Is Nidorino Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Moon Stone it immediately. Nidoking on the other side is worth more than any moves Nidorino might learn by staying unevolved.
Brock's typing presses Nidoran♂ (male)'s defenses.
Nidorino trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge'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 Koga's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Giovanni's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Lorelei'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 Agatha's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Catch Nidoran♂ (male)
Catch Nidoran M on Route 2 (walking, Lv 4-6, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- LV 8NormalHorn AttackPower 65Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Koga
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Kanto Power Plant
Evolve Nidoran♂ (male) to Nidorino
Nidoran♂ (male) evolves into Nidorino at Level 16. Your Nidoran♂ (male) should hit Level 16 before you reach Misty, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Koga
- TM06PoisonToxicPower —Accuracy 85%PP 10Prize for defeating Fuchsia Gym Leader Koga
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Koga
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Kanto Power Plant
Evolve Nidorino to Nidoking
Nidorino evolves into Nidoking with a Moon Stone. You can pick up the Moon Stone in Mt. Moon. 3 other locations are also available.
Recommended Moves
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Koga
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Silph Co.
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
How to Get Nidorino in Yellow
Wild Nidorino is rare across the mid routes, so most players just raise the male Nidoran to 16 instead.
3 locations to catch Nidorino5 locations to catch Nidoran♂ (male)
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Catch Nidoran♂ (male) at any of the 5 locations below, then level it up to 16 — it evolves into Nidorino.
Badge 1
Badge 2 Badge 3 Badge 4 Badge 5 Badge 6 Badge 7 Badge 8Where To Catch Nidorino in Y
Available earlier: catch Nidoran♂ (male) at the very start and evolve it at Lv 16. Wild Nidorino first appears at Route 9 (after Badge 3).
- Step 2Nidorino ✓Safari Zone - CenterLv.23FloorRate 10%Route 9Lv.18GrassRate 5%Route 23Lv.41-44GrassRate 30%Safari Zone - WestLv.32FloorRate 10%or evolve from Nidoran♂ (male) (Step 1)
- Step 3Evolve into Nidoking
To plan your throws, open the Yellow catch rate calculator with Nidorino preloaded.
Nidorino Weakness
Ground, Psychic, and Bug moves hit Nidorino for super-effective damage. 3 weaknesses is about average, nothing too hard to play around.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground, Psychic, Bug |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Poison |
- 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
What is Nidorino Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Nidorino
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Sandslash Ground | C | |
 Hypno Psychic | C | |
 Marowak Ground | C | |
 Onix RockGround | C | |
 Dugtrio Ground | B | |
 Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidorino View Kadabra builds →Psybeam 2x101-119%KO Dig 2x42-50% | ||
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidorino View Parasect builds →Dig 2x83-98% Leech Life 2x28-34% | ||
 Venomoth BugPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidorino View Venomoth builds →Confusion 2x42-50% Leech Life 2x23-27% | ||
 Butterfree Bug | C | |
Nidorino Evolutions
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
Y Nidorino Best Moveset
65 Attack is the best stat on a Poison-type that can't do anything with Poison moves. Nidoking is a Moon Stone away, and the coverage movepool that makes Nidoking interesting doesn't exist at this stage.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Double Kick
- Ice Beam
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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 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 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 19 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its horns contain venom. If they are stabbed into an enemy, the impact makes the poison leak out.
Nidorino Yellow Guide
- Where in the Yellow Safari Zone can I find Nidorino?
See the Locations section above for where to find Nidorino in Yellow.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Nidorino from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Nidorino 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 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.
In Yellow, 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 · YellowYellow Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Yellow Tier List