Pokemon’s Russian Pokedex Says One Evolution Is a Freedom Fighter

Recently, the Russian Pokedex made the news by giving Pokemon Fans a wild iteration of Ash Ketchum and his background as a pocket monster trainer. Now, the wild take on the world of Pokemon has once again re-emerged thanks in part to its take on the Pokemon known as Nidorino. While the creature certainly can have a bad temper in the franchise, most notably being a part of Team Rocket’s roster in the anime adaptation, the Russian Pokedex sees the Nidorino becoming something of a “freedom fighter” thanks to its evolution. 

The Russian Pokedex was first released in 2001, prior to there being an official Pokedex book that was released to the masses. From this description, along with the breakdown of Ash Ketchum’s character, it’s clear that this Russian iteration took some liberties when it came to the world of Pokemon. With the Pokedex covering the original Pokemon of the franchise’s first generation, there might be even more hidden gems that have yet to be explored.

Nidorino: Critcizer of Governments

Here’s how the Russian Pokedex describes the spiky creature, “After maturing Nidoran turn into Nidorino, evil and grumpy creatures who bite and scratch. They’re always mad about something, irritable, and always criticizing the government of the countries they live in. As well as all other governments. They often read newspapers and go to protests and demonstrations.”

This is quite bizarre in the fact that Nidorinos don’t typically exhibit any of these characteristics, and we would imagine that it is difficult to criticize governments if the pocket monsters can’t speak. The description then continues, revealing how ruthless this iteration of Nidorinos can be, “Trainers can easily tame their Nidorino by giving them fake jewelry – rings, earrings, and pendants that Nidorino wears on holidays or when they go to protests. Nidorino are loyal to those trainers till death, and happy to cut the throats of their rivals. They’re very caring.” 

Since Pokemon’s First Generation was introduced, we’ve seen scores of new pocket monsters released in both the franchise’s video games and anime series. With the arrival of Pokemon Horizons, Ash Ketchum has bid a fond farewell to the anime series, leaving the door open for new trainers Liko and Roy to take center stage. With the Paldea region from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet set to be explored in the current season, expect more pocket monsters to make the leap from the games to the anime.

Via Reggie_800