Galloping towards Fall with September Community Day and Ponyta!

Hay there, Trainers – welcome back to our monthly Community Day round-up! This month we are saddled with the two forms of Ponyta!

The date and time are Saturday, September 14th, 2:00pm till 5:00pm local time. Bonuses you can expect are:

2X Catch Candy.

2X chance for Candy XL to be awarded during catches so long as you’re Level 31 or Higher.

3X Catch Stardust.

Incense and Lure Modules launched during event hours will last for 3 hours.

Photobombs. My guess is 5 as that’s the standard for Community Day Photobombs!

Evolve your Ponyta of either variation into Rapidash for it to know the Community Day exclusive move, Wild Charge.

Stickers available in all the usual ways will be Ponyta-themed.

For $1 or your local equivalent, you can take part in a Special Research story (You can gift these passes to friends for the same price.)

1 additional Special Trade may be performed. (2:00pm till 10:00pm)

Trades will cost 50% less Stardust. (2:00pm till 10:00pm)

4 Star Raids will appear after Community Day ends featuring Ponyta – beat these to have Ponyta spawn within 300 meters of the Gym for 30 minutes. (Saturday, September 14th, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time)

So! Let’s reign in our enthusiasm and hoof it over to the Spotlight on these excellent equines!

Spotlight on Ponyta

Trotted out Generation 1, Ponyta has been a fan-fave for years. And what’s not to love? A beautiful, fiery steed that becomes a Unicorn when it grows up? Can’t top that! Plus, before Stantler was a thing, it even pulled Santa’s sleigh!

…weirdly enough, none that I’ve ever caught could learn HM02….

Anyway! The Pokedex tells us that directly after it’s birth, it is weak and has trouble standing. It gains its trademark power and speed only after growing up, chasing its parents and other Ponyta in the herd. Its hooves harden into a substance 10 times harder than diamond which is pretty impressive! It can leap over the Eifel tower at full strength. Or Uluru. Take your pick. (The funny thing being, these last descriptions of potential feats were written before Kalos and the Lumiose tower were a thing. Also, before the Aboriginal language had much status in the English speaking world – as opposed to Uluru the landmark name used in the Pokedex is Ayers Rock.) Also, once this Pokemon accepts you as a friend, it’s flames will not burn you.

But what about the My Little Pony version we see in Galar?

Well, apart from it starting out as a Unicorn, we don’t have a massive amount of data available. We know that the horn on its head has the power to heal minor wounds, which is pretty great! It can also gaze into your soul, on the lookout for any trace of evil. Even the littlest bit is enough to send this Pokemon galloping for the hills. So if you litter, or if you’re regularly late returning library books, or if you’re stingy about giving Halloween candy to older kids, or if you leave your shopping cart in the middle of the parking lot when the cart bay is RIGHT THERE… you will never train this Pokemon effectively. It will shun you, as should polite society on the whole.

After 50 candies, Ponyta of either variant will become Rapidash.

We know it can reach speeds of 150mph and it can do so in only 10 steps, which is pretty wild! It’s an extremely competitive Pokemon, seeking to race any Pokemon it deems to be faster than itself as well as testing it’s mettle against fast cars and trains and the like. When it gets serious about something, it’s flames burn brightly.

But can it achieve top speed against its foes in Pokemon GO?

With a Max CP of 2782, Attack of 207, Defense of 162 and Stamina of 163…. unfortunately it just lacks the bulk to hang out in battle for too terribly long. Which is unfortunate because 207 Attack is pretty good. It’s a pure Fire Type meaning it resists Grass, Bug, Fire, Fairy, Ice and Steel Type attacks. It’s weak against Water, Rock and Ground.

In terms of Fast Attacks, your options are Low Kick, Ember, Incinerate and Fire Spin, the latter 3 of which are STAB. Your Charged Attack list is Drill Run, Scorching Sands, Flame Charge, Heat Wave and Fire Blast. The STAB options there for our Fire Type fillies should be self explanatory!

Wild Charge, in theory, offers Type coverage against Water Types but let’s be honest… with those Defense and Stamina stats? Do your horse a favor and stable it if a Water Type shows up on the field.

For Princess Celestia… uh. I mean, Galarian Rapidash…

…we have a stat spread that looks exactly the same – Max CP of 2782, Attack of 207, Defense of 162 and Stamina of 163. In terms of Typing though, that’s a horse of a different color. Psychic and Fairy means our Galarian galloper resists Psychic attacks and has a double resistance to Fighting and Dragon. For weaknesses, there’s only three in Ghost, Poison and Steel.

In terms of Fast Attacks we’re looking at Low Kick, Psycho Cut and Fairy Wind, the last two being STAB for Psychic and Fairy respectively. For Charged Attacks we have Megahorn, Body Slam, High Horsepower, Psychic and Play Rough, the latter two being STAB Psychic and Fairy respectively.

Wild Charge doesn’t offer significant Type coverage for Galarian Rapidash unfortunately… but again, with such mid bulk Stats, you’re better off sticking to pure offense and taking two STAB options.

Kantonian Ponyta swaps out those red and orange flames for bright blue (The coolest kind of Shiny, in my opinion!) While Galarian Ponyta trades pastel purples for pastel yellows. Both are easy enough to spot out there on the range!

And that’s all I have for you this time, Trainers! As always, I wish you the absolute best of luck! Have fun out there, stay hydrated and enjoy the company of your fellow Trainers.