The Nidorino Line

Nidoran (male)
The Poison Pin Pokémon
Type: Poison
Official Registration #: 32
Entry: A small, rabbit-like pokémon. An interesting fact about nidoran is that the first pokémon ever to be recorded using the move Poison Pin were members of this and its sister species, hence why they’re both described as “poison pin” pokémon in the pokédex. Of course, the story of how Poison Pin was discovered is equally interesting. Evidently, male nidoran are very protective of female nidoran, and female nidoran have a tendency to fire Poison Pin in tandem with their mates when alarmed. Suffice to say, this writer’s father learned very quickly about the value of antidotes.

Nidorino
The Poison Pin Pokémon
Type: Poison
Official Registration #: 33
Entry: The evolved form of male nidoran, by battle experience. It is interesting to note that nidorina and nidorino have co-adapted for the express purpose of defending different parts of their shared territory. While it is the nidorina’s job to protect the burrow and young via defensive maneuvers, it is the nidorino’s job to protect the general area with highly aggressive offensive maneuvers. Additionally, nidorino are specially adapted to do this job well; while the barbs of many other members of the nidoran family are small and retractable, the barbs of nidorino are, at minimum, six-inch-long venomous horns of danger. This in itself is not necessarily terrifying, considering the fact that many pokémon possess fangs or horns of unreasonable lengths, but in nidorino’s case, these horns are coupled with a nasty temper and a rather unfortunate tendency to charge at anything that is not a member of the nidoran family.

Nidoking
The Drill Pokémon
Type: Poison/Ground
Official Registration #: 34
Entry: The evolved form of nidorino, by exposure to moon stone. True to his name, nidoking rule over nidoran territory, much as a human king would rule over his kingdom: with an iron fist, a penchant for violence, and an extreme fondness for imperialism. Whereas nidoqueen tend to be more focused on protecting their habitats by standing their ground and fighting off intruders, nidoking seem more content on fighting literally anything short of a nidoqueen and her young. This includes other nidoking, anything with a type advantage to nidoking, inanimate objects that happen to be in the way of a nidoking, and bystanding researchers traveling along roads that cut through nidoking territories. It should also be noted that although nidoking are referred to as the drill pokémon (which is an allusion to its drill-like horn), this creature’s preferred form of attack is by smashing things with his heavy, armor-plated tail, an appendage so powerful it is capable of smashing through the engine of a jeep … which this writer mentions as an off-handed example that has subsequently and incidentally been included in expense reports to the Pokémon Symposium.