Nidoran♂
Nidoran♂ is a Poison-type Pokémon, the Poison Pin Pokémon, number 32 (#0032) in the National Pokédex. It was introduced in Generation 1 and comes from the Kanto region. It is 0.5 m tall and weighs 9 kg.
Nidoran♂ is the Poison Pin Pokémon, a small, jumpy male that keeps its enormous ears on watch and will risk its life to protect the female it is friendly with. The bigger its forehead horn grows, the worse its venom gets.
How to pronounce Nidoran♂
Nidoran♂ is pronounced NEE-doh-ran MAYL. The capital letters show the stressed syllable.
Listen to Nidoran♂ said out loud:
In Japanese it is ニドラン♂.
Hear every other name on the Pokémon pronunciation guide.
Lore
Biology
Nidoran♂ is a pinkish purple, four-legged mammal with darker patches, red eyes, oversized front teeth and big spiny ears with teal insides. Three lines of spines run down its back, with the middle line the tallest. It is 0.5 m tall and weighs 9 kg. Its ears have muscles that swivel them in any direction, and the Pokédex says it flaps them like wings to hear distant sounds.
Behaviour
Nidoran♂ is cautious and always listening. It raises its ears out of the grass to scan for trouble, and if it senses danger it strikes first, extending its barbs and charging to stab with its horn. The Pokédex also calls it brave: it will hold its ground even when it is small.
Habitat
The Pokédex lists it as a grassland Pokémon, and Bulbapedia places it in open country such as savannas and plains.
Powers
Poison Point can poison attackers that touch it, and Rivalry boosts its damage against Pokémon of the same gender; its hidden Ability is Hustle. It stabs with Poison Sting, Horn Attack and Poison Jab and sets Toxic Spikes. With base Attack 57 as its best stat, it is a fragile early-game attacker.
Name origin
Nidoran♂ may come from 'needle', with ♂ marking its gender, and may also play on nido (二度, 'twice'). The Japanese name is Nidoran♂ (ニドラン♂), written with the same symbol.
Design inspiration
Ken Sugimori designed Nidoran♂. It appears to mix rabbit, rodent and venomous mammal traits, and also resembles Al-Mi'raj, a horned rabbit of Arabic legend. Its pink and blue colouring, shared with its family, may refer to the old gendered colours of those shades. These are fan readings.
Evolution notes
Nidoran♂ evolves into Nidorino at level 16. It and Nidoran♀ remain separate species rather than one species with two genders, though about half of the Eggs that Nidoran♀ lays hatch as Nidoran♂.
In the games
Nidoran♂ is an original Kanto Pokémon, found on Route 22 and in the Safari Zone in Red and Green (Red and Blue outside Japan). Bulbapedia lists it as unobtainable in Scarlet and Violet and in Legends: Z-A, though it appears in Sword and Shield through the Expansion Pass.
In the anime
In Pokémon Origins, Red uses a Nidoran♂ in his Gym battle against Brock. In 'Leading a Stray!', several Nidoran♂ help a Luxio rescue a Wailmer trapped in the sewers.
Fun facts
- No other Pokémon has a base stat total of 273, Bulbapedia says, and poke.si's data agrees.
- Since Generation V, an Egg from a Nidoran♂ paired with a Ditto hatches as a Nidoran♀ half the time.
- The Nidoran♂ living at Professor Oak's Laboratory in 'Showdown at the Po-ké Corral' are coloured like Shiny ones, even though Shiny Pokémon had not been invented yet.
Base stats
- HP: 46
- Attack: 57
- Defense: 40
- Sp. Atk: 40
- Sp. Def: 40
- Speed: 50
Nidoran♂’s base stat total is 273. Its highest stat is Attack.
Type matchups
What is Nidoran♂ weak to?
Nidoran♂ takes extra damage from Ground (2×), Psychic (2×) moves.
It resists Grass (½×), Fighting (½×), Poison (½×), Bug (½×), Fairy (½×).
Evolution
How does Nidoran♂ evolve?
Nidoran♂ evolves into Nidorino at level 16.
The whole family: Nidoran♂, Nidorino, Nidoking.
Abilities
- Poison Point: Has a 30% chance of poisoning attacking Pokémon on contact.
- Rivalry: Increases damage inflicted to 1.25× against Pokémon of the same gender, but decreases damage to 0.75× against the opposite gender.
- Hustle (hidden ability): Strengthens physical moves to inflict 1.5× damage, but decreases their accuracy to 0.8×.
