In commemoration of Nintendo’s 135ᵗʰ anniversary, September 20 to 30 is NIWA Cross-Wiki Week. Click here for event details and the possibility to win a $20/€20 Nintendo eShop gift card. Please remember to follow the manual of style and code of conduct at all times. Check the Bulbagarden home page for up-to-date Pokémon news and discuss it on the forums or in the Bulbagarden Discord server.
Ponyta is an equine Pokémon with yellow and reddish-orange flames as its mane and tail. This fiery mane and tail grows out about an hour after hatching. Its body is mainly cream and has four long legs, each ending in a single, gray hoof. These hooves are said to be harder than diamonds. It also has extraordinary jumping abilities, and is capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound. However, a newborn Ponyta is a weak runner and is actually barely able to stand. It gradually strengthens its legs and becomes faster by chasing after its parents. In the anime, it is shown that Ponyta can control its flames so that its rider is not burned by them. Ponyta runs in fields and mountains all day. Ponyta live in grasslands, on plains, or anywhere that it can run freely.
Ponyta was first seen in the first round of the Yellow arc of Pokémon Adventures. It carried a postman to Pallet Town to deliver mail to Red but soon went berserk until it was calmed by a Venusaur, belonging to Red himself.
Platinum also owns a Ponyta which serves her as a form of transport. Although a weak battler with nothing but a streak of losses against every Gym Leader it had faced, in Canalave City, it was somehow able to defeat both of Byron's Bronzong and evolve soon afterwards, becoming a Rapidash.
Ash borrowed Lara Laramie's Ponyta when she couldn't qualify due to her having a broken arm. During the race, it evolved into a Rapidash and it became faster winning the race.
Ponyta's Stadium Pokédex makes reference to it being able to jump over the Eiffel Tower, another reference to the real-life world. Tokyo Tower is referenced in the Japanese version instead.
Ponyta and its evolution are based on fiery steeds in mythology, such as those belonging to the Greek god Helios, Skinfaxi of Norse mythology, or the horses of the Ashvins in Hindu myth. The fire on its Shiny counterpart refers to blue fire which gives a hotter temperature than the common counterparts.
Name origin
Ponyta is derived from pony. It may also be partly based on the foreign word bonita: in Spanish, Basque, and Catalan, it means nice; in Portuguese and Galician, it means beautiful; and in Latin, it means goodness. It could also be a shortened form of the word ponytail.
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.