Judge A Pokémon Express: Galarian Ponyta
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Codraroll
A 24-hour live stream on October 4 gave us a look at the Pokémon living in Glimwood Tangle, a dark, serene forest somewhere in the Galar region. Among the Pokémon that wandered in front of the camera was a very fluffy little unicorn, and it was eventually confirmed that this Pokémon is none other than a Galarian forme of Ponyta. With its design, one might have expected Galarian Ponyta to be a Fairy-type, but its official reveal showed its typing to actually be pure Psychic. The official announcement also showed just how fluffy and little Galarian Ponyta is. Standing only 0.8 meters tall, you'd have to bend down to touch its head. In Galar, Ponyta is not known as the Fire Horse Pokemon like in Kanto, but as the Unique Horn Pokémon. The pun is jarring, but it works somehow. Those are the basic observations of Galarian Ponyta, now let's see what our panelists have to say about it!
Kalalokki
After such an elaborate event that lasted 24 hours, was the sole reveal of Galarian Ponyta worth it? I'd say so, I never expected a huge quantity of new stuff to be shown anyway and it was certainly a new and unique experience for Pokémon reveals. Now to what everyone is thinking: why isn't this at least part Fairy type? Frankly, I'm glad they didn't go that route. We've had plenty of either Dark- or Fairy-type regional formes already, they get boring fast. Besides, a pony with magical glowing hair and horn? If it didn't have a color scheme that screamed Fairy-type, Psychic-type easily makes the most sense. Absorbing life energy is also a trait common in Ghost-type Pokémon, or even Yveltal, maybe making Ponyta act as a moral middle ground with its Psychic typing. Pastel Veil seems like a nifty ability, but I doubt it or its Rapidash counterpart will be able to make too much use out of it. There's also plenty of rumors floating around that Galarian Rapidash would be an alicorn, a unicorn with wings, something I wouldn't mind too much besides that a probable Psychic / Flying is not that exciting of a typing. I have hopes it will turn out interesting either way, unless they shoehorn in a Fairy-type addition.
Ryota Mitarai
Galarian Ponyta reminds me a lot of Alolan Vulpix. Both of them have lost their "fiery" versions and instead are now more pretty and fairytale-like. Despite Galarian Ponyta being only a pure Psychic-type, I have the feeling Galarian Rapidash will also have Fairy as a secondary typing, similarly to how Alolan Ninetales has a secondary Fairy typing, despite its pre-evolution, which looks like a Fairy-type, lacking it. My main complaint is the lazy design of its ability. It is yet another one with "veil" that protects you from (specific) major status conditions. I mean, we have Water Veil for burns and Flower Veil for all if you are a Grass-type. But hey, at least it's not like Gen 7, when a lot of the abilities were just duplicates with different names (and sometimes very unnoticeable differences, like Solgaleo / Lunala / Necrozma's abilities). I do like how they have been going with Galarian formes, though, since most of them are pretty underrated Pokémon. I do hope those are actually good competitively, as this would be a very good buff for once.
It's hard to say whether or not I really like Galarian Ponyta, though, because I am not a particular fan of the Ponyta line, especially with their very bad reputation in cartridge games (either appearing late or being overly weak), and I generally value in-game strength a lot.
Diophantine
Galarian Ponyta inherits the same curse as the other regional variants in that its design will be compared to its global cousin, as opposed to it being a Pokemon in its own right. Ditching its slick, hot, naturally wavey mane, slender body, and animalistic eyes, Galarian Ponyta takes its design from a Saturday morning TV show I would find my younger sisters watching. It looks more human-like with its poofy hair, slightly rounded-out body, and anime-style eyes.
This being a Psychic-type was unexpected. Even its unique (at the time of writing this) ability seems like it would be for Fairy-types. Pastel Veil, while useful for the Trainer in battle, also has the economic benefit of allowing you to save money on Antidotes.
Naturally, this Pokemon raises many questions. Why is this not a Fairy-type when Galarian Weezing is? Why is it the "Unique Horn Pokemon?" Does this imply that its horn will be entirely different from its evolution's? Will these horns be farmed and sold on the black market like Slowpoke tails?
