[OVERVIEW]
Rapidash's blazing fast base 105 Speed makes it tied for PU's fastest Pokemon and one of only two that outspeeds Fearow. This in conjunction with a powerful Fire Blast makes Rapidash incredible at revenge killing arguably PU's most dangerous offensive threat and sweeper while also making it a potent revenge killer and progress-maker against the entire metagame. It is notably an effective check against foes such as Gastly, Scyther, and Psychic-types. Its Fire Blast 3HKOes every non-resistant Pokemon at worst, while Body Slam and Hyper Beam coming off a strong base 100 Attack stat threaten every Fire-resistant Pokemon except Graveler, which dislikes taking Fire Blast, and the rare Omanyte. Fire Blast and Body Slam's burn and paralysis chance, respectively, also make Rapidash a potent status spreader that can easily turn the tables against otherwise strong checks like Nidoqueen. Rapidash's fantastic Speed also gives it an incredibly high critical hit rate and lets it make use of Fire Spin to pivot around or wear down foes in otherwise losing matchups.
However, Rapidash suffers as a result of it being outclassed in many roles by Arcanine. While Arcanine doesn't outspeed Fearow or learn Fire Spin, it still outspeeds every other relevant threat while packing much higher bulk and slightly higher Attack, letting it trade hits and make progress much more effectively against the metagame in general. It doesn't even matchup that poorly against Fearow, as it survives a Double-Edge into Hyper Beam, which Rapidash fails to do most of the time. Rapidash can find use outside the lead given that Arcanine is PU's best lead, but even in this role it has competition with Magmar; while Rapidash has a superior Fearow and Scyther matchup and access to Agility, Magmar has a much better movepool, improving its matchup against Water-types like Seaking. Rapidash and Arcanine can also be used together without leading either, but these structures tend to be weak to Seaking. As a check to Fearow, Rapidash has competition with Graveler, which walls Fearow and Scyther, though Graveler's low Speed and typing give it a very polarized matchup spread. To make matters worse, Arcanine's excellence means that teams tend to bring multiple answers to Fire-types, such as Nidoqueen and Seaking. Omanyte deserves a special mention, because while it's rare, it stonewalls both Rapidash and Arcanine. Teams using Rapidash must use it alongside Arcanine, taking advantage of the duo's ability to weaken their shared checks while playing to Rapidash's one major advantage over Arcanine, its higher Speed.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Body Slam
move 3: Hyper Beam
move 4: Fire Spin / Agility
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Fire Blast is Rapidash's strongest move, most notably having a 36.3% chance to 2HKO Fearow, but these odds are bolstered by Double-Edge's recoil, Fire Blast's burn rate, and Rapidash's high critical hit rate. Additionally, Fire Blast's chance to burn lets Rapidash potentially beat Earthquake users, such as Nidoqueen and Machamp. Body Slam allows Rapidash to fish for paralysis, and it in conjunction with Hyper Beam threatens every Fire-resistant Pokemon except for Graveler and Omanyte, letting Rapidash make progress against foes such as Seaking, Arcanine, and Dragonair. Fire Spin complements Rapidash's high Speed, but it is important not to use the move recklessly, as it is very inaccurate, and one miss could result in Rapidash taking paralysis or getting hit by a strong attack. Because of this, Fire Spin is generally recommended only when Rapidash is in a pinch, such as when it needs to beat Nidoqueen one-on-one. Fire Spin also synergizes with Fire Blast burns, as it can wear down foes such as Porygon and Omanyte. Agility is an alternative; while boosting the Speed of the fastest Pokemon in PU might seem redundant, it lets Rapidash negate the Speed drop from paralysis, letting it better take on foes such as opposing Fire-types and Staryu. It also reapplies burn's Attack drop, pairing nicely with Fire Blast.
