Pokemon Legends: Arceus lets players traverse a much more naturalistic and untamed version of Pokemon's wilderness. With its antiquated setting, it makes sense that people use Pokemon more for travel. It's a bit confusing, then, that Ponyta and Rapidash aren't one of Pokemon Legends: Arceus' ride Pokemon.
This one little oversight aside, Ponyta is a solid early choice for new trainers, especially if they didn't choose Cyndaquil as their starter. And players trying to complete Pokemon Legends: Arceus' Pokedex will probably want to evolve it into a Rapidash as soon as possible.
The good news is that the evolution process here is straightforward. There's no need to learn certain moves or wait for a certain time of day, unlike some of Pokemon Legends: Arceus' other Pokemon. They just need to bring their Ponyta to a certain level. The bad news is that it might take a while.
Catching a Ponyta
It goes without saying that a player needs to catch a Ponyta before they can evolve it into a Rapidash. They don't have to look far to find one. There's plenty in Pokemon Legends: Arceus' Obsidian Fieldlands, at the aptly named Horseshoe Plains.
The game sends players there relatively early for a request to catch a shiny Ponyta. On their first time around, however, they should be wary of the level 40 alpha Rapidash guarding the area.
Evolving a Ponyta into Rapidash
In order to evolve a Ponyta into a Rapidash, all the player needs to do is bring it up to level 40. Once it reaches that threshold, the player can go to the party screen and click the flashing Pokeball to evolve it.
The grind shouldn't be overwhelming. Pokemon Legends: Arceus has an XP sharing system, so even if the player isn't using Ponyta, it can quietly grow in their back pocket. There are also items like EXP candy to further speed up the process.
The only mitigating factor is the player's willpower. It's possible that, before their Ponyta reaches level 40, they'll find one of Pokemon Legends: Arceus' stronger fire type Pokemon. For completionists, there's no issue here. But for players who simply want to rush to the end with the strongest team possible, the initial investment might not be worth it.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is available now for Nintendo Switch.