All in all, I like this Pokemon, but not too much. It seems Game Freak is trying to tap into that lucrative My Little Pony market once again, as if Keldeo wasn't enough. I look forward to seeing its evolution. 6.5/10 from me.
Rabia
Wow, I love this little creature so much! It's not exactly a super inspired design—it essentially just looks more like a unicorn now—but I really love the colors. The mane and all the other bits of fluff remind me of cotton candy, and I'm honestly surprised to see this is a Psychic-type Pokemon as opposed to a Fairy-type. It leaves me a bit concerned for the competitive prospects of it; physical Psychic-types haven't been particularly amazing in recent generations outside of a few exceptions, so hopefully something is done to remedy that trend. Regardless, this is the cutest Pokemon revealed so far, and it has stolen my heart. I want one as a pet. Right now.
Codraroll
My initial reaction to Galarian Ponyta was "Wait ... I've seen this one before." There's no denying the obvious. With its pure white skin, its huge doe eyes, and its oversized mane glowing with pastel colors, Galarian Ponyta would have looked right at home in a certain other franchise. And frankly, apart from the somewhat unconventional black horn, it kind of looks like any stylized cartoon interpretation of a unicorn. Kantonian Ponyta avoided looking too much like a conventional horse by having its mane consist of bright orange fire. Conversely, Galarian Ponyta dives straight into all the typical unicorn conventions and comes out looking rather generic. It was given a typing of pure Psychic, but as other panelists have remarked, Fairy could have fit it just as well. Heck, in this case even Normal would have suited it, and you could have made a plausible case for Electric too. Galarian Ponyta's design doesn't evoke the image of any particular type, and I suspect Psychic was chosen because they needed a generic typing that still fit a mystical image. I find this a little unfortunate, because an unconventional typing like Electric, Flying, or even Poison could have added a much-needed twist to its design. As it is, Galarian Ponyta trots a little too safely along the path of fictional horned horses before it, following the conventions to a T.
Max. Optimizer
After Sirfetch'd's introduction as a Sword-exclusive Pokémon, it was only a matter of time until they would reveal the Shield-exclusive counterpart. While the live stream was a bit long, it was worth holding our horses for the main reveal regardless. I echo the sentiments of fellow panelists and many of our readers when I say that I assumed that this new regional variant of Ponyta was at least partly a Fairy-type. I was actually excited about the thought of it being the first-ever Fire / Fairy dual type Pokémon, opening a lot of interesting possibilities from a competitive point of view, but I am not going to look our freshly gifted horse into its mouth and give it a chance as a Psychic-type. When it comes to its abilities, only Pastel Veil really stands out as a brand new ability, but, upon closer inspection, poison is not really something that is seen a lot in Doubles battles. However, the master's eye fats the horse, as they say, and Game Freak might have something interesting planned for its highly anticipated evolution. I have high expectations of Galarian Rapidash, and I would really like to see Game Freak use the Nintendo Switch's capacities as a console to give it a more elaborated and complex design with fluttering wings for example. I really hope that Game Freak welcomes this opportunity to make a reference to the pegasus, the winged divine horse from Greek mythology. Then again, you may lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. Rapidash... it is... cute... lovely... smart... plus... amazing... you think so?... oh yes... it is... stunning... kindly... love it! Hug it... when... sleeping... warm and cuddly... spectacular... ravishing... ...Oops! Look at the time! I kept you too long! Thanks for hearing me out!
Blitzamirin
Ponyta has had an interesting history all the way from the Kanto region. It started as a rare but decently strong Pokémon (for being unevolved) and has enjoyed success in competitive formats that many of its fellow first-stage companions can't boast about. Unfortunately, the positives end here. Ponyta evolves into Rapidash pretty late, at level 40, and Rapidash itself has been so mediocre that it can't even be considered a dark horse (heh) of Gen I Fire-types. Charizard has Mega Evolutions, Ninetales has Drought, Arcanine has great stats backed by Intimidate, Moltres is a good Legendary, Magmar gained an evolution and Flareon... got physical STAB, but Rapidash? It has had to wait until Gen 8 to potentially gain something, and said something involves a typing change! Galarian Ponyta offers us a new angle at a plain and forgotten line by giving it the oomph it needed: a dedicated 24-hour stream showcasing its personality in all its rainbow glory. Now, despite the Psychic-type denomination being controversial among the fanbase, the potential for Galarian Rapidash to showcase a dual typing still exists, and a regional evolution (or more) could also expand on how awesome this line could be. Will this be the Ponyta's line time to shine?
