Dear LH, I have a Question Regarding RUmors of Nidoking and Rhydon being able to learn Surf. Is this utter fiction, or can these ground types actually swim, and if so, why isn’t it more well known? and are there OTHER non-water types that are surprisingly good swimmers?

[The following is the chat transcript between Bill and LH concerning the above two asks. Text has been edited only to correct typos. —Brigette]

Bill: ….

Bill: I suppose that’s one way of skipping the queue.

LH: As you always say, fortune favors the bold? I don’t think you can fault our audience for being creative. Or audacious.

Bill: True.

Bill: As much as I’d hate to admit it.

LH: In any case, should we answer this one together?

Bill: Together? As I recall, I’m still banned.

LH: Oh. Right.

LH: Well, okay. I can just have Brigette post this log.

Bill: Or you can lift my ban.

LH: First off, yes, it’s true that nidoking and rhydon can swim. Although you’d think they wouldn’t considering their typing and mass, they can actually withstand exposure to water for short periods of time. It’s not recommended that you have them swim entire oceans, of course, but they can at least hold their own in pools or slow rivers.

Bill: It’s really their hides that do it. Both nidoking and rhydon have thicker hides than a lot of rock- or ground-types, and they aren’t literal boulders like the geodude line or the roggenrola line. As such, water by and large stays out and can’t erode their inner plating, and the experience doesn’t sap their energy the way it would for a pokémon made of solid rock or earth. Well, that and they don’t simply sink to the bottom like stones.

LH: …was that a pun?

Bill: In any case, it’s not particularly well-known because it’s not a practice that’s encouraged. Even though they can swim, it’s still a risk for pokémon of their typing. Only particularly well-trained nidoking or rhydon can swim for long periods of time, and once they begin to sink, water can seep through their outer armor, reach the sensitive skin underneath, and consequently begin to react to their respective elements. Experienced trainers will only teach these pokémon Surf if and only if it becomes a focus of their routine, to the point where they dedicate a lot of training time to ensuring their pokémon can stay afloat; otherwise, most trainers will actively avoid these moves in favor of something that would better suit either species’ natural battle style.

LH: As for which pokémon are surprisingly good swimmers, there’s a long list, actually! On it are things like aggron, tyranitar, nidoqueen (of course), and even garchomp.

Bill: But arguably the most shocking is pikachu.

LH: Okay, that was definitely a pun.

Bill: …my ban is being extended, isn’t it?

LH: As we speak.

Bill: Worth it.

My Nidoking is getting kinda up there in age, and his colors are starting to dull. Any idea what’s going on? He leads a very active team (we’re based near the exit of Kanto’s Victory Road) and is on a special diet considering his age

Actually, the answer is quite simple: he’s getting up there in age. As with humans, when certain pokémon get older, special cells that lend skin, hair, and fur their vivid pigments stop being produced, and the ones that already exist simply die off naturally. Consequently, a pokémon’s pelt may turn duller or grayer the longer they live. It’s quite natural, and there’s not much you can do about it, I’m afraid. So long as your nidoking is otherwise healthy and active, he’ll be fine.

Why do nidoran evolve differently based on gender, but other pokemon which experience relatively extreme gender dimorphism (such as frillish) become the same pokemon no matter what their gender? What sets nidoran apart?

Strangely, the nidoran lines are the only pokémon lines whose male and female counterparts … are not the same species. That is, although the two get along well enough, they’re about as similar to one another as plusle are to minun. The only reason they’re both called nidoran is because they look like one another, often form mated pairs (even if the advanced stages can’t breed), and live in the same burrows, so scientists mistook them for the same species with a divergent evolution tree (much like the burmy line) until later studies revealed that they’re only related, not the same.

So that should answer the question about their evolution lines: they are, quite simply, actually two separate lines from their base onwards.

Lately my Nidoking has been acting strangely lately. He’s been extremely grumpy and wont listen. I’ve had him for years and raised him from a little Nidoran and this is the first time he’s acted this way. I’ve tried extra training and changed his diet, neither of which have worked. I don’t know what to do anymore, none of my team will come near him anymore and it breaks my heart, is there anything I can do so he’ll go back to his normal self?

Because you’ve raised your nidoking for years, communication may still be an option for you. You may be more in-tune with your nidoking than you may think, in other words, so I would highly recommend sitting down with him and simply asking what may be on his mind. He may not reply to you in Common (few pokémon can), but at the very least, if he feels up to it, he can indicate through signs what he may want.

However, I have a theory. As he’s an older, presumably unpaired nidoking, he may be lonely. That is, he may be at the age when his kind would want to establish a territory and find a mate, but because he’s confined to your home and your team, he may be unable to do so, which may be causing him some frustration. This isn’t to say that you should release him, of course. Rather, consider obtaining a potential mate or taking him to a breeder to … relieve tension, as it were.

As a note, keep in mind that although nidoqueen can’t produce eggs, nidoking like yours will still happily settle down with nidoqueen mates. Nidoking in such pairings don’t seem to mind the inability to produce eggs, although if you do end up getting a nidoqueen, consider using a ditto surrogate with your nidoking if it appears that she’s distressed by the presence of an eggless nest (which is a rare but still possible occurrence).

If your nidoking seems disinterested in mates, take him out to a wide-open space whenever possible, as having an abundance of territory to roam may also lift his spirits.

Good luck, @darkrivermori!

Hey there Bill, I’ve had both a Nidoran Male and Female since I was little. I grew up with them by my side and they grew fond of each other. Now they’ve evolved into Nidoking,and Nidoqueen and I was hoping to breed them to get a new generation of Nidorans. I’ve hit a snag though, it seems from whatever reason, they can’t breed. I went to a few other experts and they told me that Nidoqueens can’t breed with Nidokings, and i was wondering if you had any idea why?

By and large, nidoqueen and nidorina are incapable of breeding because for whatever reason, evolution sterilizes female nidoran. Male nidoran and their evolutions, meanwhile, retain the ability to breed throughout their lives, and thus, male nidoran often mate with either female nidoran or ditto to perpetuate their species; they don’t actually mate with a female nidoran’s advanced forms.

As for why evolution sterilizes female nidoran, that’s still a subject of debate in the scientific community, but to be fair, considering the fact that male nidoran grow longer, sharper, and more numerous barbs upon each subsequent evolution (including and especially exactly where you would think), one can hardly blame nature for wanting to offer female nidoran a bit of mercy, if you get my meaning.

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.