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.

Any notable encounters with the Nidoran line, Bill?

Ah, the Nidoran line. This may be a bit complicated because the male and female lines are so vastly different from one another that they’re officially considered to be separate species, so I’m afraid I’ll have to cover them on two separate days. Below is the first, and tomorrow will be the second.

Nidoran (female)
The Poison Pin Pokémon
Type: Poison
Official Registration #: 29
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 brother 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.

Nidorina
The Poison Pin Pokémon
Type: Poison
Official Registration #: 30
Entry: The evolved form of female nidoran, by battle experience. Upon evolution, nidorina and their brother evolution lose their ability to breed. However, make no mistake: nidorina still possess mothering instincts—such as, specifically, the tendency to unsheathe their barbs and emit ultrasonic cries when anything threatens their burrow and young. As a note, what the pokédex says about nidorina’s docile temperament is true except in the above mentioned case, but the trouble with pokédex entries is that they never accurately describe how frequently exceptions to the rule occur. For example, in this case, yes, nidorina are docile, but it is highly useful to know that all routes where nidorina thrive are literally covered in nidorina burrows. Thus, when traversing routes through nidorina territory, bring antidotes. A lot of antidotes.

Nidoqueen
The Drill Pokémon
Type: Poison/Ground
Official Registration #: 31
Entry: The evolved form of nidorina, by exposure to moon stone. Nidoqueen are large, bulky pokémon covered in rock-hard plates. Both nidoqueen’s size and skin are highly useful in defending its young from threats, which it does with pride and enthusiasm. On the positive side, moon stone is very rarely found in nidorina habitats, making nidoqueen a very rare evolution to find naturally. However, on the negative side, nidorina territories really only need one nidoqueen to defend them, and that nidoqueen very rarely travels far from human roads. Luckily, hospitals are likewise very rarely far from nidoqueen territories.

Love what you’re doing here. Would you consider doing an entry for Natu and Xatu? They’re one of my favorite underappreciated ‘mons. :D

Thank you! Terribly sorry for the delay. Natu and xatu are indeed fascinating pokémon.

Natu
The Tiny Bird Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Flying
Official Registration #: 177
Entry: As expected, natu is a tiny, bird-like pokémon known for its unblinking stare. It is said that natu are, indeed, constantly staring into the future, so its wide-eyed stare actually comes from the fact that it is not entirely paying attention to you as you stare at it but instead your future. This, combined with its underdeveloped wings, means natu is fairly easy to capture, as it will always be caught off-guard by your attempts to throw poké balls at it, and for it, escaping consists of hopping awkwardly away from you. Why it doesn’t simply notice that you’re about to capture it as it stares into your future (or why it never acts on any indication that you capture it) is still a complete mystery to the topmost scientists in the field of psychic pokémon research.

Xatu
The Mystic Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Flying
Official Registration #: 178
Entry: The evolved from of natu, by battle experience. Xatu is a large, four-foot-tall bird pokémon valued in various native South American cultures for its ability to see both the past and the future simultaneously—which, according to the peoples of that continent, explains why it constantly stares unflinchingly into the sun. While the ability to see both the past and the future simultaneously is indeed a useful ability, it has the nasty side effect of blinding a xatu to the present. Literally. Staring into the sun is generally a bad idea, and this writer would like to emphasize this point to any impressionable youth who may be reading this.

ekans and arbok

Certainly!

Ekans
The Snake Pokémon
Type: Poison
Official Registration #: 23
Entry: An ekans develops its venom as it grows. This means that the venom of a young ekans is not as potent as the venom of an older ekans, and newborn ekans lack venom entirely, although their bites are still painful. When determining the age of your ekans, always judge by the length, not by whether or not it possesses venom; the longer the ekans, the older the specimen. Allowing an ekans to bite you in order to determine whether or not it possesses venom is not only a reckless idea but also the cause of death of many early Kantonian settlers.

Arbok
The Cobra Pokémon
Type: Poison
Official Registration #: 24
Entry: The evolved form of ekans, by battle experience. It is said that the elaborate patterns on its belly vary from area to area. Unlike most rumors concerning pokémon, this is true. Arbok from different regions have adapted different patterns, based on what its prey would find most intimidating. For example, Japanese arbok possess terrifying but simple markings that resemble noh masks. European arbok possess markings that resemble the faces of dragons or local monsters. American arbok, meanwhile, possess markings that resemble the most terrifying faces of all: clowns.