Given Arcanine's sheer excellence as a lead, Rapidash should be used as backup rather than a lead. Generally, lead Arcanine will find itself trading hits with opposing lead Arcanine and lead Nidoqueen, which works well for Rapidash because even if Arcanine gets KOed, it wears down and often inflicts status on a Rapidash check. Nidoqueen is another viable lead, letting players preserve Arcanine and giving them greater flexibility in how they use their Fire-types to weaken their shared checks. Rapidash struggles a lot against Seaking, and teams that use both Rapidash and Arcanine in the back tend to be especially weak to it. Gastly is a great partner for this reason, acting as a fantastic check to Seaking. It also forces Fearow to use Drill Peck against it, allowing Rapidash to switch directly into Fearow in dire situations, since it is much more likely to survive Hyper Beam after Drill Peck as opposed to Double-Edge. In return, Rapidash can check opposing Fire-types and Psychic-types for Gastly. Staryu can notably stonewall Seaking, preventing it from punishing Rapidash outside of double switches. While rare, Omanyte stonewalls both Rapidash and Arcanine, making teammates like the aforementioned Gastly and Staryu useful for this matchup as well. Water-types such as Seaking and Staryu serve as effective checks to Ground-types such as Nidoqueen, with the former even able to use them as setup fodder. Rapidash isn't helpless against Ground-types, however, and it can easily revenge kill these foes or sometimes trade hits with them to enable a teammate like Arcanine. Fearow is another notable teammate that shares checks with the Fire-types, working together with them to weaken and blow past these foes. Magneton is another teammate that can deal with Water-types, while Rapidash in return can lure in and weaken Ground-types.
Rapidash is best revealed when its time to revenge kill a foe, notably taking out Fearow after it has taken damage from attacks such as Seaking and Nidoqueen's Blizzard or Gastly's Thunderbolt. Rapidash is best used as a mid-game progress maker, weakening the opposing team to enable a teammate like Fearow to sweep, though sometimes it can act as a cleaner instead if the opposing team is sufficiently weakened. Rapidash can generally be relied upon to beat frailer and Fire-weak foes such as Gastly, Scyther, and the Psychic-types one-on-one, and it also has an even matchup with Staryu when factoring in paralysis and critical hits. In the rare instance that the opponent is using Omanyte, players should aggressively try to switch in checks such as Gastly and Staryu to try to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Double switches, especially early-game, can be very punishing against Omanyte. If faced with a foe like Nidoqueen and Omanyte while having no teammate to switch into them, Rapidash can use Fire Spin to try to pivot out into a check.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Toxic can be used in conjunction with Fire Spin to increase the amount of damage each turn, but this is unreliable, costs a moveslot Rapidash can't afford, and grants immunity to more impactful statuses. Stomp can be used over Fire Spin or Agility to help Rapidash break through foes with a 47.5% chance of preventing the foe's turn if it's paralyzed. Unlike Fire Spin, even if the foe manages to move, Stomp still does damage. Reflect is another option to increase Rapidash's physical bulk, but it still doesn't let Rapidash beat foes like Nidoqueen unless it can set up the move without taking damage, and fast foes such as Arcanine, Fearow, and opposing Rapidash can bypass the Defense boost with critical hits.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types:** Seaking can 2HKO Rapidash with Surf and usually survives the combination of two Body Slams into Hyper Beam from Rapidash, letting it both switch into and beat Rapidash one-on-one. It can even use Rapidash as setup fodder with Agility. Although Staryu beats Rapidash one-on-one barring paralysis from Body Slam, its physical frailty gives it a much harder time switching in compared to other Water-types, as Hyper Beam can KO it from 68.8%. However, Rapidash also must be wary of paralysis from Staryu's Thunder Wave. Omanyte is without a doubt Rapidash's hardest counter. Fire Blast and Body Slam do a maximum of 12.8% and 13.1% to Omanyte, while its Surf easily 2HKOes Rapidash. Rapidash's best method of handling Omanyte without team support is to burn it with Fire Blast as it switches in, then chip its HP with Fire Spin, using the 6.25% each turn from burn as its main source of damage. The rare Slowpoke can survive Rapidash's combination of two Body Slams and Hyper Beam while 3HKOing it back with Surf, letting it beat Rapidash one-on-one; it can even paralyze it with Thunder Wave. However, Slowpoke's extremely low Speed means it'll likely be revenge killed after the interaction.
