Who's That Pokémon? #112 Rhydon

#112 Rhydon (a.k.a. Sidon)

Bulbapedia Article

Named after rhinoceros (Japanese: sai) and don (Ancient Greek for "tooth," as used in many dinosaur names), Rhydon is a Ground/Rock Pokémon based on dinosaur with rhinoceros characteristics.  Many of the first created Pokémon were dinosaur based (including Lapras and Ivysaur) and Rhydon being the first seemed to set the standard for later creatures (note its physical similarities with Kangaskhan, Nidoking and Nidoqueen).

From the Pokedex:  It begins walking on its hind legs after evolution.  It can punch holes through boulders with its horn.  Protected by an armor-like hide, it is capable of living in molten lava of 3,600 degrees.  Shows signs of intelligence.

Clearly, the most significant attributes are its horn (used for Horn Attack and Horn Drill) and its hide (used for defense and Fire-resistance).  This explains why Blaine was given one to own in the anime, as the volcano gym would be the best place to show off its abilities.

Generation I Moveset and Strategy

Smogon's Analysis

Despite being classified as Ground/Rock, Rhydon only learns normal moves by leveling up.  Yet, it learns moves from a variety of different types by TM, such as Surf, Fire Blast, and Thunder.  Some consider this to be due to Rhydon being the first Pokémon programmed in the game, allowing developers to rely on it to get them through the game quickly.  However, as an attacker, it had a low special stat, meaning it's best moveset would be the following:

Earthquake - Ground Rock Slide - Rock Body Slam - Normal Substitute - Normal

Earthquake and Rock Slide provide the STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) while Body Slam hits hard and paralyzes.  Substitute takes advantage of Rhydon's high defense to add some extra wall strength.  I also like that the Substitute doll is based on Rhydon, making this a fitting move.  None of the Generation II tradeback moves improve upon this moveset, so this is the best choice, making for one of the strongest fighters in the first generation.

Generation I Sprites

    

Each of these sprites do a fine job of representing Rhydon, but I'd probably give the edge to the Yellow sprite.  The Red/Green Sprite has a good pose, but that giant eye is weird.  The Blue sprite is a little better, but the Yellow one is the most intimidating.  The first two are too cuddly.

Generation I Locations

Aside from evolving Rhyhorn, the best place to get a Rhydon is Cerulean Cave at Level 52 and 55 in Red/Green/Blue and Level 58-60 and 62 in Yellow.  This seems to reference the original Rhydon drawing in which we see Rhydon and his trainer exploring a cave.  It makes sense to save this appearance for the very end as a special bonus.

In Yellow, one can also trade a Golduck for one on Cinnabar Island, possibly as a reference to Blaine's volcano dwelling Rhydon from the show.

Notable Generation I Rhydon

1.  Blue/Gary's Rhydon (Red/Green/Blue and The Electric Tale of Pikachu - ET19)

Rhydon is one of Blue's final Pokémon  solidifying his status as a Champion Pokémon Trainer.  His Rhydon is the last reveal of his ever-changing team.  SPOILERS:  Blue will bring this Rhydon with him into the Generation II games and Pokémon Adventures chapters.

2.  Blaine's Rhydon (Anime - EP058)

In a surprising twist, Blaine becomes the first gym leader in the anime to use a Pokémon not of his signature type during a gym battle.  As stated, this is to show off Rhydon's resiliency in a volcanic setting, although this is also the only Rhydon that is susceptible to Electric attacks via its horn.

3.  Koga's Rhydon (Pokémon Adventures - PS007)

Koga leads some Team Rocket grunts through Mt. Moon and uses an experimental drug to induce evolution on his Rhyhorn, making it a more powerful opponent.  It couldn't be defeated by strength alone and a distraction had to be implemented to allow Red and Misty to escape.  Perhaps the forced evolution stunted its intelligence.

