Is Arcanine Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Arcanine is one of the strongest Pokemon available in Red version. Hits hard from both sides and fast enough to go first in most fights. Handles Erika, Koga, and most Ice-types without trouble. If you're playing Red and need a Fire-type, this is the answer.
Brock's typing presses Growlithe's defenses.
Misty's Pokemon outpace and outclass Growlithe here.
Growlithe has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Agatha's team.
Lance's team hits Arcanine's weaknesses hard.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catch Growlithe
Catch Growlithe on Route 8 (walking, Lv 15-18, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 15)
- LV 15NormalBitePower 60Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket thief after you defeat him in Cerulean City
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- LV 30NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
- LV 50FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
Evolve Growlithe to Arcanine
Growlithe evolves into Arcanine with a Fire Stone. You can buy the Fire Stone at the Celadon Department Store on the 4th floor (₽2,100).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 24)
- LV 24FireEmberPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 25
- LV 24NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket thief after you defeat him in Cerulean City
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
How to Get Arcanine in Red & Blue
No Arcanine roams the wild; a Fire Stone on Growlithe is the only way. Because Growlithe is Red-only, Blue trainers source one by trade before that stone does anything.
Catch Growlithe at any of these 3 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 7How to Obtain Arcanine in RB
Growlithe is your first catch on the way to Arcanine. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 15-35 across 6 total spots in the chain.
- Step 2Arcanine ✓
Arcanine Weakness
Arcanine's Fire typing leaves it vulnerable to Water, Ground, and Rock. 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, Bug |
- 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
What is Arcanine Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Arcanine
 Omastar RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Omanyte (Cinnabar Island Gift) | ||
 Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Rhydon builds →Earthquake 2x103-122%KO Rock Slide 2x77-91% Surf 2x28-33% | ||
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Gift) | ||
 Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Cinnabar Island Gift) | ||
 Starmie WaterPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Staryu (Cinnabar Island Super Rod) | ||
 Dewgong WaterIce | C | |
 Lapras WaterIce | B | |
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift | ||
 Seadra Water | C | |
 Blastoise Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Squirtle (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Blastoise builds →Hydro Pump 2x86-102%KO Earthquake 2x47-56% | ||
 Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Nidorino (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Nidoking builds →Earthquake 2x84-99% Surf 2x45-54% Rock Slide 2x42-50% | ||
 Golduck Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Golduck builds →Hydro Pump 2x94-111%KO Dig 2x47-56% | ||
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Slowbro builds →Surf 2x78-93% Earthquake 2x43-51% | ||
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arcanine View Graveler builds →Earthquake 2x80-94% Rock Slide 2x59-70% | ||
Arcanine Evolutions
The Fire-type Arcanine caps Growlithe's chain at 535 stats. No daycare options for this one. The evolution from Growlithe pushed Arcanine to 535 total stats. Attack saw the largest single gain at +40. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Arcanine Best Moveset
MoveEarthquake on every team and Water-types at the top made life hard for Fire-types. 100 Special powers decent MoveFire Blast and the Speed keeps up, but the typing gets punished too often for a top-tier spot. Strong enough for the middle, not for the top.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Body Slam
- Fire Blast
- Hyper Beam
- Agility
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The level-up pool is slim, so TMs matter here. Arcanine's Normal and Ground coverage all comes from technical machines, built on top of Fire Blast and Ember for same-type damage. Take Down and Double-Edge are the payoff moves.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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 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 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
All 18 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
A POKéMON that has been admired since the past for its beauty. It runs agilely as if on wings.
Arcanine Red & Blue Guide
In Red & Blue, use Arcanine as a setup sweeper. Special attacks are the main output. Speed is middling, Set up with Agility when you get a free turn.
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 · Red & BlueRed & Blue Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Red & Blue Tier List