**Paralysis:** Since Rapidash is reliant on its Speed, paralysis is devastating. Because of this, Rapidash is often forced out by Pokemon it would otherwise beat, such as Drowzee and Dragonair. Rapidash also has to watch out for Body Slam from opposing Fire-types, and it often ends up trading Body Slam paralysis with them. Rapidash can eliminate the paralysis Speed drop with Agility, though Rapidash's middling bulk makes it difficult for it to spend a turn using Agility every time it switches in.
**Earthquake Users:** Although they all have trouble switching in and fear burn, Nidoqueen, Machamp, Graveler, and Sandslash are all able to 2HKO Rapidash with Earthquake. In return, Rapidash 3HKOes Nidoqueen and Machamp, 4HKOes Graveler, and has a 38.2% chance to 2HKO Sandslash. Since all of these Pokemon are slow and fear burn, they prefer to deal with Rapidash once it's paralyzed.
**Fire-types:** Despite being slower, Arcanine easily outdamages Rapidash's combination of Body Slam and Hyper Beam with its own, and it often carries Agility to negate the paralysis Speed drop. If it carries Reflect, Rapidash has no hope of breaking through it outside of critical hits. Rapidash can often trade hits effectively with opposing Rapidash, with the winner usually being weakened and paralyzed after the exchange. Magmar often runs Counter, forcing Rapidash to use Fire Blast against it rather than Body Slam. Even if Magmar is not running Counter, simply the threat of the move will force Rapidash to predict. Rapidash generally beats Magmar if its already been confirmed to not carry Counter, although Magmar is still able to paralyze Rapidash with Body Slam or get lucky with Confuse Ray, Smokescreen, and Psychic.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Rapidash's blazing fast base 105 Speed makes it tied for PU's fastest Pokemon and one of only two that outspeeds Fearow. This in conjunction with a powerful Fire Blast makes Rapidash incredible at revenge killing arguably PU's most dangerous offensive threat and sweeper while also making it a potent revenge killer and progress-maker against the entire metagame. It is notably an effective check against foes such as Gastly, Scyther, and Psychic-types. Its Fire Blast 3HKOes every non-resistant Pokemon at worst, while Body Slam and Hyper Beam coming off a strong base 100 Attack stat threaten every Fire-resistant Pokemon except Graveler, which dislikes taking Fire Blast, and the rare Omanyte. Fire Blast and Body Slam's burn and paralysis chance, respectively, also make Rapidash a potent status spreader that can easily turn the tables against otherwise strong checks like Nidoqueen. Rapidash's fantastic Speed also gives it an incredibly high critical hit rate and lets it make use of Fire Spin to pivot around or wear down foes in otherwise losing matchups.
