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Rhyhorn 100% perfect IV stats, shiny Rhyhorn preview in Pokémon Go

Everything you need to know about Rhyhorn’s Spotlight Hour.

This week’s Spotlight Hour is all about Rhyhorn, the Spikes Pokémon, which... kind of works? It’s more of an armoured Pokémon. Or even the rhino Pokémon would have worked. Still, this is a great opportunity to look for a perfect Rhyhorn in Pokémon Go.

Rhyhorn is a great choice for Spotlight Hour, not because of its use in competitive play, but because its final evolution is an excellent raid attacker in Pokémon Go, which means that you will almost always have a use for Rhyhorn Candy.

With that in mind, you’ll be pleased to know that this week’s Spotlight Hour because of the double catch candy bonus that runs alongside the event — putting in the effort here might just pay off in raids for years to come.

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Watch as battle Guzzlord - one of the Ultra Beasts in Pokémon GoWatch on YouTube

Rhyhorn 100% perfect IV stats in Pokémon Go

This week’s Spotlight Hour is a great opportunity to catch a Rhyhorn with perfect IV stats.

Rhyhorn.

'Perfect' means two things in Pokémon Go, depending on how you plan to use a given Pokémon. First, there’s the maxed out, 100% IV version, which is the 15/15/15 you’re looking for your 4* Pokédex, raids and Master League. Yet, because of how CP is calculated using three stats, a perfect IV Pokémon is generally only ever the best version of itself in the Master League.

Of course, you can’t see the IV of a Pokémon without catching it first, but with a little research beforehand, you can quickly spot a perfect Rhyhorn based on the CP alone.

If you’re at Level 30 (or above), you’ll ideally be looking for the following CPs for a perfect 15/15/15 Rhyhorn:

  • Level 30 (wild CP maximum) – 1415 CP
  • Level 35 (weather-boosted wild CP maximum) – 1533 CP
  • The wild CP value aligns with your Trainer Level until you reach Level 30 and, due to the majority of the player base now being above this level, we’ve kept to these values for the sake of simplicity. These values will, however, be different if you’re currently below Level 30.

    Is Rhyperior good in PVP?

    No. It’s pretty awful, sadly — as a Ground/Rock Pokémon, it has double-weakness to both Grass and Water. This pretty much rules it out of Great League and Ultra League, right off the bat. The irony of this Pokémon knowing Surf is not lost on us, but it is what it is, and what it is is bad.

    Rhyperior.

    Rhyperior runs Mud Slap (Fast), Rock Wrecker (Charged) and Surf (Charged) in all three leagues. Mud Slap hits pretty hard, Rock Wrecker is the reason you have a Rhyperior and Surf is there for coverage.

    This seems like the perfect time to mention that a Rhyperior with Rock Wrecker is excellent in raids, and if you get a decent Rhyhorn, you should consider using an Elite Charged TM to teach it this legacy move once you fully evolved. Since you’re unlikely to use it in Go Battle League, you can skip adding a second Charged move.

    In Great League this means wins against Registeel, Bastiodon, Skarmory, Dunsparce and Noctowl. Losses, meanwhile, will come from the meta-relevant Medicham, Sableye, Lanturn, Galarian Stunfisk and Umbreon.

    Ultra League is similarly poor. You can beat Alolan Muk, Talonflame, Pidgeot, Charizard and Sylveon. You’ll lose rapidly to Cresselia, Swampert and Walrein, and lost slightly slower to Cobalion and Giratina.

    In an odd turn for a Spotlight Hour, Master League is the only viable league for Rhyperior, thanks to the worst of the Water-type threats being less of an issue. It’s by no means great here, but it’s not terrible, which is looking up for our hand-shooty friend. Expect to beat Dialga, Togekiss, Zacian, Excadrill and Giratina. Losses, meanwhile, will come from Groudon, Garchomp, Lugia, Metagross and Mewtwo.


    The World of Wonders season has come to Pokémon Go. Wiglett can now be caught as part of Rediscover Kanto, but don't forget to complete the World of Wonders quest. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.


    Is there a shiny Rhyhorn in Pokémon Go?

    Yes, as with all Kantonian Pokémon, there is a shiny Rhyhorn in Pokémon Go. In this case, shiny Rhyhorn joined the game in February 2020 as part of its Community Day event!

    Everything in Rhyhorn’s evolution line is a Ground/Rock-type Pokémon. (Image credit: pokemon.com)

    What does shiny Rhyhorn look like?

    As you can see below, shiny Rhyhorn is the answer to the question everyone was asking: what if instead of Mud Slap, Rhyhorn used a mud bath?

    Ok, nobody was asking that, but that’s what we’re dealing with here — a weirdly bronze mud, as opposed to the normally slate grey armour adorning Rhyhorn.

    Shiny Rhydon, meanwhile, is pretty disappointing, swapping its usual colours for an yellowish-green colour. Gen 1 did its Pokémon dirt with a lot of shinies, especially those dipping into the green side of the colour palette. Shiny Rhyperior follows a similar body colour to shiny Rhydon, but swaps its orange plates for a sandy yellow colour. This is all pretty disappointing, considering the lustrous colour shiny Rhyhorn brings to the table.

    Watch on YouTube

    Thanks to YouTube user Sly the Neko for the preview.

    Other tips for this Spotlight Hour

    Aside from trying to catch a shiny Rhyhorn in Pokémon Go, there are a couple of other good reasons to partake in this week’s Spotlight Hour:

    • The best reason is, of course, the double catch candy bonus running throughout the hour. This gives you the chance to gather Candy twice as fast as usual, with each Rhyhorn caught giving up to 13 Candy if you use a Pinap/Silver Berry with a Mega-Evolved Pokémon of the same type, instead of the base three.
    • This bonus also extends to your research rewards. Remember, you don’t need to catch these Pokémon when you complete the task; if you run away, you can 'bank' up to 200 Pokémon for times like this, or when you want to maximise a Star Piece or Lucky Egg bonus.
    • If you’re a newcomer, this Spotlight Hour is the perfect time to collect enough Rhyhorn Candy to fully evolve this Pokémon and add its evolution to your Pokédex.
    • Thanks to Rhyhorn being a Ground/Rock-type, catching a bunch during this Spotlight Hour will add progress to your respective catch bonus medals.

    Spotlight Hour events only last for an hour – 6pm to 7pm (local time). Next week’s spotlight hour shows off Yungoos, and brings back the double transfer Candy bonus. Make sure you start tagging which Pokémon you want to transfer now!

    Good luck finding a perfect Rhyhorn!

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