Is Nidoran♂ (male) Good in Gold & Silver Playthrough?
Same Route 35/36 availability as Nidoran-F. Nidoking trades some bulk for offense and remains one of the best TM users in the game. The Moon Stone is the bottleneck, not the Pokemon.
Nidoran♂ (male) trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Nidoran♂ (male) trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Nidoran♂ (male) trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Nidorino trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Nidoking resists most of Lt. Surge's coverage and hits back hard.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Nidoking resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Will's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Nidoran M on Route 35 (walking, Lv 12, common).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 12)
- LV 12NormalHorn AttackPower 65Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- After Whitney
- TM13NormalSnorePower 40Accuracy 100%PP 15Moomoo Farm
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
- TM46DarkThiefPower 40Accuracy 100%PP 10Team Rocket HQ (Mahogany Town)
Evolve Nidoran♂ (male) to Nidorino
Nidoran♂ (male) evolves into Nidorino at Level 16. Your Nidoran♂ (male) should hit Level 16 before you reach Morty, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 16)
- LV 16NormalHorn AttackPower 65Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- After Whitney
- TM13NormalSnorePower 40Accuracy 100%PP 15Moomoo Farm
- After Morty
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Olivine City
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
Evolve Nidorino to Nidoking
Nidorino evolves into Nidoking with a Moon Stone. You can pick up the Moon Stone in Tohjo Falls. 1 other location is also available.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 25)
- LV 25NormalThrashPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Ecruteak City
- After Morty
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Morty
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Celadon Game Corner
How to Get Nidoran♂ (male) in Gold & Silver
Male Nidoran mirrors its female counterpart, the same two grass patches at common rates in both versions. Two spots only, so do not expect to trip over one on the early routes.
2 locations to catch Nidoran♂ (male)
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 3Where To Catch Nidoran♂ (male) in GS
The line opens with Nidoran♂ (male) at Lv. 12 via walking encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into Nidorinoor evolve from Nidoran♂ (male) (Step 1)
- Step 3Evolve into NidokingBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Goldenrod Pokemon Day Care to receive a Nidoran♂ (male) egg.
Bring the right balls: check Nidoran♂ (male) catch odds in the Gold & Silver Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Nidoran♂ (male) in Gold & Silver
Nidoran♂ splits Route 35 and Route 36 with its female counterpart, and only a long encounter grind across that grass will eventually turn one shiny. Compare Shiny Nidoran♂ (male) odds across every game
Shiny Nidoran♂ (male) Evolution
3 Forms
Gold & Silver Shiny Nidoran♂ (male) Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Breed w/ Shiny Parent, about 1 in 64 on each try.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breed w/ Shiny Parent: Eggs inherit stats from a shiny parent, so about 1 in 64 hatch shiny. A shiny Ditto helps every egg, and any other shiny parent (the red Gyarados works) helps only eggs of the opposite gender.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 7-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 19-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 45-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 147-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Nidoran♂ (male) in the Gold & Silver Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
Nidoran♂ (male) Weakness
Nidoran♂ (male) is weak to Ground and Psychic. The Poison typing picks up 4 resistances to work with. Nidoran♂ (male)'s Poison typing only leaves 2 gaps to cover.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground, Psychic |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Poison, Bug |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
- Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
What is Nidoran♂ (male) Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Nidoran♂ (male)
 Sandslash Ground | C | |
 Kadabra Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoran♂ (male) View Kadabra builds →Psybeam 2x145-171%KO Dig 2x38-46% | ||
 Quagsire WaterGround | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 32 Surfing | ||
 Geodude RockGround | C | |
 Onix RockGround | C | |
 Natu Psychic | C | |
 Slowpoke WaterPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoran♂ (male) View Slowpoke builds →Dig 2x57-68% Confusion 2x54-65% | ||
 Drowzee Psychic | B | |
Nidoran♂ (male) Evolutions
Nidoran♂ (male) kicks off a three-stage evolution line through Nidorino all the way to Nidoking. For breeding, average hatch time with plenty of partners via two egg groups. Evolving adds up to 232 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Nidoran♂ (male) to get Nidoran M eggs using 66 partners from the Field and Monster egg groups. Notable egg moves include Amnesia, Beat Up, Confusion and 4 more.
GS Nidoran♂ (male) Best Moveset
Poison pre-evolution heading toward Nidoking. Nothing here competes. Moon Stone and two evolutions bring one of the most versatile attackers in the format.
Best Build
Gen 2 build content has limited support (no abilities).
Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.
Moves List
Breeding opens up real options for Nidoran♂ (male). Amnesia and Beat Up come exclusively from egg moves, and they're worth the effort. The rest of the kit covers basics through Poison Sting and coverage across 8 types.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
19 of 23 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It is small, but its horn is filled with poison. It charges then stabs with the horn to inject poison.
It raises its big ears to check its surroundings. It will strike first if it senses any danger.
Nidoran♂ (male) Gold & Silver Guide
In Gold & Silver, Nidoran♂ (male) has 273 BST, so weigh it against what your team already covers.
Game Availability
Present since Red & Blue, Nidoran♂ (male) appears in 19 games spanning 9 generations. Gen 1 originals like Nidoran♂ (male) have the longest track record of availability in the series.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Nidoran♂ (male).
Keep playing · Gold & SilverGold & Silver Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Gold & Silver Tier List