heritage
Many people sat through a 24-hour-long livestream just to catch a glimpse of this pretty pony, so in the end, was it worth it? I'd say yes! Galarian Ponyta is one of the few designs I actually like a lot this generation. Very eye-pleasing colors, if a bit generic, adorable interactions in trailers, and a uniquely interesting ability make Galarian Ponyta a star of the show! I've always been a sucker for pastel colors, and this design just nails it with the adorable floofy mane and tail. The way it glows when activating its magic is honestly straight out of My Little Pony, but in an actually good way, because the yellow is surprisingly complementary with the rest of the color scheme. The big ears are honestly my favorite part haha, they just... fit. So overall a really nice design! It doesn't take the concept in any crazy direction, but sometimes you need something cute and simple. Although I do wish we would get some more gritty designs in the future. I've always sorta had this lurking feeling that the regional formes were pretty gimmicky, but as long as the designs stay consistent in quality and unique then...I guess, who am I to complain? I didn't think many of the Alolan formes were very good, so hopefully the Galarian formes can pick up the slack a bit.
Hopefully Galarian Rapidash can be just as pretty! Really hoping for a Fairy-type though. Sadly Ponyta was not one, but that's okay if Rapidash ends up being one. Splashing Psychic typing on everything gets a bit old.
Estronic
So is Game Freak trying to tell me that a posh pollution cloud is more fairy-like than a literal unicorn? Whatever you say, I guess. Galarian Ponyta certainly has a very cutesy design, a striking contrast compared to Sirfetch'd's regal, more serious vibe. I'm really digging the color palette of Galarian Ponyta as well. It's definitely because I prefer cool colors greatly over any other color, but man, the way the cotton candy blue and purple mesh together on top of snow white makes for a really pleasant sight. The Psychic typing throws me off, though, considering how in the beginning I was confused as to why it wasn't Fairy type. I mean, it's not that big of a deal, since you can argue that Game Freak has been giving questionable types to Pokemon that just don't fit it since Kanto. Regardless, Galarian Ponyta is making me even more pumped to see more Galarian formes, and a lot of that energy is being saved to witness the majestic sight that will be Galarian Rapidash.
BackAtYouBro
Happy to say that this Pokemon was worth the wait. I was surprised to find that this form wasn't a Fairy-type by appearance, but I'm not necessarily bummed out either due to the metric ton of Fairy-types Game Freak has been pumping into their games as of late. I am interested, though, in its ability to cure poison for their team. It appears that Game Freak is putting more of a conscious effort into the VGC metagame by incorporating more doubles-oriented abilities. The design, though, is a cute, cotton candy-like combination that exhibits warm feelings. Hopefully the evolution sprouts into a more glorious form.
maroon
I know everyone is disappointed that the rainbow pony is not Fairy type, but that honestly doesn't matter. What I really want to see out of this Pokemon is a pegasus, that would indeed be very epic. I also kind of hope it keeps its Fire typing (from its Kantonian forme) in its evolution, making it kind of like Victini, since I can't imagine that one is making a return in Sword & Shield. Also, I don't know if this is just me, but when I saw it for the first time I immediately made a nickname for it: Billie Jean. Don't ask me why I nicknamed it that, it just feels like it would be called that. This was a cool Galarian forme, and I hope Game Freak continues releasing Pokemon such as this one to make the not-so-appealing Dex purge not as bad!
Pikachu315111
For years Ponyta has been subjected to "My Little Pony" jokes despite being a horse on fire; kind of difficult to brush. Well, brushes worry no longer, as Galarian Ponyta has swapped its mane of flames with a mane of long, puffy, luminescent, and pastel hair. Another MLP connection, you would think Galarian Ponyta is Fairy type, but instead, it's Psychic type, and in the recent MLP series, Friendship is Magic, the unicorn ponies were given magic/psychic powers via their horns. Galarian Ponyta even got its species name changed from "Fire Horse" to "Unique Horn."
