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Exclusive Galarian Ponyta gives players more reason to buy Pokémon Shield

Felicia Miranda
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Galarian Ponyta
Galarian Ponyta Image used with permission by copyright holder

An adorable Galarian Ponyta has been revealed, and it’s exclusive to Pokémon Shield. Discovered in a new video that popped up on The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel on Wednesday, October 9, the cotton-candy colored pony was shown in action playing around, trotting along, and firing off some moves in battle.

A new page that surfaced on the official Pokémon website reveals the new Galarian Ponyta is a psychic-type with the abilities Run Away and Pastel Veil. While those familiar with Nintendo’s pocket monster series have likely seen the Run Away ability in action, allowing Pokémon and their trainers to flee from battle using teleportation, the Pastel Veil ability is new. When Galarian Ponyta uses Pastel Veil, it puts up a shield of sorts that keeps it and its allies from being poisoned and can cure the poisoned status effect.

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While exclusive to Pokémon Shield, Galarian Ponyta can only be found in a particular forest in the Galar region. This may make encounters with it a bit of a rarer occasion than it is with your average Pokémon. That’s understandable, since it’s quite the mystical beast according to the description on the site, being called a Unique Horn Pokémon and having a mane that can “absorb the life energy” of its surroundings and release a shimmering glow.

Meet Galarian Ponyta in Pokémon Shield!

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this mythical creature. Earlier this week, a 24-hour Twitch stream took place where thousands of viewers waited for a chance to see a new Pokémon. Two Ponyta were spotted during the long broadcast, one with fluffy glowing hair and the other missing a tail. This might indicate that the beautiful creature is hunted for its magical locks, but we’ll probably have to wait to hear more about that once Pokémon Sword and Shield arrives on November 15.

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As usual, players are conflicted about which upcoming Pokémon title to pick up. A variety of factors play into this, with exclusive and legendary Pokémon often being the deciding factor. Zacian, the sword-wielding wolf is the legendary you can find gracing the cover of Pokémon Sword and Zamazenta is the wolf-like Pokémon with shield-shaped fur you can find on Pokémon Shield. Last month, players were introduced to Sirfetch’d which is exclusive to Pokémon Sword. With the reveal of the exclusive Galarian Ponyta, this makes deciding which game to pick up an even more difficult choice to make.

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Felicia Miranda
Felicia Miranda
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Born in '89 and raised through the 90s, I experienced what I consider to be the golden age of video games. At an early age, I…
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