What does Growlithe evolve into?

Growlithe has 2 evolution paths: Arcanine using a Fire Stone and Hisuian Arcanine using a Fire Stone. Different conditions, different results.

Should I use Growlithe?

For Yellow, you can run Growlithe through the first few routes without issues. 330 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Arcanine as fast as you can.

Where can you catch Growlithe?

Growlithe is catchable in Yellow. Check the Locations section above for specific routes, encounter rates, and methods. It also appears in 20 other games across the series.

Does Growlithe have regional forms?

Yes. Hisuian Growlithe is a regional variant with different typing and a reworked stat spread. Introduced in Gen 8. Plays completely differently from the original.

Growlithe - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Special

Balanced

DTier

60Speed · Below Avg

Stats & Training

An unusually even spread gives Growlithe flexibility. Attack barely edges ahead. But Defense isn't far off. Common in the wild and follows a slow 1.25M XP grind. Yields 1 Attack stat exp.

Base Stats

Avg

HP55

Attack70

Defense45

Sp. Atk50

Sp. Def50

Speed60

Total330

Details

Catch Rate

Easy190 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height0.7 m

Weight19.0 kg

Base XP70

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+1DefSpASpDSpe

Attack training source

Pokedex Entries

A POKéMON with a friendly nature. However, it will bark fiercely at anything invading its territory.

Yellow

Growlithe Weakness

Type-wise, Growlithe takes extra damage from Water, Ground, and Rock. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Standard number of weaknesses for the Fire typing.

Growlithe Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Water, Ground, Rock
0.5x (Resist)	Fire, Grass, Ice, Bug

Type ChartAvg

3Weak

4Resist

0Immune

Score-2

Gen I Type Chart

Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Water Ground Rock

½xResist

Fire Grass Ice Bug

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (3)

Grass Ice Bug

How to Beat Growlithe in Yellow (Best Counters)

Lapras WaterIce	B
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift Available Moves Moves Hydro PumpLv. 46 SurfHM03 Bubble BeamTM11 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Growlithe Hydro Pump 2x 141-166%KO Surf 2x 115-137%KO Bubble Beam 2x 85-100%KO Water Gun 2x 54-63% View Lapras builds →
Kingler Water	B
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Super Rod Available Moves Moves CrabhammerLv. 42 SurfHM03 Bubble BeamTM11 BubbleLv. 1 Damage vs Growlithe Crabhammer 2x 87-102%KO Surf 2x 78-93% Bubble Beam 2x 58-68% Bubble 2x 37-44% View Kingler builds →
Dewgong WaterIce	C
Available Moves Moves SurfHM03 Bubble BeamTM11 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Growlithe Surf 2x 99-117%KO Bubble Beam 2x 72-85% Water Gun 2x 46-54% View Dewgong builds →
Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Rock ThrowLv. 19 Damage vs Growlithe Earthquake 2x 87-102%KO Dig 2x 70-83% Rock Slide 2x 66-78% Rock Throw 2x 46-54% View Onix builds →
Omanyte RockWater	D
Obtain MethodCinnabar Island Gift Available Moves Moves SurfHM03 Bubble BeamTM11 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Growlithe Surf 2x 120-141%KO Bubble Beam 2x 87-102%KO Water Gun 2x 55-66% View Omanyte builds →

Yellow Evolution

Growlithe starts a line toward Arcanine. Can't breed this Fire type (330 stats), so keep the evolution path going. Evolving adds up to 225 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#058Growlithe

Fire Stone

#059Arcanine

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Growlithe

Fire

Arcanine

Fire

90+35

ATK

110+40

DEF

80+35

SP.ATK

100+30

SP.DEF

80+30

SPE

95+35

BST

350D-Tier

555A-Tier+205

ROLE

Balanced

Attacker

TYPE

Mixed

Breeding not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Yellow Growlithe Best Moveset

Best Build

Gen 1 build content has limited support (no abilities, held items, or natures).

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

Moves

TMs carry this one. Growlithe learns Fire Blast and Flamethrower naturally for STAB, but the offensive range comes almost entirely from technical machines. Dark and Normal and beyond give it real matchup play.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Bite

D6010025Normal

Lv 1

Roar-6

———20Normal

Lv 18

Ember

D4010025Fire

Lv 23

Leer

——10030Normal

Lv 30

Take Down

—908520Normal

Lv 39

Agility

C——30Psychic

Lv 50

Flamethrower

C9510015Fire

TM Moves

TM34

Bide+1

———10Normal

TM08

Body Slam

D8510015Normal

TM28

Dig

—10010010Ground

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM10

Double-Edge

C12010015Normal

TM23

Dragon Rage

——10010Dragon

TM38

Fire Blast

C120855Fire

TM31

Mimic

———10Normal

TM20

Rage

—2010020Normal

TM33

Reflect

C——20Psychic

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM40

Skull Bash

C10010010Normal

TM50

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM39

Swift

D60—20Normal

TM09

Take Down

—908520Normal

TM06

Toxic

C—9010Poison

Egg Moves

Growlithe doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Growlithe can't learn any Tutor moves

Yellow Growlithe Locations

Growlithe starts showing up in mid-game routes at decent spawn rates across 1 encounter spots. The list below is sorted so you can pick what fits your current progress without scrolling through everything.