4.  Bruno's Rhydon (Pokémon Stadium)

While not a major player in the handheld games, Rhydon is the strongest member of Bruno's team during both rounds of the Stadium battles.  During the first round, it is armed with both Horn Drill and Fissure, meaning it has the power to OHKO anything, while in the second round, it has a moveset similar to Smogon's picks (with Surf as a wild card to take out other Rock-types).

5.  Brock's Rhydon (TCG - Gym Heroes)

Despite not using a Rhydon in the games (yet), one of Brock's holographic rares is a Rhydon that uses its thick hide to defend the Pokémon on the Bench, taking any attacks directed towards them.  That's is just like Brock to have a Pokémon that looks out for its other teammates.

6.  The Fairchild Island Giant Rhydon (Anime - EP104)

A fake giant Rhydon first appeared on Giovanni's Pokémon Land where our shipwrecked heroes found themselves in EP017.  But actual giant Rhydon lived on one of the Orange Islands with equally giant Pidgeot.  A trapped Pikachu and Meowth had to work together to defeat it, using their ability to tickle it into submission.

7.  Junk's Rhydon (TCG - Jungle and How I Became a Pokémon Card - PW14)

The story behind the rampaging Rhydon from the Jungle set is told in the story "Rhydon's Pride."  Although I don't currently have access to this particular manga, I know that Junk is a recurring character and he is the only trainer I've seen thus far whose Rhydon is serving its original purpose.  Junk actually rides his Rhydon and uses it to transport his things, just like in "Capsule Monsters."

8.  Giovanni's Rhydon (Red/Green/Blue, anime, and nearly every manga)

Giovanni seems to have four signature Pokémon   His Persian rarely battles, and his Nidoqueen and Nidoking appear the most, but he is never seen far from his Rhydon.  Unlike the Nido duo, Giovanni only uses his Rhydon in gym battles.  This is true of every canon that the Rhydon appears in, showing that Giovanni feels that it best represents his status as a Ground-type Gym Leader.  While the previous Rhydons are important, Giovanni is the trainer I most associate with the creature.

Final Thoughts

While most important Pokémon usually get some sort of personality trait, Rhydon represents the idea that these are just monsters, fighting and defending their territory.  Every Rhydon appearance is based on its girth and strength.  However, it is not an evil destroyer, but rather a helpful protector.  It's worthy of being the first Pokémon created and it's definitely worthy of being on any trainer's team.

Rhydon's Verdict - Gotta Catch 'Em!

Pocket Monsters Trading Cards and Other Old Ken Sugimori Art

One thing I always love is finding lost art created by the original Pokémon illustrator and designer Ken Sugimori.  He created the official art for the games, and lent his input to the look of the anime as well.  Through some scouring of the internet, I have discovered some of his older drawings circa the introduction of the series.  Much of this art never found it's way across the sea due to outdated character designs.  I'd like to share some of my findings and I urge you to share any you find with me as well.

First up is what may be the earliest official piece of Pokémon art.  It features Red and Blue striking a pose with their Charizard and Pikachu.  (You'll notice that throughout these early images, Charmander appears to have been Blue's starter Pokémon.) 

Red and Blue are a little shorter than they usually are in later official images, but their design ultimate will stay unchanged throughout the first generation.  Blue would eventually use the belt he uses to store Poké Balls, but he'll retain the necklace that he uses to keep his current badge on.  This is an element that never really got expanded on, but you'll see that Red keeps his badge on his cap.  I assume it's the last badge he received (in this case, Cascade) because it changes in a few images.  Later we'll see badge cases that can display all badges at once.

More noticeably, Pikachu seems quite odd.  He was pudgier in the old days and had a noticable white belly pattern that would later be dropped.  Charizard's difference is a little less noticeable due to the angle, but he only has one horn instead of two.  A later manga called Pokémon Zensho would use this design for Charizard and I thought the artist was making a mistake based on the angle of Charizard's head in the image.  But no, as you can clearly see in the next picture, Charizard had a single horn.

