Something I found a while back...

[Flareth]

Not sure if this is the right place, but...

Ok, here's the lowdown.
In the original Red and Green sprites, I noticed something odd. These sprites happen to have something in common:

What do they have in common? The eyes. The mouth shape (somewhat; Nidoking & Rhydon have similar mouths, while Nidoqueen & Lapras have similar mouths). Their cries (again, Nidoking & Rhydon are similar and Nidoqueen & Lapras ar similar.)They have a horn. They have been able to learn Horn Drill and Fissure, both OHKO moves. And with the exception of Lapras, they all have a common type and weakness: Ground.

I have two theories. The first on relates to the games' development. It's possible (yet HIGHLY unlikely) that they were at one point a single Pokemon (Nidoking/queen especially.)

The other relates to the pokemon world. A single species split into two groups: one adapted to life in the water, the other to ground life. That species further divided into two more species, one became poisonous, the other adapted to a rocky enviornment. The poisionous species then had something happen to it in order to have a species whose genders had easily visible differences.

Just a theory or two.

 

[GatoRage]

Not likely, since Rhydon was the first Pokemon created.
Although the Nido's could possibly have been split up by gender at some stage.

 

[Kutomba]

Lapras doesn't seem quite similar enough; although I do think the Nidos were one Pokemon. TECHNICALLY, both Nidorina and Nidoran evolve from the same Poke.

 

[HexagonStephen]

You can't really count their cries as a similarity. There were only 30 or so cries in Gen I.

 

[Flareth]

Good point.

Still, something to point out.

 

[Green Zubat]

I really dig this theory. I mean, even if you use the "well Gen I had crappy sprites" excuse it still works for the later artwork, along with the other similarities.

Also, this reminds me of those pokemon statues that appear in the ruins of alph, the ones that look like both Nido and Rhydon at the same time. You can't really determine which they are for sure, so this could possibly be more evidence of all these pokemon evolving [naturally] from an earlier, now extinct one.

 

[Zenax]

Nidoking, Nidoqueen and Rhydon are pretty similar. Maybe, like they said, it comes from a common ancestor. I think the Nido were meant to be the same specie, though, they just didn't have gender difference in Gen. I.

 

[Flareth]

Nidoking, Nidoqueen and Rhydon are pretty similar. Maybe, like they said, it comes from a common ancestor. I think the Nido were meant to be the same specie, though, they just didn't have gender difference in Gen. I.

The same species?

In that case, why not just hold the lines until Gen2? Not bashing it
or anything, I'm just sayin'.

Though the common ancestor does make sense (don't expect me to say the same thing about real life.)

 

[Giovanni Sakaki]

I noticed that too. Also, in Gen I, many Pokemon had characteristic curly tails, such as Meowth, Persian, Squirtle, Wartortle, Vulpix, and Rattata. What's up with that?

 

[HexagonStephen]

I noticed that too. Also, in Gen I, many Pokemon had characteristic curly tails, such as Meowth, Persian, Squirtle, Wartortle, Vulpix, and Rattata. What's up with that?

That may just be a designing thing. You may be thinking too much about this.

 

[Flareth]

That may just be a designing thing. You may be thinking too much about this.

Who, me?

Anyway, I've decided that Lapras is too different from the others (It can learn Sheer Cold, the mouth shape isn't similar to Nidoqueen's that much, and the typing/weakness thing).

 

[Giovanni Sakaki]

That may just be a designing thing. You may be thinking too much about this.

You can never think too much about anything! There is a reason!

 

[HexagonStephen]

You can never think too much about anything! There is a reason!

Maybe Sugimori just liked curled tails? And, they are all based on small mammals.

 

[Flareth]

Maybe so, but your idea might as well be a coincidence, considering they all (supposedly) came from Mew.

EDIT: Damnit, you got there first.

 

[Ookalf]

The same species?

In that case, why not just hold the lines until Gen2? Not bashing it
or anything, I'm just sayin'.

Though the common ancestor does make sense (don't expect me to say the same thing about real life.)

I doubt they realized at the time that they would be getting a second set of games, or that they would be able to make Pokémon have different genders in those games.

 

[Oswin]

I dunno... Why would Lapras be related to The Nido's and Rhydon?
To be honest I think it's just a coincidence.
Any way, it's not like this is the first related Pokemon idea;
Cubone being the baby in Kangaskhans pouch,
Clefable and Gengar being related some way,
Metapod originally intended to evolve into Venomoth, Venonat to Butterfree.

But in this instance, I think there might be something with the Nido's and the Rhydons, but not Lapras.

 

[Azure Butterfly]

All of these were created early in development. Kanghaskhan too - all of them have the same kinds of eyes in their sprites, so they were probably done at the same time.

 

[hurristat]

Nidoking, Nidoqueen and Rhydon are pretty similar. Maybe, like they said, it comes from a common ancestor. I think the Nido were meant to be the same specie, though, they just didn't have gender difference in Gen. I.

*species

I don't think that Rhydon and the nidos evolved from a similar ancestor. The fact that a lot of the nidos' line involves poison and there's no indication of any sort of poison in the rhyhorn line, it seems odd that they would be evolutionarily related.

 

[YamBO]

Maybe some parts of some pokemon were just "recycled" in order to save "some" time (is that what the first theory says?)? Well, I don't know what I'm saying since I do not have any experience with sprite design.

 

[Cyber Jet]

My mind=blown right now.

I do not think they where a single Pokemon thought maybe Ryhorn was part of it as it was made extremely early when the games where being made and Lapras seems like the odd one out because it's a water based Pokemon but maybe it went like this Nidoqueen -> Nidoking -> Ryhorn.