Best Locations to Catch Growlithe in Yellow

Pokémon Mansion - 1F

Grass Lv.26-38 Building

20%Mid

Growlithe Guide

Growlithe has 2 evolution paths: Arcanine using a Fire Stone and Hisuian Arcanine using a Fire Stone. Different conditions, different results.
For Yellow, you can run Growlithe through the first few routes without issues. 330 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Arcanine as fast as you can.
Growlithe is catchable in Yellow. Check the Locations section above for specific routes, encounter rates, and methods. It also appears in 20 other games across the series.
Yes. Hisuian Growlithe is a regional variant with different typing and a reworked stat spread. Introduced in Gen 8. Plays completely differently from the original.

Game Availability

Since debuting in Red & Blue, Growlithe has appeared in 21 titles over 10 generations. Along the way, it received a Hisuian form in Generation 8, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.

Click a game to view version-specific details

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Want to tell us more?

What was most useful?

About:

What could be improved?

About:

Thanks for your feedback

Lapras WaterIce	B
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift Available Moves Moves Hydro PumpLv. 46 SurfHM03 Bubble BeamTM11 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Growlithe Hydro Pump 2x 145-171%KO Surf 2x 119-141%KO Bubble Beam 2x 86-102%KO Water Gun 2x 55-65% View Lapras builds →
Gyarados WaterFlying	B
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Gift) Available Moves Moves Hydro PumpLv. 41 SurfHM03 Bubble BeamTM11 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Growlithe Hydro Pump 2x 112-132%KO Surf 2x 92-108%KO Bubble Beam 2x 66-78% Water Gun 2x 43-51% View Gyarados builds →
Blastoise Water	C
Obtain MethodEvolve Squirtle (Vermilion City Gift) Available Moves Moves Hydro PumpLv. 52 EarthquakeTM26 SurfHM03 DigTM28 Damage vs Growlithe Hydro Pump 2x 145-171%KO Earthquake 2x 92-109%KO Surf 2x 119-141%KO Dig 2x 74-88% View Blastoise builds →
Vaporeon Water	C
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves Hydro PumpLv. 52 SurfHM03 Bubble BeamTM11 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Growlithe Hydro Pump 2x 178-210%KO Surf 2x 147-173%KO Bubble Beam 2x 108-127%KO Water Gun 2x 66-78% View Vaporeon builds →
Omastar RockWater	C
Obtain MethodEvolve Omanyte (Cinnabar Island Gift) Available Moves Moves Hydro PumpLv. 49 SurfHM03 Bubble BeamTM11 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Growlithe Hydro Pump 2x 186-219%KO Surf 2x 152-180%KO Bubble Beam 2x 112-132%KO Water Gun 2x 68-81% View Omastar builds →

Geodude RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Rock ThrowLv. 16 Damage vs Growlithe Dig 2x 102-120%KO Rock Throw 2x 66-78% View Geodude builds →
Sandshrew Ground	C
TM Move Moves DigTM28 Damage vs Growlithe Dig 2x 96-114%KO View Sandshrew builds →

Geodude RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Rock ThrowLv. 16 Damage vs Growlithe Dig 2x 102-120%KO Rock Throw 2x 66-78% View Geodude builds →
Sandshrew Ground	C
TM Move Moves DigTM28 Damage vs Growlithe Dig 2x 96-114%KO View Sandshrew builds →
Squirtle Water	D
Obtain MethodVermilion City Gift Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Bubble BeamTM11 BubbleLv. 8 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Growlithe Dig 2x 50-60% Bubble Beam 2x 60-72% Bubble 2x 40-48% Water Gun 2x 40-48% View Squirtle builds →

Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Rock ThrowLv. 19 Damage vs Growlithe Dig 2x 71-84% Rock Slide 2x 67-80% Rock Throw 2x 48-57% View Onix builds →
Geodude RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Rock ThrowLv. 16 Damage vs Growlithe Dig 2x 106-125%KO Rock Slide 2x 100-118%KO Rock Throw 2x 67-80% View Geodude builds →
Dugtrio Ground	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Damage vs Growlithe Dig 2x 122-144%KO Rock Slide 2x 77-91% View Dugtrio builds →
Cubone Ground	D
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Bone ClubLv. 10 Bubble BeamTM11 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Growlithe Dig 2x 73-87% Bone Club 2x 61-72% Bubble Beam 2x 34-41% Water Gun 2x 23-28% View Cubone builds →
Squirtle Water	D
Obtain MethodVermilion City Gift Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Bubble BeamTM11 BubbleLv. 8 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Growlithe Dig 2x 49-58% Bubble Beam 2x 57-68% Bubble 2x 38-46% Water Gun 2x 38-46% View Squirtle builds →

Lapras WaterIce	B
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift Available Moves Moves Bubble BeamTM11 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Growlithe Bubble Beam 2x 87-104%KO Water Gun 2x 54-64% View Lapras builds →
Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Rock ThrowLv. 19 Damage vs Growlithe Earthquake 2x 90-107%KO Dig 2x 73-86% Rock Slide 2x 69-82% Rock Throw 2x 48-57% View Onix builds →
Geodude RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Rock ThrowLv. 16 Damage vs Growlithe Earthquake 2x 133-157%KO Dig 2x 108-129%KO Rock Slide 2x 102-121%KO Rock Throw 2x 69-82% View Geodude builds →
Dugtrio Ground	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Damage vs Growlithe Earthquake 2x 157-186%KO Dig 2x 127-150%KO Rock Slide 2x 81-95% View Dugtrio builds →
Cubone Ground	D
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Bone ClubLv. 10 Bubble BeamTM11 Damage vs Growlithe Earthquake 2x 96-114%KO Dig 2x 79-93% Bone Club 2x 63-75% Bubble Beam 2x 33-40% View Cubone builds →