I'm not exactly sure where this image originated from.  All I've found is that there were a set of Pokémon stickers that these images came with and there are at least 5 (according to the number on the picture).  Pidgeot is referred to as "Pijotto" (which is similar to the English name of it's unevolved form Pidgeotto) rather than it's Japanese name "Pigeot."  I really like this action shot of the two trainers flying, especially sense Charizard couldn't learn Fly until the Yellow version of the game (and sky battles didn't even exist until Generation VI).

Another image from this series features Red fighting Lass's Pikachu (or Bikachu?) with his Ivysaur.  Apparently, Sugimori picked Bulbasaur to be Red's starter.

We can tell this is a very early image because Pikachu's Poké Ball is split into two halves like the original capsule design, rather than having a hinge like in the anime.  And while Lasses would become a recurring trainer type in the games, I'm unsure as to whether she was originally supposed to be the playable female option that later became Leaf.  The outfit of the mystery female trainer is different, however, as seen in the next image.

This image actually did make it into the official American artwork, and it plagued me for years as I tried to identify the girl.  We'll be seeing her again shortly in other books and manga, so don't worry.  The mystery has been solved.  Once again, we see the trainers standing with their official starter choices.  And while this above image is actually from a later round of official drawings, it does invoke one last early piece of the trainers preparing to start their journey.

There is a lot more Sugimori art to be found out there, but there is just one last piece I'd like to share with you.  Bandai Carddass created a set of Pocket Monster Trading Cards with original Sugimori images.  Unlike the TCG, these were simply collectables that featured info about each of the 151 Pokémon   The coolest aspect was that for each card, a Pokémon would be showcasing one of their attacks, resulting in some pretty cool images and angles that hadn't been seen before or since.

    

The complete set can be viewed at Bulbapedia but below are my top 25 personal favorites.

1.  Ponyta's Fire Spin

2.  Paras Leeching the Life of a Weedle

3.  Mr. Mime Stopping a Wartortle with Barrier

4-6.  The Original Designs of Pikachu, Slowpoke, and Kakuna (Belly Patterns and Arms!)

    

7-9.  What Happens When Pokémon Explode?

    

10-12.  The Bellsprout Family (Vine Whip, Acid, and Razor Leaf)

    

13.  Gengar's Dream Eater

14.  Ditto's Malfunctioning Transformation

15.  The Closest We Get to Seeing Under Cubone's Skull

16-18.  The Dratini Family (Bind, Dragon Rage, Hyper Beam)

    

19-20.  Krabby Hates Ditto

    

21-24.  Everybody Hates Psyduck

    

    

25.  And Then Psyduck Finally Loses His Headache

Aim to Be a Pokémon Master/Pokémon Theme

With the success of the games and cards, the next step for Pokémon was television.  Originally planned to be only 80 episodes and a movie, the show became just as popular as the rest of the franchise and remains on air to this day.  Americans received the show on the same day as the games and used it as a helpful tutorial as they played along side the story.

But before I get into each episode, I would like to look at the very first thing viewers saw: the opening songs.  I'll compare both the Japanese and American versions of the opening, since each used different visuals and theme music.

You can watch both of them here:

Aim to Be a Pokémon Master - Video  Bulbapedia Article

Pokémon Theme - Video Bulbapedia Article

Visuals

Aim to Be a Pokémon Master uses mostly original material not seen during the regular course of the show, save for a couple bits of stock animation of Satoshi/Ash in battle mode.  Pokémon Theme uses a mix of AtBPM footage and clips from episodes rearranged.  This gives the animation editing a choppy haphazard effect due to the constantly changing visuals.  For example, in the original, the legendary birds fly in towards the end of the song, followed by Mewtwo and Mew in space.  In the American version, Mewtwo and Mew are at the very beginning and when the legendary birds come in much later, Moltres is dropped completely (because that was where the transition to space occurs).  This leaves that segment feeling incomplete.

