#34: Rapidash

When Pokémon first came out, I was fascinated by how simple yet brilliant some designs were. Ponyta and Rapidash, for example. I mean, just draw a horse with flames as manes and a tail and you have a Pokémon. Evolve it even further by adding a horn on its head and you have Rapidash. I almost expect Gamefreak to create an evolution of Rapidash and add wings to it so it resembles a Pegasus, the flying horse from the legends and myths. Believe me, I'll love that Pokémon even more than I love Rapidash right now! Horses are noble animals and that is also clearly evident in Rapidash's fierce and elegant pose. I generally don't care much for horses, but because of its flames Rapidash is actually a beautiful Pokémon to see. That's why it's easily one of my favorite Pokémon. In the video games it's also a great Pokémon to use: it has great attack and even greater speed to begin with. Its defenses are not that good, but it should be able to take a hit or two, especially when they're special-based. Rapidash has three normal weaknesses and five resistances, so its pure fire-typing makes this flaming horse perfectly balanced, too. Too bad its movepool is meh. It obviously learns several fire-type moves, most of which are special-based, though Rapidash can easily pull these off since its special attack is not bad. However, it would be a shame not to take advantage of its superior attack stat, so teach it Wild Charge by using TM93, Megahorn by giving a Heart Scale to the move relearner and two good fire-type moves. It also learns Poison Jab, but that's an unnecessary move as it's poison-type and only super effective against grass. Rapidash's fire-type covers grass, too, so you better don't bother with Poison Jab at all. Overall Rapidash is a great Pokémon to use in-game. By the way, because Rapidash so strongly resembles a real horse, it is often subject to either mockery or admiration, as you can see in the images below (click on them to enlarge, or drag them to other tabs).