
Is Nidoran♂ (male) Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Not native to Hoenn. AbilityPoison Point on the Nidoking line. If imported from FRLG, the offensive stats and TM coverage are still excellent. But getting one into RS requires a second game and a link cable.
Nidoran♂ (male) trades roughly evenly with Roxanne's team.
Nidoran♂ (male) has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Wattson's typing presses Nidoran♂ (male)'s defenses.
Nidoran♂ (male) trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Norman's typing presses Nidoran♂ (male)'s defenses.
Nidoran♂ (male) trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Tate & Liza's Pokemon outpace and outclass Nidoran♂ (male) here.
Nidoran♂ (male) trades roughly evenly with Wallace's team.
Nidoran♂ (male) trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Phoebe's team hits Nidoran♂ (male)'s weaknesses hard.
Nidoran♂ (male) trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Nidoran♂ (male) trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Steven's team hits Nidoran♂ (male)'s weaknesses hard.
Trade
Nidoran M cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- After Brawly
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Abandoned Ship
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Mauville Game Corner
- After Wattson
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Rusturf Tunnel
- After Norman
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Dewford Town
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Lilycove Department Store
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Norman
- After Wallace
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Meteor Falls
How to Get Nidoran♂ (male) in Ruby & Sapphire
To begin the Nidoking line you trade a Nidoran-M in from another game. Hoenn produces nothing for this Pokemon in the wild.
How to Obtain Nidoran♂ (male) in RS
Step 1Nidoran♂ (male) ✓CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom FireRed & LeafGreenAvailableCatch in FireRed & LeafGreen via Walking · Safari Zone, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Walking · Route 22. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom YellowNot TradeableAppears in Yellow via Walking · Route 22. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Gold & SilverNot TradeableAppears in Gold & Silver via Walking · Route 35. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom CrystalNot TradeableAppears in Crystal via Walking · Route 35 · the Yanma swarm that Bug Catcher Arnie reports by. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Diamond & PearlNot TradeableAppears in Diamond & Pearl via Pokeradar · Route 201. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom PlatinumNot TradeableAppears in Platinum via Pokeradar · Route 201. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
Step 2Evolve into Nidorino
Step 3Evolve into Nidoking
How to Get Shiny Nidoran♂ (male) in Ruby & Sapphire
Nidoran♂ makes no Hoenn appearance, so hunt a shiny along Route 3 in FireRed or LeafGreen and bring it over. See every game where Shiny Nidoran♂ (male) can be hunted
Shiny Nidoran♂ (male) Evolution
3 FormsNidoran♂ (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
What is Nidoran♂ (male) Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Nidoran♂ (male)
Latios DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoran♂ (male) View Latios builds →Psychic 2x211-249%KO Earthquake 2x116-136%KO | ||
Latias DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoran♂ (male) View Latias builds →Psychic 2x184-217%KO Earthquake 2x104-123%KO | ||
Metagross SteelPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Beldum (Mossdeep City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoran♂ (male) View Metagross builds →Earthquake 2x163-192%KO Psychic 2x163-192%KO | ||
Gardevoir Psychic | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Nidoran♂ (male) View Gardevoir builds →Future Sight 2x273-322%KO | ||
Kadabra Psychic | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Nidoran♂ (male) View Kadabra builds →Future Sight 2x264-311%KO | ||
Xatu Psychic | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Nidoran♂ (male) View Xatu builds →Future Sight 2x216-255%KO | ||
Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
Girafarig NormalPsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoran♂ (male) View Girafarig builds →Psychic 2x157-184%KO Earthquake 2x104-123%KO | ||
Chimecho Psychic | C | |
Grumpig Psychic | C | |
Donphan Ground | B | |
Swampert WaterGround | S | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Mudkip (Route 101 Gift) | ||
Flygon GroundDragon | B | |
Sandslash Ground | A | |
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 102 partners from the Field and Monster egg groups. Notable egg moves include Amnesia, Beat Up, Confusion and 4 more.
RS Nidoran♂ (male) Best Moveset
Poison pre-evolution with AbilityPoison Point. Nothing competitive at this stage. Nidoking's coverage movepool is the goal two evolutions away.
Best Build
No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 3.
Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.
Moves List
The TM pool is where it gets interesting. Coverage across 10 types means almost nothing walls Nidoran♂ (male) cleanly, with Sludge Bomb and Poison Sting 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
The male 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.
Nidoran♂ (male) Ruby & Sapphire Guide
No. Nidoran♂ (male) isn't catchable in Ruby & Sapphire. Catch one in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it over.
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).
