Is Nidorino Good in Gold & Silver Playthrough?
Moon Stone it as soon as you have one. Nidoking is waiting.
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.
Catch Nidoran♂ (male)
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 Nidorino in Gold & Silver
Nidorino appears wild at level 23 in a handful of grass areas across both games. The faster path is leveling a male Nidoran to 16, since the wild ones cluster in just a few spots.
3 locations to catch Nidorino2 locations to catch Nidoran♂ (male)
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 8Catch Nidoran♂ (male) at any of the 2 locations below, then level it up to 16 — it evolves into Nidorino.
Badge 3Where To Catch Nidorino in GS
The only way to get Nidorino during the story is evolving Nidoran♂ (male) (Lv 16).
- Step 2Nidorino ✓or 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.
To plan your throws, open the Gold & Silver catch rate calculator with Nidorino preloaded.
How to Get Shiny Nidorino in Gold & Silver
Nidorino roams the grass on Route 13, Route 14, and Route 15, and a sparkling catch can be evolved with a Moon Stone into the otherwise unobtainable shiny Nidoking. Compare Shiny Nidorino odds across every game
Gold & Silver Shiny Nidorino 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.
For time estimates and charm math, open the Gold & Silver shiny odds calculator with Nidorino already selected.
Nidorino Weakness
Ground and Psychic moves hit Nidorino for super-effective damage. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Only 2 weaknesses makes it relatively easy to build around defensively.
| 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 Nidorino Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Nidorino
 Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
 Marowak Ground | B | |
 Donphan Ground | B | |
 Kadabra Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidorino View Kadabra builds →Future Sight 2x187-220%KO Dig 2x24-29% | ||
Nidoking PoisonGround | B | |
 Nidoqueen PoisonGround | C | |
 Graveler RockGround | B | |
 Sandslash Ground | C | |
 Jynx IcePsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidorino View Jynx builds →Dream Eater 2x150-176%KO Mud-Slap 2x11-13% | ||
 Piloswine IceGround | C | |
 Lugia Psychic | S | |
Obtain MethodWhirl Islands Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidorino View Lugia builds →Dream Eater 2x122-144%KO Earthquake 2x80-94% | ||
 Xatu Psychic | C | |
 Pupitar RockGround | C | |
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidorino View Slowbro builds →Dream Eater 2x133-157%KO Earthquake 2x69-81% | ||
Nidorino Evolutions
Nidorino is partway through a three-stage line between Nidoran♂ (male) and Nidoking. The chain involves an evolution item, so it's not a straightforward grind. 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
Breeding
Breed with Nidorino 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 Nidorino Best Moveset
Middle stage with Attack that hints at Nidoking's potential but can't back it up yet. Moon Stone is the immediate priority.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Hidden Power Fire
- Protect
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Don't skip the egg moves. Nidorino picks up Amnesia and Beat Up only through breeding, and both fill gaps the natural movepool can't. STAB runs through Poison Sting while coverage across 8 types adds range.
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
21 of 25 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It raises its big ears to check its surroundings. If it senses anything, it attacks immediately.
Quick to anger, it stabs enemies with its horn to inject a powerful poison when it becomes agitated.
Nidorino Gold & Silver Guide
In Gold & Silver, 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.
In Gold & Silver, use Nidorino as a balanced. Physical side carries the damage. Not the fastest,
Game Availability
Nidorino has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 19 titles across all 9 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
- 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 Nidorino.
Keep playing · Gold & SilverGold & Silver Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Gold & Silver Tier List