Merging the two Nidorans

[Greninjaman]

As we all know, each gender of Nidoran is very different from each other in terms of appearance, Pokedex entries, and moves. They are also treated like separate Pokemon.
Why haven't they been merged into one yet with a split evolution based on gender (with female becoming Nidorina & Nidoqueen, while the male becomes Nidorino & Nidoking)?

 

[Daren]

I have two thoughts for why; firstly, I imagine it could cause problems with transferring Pokémon between games if the two lines were merged.

Secondly, mainline Pokémon is one of the most conservative and change-averse long running game series' out there.

 

[Greninjaman]

Never thought of that. I guess it would cause problems.

 

[Salmancer]

And reduce the number of original Pokemon from 151 to 150!? This is probably one of those cases where the upsides of keeping the status quo are greater than the downside of making a fix. In my opinion, doing this would...

• (-) Make it so that Kanto has 150 Pokemon. 151 is a significant number in Pokemon. There is even a TCG set coming out billed entirely on containing the original 151 in National Pokedex order.
• (-) Reduce every Pokemon with a National Pokedex Number above 32's Dex Number by 1. These numbers are also important, and not just because people make jokes about Vivillion. They are printed on the cards, the 1000th Pokemon announcement video paired each species with their number, and some fanartists associate Pokemon species with certain dates based on their number.
• (-) Result in one Nidoran gender being deemed "less important" than the other, given that 1 of the two genders will keep their position in the Pokedex and the other will not.
• (-) Echoing Daren, require additional coding to make sure male Nidoran from prior games are correctly designated as an alternate form of female Nidoran. (or vice versa)
• (+) Appease some people who really care about logical inconsistencies.
• (+) Create publicity, because changing the National Pokedex would be a big deal.

While I'm always one to poke fun at things that don't make sense in fiction, I don't think this is an issue that warrants addressing. It's a footnote at best, and one that would cause plenty of problems if it was addressed.

 

[Zexy]

As Salmancer said, I also agree that the newly created hole would unnecessarily change lots of iconic Pokedex numbers, and most importantly one of the most iconic numbers associated with the franchise, 151, which is used for marketing purposes when it comes to all things Kanto, and especially Mew. They would never change 151.

 

[JollyYoshi]

There will be some inconsistency with this one Pokémon just being a totally “different” Pokémon due to a gender difference while other Pokémon have a gender difference are the same Pokémon. I think as a relic of history and to preserve “151”, we are perfectly fine with two Nidorans.