With Pokémon Sword & Shield, Game Freak found yet another way to breathe life into existing critters: Galarian forms! As with the Alolan Pokémon of Generation VII, these are regional variants of familiar Pokémon, sporting new typings, Abilities and the like that can dramatically change how a Pokémon is played.

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Galarian Ponyta and Rapidash boast an adorable mystical unicorn design, so they immediately became fan favorites when this little Ponyta was first spotted (in a livestream prior to the game’s release). How do you catch one of your own? It’s a little tricky, so here’s the lowdown. We’ve also gathered some other interesting tidbits about this new critter.

10 It’s Found In Glimwood Tangle (In Pokémon Shield Only)

That’s right, friends. The very first thing you need to know about nabbing a Galarian Ponyta is that it’s a version exclusive, appearing only in Pokémon Shield. To get your hands on one, you’ll have to be playing that version or hope to nab one via trading. Sword owners will have to console themselves with Galarian Farfetch’d and its powerful leek-waving action.

In Shield, the elusive little bundle of cuteness is found in Glimwood Tangle, the dark and complex forest players must pass through to get to Ballonlea. It has 10% chance to appear as a random encounter in the grass, which could take a little time.

9 Max Raids Are Also An Option

If trawling through a dense, dark and fairly confusing forest doesn’t sound like a great way to spend an afternoon, there’s another option. Galarian Ponyta also has a chance to spawn as a Max Raid Battle target, if you know where to look.

So, where do you look? Bridge Field, that’s where. Both Galarian Ponyta and Galarian Rapidash (pictured here) can spawn in Dens here, with a percentage chance ranging from 35% to 10% depending on specific Den (as detailed by Bulbapedia). If you enjoy Max Raids and the chance of higher EVs for breeding appeals, try some Max Raids!

8 It Has A Very Unique Typing On Evolving

Galarian Ponyta is a pure Psychic-type. It doesn’t boast that characteristic pinkness that this typing often does, but we’re prepared to overlook that. On evolution into Rapidash, it gains a secondary typing that really mixes things up.

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Psychic/Fairy is a rare but prominent combination (with the popularity of Hatterene). Galarian Rapidash offers a twist on it in that it’s a physical attacker, a real rarity among both Psychic- and Fairy-types.

7 It Has Its Own Exclusive Ability

Pokémon Sword & Shield added a lot of interesting new Abilities to the mix. Eiscue’s Ice Face, for instance, gives it a defense against physical attacks for a turn, similar to Mimikyu’s Disguise, which actually regenerates under hail!

While the Galarian Ponyta line’s Pastel Veil isn’t quite as impactful, it’s certainly an Ability that has its merits. Preventing both this Pokémon and its teammate from being poisoned (and curing any poison they may have on switching in) could prove to be a gamechanger in the right situations.

6 Its Tiny Horn Has Potent Healing Properties

Unicorn folklore tends to tell us two things about these majestic creatures: they are pure, noble creatures that repel or react against the forces of evil and their horns have formidable healing powers. True to its inspiration, Galarian Ponyta doesn’t disappoint there.

As far as regenerative properties are concerned, Pokémon Sword tells us, “its small horn hides a healing power. With a few rubs from this Pokémon's horn, any slight wound you have will be healed.” We don’t know the extent of this power or whether it’s capable of curing certain illnesses (as Gabite’s scales are said to be), but that’s a lot of power for a tiny Pokémon.

5 It Can Sense Evil Intent

So, yes. Galarian Ponyta may only be 2’ 07” (slightly shorter than Kantonian Ponyta’s 3’ 03”), but it’s brimming with mystical and supernatural abilities. We’ve already seen that it ticks the first box in the unicorn checklist, now here comes the second: its purity actively working against evil.

Here’s what Shield’s Pokédex has to say: “this Pokémon will look into your eyes and read the contents of your heart. If it finds evil there, it promptly hides away.” Handy as this little critter would be to bring along on first dates, it’s also clear that it’s one of the most interesting new Pokémon to be introduced in Sword & Shield, from a lore point of view.

4 Its Stats Are Exactly The Same As Its Original Form

Alolan and Galarian Pokémon are different from their vanilla forms in terms of type combination, movepool, Ability and so on, but they aren’t usually dramatically different in terms of stats. The same holds true with Galarian Ponyta and its evolution, both of which have base stats identical to their Kanto counterparts.

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Both forms of Ponyta has the same frail physical spread of base 50 HP, 85 Attack, 55 Defense, 65 Special Attack, 65 Special Defense and 90 Speed. Kanto and Galar’s Rapidash, meanwhile, both have base 65 HP, 100 Attack, 70 Defense, 80 Special Attack, 80 Special Defense and 105 Speed. It mostly serves as a passable physical attacker (more on that later), though it can try to take the special route too.

3 It Has Only One TCG Promo Card To Date, And It’s Absolutely Adorable

As veteran Pokémon TCG players will know, the designs of the cards can be a little hit and miss. Heck, it doesn’t matter what the art looks like in the end (it could just be a picture of Professor Oak casually eating a bowl of cereal or something as long as its effect is powerful), but a great design does help.

The Ponyta line has a history of pretty sweet looking cards in the TCG (Dark Rapidash, for instance), but Galarian Ponya and its evolution have only recently debuted in the Sword & Shield expansion. Even so, the SWSH Black Star Promos Galarian Ponyta is one of the cutest of all dang time. Just look at it!

2 It Made A Brief Appearance In The Pokémon: Twilight Wings Miniseries

As we’ve mentioned, Galarian Ponyta was first seen in a pre-release livestream, a 24 hour stretch of almost nothingness set in a dark and dingy forest that fans would later know as Glimwood Tangle.

What you may not know is that the creature made its debut in Pokémon: Twilight Wings in much the same manner. This Japanese miniseries, Bulbapedia reports, was set in Galar, consisting of just seven five-minute episodes. In one of them, Assistant, we’re given another brief glimpse of a Galarian Ponyta in Glimwood Tangle, this time courtesy of Oleana’s work.

1 It an Actually Be Quite A Powerhouse

If you’ve been keeping up to date with Sword & Shield’s competitive scene, you’ll have noticed that Galarian Rapidash isn’t exactly a dominant force in the metagame. As is often the case with new Pokémon, it’s cropped up on teams as curious players try it out, but hasn’t really caught on. It doesn’t really excel in its primary stats (Attack and Speed), meaning that it’s usually passed over in favor of even speedier, heavier hitters.

This doesn’t mean that it can’t be threat, though. With Swords Dance, it can boost its Attack in a way that regular fiery Rapidash could only dream of, and powerful STAB moves in Psycho Cut and Play Rough are super useful too. With the right coverage, it can definitely sweep through teams if used carefully and supported well.

NEXT: Pokémon: Ranking The 10 Best Galarian Forms In Sword & Shield