However, Rapidash suffers as a result of it being outclassed in many roles by Arcanine. While Arcanine doesn't outspeed Fearow or learn Fire Spin, it still outspeeds every other relevant threat while packing much higher bulk and slightly higher Attack, letting it trade hits and make progress much more effectively against the metagame in general. It doesn't even matchup that poorly against Fearow, as it survives a Double-Edge into Hyper Beam, which Rapidash fails to do most of the time. Rapidash can find use outside the lead given that Arcanine is PU's best lead, but even in this role it has competition with Magmar; while Rapidash has a superior Fearow and Scyther matchup and access to Agility, Magmar has a much better movepool, improving its matchup against Water-types like Seaking. Rapidash and Arcanine can also be used together without leading either, but these structures tend to be weak to Seaking. As a check to Fearow, Rapidash has competition with Graveler, which walls Fearow and Scyther, though Graveler's low Speed and typing give it a very polarized matchup spread. To make matters worse, Arcanine's excellence means that teams tend to bring multiple answers to Fire-types, such as Nidoqueen and Seaking. Omanyte deserves a special mention, because while it's rare, it stonewalls both Rapidash and Arcanine. Teams using Rapidash must use it alongside Arcanine, taking advantage of the duo's ability to weaken their shared checks while playing to Rapidash's one major advantage over Arcanine, its higher Speed.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Body Slam
move 3: Hyper Beam
move 4: Fire Spin / Agility
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Fire Blast is Rapidash's strongest move, most notably having a 36.3% chance to 2HKO Fearow, but these odds are bolstered by Double-Edge's recoil, Fire Blast's burn rate, and Rapidash's high critical hit rate. Additionally, Fire Blast's chance to burn lets Rapidash potentially beat Earthquake users, such as Nidoqueen and Machamp. Body Slam allows Rapidash to fish for paralysis, and it in conjunction with Hyper Beam threatens every Fire-resistant Pokemon except for Graveler and Omanyte, letting Rapidash make progress against foes such as Seaking, Arcanine, and Dragonair. Fire Spin complements Rapidash's high Speed, but it is important not to use the move recklessly, as it is very inaccurate, and one miss could result in Rapidash taking paralysis or getting hit by a strong attack. Because of this, Fire Spin is generally recommended only when Rapidash is in a pinch, such as when it needs to beat Nidoqueen one-on-one. Fire Spin also synergizes with Fire Blast burns, as it can wear down foes such as Porygon and Omanyte. Agility is an alternative; while boosting the Speed of the fastest Pokemon in PU might seem redundant, it lets Rapidash negate the Speed drop from paralysis, letting it better take on foes such as opposing Fire-types and Staryu. It also reapplies burn's Attack drop, pairing nicely with Fire Blast.
Given Arcanine's sheer excellence as a lead, Rapidash should be used as backup rather than a lead. Generally, lead Arcanine will find itself trading hits with opposing lead Arcanine and lead Nidoqueen, which works well for Rapidash because even if Arcanine gets KOed, it wears down and often inflicts status on a Rapidash check. Nidoqueen is another viable lead, letting players preserve Arcanine and giving them greater flexibility in how they use their Fire-types to weaken their shared checks. Rapidash struggles a lot against Seaking, and teams that use both Rapidash and Arcanine in the back tend to be especially weak to it. Gastly is a great partner for this reason, acting as a fantastic check to Seaking. It also forces Fearow to use Drill Peck against it, allowing Rapidash to switch directly into Fearow in dire situations, since it is much more likely to survive Hyper Beam after Drill Peck as opposed to Double-Edge. In return, Rapidash can check opposing Fire-types and Psychic-types for Gastly. Staryu can notably stonewall Seaking, preventing it from punishing Rapidash outside of double switches. While rare, Omanyte stonewalls both Rapidash and Arcanine, making teammates like the aforementioned Gastly and Staryu useful for this matchup as well. Water-types such as Seaking and Staryu serve as effective checks to Ground-types such as Nidoqueen, with the former even able to use them as setup fodder. Rapidash isn't helpless against Ground-types, however, and it can easily revenge kill these foes or sometimes trade hits with them to enable a teammate like Arcanine. Fearow is another notable teammate that shares checks with the Fire-types, working together with them to weaken and blow past these foes. Magneton is another teammate that can deal with Water-types, while Rapidash in return can lure in and weaken Ground-types.
