%Mid
Pokémon Mansion - 2F
BlueGrass Lv.28-32 Building
25%Mid
Pokémon Mansion - 2F
RedGrass Lv.28-32 Building
25%Mid
Pokémon Mansion - 3F
RedGrass Lv.32-36 Building
25%Late
Pokémon Mansion - B1F
RedGrass Lv.32-34 Building
15%Late
Pokémon Mansion - B1F
BlueGrass Lv.32-34 Building
15%Late
Pokémon Mansion - 3F
BlueGrass Lv.32-36 Building
15%Late
Train until Level 40
Step 2Rapidash ✓

Rapidash Guide

In Red & Blue, Rapidash has a 500 base stat total and ranks as C-Tier: a niche pick in Red & Blue's meta. It works best as a setup sweeper. Fire Spin anchors the moveset.
In Red & Blue, Rapidash's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Rhydon (Ground), and Golem (Rock), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Rapidash's base 105 Speed lets it outpace many threats and strike first, which matters more than trying to tank hits.
In Red & Blue, Rapidash fills the setup sweeper role. It's a special attacker with base 80 Special. Base 105 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.
In Red & Blue, the best way to handle Rapidash: Priority moves (Mach Punch, Aqua Jet, Ice Shard) bypass its speed. Bulky walls that resist its STAB also shut it down.
In Red & Blue, Rapidash plays as a setup sweeper. It outspeeds most threats, so it can pressure opponents before they move.

Game Availability

Rapidash first appeared in Red & Blue and spans 20 games across 10 generations. It later gained a Galarian form in Generation 8, adding new dimensions to its competitive identity.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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