Luvdisc and Alomomola

Luvdisc
The Rendezvous Pokémon
Type: Water
Official Registration #: 370
Entry: A small but rare fish pokémon native to warm, tropical waters. Due to its heart shape and the fact that it is most prevalent in Hoenn’s seas, it is considered a symbol of love to Hoennian culture, and giving one to a Hoennian is a means of expressing your eternal love for them. This is extremely vital information for non-native Hoennians with Hoennian friends, as making the mistake of giving one to your research partner—who is both from Hoenn and quite fond of things that are pink and cute—without prior knowledge of what luvdisc means in her culture will result in a very strongly worded email and an entire evening of very awkward apologies. Doubly so if you failed to enter the recipient’s ID # into the storage system’s gifting feature correctly and wind up sending it to her sister instead.

Alomomola
The Caring Pokémon
Type: Water
Official Registration #: 594
Entry: Once thought to be an evolved form of luvdisc, alomomola is actually an unrelated species whose “shows of affection” are actually its attempts to heal any injured creature it comes across as it swims. This is also vital information for a non-native Hoennian, particularly after they’re been knocked into the ocean by their justifiably upset research partner’s solrock.

Hey, Bill. Have you ever come in contact with the Krookodile line?

Yes indeed! I take it this is meant to be a request? If so:

Sandile
The Desert Croc Pokémon
Type: Ground/Dark
Official Registration #: 551
Entry: Sandile are a crocodile-like pokémon with two notable adaptations for life in the desert: skin the color of sand and the unique habit of traveling across the dunes with most of their bodies buried. Because of both adaptations, sandile are extremely difficult to spot as they move across the Unova desert, but despite this, they are also timid, easily panicked pokémon that have a tendency to snap at whatever unwittingly walks too close for comfort with their sharp jaws, regardless of whether or not that threat can actually see them. Thus, the writer has only one piece of advice for anyone who intends on traveling through the Unova desert: wear boots.

Krokorok
The Desert Croc Pokémon
Type: Ground/Dark
Official Registration #: 552
Entry: The evolved form of sandile, by battle experience. Krokorok are very similar to their evolutionary predecessor, save for three key differences: size, the tendency to travel in packs of three or more, and the fact that they will snap at hapless travelers not out of self-defense but instead because they enjoy toying with anyone who has the audacity of traveling through their territory. Thus, should you wish to travel through the deeper parts of the Unova desert where krokorok tend to nest, the writer has additional words of advice for you: wear heavier boots and bring a water-type.

Krookodile
The Intimidation Pokémon
Type: Ground/Dark
Official Registration #: 553
Entry: The evolved form of krokorok, by battle experience. Despite the fact that its predecessors call the Unova desert home, Krookodile are not native to that region but instead Australia, where the harsh environs have forced the local krokorok to evolve into larger, more aggressive forms with jaws capable of smashing through cars. This does not seem to faze the Australians, who seem to have made it a sport to find and wrestle wild krookodile to the ground. In light of this, the writer has only one last word of advice for his readers: don’t go to Australia.

Sunkern and Sunflora

Sunkern
The Seed Pokémon
Type: Grass
Official Registration #: 191
Entry: The official pokédex’s claim that sunkern’s only form of defense is shaking its leaves at its enemy is wildly incorrect. Other forms of defense include dropping out of the sky onto its enemies’ heads and literally the most devastating grass-type attacks in existence. The only reason sunkern will typically begin a battle by shaking its leaves at attackers is to lead us all into a false sense of security.

Sunflora
The Sun Pokémon
Type: Grass
Official Registration #: 192
Entry: The evolved form of sunkern, by exposure to sun stone. Sunflora thrive on the energy they gather from sunlight, and as a result, they are constantly moving in search of the sunniest spots in order to “feed.” At the risk of making a pun, sunflora are not particularly the brightest pokémon in existence, as much of the time, they are far too focused on keeping track of sunlight than they are on where, specifically, they’re going. That is to say, sunflora have an unfortunate habit of running headlong into objects, which makes living close to sunflora fields rather uncomfortable for people not used to the constant sound of a sunflora smacking into the sides of their house. It has, however, been a delight for the Johtonians well-versed in the concept of schadenfreude.

