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<p>With the second highest base stat total in all of Little Cup, Ponyta immediately stands out as both an offensive and defensive threat. Ponyta reaches the elusive 19 speed, which, when combined with its great Attack stat, gives this pony immense offensive firepower. Although Ponyta is capable of dishing out incredible damage, it really shines as a bulky pivot, capable of taking hits, spreading status, and hitting back hard. Through the Dream World, Ponyta gains Flame Body, which helps it check many of the metagame's prominent physical attackers. Despite all of these positives, Ponyta has difficulty doing enough damage to the opponent. It will either kill itself through Flare Blitz and Life Orb recoil, or not hit hard enough to run through the opponents team.</p>
[SET]
name: Eviolite
move 1: Will-O-Wisp / Sunny Day
move 2: Morning Sun
move 3: Wild Charge / Return
move 4: Flare Blitz
item: Eviolite
ability: Flame Body
nature: Jolly
evs: 156 Atk / 76 Def / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Bulky Ponyta is one of the greatest pivots of Little Cup. Above average defensive stats, combined with Eviolite, give it great overall bulk. Its good physical bulk is accentuated further by Flame Body, which gives Ponyta a good chance to burn opposing physical attackers such as Mienfoo and Murkrow. Sunny Day is a great move to boost the power of Ponyta's Flare Blitz, soften the blows of weak Water-type attacks from Pokemon such as Chinchou, improve Morning Sun's recovery, and remove the opponent's sandstorm. Ponyta is a great check to weather teams, as it is able to come in and immediately threaten Snover, while also able to set up a Sunny Day easily against most of a standard sand team. Will-O-Wisp is a great substitute for Sunny Day because it gives Ponyta a much more reliable way of burning opponents and handling common physical threats. Wild Charge supplies the needed coverage against Staryu and other Water-types, although Return can be used over Wild Charge for more rounded coverage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given EV spread gives Ponyta balanced defensive stats of 21 HP / 19 Def / 21 SpD and 19 speed when Eviolite is factored in. A more physicallybulky spread of 36 HP / 156 Def / 76 SpD / 196 Spe with a Jolly nature is useful when checking common physical threats, such as Mienfoo. Because Ponyta will be taking a lot of passive damage from Stealth Rock and Flare Blitz (and due to Morning Sun's unreliable nature), Rapin Spin support from Staryu or Wish support from Lickitung is incredibly useful. Toxic is an option over either Wild Charge or Sunny Day as it allows Ponyta to severely cripple many of its checks such as Slowpoke, Hippopotas, and Porygon. Due to Ponyta's anti-weather nature, it is a great addition to any balanced or offensive team needing a secondary check to Drilbur; it is also one of the greatest Snover counters, making Ponyta a great teammate to Pokemon that enjoy a dead Snover, such as Axew or Murkrow. Although Ponyta has great coverage in two moves, Chinchou is nearly a complete stop to Ponyta, making another Chinchou and Shroomish great teammates for Ponyta. Chlorophyll sweepers such as Petilil and Oddish are capable teammates for Ponyta, as they have their Speed doubled in the sun.</p>
[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Wild Charge
move 3: Return
move 4: Flame Charge
item: Life Orb
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Jolly
evs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 196 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With a Life Orb equipped, Ponyta is one of the strongest Pokemon in all of LC. It is a great end game sweeper due to its immense offensive firepower gained from its 18 Attack and 19 Speed. Flare Blitz is a great STAB move with its high Base Power, and is Ponyta's main attacking option. With Wild Charge, Ponyta can hit Water-types such as Staryu and Frillish. Return is Ponyta's best option to hit Chinchou, who resists Flare Blitz and is immune to Wild Charge. Flame Charge is used in the last slot as it gives Ponyta a chance at sweeping without being revenge killed by Choice Scarf users. It is also useful in picking off weakened threats without causing massive recoil from Flare Blitz. Flash Fire is the preferred ability as it allows Ponyta to boost the power of its Flare Blitz to menacing levels, as it can 2HKO RestTalk Chinchou.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Because Life Orb Ponyta will be taking massive amounts of passive damage from recoil, both Rapid Spin support and Wish support are appreciated. Staryu and Lickitung both make great partners to help prevent Ponyta from killing itself through recoil. Unlike the Eviolite set, which is adept at beating Snover, Life Orb Ponyta is only capable of switching in once against Snover, so a more dedicated check is useful on every team. Although Life Orb Ponyta is incredibly powerful, it fails to OHKO many bulky threats such as Mienfoo, Misdreavus, and Scraggy, while they can all do massive damage back; because of this, a revenge killer such as Choice Scarf Murkrow is a great partner. Chinchou and Snover are also great partners for their ability to check and beat the many Water-types in the tier.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Ponyta can run a competent Choice Scarf set, but this is best left to Pokemon such as Murkrow or Mienfoo, who can hit many fast threats super effectively. Quick Attack gains an honorable mention for being a priority move, but incompatibility with Flare Blitz and lack of STAB make it unappealing. A mixed set can be used with Fire Blast to minimize recoil, but mixing EVs will make Ponyta too weak to gain any OHKOs. Double-Edge can also be used over Return to hit Chinchou harder, but the extra recoil is not appreciated at all. Agility can be used over Flame Charge, but +2 speed is unnecessary, while Flame Charge at least allows Ponyta to pick off weakened threats. Ponyta also can learn Hypnosis, but Will-O-Wisp is better and the former is incredibly inaccurate.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Chinchou is by far the best counter for Ponyta. Being able to come in on any move Ponyta uses and 2HKO at minimum with Hydro Pump makes it an immediate threat. Staryu is also a great check to Ponyta, as it is able to Speed-tie with Ponyta and OHKO with Hydro Pump, but it must be wary of switching in as Wild Charge easily 2HKOes. Porygon is able to easily beat Ponyta using Flash Fire, as Trace makes it immune to Ponyta's STAB. It can then effectively cripple Ponyta with Thunder Wave, or slowly kill it with Tri Attack. Because Ponyta deals so much damage to itself by recoil, both Stealth Rock and Spikes from Pokemon such as Dwebble and Ferroseed are great at making Ponyta kill itself even quicker.</p>
<p>Outside of defensive Pokemon, there are many other checks to Ponyta. Diglett can easily come in on a Wild Charge or trap and revenge kill Ponyta, as it can easily OHKO with Earthquake. Misdreavus can easily win a Speed-tie or take even a Life Orb Flare Blitz from Ponyta and OHKO back when factoring in Flare Blitz recoil. Scraggy can always take a Flare Blitz and set up a Dragon Dance and then regain all of its health back with Drain Punch; it also does not fear a burn due to Shed Skin. Although both Murkrow and Mienfoo fear burn from either Will-O-Wisp or Flame Body, they are both capable of taking a hit and dealing massive damage back to Ponyta. Croagunk can easily revenge kill any Ponyta at low HP from recoil due to priority. Tirtouga threatens Ponyta with both of its STABs and can set up a Shell Smash without fear of Wild Charge due to its good physical bulk and Sturdy, although it must be wary of Will-O-Wisp. If sandstorm is active, Drillbur will always outspeed and OHKO Ponyta with Earthquake.</p>