In Yellow, Nidorino isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Nidoking to unlock its full potential. At 365 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.

What is Nidorino weak to?

In Yellow, watch for Rhydon (Ground), Alakazam (Psychic), and Pinsir (Bug) when using Nidorino. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB.

How do you evolve Nidorino?

In Yellow, Nidoran M evolves into Nidorino at level 16. Nidorino evolves into Nidoking using a Moon Stone. Nidorino is a middle-stage evolution in the Nidoran M line.

What role does Nidorino play in battle?

In Yellow, Nidorino fills the balanced role. It's a physical attacker with base 72 Attack. At base 65 Speed, it won't be moving first often.

Should I use Nidorino?

In Yellow, Nidorino does the job early-game if you need a Poison type on your team. Evolve it into Nidoking before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.

Nidorino - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Balanced

DTier

65Speed · Below Avg

Stats & Training

Nidorino's stats barely vary. None sit in respectable range with no real gaps. It's a blank slate for EV investment. Worth 2 Attack stat exp, 1.06M XP medium-slow curve to max.

Base Stats

Avg

HP61

Attack72

Defense57

Sp. Atk55

Sp. Def55

Speed65

Total365

Details

Catch Rate

Moderate120 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Slow1.06M XP

Height0.9 m

Weight19.5 kg

Base XP128

Abilities

Abilities were introduced in Generation III. Shown below for reference.

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.

HustleHA

Strengthens physical moves to inflict 1.5× damage, but decreases their accuracy to 0.8×.

EV Yield

HPAtk+2DefSpASpDSpe

Attack training target

Pokedex Entries

Its horns contain venom. If they are stabbed into an enemy, the impact makes the poison leak out.

Yellow

Nidorino Weakness

Ground, Psychic, and Bug moves hit Nidorino for super-effective damage. 3 weaknesses is about average, nothing too hard to play around.

Nidorino Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Ground, Psychic, Bug
0.5x (Resist)	Grass, Fighting, Poison

Type ChartVulnerable

3Weak

3Resist

0Immune

Score-3

Gen I Type Chart

Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Ground Psychic Bug

½xResist

Grass Fighting Poison

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (2)

Grass Bug

How to Beat Nidorino in Yellow (Best Counters)

Dugtrio Ground	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 129-151%KO Dig 2x 103-122%KO View Dugtrio builds →
Marowak Ground	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Bone ClubLv. 10 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 106-125%KO Dig 2x 85-101%KO Bone Club 2x 70-83% View Marowak builds →
Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 70-83% Dig 2x 57-68% View Onix builds →
Rhyhorn GroundRock	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 113-134%KO Dig 2x 90-107%KO View Rhyhorn builds →
Sandshrew Ground	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 103-122%KO Dig 2x 83-98% View Sandshrew builds →

Yellow Evolution

Partway through Nidoran♂ (male)'s chain, Nidorino is a Poison type pushing toward Nidoking. No breeding at this stage. So far, Defense got the biggest boost (+17 from Nidoran M). The final form adds another 140 stats on top. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

3 Forms

#032Nidoran♂ (male)

Level 16

#033Nidorino

Moon Stone

#034Nidoking

Stat Comparison 3 Stages

Nidoran♂ (male)

Poison

Nidorino

Poison

Nidoking

PoisonGround

61+15

81+20

ATK

72+15

102+30

DEF

57+17

77+20

SP.ATK

55+15

85+30

SP.DEF

55+15

75+20

SPE

65+15

85+20

BST

273D-Tier

365D-Tier+92

505C-Tier+140

ROLE

Balanced

Attacker

TYPE

Utility

Physical

Mixed

Breeding not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Yellow Nidorino Best Moveset

Best Build

Gen 1 build content has limited support (no abilities, held items, or natures).

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

Moves

Without TMs, Nidorino's movepool is bare bones. With them, you get Normal and Fighting coverage and more on top of Poison Sting for STAB. The natural kit handles basics, but TMs are doing the real work.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Horn Attack

—6510025Normal

Lv 1

Leer

——10030Normal

Lv 1

Tackle

D3510035Normal

Lv 8

Horn Attack

—6510025Normal

Lv 12

Double Kick

D3010030Fighting

Lv 19

Poison Sting

—1510035Poison

Lv 27

Focus Energy

———30Normal

Lv 36

Fury Attack

—158520Normal

Lv 46

Horn Drill

——305Normal

TM Moves

TM34

Bide+1

———10Normal

TM14

Blizzard

D110905Ice

TM08

Body Slam

C8510015Normal

TM11

Bubble Beam

D6510020Water

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM10

Double-Edge

C12010015Normal

TM07

Horn Drill

——305Normal

TM13

Ice Beam

D9510010Ice

TM31

Mimic

———10Normal

TM20

Rage

—2010020Normal

TM33

Reflect

C——20Psychic

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM40

Skull Bash

C10010010Normal

TM50

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM09

Take Down

—908520Normal

TM25

Thunder

D1107010Electric

TM24

Thunderbolt

D9510015Electric

TM06

Toxic

C—9010Poison

TM12

Water Gun

D4010025Water

Egg Moves

Nidorino doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Nidorino can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Nidorino in Yellow

Nidorino is available from mid-game routes onward at high spawn rates. 4 encounter spots give you plenty of options. Grab one early and it'll be ready to evolve or train by mid-game.

