Is Nidoran♂ (male) Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Route 35 alongside Nidoran-F. Poison-type with AbilityPoison Point. Nidoking at Moon Stone is one of the strongest mid-game options in HGSS. The physical/special split gives Nidoking proper physical Ground alongside special coverage.
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 has the type edge here and should clean up Chuck's team.
Nidoking resists most of Jasmine's coverage and hits back hard.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Clair's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Nidoking resists most of Lt. Surge's coverage and hits back hard.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Janine's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up 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
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Whitney
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- After Jasmine
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 43
- LV 37PoisonPoison JabPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 20
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
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Whitney
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- After Jasmine
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 43
- LV 43PoisonPoison JabPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 20
Evolve Nidorino to Nidoking
Nidorino evolves into Nidoking with a Moon Stone. You can pick up the Moon Stone in Ruins of Alph. 1 other location is also available.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM28GroundDigPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- After Jasmine
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 43
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- LV 43GroundEarth PowerPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 58BugMegahornPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 10
How to Get Nidoran♂ (male) in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Nidoran-M mirrors its female counterpart, common on the same early Johto routes in the low to mid teens during morning and day. The male poison rabbit shares that grass across both HeartGold and SoulSilver.
3 locations to catch Nidoran♂ (male)
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6Where To Catch Nidoran♂ (male) in HGSS
Nidoran♂ (male) is where the line starts, caught through walking encounters at Lv. 12-17. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into NidorinoSafari Zone - SavannahLv.15-17FloorRate 30%NightRoute 13Lv.23GrassRate 30%Route 14Lv.23GrassRate 30%Route 15Lv.23GrassRate 30%or evolve from Nidoran♂ (male) (Step 1)
- Step 3Evolve into Nidoking
Bring the right balls: check Nidoran♂ (male) catch odds in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Nidoran♂ (male) in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Male Nidoran turns up on Route 35 and Route 36, but breeding it Masuda-style is the fastest way to a shiny. Compare Shiny Nidoran♂ (male) odds across every game
Shiny Nidoran♂ (male) Evolution
3 Forms
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Nidoran♂ (male) Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
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 HeartGold & SoulSilver 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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Nidoran♂ (male) Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Nidoran♂ (male)
 Sandslash Ground | B | |
 Kadabra Psychic | A | |
Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Nidoqueen PoisonGround | C | |
 Bronzor SteelPsychic | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Nidoran♂ (male) View Bronzor builds →Extrasensory 2x62-74% | ||
 Quagsire WaterGround | C | |
Obtain MethodCliff Edge Gate Surfing | ||
 Spoink Psychic | C | |
 Numel FireGround | D | |
 Kirlia Psychic | C | |
 Onix RockGround | C | |
 Xatu Psychic | C | |
 Chingling Psychic | D | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Nidoran♂ (male) View Chingling builds →Confusion 2x69-83% | ||
 Slowpoke WaterPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoran♂ (male) View Slowpoke builds →Dig 2x75-89% Confusion 2x54-65% | ||
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 a massive partner pool 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 131 partners from the Field and Monster egg groups. Notable egg moves include Amnesia, Beat Up, Confusion and 6 more.
HGSS Nidoran♂ (male) Best Moveset
More offensively oriented than the female version at 57 Attack and 50 Speed, but the stats still can't support competitive play. AbilityPoison Point is the one interaction worth noting. Evolve toward Nidoking.
Best Build
No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 4.
Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.
Moves List
The TM pool is where it gets interesting. Coverage across 11 types means almost nothing walls Nidoran♂ (male) cleanly, with Sludge Bomb and Poison Jab anchoring the STAB side. Matchup flexibility isn't a problem.
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. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
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
All 25 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) HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
- How do I catch Nidoran♂ (male) in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Safari Zone?
See the Locations section above for where to find Nidoran♂ (male) in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Nidoran♂ (male) from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Nidoran♂ (male) easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, 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 · HeartGold & SoulSilverHeartGold & SoulSilver Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee HeartGold & SoulSilver Tier List