Rhydon was the very first Pokémon ever created by designer Ken Sugimori, long before Pikachu became the globally recognized yellow face of the massive corporate franchise.

A closer look

Rhydon was the very first Pokémon ever created by designer Ken Sugimori, long before Pikachu became the globally recognized yellow face of the massive corporate franchise. The original concept for the game, then called Capsule Monsters, leaned heavily toward dinosaurs and giant kaiju rather than cute, cuddly electric rodents designed to sell millions of plush toys. You can still see the evidence of Rhydon's historical importance scattered throughout the first generation of games, as statues of the grumpy rock rhino are mysteriously placed outside of virtually every Pokémon gym. It must be devastating for Rhydon to know he was the founding father of the highest-grossing media franchise in human history, only to be entirely overshadowed by a squeaky yellow rat who absolutely refuses to get inside his designated magical capturing sphere