Moves
Moves Nidoran♂ learns by level up in Sword / Shield
| Level | Move | Type | Category | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leer | Normal | Status | — |
| 1 | Poison Sting | Poison | Physical | 15 |
| 5 | Peck | Flying | Physical | 35 |
| 10 | Focus Energy | Normal | Status | — |
| 15 | Fury Attack | Normal | Physical | 15 |
| 20 | Toxic Spikes | Poison | Status | — |
| 25 | Double Kick | Fighting | Physical | 30 |
| 30 | Horn Attack | Normal | Physical | 65 |
| 35 | Helping Hand | Normal | Status | — |
| 40 | Toxic | Poison | Status | — |
| 45 | Flatter | Dark | Status | — |
| 50 | Poison Jab | Poison | Physical | 80 |
| 55 | Earth Power | Ground | Special | 90 |
TM moves (32)
Nidoran♂ can learn 32 moves from TMs in Sword / Shield: Dig, Rest, Thief, Snore, Protect, Attract, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Beat Up, Facade, Helping Hand, Shadow Claw, Venoshock, Round, Smart Strike, Body Slam, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Focus Energy, Amnesia, Substitute, Sludge Bomb, Endure, Sleep Talk, Iron Tail, Toxic Spikes, Poison Jab, Earth Power, Drill Run, Venom Drench.
Egg moves (10):Confusion, Counter, Disable, Head Smash, Horn Drill, Poison Tail, Sucker Punch, Supersonic, Take Down, Thrash.
Breeding & training
- Gender: 100% male, 0% female.
- Egg groups: Monster, Field.
- Egg cycles: 20 (steps to hatch, Scarlet/Violet: 2,560).
- Catch rate: 235 out of 255.
- Base friendship (Gen 8 onward): 50.
- Growth rate: Medium Slow (1,059,860 experience points to reach level 100).
- Defeating it gives 1 Attack effort value.
- Base experience yield: 55.
Pokédex entries
Small but brave, this Pokémon will hold its ground and even risk its life in battle to protect the female it's friendly with. (Shield)
The horn on a male Nidoran's forehead contains a powerful poison. This is a very cautious Pokémon, always straining its large ears. (Sword)
Its large ears are always kept upright. If it senses danger, it will attack with a poisonous sting. (Yellow, Let’s Go, Pikachu!, Let’s Go, Eevee!)
Nidoran♂ has developed muscles for moving its ears. Thanks to them, the ears can be freely moved in any direction. Even the slightest sound does not escape this Pokémon's notice. (Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire)
Its large ears are flapped like wings when it is listening to distant sounds. It extends toxic barbs when angered. (FireRed, Y)
It scans its surroundings by raising its ears out of the grass. Its toxic horn is for protection. (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Black, White, Black 2, White 2, X)
Names around the world
| Japanese | ニドラン♂ |
|---|---|
| Romaji | Nidoran♂ |
| French | Nidoran♂ |
| German | Nidoran♂ |
| Spanish | Nidoran♂ |
| Italian | Nidoran♂ |
| Korean | 니드런♂ |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 尼多朗 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 尼多朗 |
Trivia
- Taller than 19% of all Pokémon (0.5 m).
- Heavier than 26% of all Pokémon (9 kg).
- Base stat total 273, ranked #933 of 1,025.
- One of 83 Poison-type Pokémon (counting dual types).
- One of 87 purple Pokémon.
- Number 32 of 151 Pokémon introduced in Generation 1 (Kanto).
- Part of an evolution family of 3 Pokémon.
- Can learn 50 different moves in Sword / Shield.
- Catch rate 235: about 30.7% per Poké Ball at full health.
- Appears in 13 distinct Pokédex entries.
Sources and fact-checking
- Stats, types, abilities, moves, evolutions, forms and Pokédex entries: PokéAPI open game data.
- Lore: written by pokee.si in our own words, researched from Bulbapedia: Nidoran♂ (Pokémon), Serebii: Nidoran♂ (Sword/Shield Pokédex; page not found for Scarlet/Violet).
- Pronunciation (NEE-doh-ran MAYL): it follows how the English anime, games or official videos say it.
Last checked: . Every sentence of the lore was checked against Bulbapedia, Serebii and the game data.
Explore
Poison-type Pokémon · Kanto region guide · Poison Point ability · Rivalry ability · Hustle ability · Compare Nidoran♂ · Full Pokédex · Type chart · All moves
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Gen 1 Poison-type Pokémon · Gen 1 Pokémon list · Purple Pokémon list · Monster egg group · Field egg group · Pokémon that start with N · Rabbit Pokémon · Mouse and Rodent Pokémon