Is Arcanine Good in Gold & Silver Playthrough?
The strongest Fire-type option in Gold outside Typhlosion. Arcanine handles Jasmine's Steel-types, Bugsy rematch in Kanto, and most Ice-types. Fire coverage is precious in Gen 2 since so few Fire Pokemon are available before the E4.
Growlithe has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Growlithe has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Growlithe trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Arcanine resists most of Jasmine's coverage and hits back hard.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Clair's team hits Arcanine's weaknesses hard.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Arcanine resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Arcanine resists most of Koga's coverage and hits back hard.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Catch Growlithe
Catch Growlithe on Route 36 (walking, Lv 13, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 13)
- LV 13DarkBitePower 60Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Bugsy
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- TM28GroundDigPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- LV 26NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- LV 34FireFlame WheelPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- LV 50FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
Evolve Growlithe to Arcanine
Growlithe evolves into Arcanine with a Fire Stone. Post-Game: You can receive the Fire Stone from an NPC in Route 25.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 20)
- LV 20FireFlame WheelPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 25
- LV 20NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- TM28GroundDigPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Celadon Game Corner
- LV 50NormalExtreme SpeedPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 5
How to Get Arcanine in Gold & Silver
Arcanine needs a Fire Stone on Growlithe, and Growlithe only lives in Gold, so Silver cannot build one without trading. No wild Arcanine turns up in either game.
Wild Arcanine may be holding when caught:
Catch Growlithe at any of these 4 spots to eventually evolve into Arcanine.
Encountered via tall grass encounters
- 1Catch Growlithe
- 2Evolve ArcanineUse Fire Stone
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8How to Obtain Arcanine in GS
To get Arcanine, start by catching Growlithe through walking encounters at Lv. 13-18. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
- Step 2Arcanine ✓BREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Goldenrod Pokemon Day Care to receive a Growlithe egg.
How to Get Shiny Arcanine in Gold & Silver
Arcanine never turns up wild in Johto, so the hunt lands on Growlithe instead; comb Route 36, Route 37, or Route 7 for one, then finish the job with a Fire Stone. Compare Shiny Arcanine odds across every game
Gold & Silver Shiny Arcanine Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Breed w/ Shiny Parent, about 1 in 64 on each try.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breed w/ Shiny Parent: Eggs inherit stats from a shiny parent, so about 1 in 64 hatch shiny. A shiny Ditto helps every egg, and any other shiny parent (the red Gyarados works) helps only eggs of the opposite gender.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 7-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 19-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 45-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 147-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
For time estimates and charm math, open the Gold & Silver shiny odds calculator with Arcanine already selected.
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Ground, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel |
- 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
What is Arcanine Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Arcanine
 Marowak Ground | B | |
 Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Vaporeon builds →Hydro Pump 2x107-126%KO Mud-Slap 2x9-11% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Rhydon builds →Earthquake 2x103-122%KO Rollout 2x32-38% Surf 2x28-33% | ||
 Suicune Water | B | |
 Tyranitar RockDark | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Tyranitar builds →Rock Slide 2x80-94% Earthquake 2x71-84% Surf 2x50-59% | ||
 Donphan Ground | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Donphan builds →Earthquake 2x96-114%KO Rollout 2x20-24% | ||
 Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodIlex Forest Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Golduck builds →Hydro Pump 2x94-111%KO Dig 2x28-33% | ||
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Slowbro builds →Surf 2x78-93% Earthquake 2x43-51% | ||
 Azumarill Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Azurill (Mt Mortar Surfing) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Azumarill builds →Surf 2x52-62% Rollout 2x10-12% Mud-Slap 2x7-9% | ||
 Feraligatr Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Totodile (New Bark Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Feraligatr builds →Hydro Pump 2x82-96% Earthquake 2x57-68% | ||
 Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter | ||
 Nidoking PoisonGround | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Nidoking builds →Earthquake 2x84-99% Surf 2x45-54% | ||
 Quagsire WaterGround | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 32 Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Quagsire builds →Earthquake 2x73-86% Surf 2x56-66% Rollout 2x15-18% | ||
 Sandslash Ground | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Sandslash builds →Earthquake 2x83-98% Rollout 2x17-20% | ||
Arcanine Evolutions
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
Breeding
Breed with Arcanine to get Growlithe eggs easily using 66 partners from the Field egg group. Notable egg moves include Body Slam, Crunch, Fire Spin and 2 more.
GS Arcanine Best Moveset
110 Attack and 100 Sp. Atk from the stat split create a potent mixed attacker. MoveFire Blast fires from the special side with genuine power, and physical moves leverage the high Attack. Held ItemLeftovers adds recovery. The stat balance makes Arcanine more threatening than any other non-legendary Fire-type.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Blast
- Flamethrower
- Crunch
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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 Flame Wheel, they expand what Arcanine can actually threaten in practice.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
18 of 23 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
This legendary Chinese POKEMON is considered magnificent. Many people are enchanted by its grand mane.
Its magnificent bark conveys a sense of majesty. Anyone hearing it can’t help but grovel before it.
Arcanine Gold & Silver Guide
In Gold & Silver, use Arcanine as a setup sweeper. Special attacks are the main output. Speed is middling, Flamethrower is the primary attack.
Arcanine has a Hisuian form that swaps the typing and reshuffles the stats. Introduced in Gen 8. Worth checking if the original version doesn't fit your team.
Game Availability
Available since Red & Blue, Arcanine appears in 21 games spanning 9 generations. Beyond its original form, it gained a Hisuian form in Generation 8.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLAHisuian
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Arcanine.
Keep playing · Gold & SilverGold & Silver Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Gold & Silver Tier List