Mixed
Attacker
555High
95Moderate
ATier

What separates Arcanine from the pack is Intimidate — it lowers the opponent's Attack on switch-in. Combine that with Fire typing and it sits at a decent but contested Speed tier. Known as the Legendary Pokemon.

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
555High
HP90
B
Attack110
B
Defense80
C
Sp. Atk100
B
Sp. Def80
C
Speed95
B
Total555
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Arcanine yields +2 Atk
HPAtk+2DefSpASpDSpe
Details
Catch75Challenging•Slow1.25M XP•1.9m / 6'03"•155kg / 341.7 lbs•194Base XP
Pokedex Entries

This legendary Chinese Pokémon is considered magnificent. Many people are enchanted by its grand mane.

Heart Gold

Its magnificent bark conveys a sense of majesty. Anyone hearing it can’t help but grovel before it.

Soul Silver

Arcanine Weakness

Avg

Arcanine's Fire typing leaves it vulnerable to Water, Ground, and Rock moves. The Fire typing picks up 5 resistances to work with. 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.

Gen IV Type Chart
  • Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
  • Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
WaterGroundRock
½xResisti
FireGrassIceBugSteel
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
Fire
STAB (4)i
GrassIceBugSteel
3Weak
5Resist
1Immune
Scorei-1
Stealth Rock25% on switch
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
IntimidateLowers opponents' Attack one stage upon entering battle.
Flash FireProtects against fire moves. Once one has been blocked, the Pokémon's own Fire moves inflict 1.5× damage until it leaves battle.
JustifiedHARaises Attack one stage upon taking damage from a dark move.
Flash Fire grants Fire immunity

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.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Growlithe
#058Growlithe
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, Crunch, Double-Edge and 7 more.

Egg Groups
Ground
Gender
♂75.0%♀25.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
10moves
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokquagsirenidorinofarfetchdflaaffy
12 of 131·

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

Physical Sweeper
Ability
Intimidate
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Nature
Jolly+SPE
EVs

Best Arcanine Moveset

  • Extreme Speed
  • Flare BlitzSTAB
  • CrunchCoverage
  • Thunder Fang

Recommended Teammates

Starmie
StarmieDecent
Donphan
DonphanDecent
Skarmory
SkarmoryDecent

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 Overheat and Flare Blitz, they expand what Arcanine can actually threaten in practice.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Bite
6010025Dark
Lv 1
Fire Fang
659515Fire
Lv 1
Odor Sleuth
——40Normal
Lv 1
Roar-6
——20Normal
Lv 1
Thunder Fang
659515Electric
Lv 39
Extreme Speed+2
801005Normal

TM Moves

Src
TM40
Aerial Ace
60—20Flying
TM45
Attract
—10015Normal
TM78
Captivate
—10020Normal
TM28
Dig
8010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM59
Dragon Pulse
9010010Dragon
TM58
Endure+4
——10Normal
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM38
Fire Blast
120855Fire
TM35
Flamethrower
9510015Fire
TM21
Frustration
—10020Normal
TM68
Giga Impact
150905Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM23
Iron Tail
1007515Steel
TM83
Natural Gift
—10015Normal
TM50
Overheat
140905Fire
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM27
Return
—10020Normal
TM05
Roar-6
——20Normal
HM08
Rock Climb
908520Normal
HM06
Rock Smash
4010015Fighting
TM43
Secret Power
7010020Normal
TM82
Sleep Talk
——10Normal
TM22
Solar Beam
12010010Grass
HM04
Strength
8010015Normal
TM90
Substitute
——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
—9015Normal
TM46
Thief
6010025Dark
TM06
Toxic
—8510Poison
TM61
Will-O-Wisp
—7515Fire

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Body Slam
8510015Normal
Egg
Crunch
8010015Dark
Egg
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
Egg
Fire Spin
357015Fire
Egg
Flare Blitz
12010015Fire
Egg
Heat Wave
1009010Fire
Egg
Howl
——40Normal
Egg
Morning Sun
——5Normal
Egg
Safeguard
——25Normal
Egg
Thrash
12010020Normal

Tutor Moves

Src
Tutor
Headbutt
7010015Normal
Tutor
Heat Wave
1009010Fire
Tutor
Helping Hand+5
——20Normal
Tutor
Iron Head
8010015Steel
Tutor
Mud-Slap
2010010Ground
Tutor
Snore
4010015Normal
Tutor
Swift
60—20Normal

Reminder Moves

Src
Rem
Agility
——30Psychic
Rem
Crunch
8010015Dark
Rem
Ember
4010025Fire
Rem
Flame Wheel
6010025Fire
Rem
Flamethrower
9510015Fire
Rem
Flare Blitz
12010015Fire
Rem
Heat Wave
1009010Fire
Rem
Helping Hand+5
——20Normal
Rem
Leer
—10030Normal
Rem
Reversal
—10015Fighting
Rem
Take Down
908520Normal

Transfer Moves

Src
Gen 3
Mimic
——10Normal

Arcanine doesn't appear wild. Catch Growlithe instead, it shows up at solid rates. Evolve it through a special method to get Arcanine. The 2-stage line is mapped in the step cards below.

How to Obtain Arcanine in HeartGold & SoulSilver

Growlithe is your first catch on the way to Arcanine. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 13-25 across 10 total spots in the chain.

  1. Growlithe
    Step 1Catch Growlithe
    Route 36
    GrassLv.13UncommonEarlyRouteMorning/night
    EASY
    Route 36
    GrassLv.13-15UncommonEarlyRouteDay
    EASY
    Route 37
    GrassLv.14UncommonEarlyRouteMorning/night
    EASY
    Route 37
    GrassLv.14-15UncommonEarlyRouteDay
    EASY
    Route 7
    GrassLv.18-19CommonMidRouteDay
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 48
    GrassLv.21-25CommonMidRouteNight
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 7
    GrassLv.18UncommonMidRouteMorning/night
    EASY
    Route 8
    GrassLv.18UncommonMidRouteMorning/day
    EASY
    Route 8
    GrassLv.17RareMidRouteNight
    CHALLENGING
    Route 48
    GrassLv.21RareMidRouteMorning/day
    CHALLENGING
  2. Arcanine
    Step 2Arcanine ✓

  • Arcanine already has 555 BST going for it, and Intimidate pushes the competitive value even higher. A-Tier attacker on our tier list.

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

  • Growlithe evolves into Arcanine using a Fire Stone. Arcanine is the final evolution in a 3-stage line starting from Growlithe. At 555 BST, it's got solid stats to work with.

  • 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 mixed attacker — base 110 Attack and 100 Sp. Atk. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. But the speed tells the real story — base 95 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many. Fits the attacker role.

  • Arcanine appears in 21 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

Available since Red & Blue, Arcanine appears in 21 games spanning 9 generations. Beyond its original form, it gained a Hisuian form in Generation 8.