Remoraid and Octillery

Remoraid
The Jet Pokémon
Type: Water
Official Registration #: 223
Entry: Besides their symbiotic relationship with mantine, remoraid are most known for their ability to shoot strong jets of water that are capable of striking opponents more than 300 feet away. If you happen to be wondering how a 27-pound water-dwelling pokémon can shoot a jet of water that powerful without blasting themselves backwards as a result of basic physics, the answer is … they can’t.

Octillery
The Jet Pokémon
Type: Water
Official Registration #: 224
Entry: The evolved form of remoraid, by battle experience. Most pokédex entries will go into either its use of ink to blind prey or its ability to use its strong tentacles and suction cups to trap its victims shortly before incapacitating them with its rock-hard head. However, this writer finds it far, far more interesting that this is an octopus that evolves from a fish, and his peers have simply accepted this to be perfectly logical.

The Jigglypuff Line

Igglybuff
The Balloon Pokémon
Type: Normal/Fairy
Official Registration #: 174
Entry: Igglybuff are known for their soft, pliable bodies that have a tendency to bounce continuously if made to roll. At this point, the writer would like to note that the field of pokémonology is both a fascinating and strange place, and the experiments that are implied to have been undertaken in order to find this out about igglybuff should be evidence of that fact.

Jigglypuff
The Balloon Pokémon
Type: Normal/Fairy
Official Registration #: 39
Entry: The evolved form of igglybuff, as a result of a heightened sense of happiness. According to the latest update of the pokédex, a jigglypuff’s vocal cords allow it to adjust the wavelengths of its lullabies to generate the precise tunes that would make their opponents the drowsiest. This theory, of course, conveniently does not take into consideration the possibility of multiple targets. Although that seems like a minor issue for anyone who is not a researcher, this became a bit of a problem during the Hoennian Jigglypuff Population Explosion of 2014, wherein hundreds of trainers relying on the pokédex found themselves waking up in fields a day later with jigglypuff pictograms scrawled across their faces with whatever writing implements they happened to unfortunately be carrying at the time.

Wigglytuff
The Balloon Pokémon
Type: Normal/Fairy
Official Registration #: 40
Entry: The evolved form of jigglypuff, by exposure to moon stone. Wigglytuff is a three-foot-tall rabbit-like pokémon with pink, velvety fur; large, watery eyes; a rubbery body that it inflates when threatened; and a singing voice known for lulling even the most hardcore night owls to sleep. Interestingly enough, this list of traits has made wigglytuff a popular pokémon among at least twelve different subcultures on the internet. Not that this writer would know anything about those kinds of subcultures.

Please do Sneasel and Weavile, Bill.

Certainly!

Sneasel
The Sharp Claw Pokémon
Type: Dark/Ice
Official Registration #: 215
Entry: In Johtonian folklore, there is a creature called the kamaitachi, which was originally depicted as an invisible beast or whirlwind that lacerated hapless wanderers, leaving deep but painless wounds. Later research uncovered the fact that these demons were actually teams of sneasel that used Icy Wind to startle victims shortly before sneaking up on them to take them down. It goes without saying that this is yet another reason why Johtonians inherently possess an innate urge to set fire to everything within reach.

Weavile
The Sharp Claw Pokémon
Type: Dark/Ice
Official Registration #: 461
Entry: The evolved form of sneasel, by battle experience if holding a razor claw at night. Upon evolution, weavile become far more intelligent. Not only they have the ability to communicate through written language (which they carve on boulders in their territory to communicate with other weavile), but they also have the ability to coordinate and strategize, which they do in small but lethal groups. This would be unfortunate for Johtonians, except we had the foresight to gather all of our razor claws and export them to Sinnoh under the guise of a diplomatic gift. This, as expected, did not improve Johtonian-Sinnohian relations, and because we have subsequently recognized this as a jerk move, Johtonians as a whole didn’t put up much of a fight when Sinnoh built the Battle Frontier and exported to our region something worse than weavile: tourists.