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First off, I would like to apologize for the extended break in this series, but I am very excited to be writing the 100th Pokémon of the Week entry! Thank you so much to all of those who have contributed and commented along the way. The goal was always to release one spotlight a week, but from here on out the staff is going to be setting a new goal of once every other week to hopefully keep them from getting delayed or rushed out at the last minute.
Without further ado, let's dive into today's Pokémon line.
In the World of Pokémon, there lives a vast number and variety of amazing creatures to befriend and collect. Every entry of this series focuses on a single Pokémon or evolutionary line and highlights what makes it special. For our 100th entry, we will be talking about Rhydon and its evolutionary relatives!
The Rhyhorn line is a Ground/Rock type line whose appearance is primarily based on rhinoceroses with some elements of various dinosaurs such as ceratopsians and ankylosaurs. They are very strong, sturdy Pokémon usually depicted with short tempers and an aggressive nature. Their tough, rock-like hide allows them to live in some of the most extreme environments, even in molten magma. Though not known for their intelligence, Rhyhorn can be trained to race while carrying a trainer on its back, which is a popular sport in the Kalos region. The final stage, Rhyperior, gains the interesting trait of cannon arms that it can use to fire off rocks (or sometimes small Rock Pokémon) at its opponents.
Rhydon is particularly important to Pokémon as a franchise for several reasons,one being it was the very first Pokémon designed by Ken Sugimori. Because of this it has a hidden index number of 001 in the Generation I games. Interestingly, Kanghaskhan and Nidoran-M are 002 and 003 respectively, potentially meaning these three Pokémon were part of the same evolutionary line in an early conceptual stage of the games and were later broken into three distinct lines. The sprite for Substitute and the statues that appear in various locations throughout the games seem to be inspired by Rhydon as well.
Rhydon has made several significant appearances in both the games and anime. Rhydon is the most powerful Pokémon used by Giovanni in the Viridian City Gym in Gen I (though this was strangely changed to a Rhyhorn in FireRed and LeafGreen despite them evolving on level 42). Blaine uses a Rhydon in his battle against Ash in the anime, likely referring to Rhydon's Pokédex entry stating its tolerance to magma. This battle brought us the ever controversial "Aim for the horn!" moment in which Pikachu defeated Rhydon with an Electric attack. In Generation III, Rhyhorn and Rhydon gained the ability Lightningrod, possibly as a reference to this very scene. Rhydon's evolved form Rhyperior appears on Tower Tycoon Palmer's team in Generation IV and as his signature Pokémon in the anime.
Rhydon's combination of high attack and defense has always been a force to be reckoned with. Just access to powerful STAB moves like Rock Slide and Earthquake made it one of the most potent attackers in the games it was introduced in. Since then it has gained access to more powerful moves such as Megahorn and stat boosting moves such as Rock Polish and Swords Dance. Its Special Attack is extremely low for an evolved Pokémon, but it does have a wide array of strong Special Attacks at its disposal which may be useful for a varied in-game moveset. It also has equally low Special Defense and even lower Speed, which do hold this Pokémon back in the competitive scene. Because of the addition of Rhyperior, Rhydon has access to the Eviolite, which boosts its defenses well beyond those of its evolution. After evolving through trade while holding the Protector, it gains a small boost in every stat except for Speed and the new ability Solid Rock, which weakens Super Effective attacks. It also gains access to one of the most powerful Rock-type moves in the game, Rock Wrecker.
Here are some questions to consider to get conversation rolling. You don't have to answer all of them or any of them in your post as long as you're staying on topic and within global forum rules.
Without further ado, let's dive into today's Pokémon line.
In the World of Pokémon, there lives a vast number and variety of amazing creatures to befriend and collect. Every entry of this series focuses on a single Pokémon or evolutionary line and highlights what makes it special. For our 100th entry, we will be talking about Rhydon and its evolutionary relatives!
The Rhyhorn line is a Ground/Rock type line whose appearance is primarily based on rhinoceroses with some elements of various dinosaurs such as ceratopsians and ankylosaurs. They are very strong, sturdy Pokémon usually depicted with short tempers and an aggressive nature. Their tough, rock-like hide allows them to live in some of the most extreme environments, even in molten magma. Though not known for their intelligence, Rhyhorn can be trained to race while carrying a trainer on its back, which is a popular sport in the Kalos region. The final stage, Rhyperior, gains the interesting trait of cannon arms that it can use to fire off rocks (or sometimes small Rock Pokémon) at its opponents.