The transitional Moltres

AtBPM runs much smoother and helps establish the world and the grandness of the adventure better.  PT was just confusing since half of the shots were recognizable clips from episodes, which it made it seem like the other clips were from episodes the audience never got to see.  As I child, I always wondered why it took so long for certain Pokémon to be featured in the show, like Fearow, the Poliwag family, and the legendary birds, and now I see that it was because originally they were featured in the opening.

Aim to Be a Pokémon Master Specific Clips:

- The 7 TCG type symbols floating around the title in Japanese

- A multi-screen flashing up a dozen random Pokémon with their names

- Ash standing on a hill over looking the wilderness around Pallet Town as the camera pans around him then showing Pikachu at his feet

- Ash walking with Pikachu across a field

- Ash sending out his Pidgeot to fight the Fearow (foreshadowing the last episode of the season)

- Ash, Brock, and Misty running alongside a river in the rain as some Poliwag, Poliwhirl and a Poliwrath watch from the water

- The trio camping at night, sitting around a campfire

- The bit with Ash and the Arcanine leads into Mewtwo in space with Moltres flying by bridging the two scenes

- Ash raising his Poke Ball leading to him standing with Brock, Misty, and Pikachu on the final title screen

Pokémon Theme Specific Clips:

- Shots of Squirtle, Cubone, and Pidgeotto in battles

- Bulbasaur being captured from EP010

- Ash celebrating his assumed capture of Pidgey from EP001

- Charmander being licked by Haunter from EP023

- Shots of Sandshrew, Kadabra, and Charmander in battles

- Lt. Surge’s Raichu fighting Pikachu from EP014

- Team Rocket’s Ekans and Koffing threatening Ash’s Caterpie from EP003

- Ash hugging Pikachu from EP026

- The giant Tentacruel destroying a building from EP019

- Shot of Onix in battle

- The giant Charizard attacking the trio from EP017

- Squirtle joining Ash’s team from EP012

- Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Butterfree, Zubat, and Pidgeotto flying from EP019

- The Pokémon title screen with spinning Poke Ball

Clips in Both Versions:

- Pikachu running by a Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, and Ash (and under the skirt of that girl, who is either a Lass or the anime version of Leaf, the unused girl trainer from the games)

- Ash and Pikachu riding a Lapras, watching a Gyarados and a Dragonair

- The character line up of Ash, Misty, Brock, then Team Rocket, then Gary

- Prof. Oak, Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and Ash’s mother Delia nodding in unison

- Ash running with the Arcanine, Rapidash, Zapdos and Articuno

- Mewtwo and Mew in space

- Ash alone in the darkened stadium

Music

Having grown up with the Pokémon Theme as my reference point, I do prefer that song to Aim to Be a Pokémon Master.  Everyone from my generation instantly recognizes it, and more importantly, it is fun to sing along to.  It really amps up the epic nature of being a Pokémon Trainer.  The original is a little too talky, as the singer explains the conceit of the whole show.

Both are sung from Ash’s point of view, but AtBPM contains more direct references to Ash’s life in Pallet Town while PT is more universal and can apply to any wannabe Trainer.  The motivational lyrics in PT are cheesy but that makes the song more fun.  AtBPM is more tedious and not as fun to listen to (especially with the random outbursts from Pikachu and Prof. Oak).

Overall

I have to give the edge to the Japanese version in this case.  The visuals run a lot smoother than the American version and it has that sense of being original and not cobbled together and repackaged to be more appealing to our American eyes.  And eventually, you get used to the song.  Mostly, I like it because it answered a few questions I had while watching the series in its original run.  If there were a way to combine the English song with the Japanese visuals, that would be best.

Aim to Be a Pokémon Master – A-

Pokémon Theme – B+

A more in-depth comparison from Dogasu's Backpack