Nidoking

"Nidorina" and "Nidorino" finally evolve into "Nidoqueen" and "Nidoking," big bruisers whose ground typing is reflected in their ability to plunge into the earth and burrow. They're among the meanest-looking tetrapods in the original 151, and it's no surprise they were signature pokemon of Giovanni, big boss of Team Rocket. Now, I said these pokemon don't match up to any particular real-world animal, but they do bear a very striking resemblance to the Toho kaiju, Baragon, and it probably isn't a coincidence. How many other purpleish, fanged, horn-nosed dinosaurs are there with bunny ears? Not only that, but Baragon is also an earthquake-causing burrower. All the Nidorans did was throw venom into the mix! I'm totally cool with the Nidorans being shameless ripoffs of a minor Godzilla nemesis, but I do have a critique for them. The "venomous needle" aspect is what makes them particularly cool and unique, but we're left to use our imaginations and take their word for it, since they're only actually drawn with a few blunt, rounded-looking horns, and Nidoking's even shrank over time. This earlier Sugimori art is bristling with spines!