Rhydon is particularly important to Pokémon as a franchise for several reasons,one being it was the very first Pokémon designed by Ken Sugimori. Because of this it has a hidden index number of 001 in the Generation I games. Interestingly, Kanghaskhan and Nidoran-M are 002 and 003 respectively, potentially meaning these three Pokémon were part of the same evolutionary line in an early conceptual stage of the games and were later broken into three distinct lines. The sprite for Substitute and the statues that appear in various locations throughout the games seem to be inspired by Rhydon as well.
Rhydon has made several significant appearances in both the games and anime. Rhydon is the most powerful Pokémon used by Giovanni in the Viridian City Gym in Gen I (though this was strangely changed to a Rhyhorn in FireRed and LeafGreen despite them evolving on level 42). Blaine uses a Rhydon in his battle against Ash in the anime, likely referring to Rhydon's Pokédex entry stating its tolerance to magma. This battle brought us the ever controversial "Aim for the horn!" moment in which Pikachu defeated Rhydon with an Electric attack. In Generation III, Rhyhorn and Rhydon gained the ability Lightningrod, possibly as a reference to this very scene. Rhydon's evolved form Rhyperior appears on Tower Tycoon Palmer's team in Generation IV and as his signature Pokémon in the anime.
Rhydon's combination of high attack and defense has always been a force to be reckoned with. Just access to powerful STAB moves like Rock Slide and Earthquake made it one of the most potent attackers in the games it was introduced in. Since then it has gained access to more powerful moves such as Megahorn and stat boosting moves such as Rock Polish and Swords Dance. Its Special Attack is extremely low for an evolved Pokémon, but it does have a wide array of strong Special Attacks at its disposal which may be useful for a varied in-game moveset. It also has equally low Special Defense and even lower Speed, which do hold this Pokémon back in the competitive scene. Because of the addition of Rhyperior, Rhydon has access to the Eviolite, which boosts its defenses well beyond those of its evolution. After evolving through trade while holding the Protector, it gains a small boost in every stat except for Speed and the new ability Solid Rock, which weakens Super Effective attacks. It also gains access to one of the most powerful Rock-type moves in the game, Rock Wrecker.
Here are some questions to consider to get conversation rolling. You don't have to answer all of them or any of them in your post as long as you're staying on topic and within global forum rules.
- Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
- How is this Pokémon in-game?
- How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
- Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
- How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
- If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
- How do you feel about adding evolutions to Pokémon in later generations? Do you think Rhyperior is an appropriate evolution to Rhydon?
- Do you prefer using Rhydon or Rhyperior, either in-game or competitively?
- Would you try racing on a Rhyhorn?
- Pokémon of the Week #1: Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, & Venusaur
- Pokémon of the Week #2: Scraggy & Scrafty
- Pokémon of the Week #3: Gulpin & Swalot
- Pokémon of the Week #4: Porygon, Porygon2, & Porygon-Z
- Pokémon of the Week #5: Emolga
- Pokémon of the Week #6: Rufflet & Braviary
- Pokémon of the Week #7: Ditto
- Pokémon of the Week #8: Wynaut & Wobbuffet
- Pokémon of the Week #9: Sneasel & Weavile
- Pokémon of the Week #10: Murkrow & Honchkrow
- Pokémon of the Week #11: Houndour & Houndoom
- Pokémon of the Week #12: Exeggcute & Exeggutor
- Pokémon of the Week #13: Gastly, Haunter, & Gengar
- Pokemon of the Week #14: Smoochum & Jynx
- Pokémon of the Week #15: Beldum, Metang, & Metagross
- Pokémon of the Week #16: Bidoof
- Pokémon of the Week # 17: Deerling and Sawsbuck
- Pokémon of the Week #18: Munchlax and Snorlax
- Pokémon of the Week #19: Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff
- Pokémon of the Week #20: Nincada, Ninjask, and Shedinja
- Pokémon of the Week #21: Pumpkaboo & Gourgeist
- Pokémon of the Week #22: Mudkip, Marshtomp, and Swampert
- Pokémon of the Week #23: Froakie, Frogadier, and Greninja
- Pokémon of the Week #24: Rattata & Raticate
- Pokémon of the Week #25: Mimikyu
- Pokémon of the Week #26: Mareep, Flaaffy, & Ampharos
- Pokémon of the Week #27: Delibird
- Pokémon of the Week #28: Espeon
- Pokémon of the Week #29: Rowlet, Dartrix, & Decidueye
- Pokémon of the Week #30: Popplio, Brionne, & Primarina
- Pokémon of the Week #31: Litten, Torracat, & Incineroar
- Pokémon of the Week #32: Woobat & Swoobat
- Pokémon of the Week #33: Vulpix & Ninetales
- Pokémon of the Week #34: Mewtwo
- Pokémon of the Week #35: Shellos & Gastrodon
- Pokémon of the Week #36: Weedle, Kakuna, & Beedrill
- Pokémon of the Week #37: Alomomola
- Pokémon of the Week #38: Pidove, Tranquill, & Unfezant
- Pokémon of the Week #39: Darkrai
- Pokémon of the Week #40: MissingNo.
