Special
Attacker
BTier
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 EVs 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
IntimidatePopular
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.
JustifiedHANiche
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

Its proud and regal appearance has captured the hearts of people since long ago.

Arcanine Weakness

Arcanine's Fire typing leaves it vulnerable to Water, Ground, and Rock. It resists 6 types, so it can switch into a lot of moves safely. Flash Fire grants an additional Fire immunity, reshaping the matchup chart. 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, Fairy
Type ChartAvg
3Weak
6Resist
1Immune
Score0
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
WaterGroundRock
½xResist
FireGrassIceBugSteelFairy
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
Fire
STAB (4)
GrassIceBugSteel
How to Beat Arcanine in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (Best Counters)

In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Lunatone's Psychic hits Arcanine for 49-57%. Slowking's Scald hits Arcanine for 65-77%.

Lunatone
Lunatone
RockPsychic
A
Recommended Build
AbilityLevitate
ItemPower Herb
NatureModest
Moves
  • Ice Beam
  • Moonblast
  • PsychicSTAB
  • Meteor Beam
Damage vs Arcanine
Ice Beam
16-19%
Moonblast
17-20%
Psychic
49-57%
View Lunatone builds →

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl 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 131 partners from the Ground egg group. Notable egg moves include Body Slam, Burn Up, Close Combat and 10 more.

Egg Groups
Ground
Gender
♂75.0%♀25.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
13moves
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokquagsirenidorinofarfetchdflaaffy
12 of 131·

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Arcanine Best Moveset

Intimidate helps Arcanine stick around while dealing real damage. Leftovers for passive recovery each turn, max Attack and Speed EVs for the right balance, and Extreme Speed as the main threat. Not the fastest, but it doesn't need to be.

Best Build

Experimental
Ability
Intimidate
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Arcanine
Jolly+SPE

Arcanine best EVs are Attack and Speed

EVs

Doubles Physical Sweeper Moveset

  • Extreme Speed
  • Burn UpSTAB
  • Flare BlitzSTAB
  • Will O WispSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Shedinja
ShedinjaDecent

Moves

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

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Agility
B——30Psychic
Lv 1
Bite
C6010025Dark
Lv 1
Burn Up
A1301005Fire
Lv 1
Crunch
C8010015Dark
Lv 1
Ember
C4010025Fire
Lv 1
Extreme Speed+2
S801005Normal
Lv 1
Fire Fang
C659515Fire
Lv 1
Flame Wheel
C6010025Fire
Lv 1
Flamethrower
A9010015Fire
Lv 1
Flare Blitz
A12010015Fire
Lv 1
Helping Hand+5
C——20Normal
Lv 1
Howl
D——40Normal
Lv 1
Leer
D—10030Normal
Lv 1
Play Rough
B909010Fairy
Lv 1
Retaliate
C701005Normal
Lv 1
Reversal
D—10015Fighting
Lv 1
Roar-6
C——20Normal
Lv 1
Take Down
C908520Normal

TM Moves

TM
TM40
Aerial Ace
C60—20Flying
TM45
Attract
C—10015Normal
TM83
Bulldoze
C6010020Ground
TM28
Dig
C8010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM59
Dragon Pulse
C8510010Dragon
TM58
Endure+4
C——10Normal
TM42
Facade
C7010020Normal
TM38
Fire Blast
B110855Fire
TM35
Flamethrower
A9010015Fire
TM68
Giga Impact
B150905Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
B150905Normal
TM23
Iron Tail
C1007515Steel
TM50
Overheat
B130905Fire
TM17
Protect+4
C——10Normal
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM05
Roar-6
C——20Normal
TM100
Rock Climb
—908520Normal
TM98
Rock Smash
D4010015Fighting
TM20
Safeguard
C——25Normal
TM82
Sleep Talk
C——10Normal
TM78
Snarl
B559515Dark
TM22
Solar Beam
B12010010Grass
TM96
Strength
—8010015Normal
TM90
Substitute
C——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
C——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
D—8515Normal
TM46
Thief
C6010025Dark
TM61
Will-O-Wisp
A—8515Fire

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Body Slam
C8510015Normal
Egg
Burn Up
A1301005Fire
Egg
Close Combat
B1201005Fighting
Egg
Covet
C6010025Normal
Egg
Crunch
C8010015Dark
Egg
Double Kick
D3010030Fighting
Egg
Double-Edge
B12010015Normal
Egg
Fire Spin
D358515Fire
Egg
Flare Blitz
A12010015Fire
Egg
Heat Wave
B959010Fire
Egg
Howl
D——40Normal
Egg
Morning Sun
A——5Normal
Egg
Thrash
B12010010Normal

Tutor Moves

Arcanine can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Arcanine in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

You're catching Growlithe first, not Arcanine. Growlithe appears at moderate 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 Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

Growlithe is your first catch on the way to Arcanine. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 58-63 across 4 total spots in the chain.

  1. Growlithe
    Step 1Catch Growlithe
    Sandsear Cave
    Grass Lv.58-63 Desert
    Post
    Post-game
    Spacious Cave
    Grass Lv.58-63 Cave
    Post
    Post-game
    Typhlo Cavern
    Grass Lv.58-63 Cave
    Post
    Post-game
    Volcanic Cave
    Grass Lv.58-63 Volcano
    Post
    Post-game
  2. Arcanine
    Step 2Arcanine ✓

Arcanine Guide

  • In the Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl meta, Arcanine already has 555 BST going for it, and Intimidate pushes the competitive value even higher. B-Tier attacker on our tier list. Extreme Speed with Leftovers is the standard set.

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

  • Arcanine gets Intimidate, Flash Fire, and Justified. But Intimidate is the one that matters. It's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.

  • 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 attacker role.

  • For Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, 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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