I'm not going to lie: growing up, I thought the Nidoran evolutionary line was one of the most interesting in game! 

The sexual dimorphism (or, the physical difference between the male and female of the species) was a super interesting concept to me, and I think it did a lot for world-building in the earlier games. 

But I digress. Let's hop into this chapter!

(Note: I will be doing my best to note the significant differences between the male and female variations of Nidoran. I might not be able to cover every difference, but I will try!)

Type Factor: 

Both the male and female variants begin as pure poison types, but upon their final evolution they gain the ground type as well. This makes for an interesting combination. 

It becomes immune to electric, but weak to ground, water, psychic, and ice. Yikes! Offensively, the poison type gives it an advantage over grass types. As for the ground type, it gives an advantage over fire, electric, poison, rock, and steel types. That's pretty useful! 

Basically, the addition of the ground type introduces it to more weaknesses, but it gives it more advantages as well!

Design Factor: 

I love Nidoran's design! 

The differences between the male and female variations are noticeable, making the designs incredibly unique. Even though they are the same Pokémon, they almost look like entirely different species from each other! 

Also, both the male and female versions have interesting evolutionary changes through each stage while still maintaining a similar look. Both of them are adorable in their first stage, cool in their middle stage, and intimidating in the final stage. Overall, this Pokémon has a great design in my book!

Lore Factor: 

Something I find very interesting about the Nidoran line is that Nidoking and Nidoqueen have very different Pokédex entries from one another. This really feeds into the idea of sexual dimorphism and expands on the world-building in the game! For the purposes of this chapter, I'll address Nidoking and Nidoqueen separately. 

Nidoking's Pokédex entries allude to brute strength, making many references to its destructive power or its penchant for rampaging. It even states that it can topple metal transmission towers with the swing of its tail! Clearly, this Pokémon is very attack-oriented. 

On the other hand, Nidoqueen's Pokédex entries tend to suggest these Pokémon are more defense-oriented. There are many references to Nidoqueen's armor-like scales and protective instincts. The Pokédex states that these scales can stand upright like needles! I think it's safe to say that Nidoqueen is not a Pokémon to try and mess with!

Stats Factor: 

Interestingly enough, Nidoking and Nidoqueen have the same base stat total. However, they have different base numbers for the six stats that are measured in that total. For instance, Nidoking generally will have attack as its highest stat and special defense as its lowest. As for Nidoqueen, HP is the highest and special attack is the lowest. So, keep this in mind when you are considering the Nidoran line for your team: depending on the gender, the stats may vary! You'll want to plan ahead and decide which stats you'd like to favor on your team.

Evolutionary Factor: 

Truth be told, I think this is one of the most interesting evolutionary lines in the region! The fact that it contributes so much to world-building is a huge plus for me, and it's generally just plain cool! As an evolutionary line, I think this Pokémon gets an A+!

Conclusion: 

Let's review: a neat type combination, a cool design, an interesting bit of lore, and some decent stats? Sounds like Nidoran's line is pretty great! So, if you're looking for a cool Pokémon that can handle itself in battle, the Nidoran line is for you! 

To my fellow researchers: 

Certainly, the Nidoran line is not the only one with sexual dimorphism, but it is the first one with such blatant differences! How do you prepare for the differences between the male and female variants? Let me know in the comments!