- Pokémon of the Week #41: Pikachu
- Pokémon of the Week #42: Bonsly & Sudowoodo
- Pokémon of the Week #43: Wingull & Pelliper
- Pokémon of the Week #44: Swirlix & Slurpuff
- Pokémon of the Week #45: Lotad, Lombre, & Ludicolo
- Pokémon of the Week #46: Kangakhan
- Pokémon of the Week #47: Riolu & Lucario
- Pokémon of the Week #48: Raichu
- Pokémon of the Week #49: Magikarp & Gyarados
- Pokémon of the Week #50: Horsea, Seadra & Kingdra
- Pokémon of the Week #51: Elgyem & Beheeyem
- Pokémon of the Week #52: Scyther & Scizor
- Pokémon of the Week #53: Crabrawler & Crabominable
- Pokémon of the Week #54: Rotom
- Pokémon of the Week #55: Numel & Camerupt
- Pokémon of the Week #56: Sableye
- Pokémon of the Week #57: Corsola
- Pokémon of the Week #58: Diglett & Dugtrio
- Pokémon of the Week #59: Klink, Klang, & Klinklang
- Pokémon of the Week #60: Caterpie, Metapod, & Butterfree
- Pokémon of the Week #61: Gible, Gabite & Garchomp
- Pokémon of the Week #62: Celebi
- Pokémon of the Week #63: Feebas & Milotic
- Pokémon of the Week #64: Honedge, Doublade & Aegislash
- Pokémon of the Week #65: Shieldon & Bastiodon
- Pokémon of the Week #66: Zorua & Zoroark
- Pokémon of the Week #67: Zubat, Golbat, & Crobat
- Pokémon of the Week #68: Swinub, Piloswine, & Mamoswine
- Pokémon of the Week #69: Wimpod & Golisopod
- Pokémon of the Week #70: Farfetch’d
- Pokémon of the Week #71: Jangmo-o, Hakamo-o & Kommo-o
- Pokémon of the Week #72: Gallade
- Pokémon of the Week #73: Snover and Abomasnow
- Pokémon of the Week #74: Voltorb and Electrode
- Pokémon of the Week #75: Pawniard and Bisharp
- Pokémon of the Week #76: Mew
- Pokémon of the Week #77: Suicune
- Pokémon of the Week #78: Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard
- Pokémon of the Week #79: Luvdisc
- Pokémon of the Week #80: Rockruff and Lycanroc
- Pokémon of the Week #81: Snorunt, Glalie, and Froslass
- Pokémon of the Week #82: Zigzagoon & Linoone
- Pokémon of the Week #83: Togedemaru
- Pokémon of the Week #84: Koffing and Weezing
- Pokémon of the Week #85: Cleffa, Clefairy & Clefable
- Pokémon of the Week #86: Absol
- Pokémon of the Week #87: Dhelmise
- Pokémon of the Week #88: Ponyta & Rapidash
- Pokémon of the Week #89: Venipede, Whirlipede and Scolipede
- Pokémon of the Week #90: Shinx, Luxio & Luxray
- Pokémon of the Week #91: Fennekin, Braixen, and Delphox
- Pokémon of the Week #92: Fletchling, Fletchinder & Talonflame
- Pokémon of the Week #93: Drilbur and Excadrill
- Pokémon of the Week #94: Type: Null & Silvally
- Pokémon of the Week #95: Sandygast and Palossand
- Pokémon of the week #96: Dratini, Dragonair & Dragonite
- Pokémon of the Week #97: Starly, Staravia, and Staraptor
- Pokémon of the Week #98: Girafarig
- Pokémon of the Week #99: Stunfisk