Rapidash, The Fire Horse Pokémon. It gallops at nearly 150 mph. With its mane blazing ferociously, it races as if it were an arrow. It has astounding acceleration. From a standstill, it can reach top speed within 10 steps. When at an all-out gallop, its blazing mane sparkles, enhancing its beautiful appearance. At full gallop, its four hooves barely touch the ground because it moves so incredibly fast.

Overview

I quite like Rapidash. It isn't as cool as Arcanine or Ninetales, and isn't as useful, but it is still good in its own right. It has a great Speed for UU and a pretty nice Attack stat. Its movepool leaves a lot to be desired, but hey, what Pokémon doesn't want more moves? Overall, Rapidash is still a good Pokémon in UU, despite being outclassed. It has a few things that sets it apart, such as Megahorn and the extra Speed. Oh, and its shiny form looks awesome.

Ability

Run Away: useless in the competitive environment. Don't even consider it.
Flash Fire: a great ability in general, and the only ability Rapidash should be using. Increasing Rapidash's already strong Fire attacks is awesome, not to mention the immunity.

Move Sets

Cute... lovely... smart... plus... amazing

- Flare Blitz
- Return / Double-edge
- Megahorn
- Baton Pass / Double Kick / Iron Tail / Hypnosis
Item Attached: Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk) / Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

Flare Blitz is all about power, especially if you grab a Flash Fire boost. 180 base power counting STAB is amazing, and it will hurt whatever it hits. Return or Double-edge is all about smashing the bulky Water switch ins hard. Megahorn murders stuff like Slowking, and is a great physical move in general. Baton Pass can be useful for scouting, Double Kick can hurt Rocks with less power but more accuracy than Iron Tail, and Hypnosis is best used with Choice Scarf.

Sunshine pony YAY

- Sunny Day
- SolarBeam
- Flare Blitz / Fire Blast
- Megahorn / Morning Sun
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk / 80 SAtk / 176 Spd
Naďve Nature (+Spd, -SDef)

Can be really effective if you get it set up properly. Common switch ins will be taken out by a Sunny Day Solar Beam, which is cool because you don't have to rely on Hidden Power. Flare Blitz is the physical Fire move of choice, whereas Fire Blast is the special variant. Megahorn hits Slowking harder than SolarBeam. Morning Sun is an option to fully cure any recoil you take from Flare Blitz and Life Orb.

Mixer with a dash of rapi

- Fire Blast
- Megahorn
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Baton Pass / Hypnosis / Will-o-wisp
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 80 Atk / 252 SAtk / 176 Spd
Naďve Nature (+Spd, -SDef)

This is a mixed set that doesn't rely on Sunny Day to be effective, and uses a status move in its place. Fire Blast is the strongest move Rapidash has on the special side, not counting Overheat, with the same base power as Flare Blitz, but coming from Rapidash's significantly lower Special Attack. Megahorn gives this set the mixed feel, and also helps with nailing stuff like Slowking. Hidden Power [Grass] decimates Rock/Grounds and Water/Grounds, both of which are common switch ins to Rapidash. Baton Pass can help with scouting, Hypnosis can shut a counter down and Will-o-wisp deals constant damage and gives you some protection from physical attacks.

Silly horse, you should eat sugar cubes not batons!

- Agility
- Substitute
- Baton Pass
- Flare Blitz
Item Attached: Leftovers / Liechi Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)

A non-offensive Rapidash? Oh my! Anyway, Rapidash makes a good agility passer. It is frail and fast, and can potentially force switches. Agility doubles your Speed to huge levels. After one boost it soars up to 678 Speed, outrunning the entire game, except for Scarf Deoxys-s, which you will never see in UU. Substitute gives you some protection and another thing to Baton Pass. Speaking of Baton Pass, that is how you get your boosts from Rapidash to another. Flare Blitz means you aren't Taunt bait, and can even hold your own in a fight.

EVs and Nature:

Cute... lovely... smart... plus... amazing
Standard EVs for a standard Choice Band set. You don't want 4 in HP though as that will make your HP even, meaning you lose to four switch ins to Stealth Rock.
Sunshine pony YAY
Outruns all base 95s. You could run 252 Special Attack with the rest in Attack if you were running Fire Blast, but I prefer Flare Blitz there.
Mixer with a dash of rapi
Focused mainly on Special Attack, it is basically the same as Sunshine pony. You could run more Speed, but I like Megahorn having some bite
Silly horse, you should eat sugar cubes not batons!
You want Rapidash as fast as it can be, so it gets Agility or Substitute in before the Taunt. Bulk is irrelevant, so smack the rest into Attack.

Other Options

Bounce, Charm, Flamethrower, Poison Jab
Bounce is another physical option, but it is pretty much wasted on Rapidash.
Charm can be used to force switches and lower physical damage, but why use that when you have Will-o-wisp?
Flamethrower is more reliable but much weaker than Fire Blast, and considering Rapidash's average Special Attack, you want it hitting as hard as possible.
Poison Jab is a physical attack that is completely outclassed by Megahorn.

Countering Rapidash

Fire types give Rapidash a huge problem, as the only way it can hurt them is through Return or Double-edge. Arcanine, Houndoom, Torkoal, Ninetales, any of those will wall Rapidash all day. As long as they watch out for a strong neutral hit or Grass move, bulky Waters get the job done. They can take Fire hits all day and hit back with a most likely killing blow of Surf. Lanturn, Milotic, Slowbro and Slowking, the standard bulky Waters. Rock/Grounds and Water/Grounds are in the same position, just really need to be careful of a Grass move. Priority takes away Rapidash's great Speed, making it a good way to take it out. Aqua Jet is the best priority move to beat Rapidash. Really, Rapidash can be threatening, but no way near as dangerous as Ninetales, Arcanine or Houndoom. If you are prepared for them, you are prepared for Rapidash.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Trade from FireRed/LeafGreen/XD Colosseum/XD Snagged from Cipher Peon Kolest in Citadark Isle (XD) Trade from FireRed/LeafGreen (Col) Fire Red/Leaf Green Kindle Road, Mt. Ember Diamond/Pearl/Platinum Evolve Ponyta HeartGold/SoulSilver Route 22, Route 28, Mt. Silver

Animé Appearences

Rapidash has had quite a few Animé Appearences but almost all were minor appearances such as Lara Laramie's Rapidash and a trainer in the Johto League Episode 33: The Flame Pokémon-athon Episode 64: It's Mr. Mimie Time Episode 67: Showdown at the Poke Corral Mewtwo Strikes Back Mewtwo Returns Episode 274: Johto Photo Finish Episode 417: Sitting Psyduck Episode 438: Odd Pokémon Out Episode 456: May, We Harley Drew'd Ya! Episode 479: Mounting a Coordinator Assault Episode 494: Getting the Pre-Contest Titters! Episode 606: Strategy Begins At Home Episode 642: Last Call, First Round! Episode 646: For The Love Of Meowth