Special
Setup Sweeper
CTier
95Speed · Above Avg

Stats & Training

Everything pushes toward mixed damage here. Arcanine's Attack does the work, Defense pays the price. But you're still getting 2 Attack stat exp per KO. Moderately hard to find, on a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats
High
HP90
B
Attack110
B
Defense80
C
Sp. Atk100
B
Sp. Def80
C
Speed95
B
Total555
Details
Catch Rate
Challenging75 / 255
Growth Rate
Slow1.25M XP
Height1.9 m
6'03"Average
Weight155.0 kg
341.7 lbsHeavy
Base XP194
High Yield
Abilities
Abilities were introduced in Generation III. Shown below for reference.
Intimidate
Lowers opponents' Attack one stage upon entering battle.
Flash Fire
Protects against fire moves. Once one has been blocked, the Pokémon's own Fire moves inflict 1.5× damage until it leaves battle.
JustifiedHA
Raises Attack one stage upon taking damage from a dark move.
Flash Fire grants Fire immunity
EV Yield
HPAtk+2DefSpASpDSpe
Attack training target
Pokedex Entries

An ancient picture scroll shows that people were attracted to its movement as it ran through prairies.

Crystal

Arcanine Weakness

Arcanine's Fire typing leaves it vulnerable to Water, Ground, and Rock. The Fire typing picks up 5 resistances to work with. With 90 HP and balanced defenses, Arcanine can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.

Arcanine Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Water, Ground, Rock
0.5x (Resist)Fire, Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel
Type ChartAvg
3Weak
5Resist
0Immune
Score-1
Gen II Type Chart
  • Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
  • Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
  • Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
WaterGroundRock
½xResist
FireGrassIceBugSteel
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
None
STAB (4)
GrassIceBugSteel
How to Beat Arcanine in Crystal (Best Counters)

In Crystal, Golem can KO Arcanine with Earthquake (95-112%). Nidoking's Earthquake hits Arcanine for 83-97%. Vaporeon deals 79-93% with Surf.

Golem
Golem
RockGround
A
Recommended Build
ItemLeftovers
Moves
  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Explosion
  • Rapid Spin
  • RoarUtility
Damage vs Arcanine
Earthquake 2x
95-112%KO
Explosion
79-93%
Rapid Spin
16-19%
View Golem builds →

Crystal Evolution

Arcanine evolved from Growlithe's chain using an evolution item. It's a non-standard trigger, so check the details below. Breed this form to get Growlithe eggs (average hatch time). The evolution from Growlithe pushed Arcanine to 555 total stats. Attack saw the largest single gain at +40. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Growlithe
#058Growlithe
Fire Stone
Fire Stone
Arcanine
#059Arcanine
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Growlithe
Fire
Arcanine
Fire
HP
55
90+35
ATK
70
110+40
DEF
45
80+35
SP.ATK
70
100+30
SP.DEF
50
80+30
SPE
60
95+35
BST
350D-Tier
555A-Tier+205
ROLE
Balanced
Attacker
TYPE
Mixed
Mixed

Breeding

Easy

Breed with Arcanine to get Growlithe eggs easily using 66 partners from the Ground egg group. Notable egg moves include Body Slam, Crunch, Fire Spin and 2 more.

Egg Groups
Ground
Gender
♂75.0%♀25.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
5moves
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokquagsirenidorinofarfetchdflaaffy
12 of 66·

Crystal Arcanine Best Moveset

Best Build

Experimental
Utility
Ability
Not in Gen 2
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Nature
Not in Gen 2

Utility Moveset

  • Extreme Speed
  • Fire BlastSTAB
  • FlamethrowerSTAB
  • CrunchCoverage

Recommended Teammates

Tyranitar
TyranitarDecent
Dragonite
DragoniteDecent

Moves

You'll want to breed for Body Slam and Crunch on Arcanine. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Fire Blast and Flamethrower, they expand what Arcanine can actually threaten in practice.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Flame Wheel
—6010025Fire
Lv 1
Leer
——10030Normal
Lv 1
Roar-6
B——20Normal
Lv 1
Take Down
C908520Normal
Lv 50
Extreme Speed+2
S801005Normal

TM Moves

TM
TM45
Attract
D—10015Normal
TM03
Curse
B——10Ghost
TM28
Dig
C6010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM24
Dragon Breath
C6010020Dragon
TM20
Endure+4
D——10Normal
TM38
Fire Blast
A120855Fire
TM21
Frustration
D—10020Normal
TM02
Headbutt
C7010015Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
—6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
B150905Normal
TM23
Iron Tail
C1007515Steel
TM17
Protect+4
C——10Normal
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM27
Return
D—10020Normal
TM05
Roar-6
B——20Normal
TM08
Rock Smash
—2010015Fighting
TM35
Sleep Talk
C——10Normal
TM13
Snore
—4010015Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
C——5Fire
TM34
Swagger
C—8515Normal
TM39
Swift
C60—20Normal
TM06
Toxic
C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Body Slam
B8510015Normal
Egg
Crunch
A8010015Dark
Egg
Fire Spin
—357015Fire
Egg
Safeguard
D——25Normal
Egg
Thrash
—12010020Normal

Tutor Moves

Tut
Tutor
Flamethrower
A9510015Fire

Reminder Moves

Rem
Rem
Agility
C——30Psychic
Rem
Bite
C6010025Dark
Rem
Ember
—4010025Fire
Rem
Flamethrower
A9510015Fire

How to Get Arcanine in Crystal

You're catching Growlithe first, not Arcanine. Growlithe appears at solid rates in the encounters below. The step cards map the full 2-stage line with evolution methods between each stage.

How to Obtain Arcanine in Crystal

To get Arcanine, start by catching Growlithe through walking encounters at Lv. 5-17. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.

  1. Growlithe
    Step 1Catch Growlithe
    Route 35
    Grass Lv.13 Route
    20%Early
    Morning/day
    Route 36
    Grass Lv.5 Route
    10%Early
    Morning/day
    Route 37
    Grass Lv.16 Route
    40%Mid
    Morning
    Route 37
    Grass Lv.16 Route
    40%Mid
    Day
    Route 8
    Grass Lv.17 Route
    10%Mid
    Morning/day
  2. Arcanine
    Step 2Arcanine ✓

Arcanine Guide

  • In Crystal, Arcanine works as a setup sweeper with 555 BST behind it. C-Tier on our list: a niche pick in Crystal's meta. Extreme Speed with Leftovers is the standard set.

  • In Crystal, watch for Starmie (Water), Golem (Ground), and Aerodactyl (Rock) when using Arcanine. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB.

  • Arcanine is a special attacker with base 100 Sp. Atk. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. Speed tells the real story. Base 95 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. Fits the setup sweeper role.

  • In Crystal, run Extreme Speed, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, and Crunch on Arcanine. Extreme Speed is the most common pick at 16% usage. Flamethrower provides reliable STAB damage.

  • For Crystal, Arcanine has answers, but so do you. Faster attackers outpace it. Anything with a super-effective STAB move and decent speed can revenge kill.

Game Availability

Available since Red & Blue, Arcanine appears in 21 games spanning 10 generations. Beyond its original form, it gained a Hisuian form in Generation 8.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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