Are there benefits to using Rhyperior over other options in Platinum?

I don’t know if I should use it for an in-game team for Platinum. I know how to get it, and the evolution item. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to answer or comment. Include a moveset, if you have any.

PX note: answers should include roughly how much time it’d take to get Rhyperior over it’s other options, a rough evaluation of its strengths and weakness and why it should or shouldn’t be used over another similar Pokemon

Pleaselog inorregisterto add a comment.

First, Rhyperior is most obviously outclassed by Golem. You can get Geodude pretty early, so there’s a part of the game when Geodude is better simply because Rhyhorn is unobtainable. Golem also evolves much earlier than Rhydon does, so there’s a big part of the game when Golem is better than Rhyhorn simply because Golem is better than Rhyhorn. To make it worse, Rhyhorn levels up slowly, so it might not evolve into Rhydon until after the seventh gym. Even though Rhyperior ends up with better HP and physical attack than Golem, that’s not even close to compensating for how much worse Rhyhorn is for the majority of the game.

Of course, just because Golem is better than Rhyperior doesn’t mean Golem is the best. Both are ground rock type. Because they’re rock type, they’re worse than other ground types when the opponent has fighting or ground attacks and when you want to listen to pop music. Because they’re ground type, they’re worse than other rock types when the opponent has ice attacks. Golem and Rhyperior are both slow, so they’re especially likely to take a super effective attack before they can hit back. The best ground Pokemon is most likely Torterra, but if you didn’t choose Turtwig, then the best is probably Gliscor. Gliscor can evolve much earlier than Rhydon does, so it’s a lot better than Rhyhorn up to around the seventh gym. After both are fully evolved, I’d say Gliscor is still better because it has less weaknesses, and swords dance and better speed means it can more easily sweep opponents. (and even if Gliscor was slightly weaker than Rhyperior, the difference doesn’t make up for the difference between Gliscor and Rhyhorn) The best rock type is probably Rampardos. Compared to Rhyhorn, Cranidos comes earlier and has better physical attack and speed. Cranidos does have weaker defenses, but having fewer weaknesses kind of offsets that.

It comes with a number of weaknesses, many of which are extremely common, it’s very slow, and you have to wait until level 42 until it can evolve. You also can’t get the Protector until Iron Island but by then Rhyhorn shouldn’t be evolved yet. Its level up movepool also kind of sucks, mostly Normal type moves for almost all of its life as a Rhyhorn.

Here’s where it begins to shine. It has ridiculously high attack and good defense and HP to boot, compared to Rampardos who has no defensive utility outside of its Rock typing. Solid Rock is also a nice ability that helps with Rhyperior’s typing. Rock/Ground is amazing offensively and it’s one of the best candidates for TM26 (Earthquake) since you get it so early. Rhyhorn’s bad level up movepool is salvaged by the fact that it gets Rock Blast almost immediately after capturing it, and Rhyperior gets access to a lot of really strong moves, such as Megahorn and Hammer Arm. Sadly, Rhyperior gets them pretty late.

Torterra, Rampardos, Gliscor, and Hippowdon may seem like better options, but Torterra is a starter, Rampardos has to deal with its nonexistent bulk, Gliscor has an atrocious level up movepool early, and Sand Stream is an unhelpful ability ingame. Each of these have their own pros and cons over the other options available. It’s hard to be awful ingame, so use Rhyperior if it seems like an interesting or fun option.

It mostly faces competition from Golem, who you catch way earlier and carries the same typing with a much better movepool from level up. Its stats are inferior to Rhyperior, but you might not even have access to it until around the end of the game. Golem isn’t even considered the best option in the game either due to the prominence of the aforementioned other Rock and Ground types. Both are also really slow.

TL:DR: It’s up to personal preference, but otherwise use Golem.

EDIT: I forgot Golem was in the regional dex aaaaaaaa