Rapidash is best revealed when its time to revenge kill a foe, notably taking out Fearow after it has taken damage from attacks such as Seaking and Nidoqueen's Blizzard or Gastly's Thunderbolt. Rapidash is best used as a mid-game progress maker, weakening the opposing team to enable a teammate like Fearow to sweep, though sometimes it can act as a cleaner instead if the opposing team is sufficiently weakened. Rapidash can generally be relied upon to beat frailer and Fire-weak foes such as Gastly, Scyther, and the Psychic-types one-on-one, and it also has an even matchup with Staryu when factoring in paralysis and critical hits. In the rare instance that the opponent is using Omanyte, players should aggressively try to switch in checks such as Gastly and Staryu to try to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Double switches, especially early-game, can be very punishing against Omanyte. If faced with a foe like Nidoqueen and Omanyte while having no teammate to switch into them, Rapidash can use Fire Spin to try to pivot out into a check.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Toxic can be used in conjunction with Fire Spin to increase the amount of damage each turn, but this is unreliable, costs a moveslot Rapidash can't afford, and grants immunity to more impactful statuses. Stomp can be used over Fire Spin or Agility to help Rapidash break through foes with a 47.5% chance of preventing the foe's turn if it's paralyzed. Unlike Fire Spin, even if the foe manages to move, Stomp still does damage. Reflect is another option to increase Rapidash's physical bulk, but it still doesn't let Rapidash beat foes like Nidoqueen unless it can set up the move without taking damage, and fast foes such as Arcanine, Fearow, and opposing Rapidash can bypass the Defense boost with critical hits.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types:** Seaking can 2HKO Rapidash with Surf and usually survives the combination of two Body Slams into Hyper Beam from Rapidash, letting it both switch into and beat Rapidash one-on-one. It can even use Rapidash as setup fodder with Agility. Although Staryu beats Rapidash one-on-one barring paralysis from Body Slam, its physical frailty gives it a much harder time switching in compared to other Water-types, as Hyper Beam can KO it from 68.8%. However, Rapidash also must be wary of paralysis from Staryu's Thunder Wave. Omanyte is without a doubt Rapidash's hardest counter. Fire Blast and Body Slam do a maximum of 12.8% and 13.1% to Omanyte, while its Surf easily 2HKOes Rapidash. Rapidash's best method of handling Omanyte without team support is to burn it with Fire Blast as it switches in, then chip its HP with Fire Spin, using the 6.25% each turn from burn as its main source of damage. The rare Slowpoke can survive Rapidash's combination of two Body Slams and Hyper Beam while 3HKOing it back with Surf, letting it beat Rapidash one-on-one; it can even paralyze it with Thunder Wave. However, Slowpoke's extremely low Speed means it'll likely be revenge killed after the interaction.
**Paralysis:** Since Rapidash is reliant on its Speed, paralysis is devastating. Because of this, Rapidash is often forced out by Pokemon it would otherwise beat, such as Drowzee and Dragonair. Rapidash also has to watch out for Body Slam from opposing Fire-types, and it often ends up trading Body Slam paralysis with them. Rapidash can eliminate the paralysis Speed drop with Agility, though Rapidash's middling bulk makes it difficult for it to spend a turn using Agility every time it switches in.
**Earthquake Users:** Although they all have trouble switching in and fear burn, Nidoqueen, Machamp, Graveler, and Sandslash are all able to 2HKO Rapidash with Earthquake. In return, Rapidash 3HKOes Nidoqueen and Machamp, 4HKOes Graveler, and has a 38.2% chance to 2HKO Sandslash. Since all of these Pokemon are slow and fear burn, they prefer to deal with Rapidash once it's paralyzed.
**Fire-types:** Despite being slower, Arcanine easily outdamages Rapidash's combination of Body Slam and Hyper Beam with its own, and it often carries Agility to negate the paralysis Speed drop. If it carries Reflect, Rapidash has no hope of breaking through it outside of critical hits. Rapidash can often trade hits effectively with opposing Rapidash, with the winner usually being weakened and paralyzed after the exchange. Magmar often runs Counter, forcing Rapidash to use Fire Blast against it rather than Body Slam. Even if Magmar is not running Counter, simply the threat of the move will force Rapidash to predict. Rapidash generally beats Magmar if its already been confirmed to not carry Counter, although Magmar is still able to paralyze Rapidash with Body Slam or get lucky with Confuse Ray, Smokescreen, and Psychic.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Last edited:
