Special
Balanced
DTier
60Speed · Below Avg

Stats & Training

The stat budget goes to damage. Attack and Sp. Atk carry the offense, Defense doesn't even come close. A Puppy Pokemon on a slow 1.25M XP grind, worth 1 Attack EV per KO.

Base Stats
Avg
HP55
D
Attack70
C
Defense45
D
Sp. Atk70
C
Sp. Def50
D
Speed60
C
Total350
Details
Catch Rate
Easy190 / 255
Growth Rate
Slow1.25M XP
Height0.7 m
2'04"Small
Weight19.0 kg
41.9 lbsFeather
Base XP70
Low Yield
Abilities
IntimidateTop Pick
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 loyal nature. It will remain motionless until it is given an order by its Trainer.

Growlithe Weakness

Type-wise, Growlithe takes extra damage from Water, Ground, and Rock. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Flash Fire grants an additional Fire immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.

Growlithe Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Water, Ground, Rock
0.5x (Resist)Fire, Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel
Type ChartAvg
3Weak
5Resist
1Immune
Score-1
Gen V Type Chart
  • Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
  • Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
WaterGroundRock
½xResist
FireGrassIceBugSteel
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
Fire
STAB (4)
GrassIceBugSteel
How to Beat Growlithe in Black & White (Best Counters)

In Black & White, Terrakion's Stone Edge hits Growlithe for 79-94%. Excadrill's Earthquake hits Growlithe for 82-96%. Jellicent deals 56-66% with Scald.

Terrakion
Terrakion
RockFighting
A
Recommended Build
AbilityJustified
ItemFocus Sash
NatureJolly
Moves
  • Close Combat
  • Stone Edge
  • Quick Attack
  • X Scissor
Damage vs Growlithe
Close Combat
48-56%
Stone Edge 2x
79-94%
View Terrakion builds →

Black & White Evolution

Growlithe doesn't evolve by leveling. You'll need an evolution item to push it forward to Arcanine. Evolving adds up to 205 stat points total. 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 Growlithe easily with 181 breeding partners from the Ground egg group. Pass egg moves like Body Slam, Close Combat, Covet and 10 more to offspring.

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 181·

Black & White Growlithe Best Moveset

Don't let the NFE status fool you. Growlithe with Eviolite hits bulk numbers that compete with final forms. Max HP and Defense EVs and Bold nature maximize that, and Intimidate handles the rest.

Best Build

Experimental
Wall
Ability
Intimidate
Item
EvioliteBULK
Best Nature for Growlithe
Bold+DEF

Growlithe best EVs are HP and Defense

EVs

Wall Moveset

  • FlamethrowerSTAB
  • ToxicUtility
  • Will O WispSTAB
  • Morning Sun

Recommended Teammates

Gengar
GengarExcellent
Hitmonlee
HitmonleeExcellent
Alomomola
AlomomolaExcellent

Moves

The egg pool carries weight here. Body Slam and Close Combat aren't available any other way for Growlithe, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Overheat and Flare Blitz for solid options.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Bite
D6010025Dark
Lv 1
Roar-6
C—10020Normal
Lv 6
Ember
—4010025Fire
Lv 9
Leer
——10030Normal
Lv 14
Odor Sleuth
———40Normal
Lv 17
Helping Hand+5
———20Normal
Lv 20
Flame Wheel
—6010025Fire
Lv 25
Reversal
D—10015Fighting
Lv 28
Fire Fang
C659515Fire
Lv 31
Flame Burst
—7010015Fire
Lv 34
Take Down
—908520Normal
Lv 39
Flamethrower
S9510015Fire
Lv 42
Agility
C——30Psychic
Lv 45
Crunch
D8010015Dark
Lv 48
Retaliate
D701005Normal
Lv 51
Heat Wave
C1009010Fire
Lv 56
Flare Blitz
B12010015Fire

TM Moves

TM
TM40
Aerial Ace
D60—20Flying
TM45
Attract
C—10015Normal
TM28
Dig
D8010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM42
Facade
D7010020Normal
TM38
Fire Blast
C120855Fire
TM43
Flame Charge
D5010020Fire
TM35
Flamethrower
S9510015Fire
TM21
Frustration
——10020Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
—6010015Normal
TM59
Incinerate
—3010015Fire
TM50
Overheat
B140905Fire
TM17
Protect+4
C——10Normal
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM67
Retaliate
D701005Normal
TM27
Return
D—10020Normal
TM05
Roar-6
C—10020Normal
TM94
Rock Smash
D4010015Fighting
TM48
Round
—6010015Normal
TM20
Safeguard
D——25Normal
TM95
Snarl
—559515Dark
HM04
Strength
D8010015Normal
TM90
Substitute
C——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
C——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
——9015Normal
TM46
Thief
—6010010Dark
TM06
Toxic
S—9010Poison
TM93
Wild Charge
C9010015Electric
TM61
Will-O-Wisp
S—7515Fire

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Body Slam
D8510015Normal
Egg
Close Combat
C1201005Fighting
Egg
Covet
—6010040Normal
Egg
Crunch
D8010015Dark
Egg
Double Kick
—3010030Fighting
Egg
Double-Edge
C12010015Normal
Egg
Fire Spin
D358515Fire
Egg
Flare Blitz
B12010015Fire
Egg
Heat Wave
C1009010Fire
Egg
Howl
———40Normal
Egg
Iron Tail
D1007515Steel
Egg
Morning Sun
S——5Normal
Egg
Thrash
C12010010Normal

Tutor Moves

Growlithe can't learn any Tutor moves

Transfer Moves

Gen
Gen 4
Captivate
——10020Normal
Gen 4
Endure+4
D——10Normal
Gen 4
Headbutt
D7010015Normal
Gen 3
Mimic
———10Normal
Gen 4
Mud-Slap
D2010010Ground
Gen 4
Natural Gift
——10015Normal
Gen 4
Secret Power
—7010020Normal
Gen 4
Swift
—60—20Normal

How to Get Growlithe in Black & White

No wild encounters for Growlithe in Black & White. It's available in Red, Yellow, or Sun and can be transferred over. The details below show where to find it.

Growlithe is not available as a wild encounter in this game.

Catch in the wild in:

Black 2Walking · Virbank Complex

Then trade to Black & White.

Also found in:

RedYellowGoldCrystalFireRedDiamond

Growlithe Guide

  • Growlithe is meant to evolve into Arcanine. At 350 BST, the stats aren't there for competitive play yet. Pre-evolution Pokemon rarely hold up against fully evolved threats.

  • In Black & White, Growlithe's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Rhydon (Ground), and Golem (Rock), all carrying super-effective STAB moves.

  • Intimidate is what you want on Growlithe. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Flash Fire, Justified) work on paper but Intimidate is what makes Growlithe worth using.

  • At base 60 Speed, it won't be moving first often. On offense, Growlithe is a special attacker with base 70 Sp. Atk. Defensively? Fragile, can't afford to take many hits.

  • For Black & White, you can run Growlithe through the first few routes without issues. 350 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Arcanine as fast as you can.

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

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