Where To Catch Nidorino in Yellow

Nidoran♂ (male) is your first catch on the way to Nidorino. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 2-44 across 12 total spots in the chain.

Step 1Catch Nidoran♂ (male)
Route 22
Grass Lv.2-4 Route
35%Early
Safari Zone - Center
Grass Lv.14 Facility
20%Early
Route 2
Grass Lv.4-6 Route
15%Early
Route 9
Grass Lv.16-18 Route
30%Mid
Safari Zone - East
Grass Lv.21 Facility
20%Mid
Safari Zone - West
Grass Lv.29 Facility
20%Mid
Route 10
Grass Lv.17 Route
10%Mid
Safari Zone - North
Grass Lv.36 Facility
20%Late
Train until Level 16
Step 2Nidorino ✓
Safari Zone - Center
Grass Lv.23 Facility
10%Mid
Route 9
Grass Lv.18 Route
5%Mid
Route 23
Grass Lv.41-44 Route
35%Late
Safari Zone - West
Grass Lv.32 Facility
10%Late
or evolve from Nidoran♂ (male) (Step 1)

Nidorino Guide

In Yellow, Nidorino isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Nidoking to unlock its full potential. At 365 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.
In Yellow, watch for Rhydon (Ground), Alakazam (Psychic), and Pinsir (Bug) when using Nidorino. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB.
In Yellow, Nidoran M evolves into Nidorino at level 16. Nidorino evolves into Nidoking using a Moon Stone. Nidorino is a middle-stage evolution in the Nidoran M line.
In Yellow, Nidorino fills the balanced role. It's a physical attacker with base 72 Attack. At base 65 Speed, it won't be moving first often.
In Yellow, Nidorino does the job early-game if you need a Poison type on your team. Evolve it into Nidoking before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.

Game Availability

Nidorino has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 19 titles across all 10 generations. As a Gen 1 original, it's one of the most consistently available Pokemon in the franchise.

Click a game to view version-specific details

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Want to tell us more?

What was most useful?

About:

What could be improved?

About:

Thanks for your feedback

Rhydon GroundRock	S
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 163-192%KO Dig 2x 131-154%KO View Rhydon builds →
Dugtrio Ground	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 131-154%KO Dig 2x 104-124%KO View Dugtrio builds →
Sandslash Ground	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 131-154%KO Dig 2x 104-124%KO View Sandslash builds →
Nidoqueen PoisonGround	C
TM Move Moves EarthquakeTM26 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 124-146%KO View Nidoqueen builds →
Nidoking PoisonGround	C
TM Move Moves EarthquakeTM26 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 133-157%KO View Nidoking builds →

Sandshrew Ground	C
TM Move Moves DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Dig 2x 81-96% View Sandshrew builds →
Geodude RockGround	C
TM Move Moves DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Dig 2x 85-102%KO View Geodude builds →
Abra Psychic	C
Upcoming Move Moves View Abra builds →
Paras BugGrass	D
TM Move Moves DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Dig 2x 53-64% View Paras builds →
Venonat BugPoison	D
Upcoming Move Moves ConfusionLv. 19 Learns Confusion at Level 19 View Venonat builds →

Sandshrew Ground	C
TM Move Moves DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Dig 2x 81-96% View Sandshrew builds →
Geodude RockGround	C
TM Move Moves DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Dig 2x 85-102%KO View Geodude builds →
Abra Psychic	C
Upcoming Move Moves View Abra builds →
Paras BugGrass	D
TM Move Moves DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Dig 2x 53-64% View Paras builds →
Venonat BugPoison	D
Upcoming Move Moves ConfusionLv. 19 Learns Confusion at Level 19 View Venonat builds →

Dugtrio Ground	C
TM Move Moves DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Dig 2x 101-119%KO View Dugtrio builds →
Onix RockGround	C
TM Move Moves DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Dig 2x 58-69% View Onix builds →
Sandshrew Ground	C
TM Move Moves DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Dig 2x 82-98% View Sandshrew builds →
Cubone Ground	D
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Bone ClubLv. 10 Damage vs Nidorino Dig 2x 61-72% Bone Club 2x 52-61% View Cubone builds →
Venonat BugPoison	D
Available Moves Moves Leech LifeLv. 27 ConfusionLv. 19 Damage vs Nidorino Leech Life 2x 64-76% Confusion 2x 24-29% View Venonat builds →

Dugtrio Ground	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 130-153%KO Dig 2x 103-123%KO View Dugtrio builds →
Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 75-89% Dig 2x 60-72% View Onix builds →
Sandshrew Ground	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 103-123%KO Dig 2x 83-99% View Sandshrew builds →
Geodude RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 109-130%KO Dig 2x 90-106%KO View Geodude builds →
Cubone Ground	D
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Bone ClubLv. 10 Damage vs Nidorino Earthquake 2x 77-92% Dig 2x 64-75% Bone Club 2x 51-61% View Cubone builds →