Rhydon

Drill Pokémon, says the category, and for once the label undersells it. The ringed horn on its snout works like a real drill: it spins, bores through rocks and boulders and, according to one of the oldest entries, can even pierce a raw diamond. Its tail handles the rest of the dirty work. With one swing, it can knock down a building.

What separates it from Rhyhorn isn't size, but posture. When it evolves, it rises onto its hind legs, and the entries insist that this change developed its intelligence: it stops being an animal that only knows how to charge head-on and gains arms, hands and something resembling a plan. It is 1.9 metres tall and weighs 120 kilograms.

Its hide is the other argument. Rigid as armour, it serves as a shield and can withstand liquid lava at 2000 °C without feeling the heat; another entry claims that even cannon fire wouldn't scratch it. That's why it sometimes gets trapped in magma currents and simply walks out again.

It's the middle stage of a three-stage line, although for three generations it was the final one: Rhyperior didn't arrive until much later.

485 points distributed with absolutely no subtlety. On one side, 130 Attack and 120 Defense; on the other, 45 Special Attack, 45 Special Defense and 40 Speed. It's a sledgehammer that takes physical hits and crumples the moment anything special looks at it funny.

On offense, the Ground and Rock pairing divides the work nicely: Ground punishes Fire, Electric, Rock, Steel and Poison, while Rock covers exactly what Ground misses, Flying and Bug. It gets Earthquake at level 47, Stone Edge at 54 and Megahorn at 61, which is the answer to Psychic and Grass Pokémon that would otherwise dismantle it. Defensively, the same pairing is a disaster: immunity to Electric and resistances to Normal, Fire, Flying and Rock in exchange for taking quadruple damage from Water and Grass, and double damage from Ice, Fighting, Ground and Steel.

Of its two regular abilities, Lightning Rod is almost decorative in singles—the Ground typing already makes it immune to Electric, and the Special Attack boost it grants goes to a stat of 45—but in doubles it draws lightning aimed at its partner towards itself. Rock Head is the useful one: it cancels recoil, letting Double-Edge hit for 120 with no cost and Wild Charge for 100 with no cost. Reckless, its hidden ability, makes the opposite trade.

What holds it back is its 40 Speed and that 45 Special Defense, which turn any neutral special attack into a problem. In a normal playthrough it works as the hammer of the second half of the adventure, especially against Rock-, Steel- or Electric-type Gyms, and in doubles it serves as a literal lightning rod.

It belongs to the Monster and Field Egg Groups, two of the most populated, so finding a compatible partner is no trouble at all. The gender split is 50%, without the starter Pokémon catch. Its 20 incubation cycles amount to roughly 5355 steps.

The Egg Move list has one option that stands above the rest: Rock Polish, which doubles its Speed and turns that 40 into 80. Guard Swap matches its defenses to the opponent's, and there is something to work with there too, because one of them is dreadful. Counter, Curse, Metal Burst and Dragon Rush round out the group.

Rhyhorn evolves into this form at level 42, late even for a Slow growth rate. The next step no longer depends on level: you have to trade it while it is holding Protector, a requirement that rules out anyone playing alone. Its habitat is rough terrain, and defeating it yields 2 Attack EVs.

Its catch rate, 60, sits in the uncomfortable part of the scale: it isn't the 45 of an elusive Pokémon, but it is nothing like the 255 of any route-dwelling bug. It is best to lower its health and put it to sleep before wasting Poké Balls.