But this is where the connections stop. The story behind Galarian Ponyta is that, over generations, it absorbed the overflowing life energy of the Glimwood Tangle. During the 24-hour livestream we saw the tangle being filled with Fairy- and Grass-type Pokemon, two types that have been associated with nature and life force. But why is it Psychic type instead of Fairy type? Its new ability, Pastel Veil, may explain why. With it curing poison and giving itself and its allies an immunity to it and Psychic being super effective against Poison, it could be a sort of guardian of the tangle to the Pokemon weak to Poison-types.
While I'm personally not as enthused about Galarian Ponyta as I was about Sirfetch'd, with the above My Little Pony connections I don't think it was made for me anyway. Being a Shield-exclusive probably increased the number of people getting that version, and more importantly, it'll probably sell ALL the merchandise. But some questions remain. Did its base stats change and, if so, how? Ponyta's hidden ability is Flame Body, so what would it be now? In the livestream we saw one without a tail, why was that? And finally, what changes will we see with Galarian Rapidash?
lyd
It almost feels like Game Freak is going out of their way just to disappoint us. How in the world is Galarian Ponyta not a Fairy-type? Hello?! Like, the design is great, and I still love Galarian Ponyta, but now every time I look at it it just makes me annoyed it's a Psychic-type. And it being revealed in that awful 24-hour livestream didn't help either. What were they thinking? If more than, say, a dozen people actually watched over a fifth of that livestream I'd be really surprised. Honestly, I'm trying to be optimistic for the next gen, but, with the exception of a few actually good Pokémon designs here and there, things aren't giving me much hope...
Repu
I do have to say beforehand that Ponyta indeed is a Pokémon that holds a special place in my memories. Pokémon Pearl was the first cartridge of the series that I owned (not the first one I played, just to be clear), and Ponyta was one of my first teammates when I started playing the game. He was a very tough and strong horse, and I do miss those times when I could just play video games without thinking about what was going to happen tomorrow. Speaking about more recent experiences with Ponyta, I've read a quite interesting article about its history through generations (you should definitely check it out, btw) and had a really fun time translating it.
Now, back to Galarian Ponyta, the concept of a magical horse is very interesting, and the possibilities of its evolution can be much, MUCH more. Regarding its typing and ability, both are a bit unusual but very unique, though I AM expecting a new BST distribution for it and its evolution in order to make them more useful, both in the competitive scenario and in-game. About its design, I have to say that I'm disappointed that they went into a similar direction to Alolan Vulpix and Ninetales, and by that I mean making it so majestic looking that the first thing you want to do is hug it (I haven't said I don't want to hug it though). It could have been something different from other regional formes; maybe a Fire / Flying type or a Fire / Electric type with a different design, who knows? The possibilities were very vast. To wrap everything up, I want to give a huge welcome to the Galarian horse. Hopefully, you'll ride a different path from your Kantonian counterpart, and I'm begging for you to get a new signature move that shoots laser beams with your horn. That would be a delight to watch.
{Pokemon_Vigilante}
With Princess Twilight and the gang finally freed from Discord's evil grasp… Oh wait, wrong show, right graphic concept though. Galarian Ponyta is proof that not all Galarian formes are created equal! The vibrancy of the color scheme is enough to make me think I dropped a magically delicious unicorn marshmallow from my Lucky Charms on the screen. I do worry about how gentle some Pokémon look, and while I understand that most people like "cute" and "pretty" ones, it's actually the beautiful ones that you need to watch out for. After all, the SoulSilver Pokédex entry does say that Ponyta has hooves as hard as diamonds. With a kick carrying that much power, who needs Tauros to break rocks?
Codraroll
That wasn't too bad with the My Little Pony jokes, was it? Regardless of what you think, we still have Galarian Rapidash to look forward to, so a second round seems inevitable. Who knows what other Pokémon we will see in the meantime, however? Keep following Judge A Pokémon Express to find out! Okay, we will be one week later on the news than everybody else because writing takes time, but when it finally arrives, our coverage is better! I hope you think so too, and we'll see you next time!
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