Nidorino is a light purple, quadruped Pokémon. It has several darker purple spots across its body. It has large, spiny ears with teal insides, narrow black eyes, and a long snout with two pointed teeth protruding from the upper jaw. It has a ridge of toxic spines bone its back, and a long, pointed horn on its forehead. The horn is harder than a diamond and capable of secreting poison on impact. Its short legs have three claws on each foot. This is a male only species; the female counterpart is Nidorina.
Nidorino is independent and fierce, often described as violent and easily angered. It uses its ears to check its surroundings. If it senses a hostile presence, all the barbs on its back bristle up at once, and it challenges the foe with all its might. Nidorino live in hot savannas and plains.
In the anime
Nidorino in the anime
Major appearances
A Nidorino appeared in the first episode, battling a Gengar in a battle Ash was watching on TV. Nidorino along with Gengar were the very first Pokémon to be seen in the anime.
Much later, at the beginning of the FireRed & LeafGreen arc, another Nidorino appears in the wild, against whom Red urges a child to take the Gengar on his belt and fight it to weaken it. This again references the opening sequence of the Generation I remakes Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.
Nidorino has a horn that is harder than a diamond. If it senses a hostile presence, all the barbs on its back bristle up at once, and it challenges the foe with all its might.
Its horn is harder than a diamond. If it senses a hostile presence, all the barbs on its back bristle up at once, and it challenges the foe with all its might.
It is also the first Pokémon to be both seen and captured in Pokémon Adventures, in much the same way.
Nidorino, along with Gengar (and, possibly, other Pokémon), originate from the old manga, Capsule Monsters, which is considered the ancestor to the Pokémon franchise.
Nidorino may be a combination of needle and rhinoceros. Nido may also be based on cnidocyte, a type of venomous cell responsible for the stings delivered by stinging animals, most notably by jellyfish. Alternatively, it may be based on 二 ni (two) or 二度 nido (two times/two degrees), referring to the two distinct evolutionary lines using the name with similar names and traits. Rino likely alludes to its male gender; in some languages, such as Spanish, names and words ending in o are an indication to the male gender.