Is Growlithe Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
FireRed Dual Slot on Routes 201 and 202 puts Growlithe in Sinnoh early. In a region with almost no Fire options, this is one of the most valuable Dual Slot Pokemon available. AbilityIntimidate adds team support. Arcanine at Fire Stone dominates from there.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Roark's team.
Arcanine resists most of Gardenia's coverage and hits back hard.
Arcanine resists most of Maylene's coverage and hits back hard.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Fantina's team.
Arcanine resists most of Byron's coverage and hits back hard.
Arcanine resists most of Candice's coverage and hits back hard.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Volkner's team.
Arcanine resists most of Aaron's coverage and hits back hard.
Arcanine trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Arcanine resists most of Mars's coverage and hits back hard.
Arcanine resists most of Jupiter's coverage and hits back hard.
Arcanine resists most of Saturn's coverage and hits back hard.
Arcanine has the type edge here and should clean up Cynthia's team.
Catchable
Catch Growlithe on Route 201 (walking, Lv 2, rare). Pokémon FireRed in GBA slot.
Recommended Moves
- LV 20FireFlame WheelPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Gardenia
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Lake Verity
- LV 28FireFire FangPower 98Accuracy 95%PP 15
- LV 34FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 45FireHeat WavePower 150Accuracy 90%PP 10
- LV 48FireFlare BlitzPower 180Accuracy 100%PP 15
- Post-Game
- TM50FireOverheatPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Stark Mountain
- TM61FireWill-O-WispPower —Accuracy 75%PP 15Exchange Service Corner building in the Battle Park, entered through the Fight Area gatehouse
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Growlithe in Diamond & Pearl
Growlithe needs a FireRed cart linked through the GBA port before it will appear. Even then it is a rare level 2 catch on the earliest routes, so dual-slot mode has to be running from the start.
Wild Growlithe may be holding when caught:
Rawst Berry (always) Held: Consumed when burned to cure a burn.2 locations to catch Growlithe
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Where To Catch Growlithe in DP
Growlithe is the chain's first catch. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 2 across 4 total spots in the chain.
- Step 2Evolve into ArcanineBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Growlithe egg.
To plan your throws, open the Diamond & Pearl catch rate calculator with Growlithe preloaded.
How to Get Shiny Growlithe in Diamond & Pearl
Growlithe trots along Route 201 and Route 202, and a PokeRadar chain in that grass brings its shiny to 1 in 200. Compare Shiny Growlithe odds across every game
Diamond & Pearl Shiny Growlithe Calculator
3 MethodsThe best route is PokeRadar Chain at full boosts, about 1 in 200 on each try. Tune it below.
PokeRadar Chain: Chain shaking-grass patches without breaking the combo. The rate peaks at a chain of 40.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 22-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 58-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 139-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 460-- | -- |
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 Diamond & Pearl shiny odds calculator with Growlithe already selected.
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Ground, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Growlithe Weak Against
Avg
Growlithe Evolutions
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
Breeding
Breed Growlithe easily with 131 breeding partners from the Field egg group. Pass egg moves like Body Slam, Crunch, Double-Edge and 6 more to offspring.
DP Growlithe Best Moveset
Fire typing costs 25% to MoveStealth Rock on every switch, and stats in the 45-70 range don't hold up against anything serious. AbilityIntimidate gives some defensive value, but the moveset needs evolution to matter.
Best Build
Growlithe best EVs are HP and Speed
Bulky Support Moveset
- Flare Blitz
- Will O Wisp
- Morning Sun
- Substitute
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The egg pool carries weight here. Body Slam and Crunch 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.
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. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
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
25 of 28 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
A Pokémon with a loyal nature. It will remain motionless until it is given an order by its Trainer.
Growlithe Diamond & Pearl Guide
Yes. Wild Growlithe in Diamond & Pearl can hold Rawst Berry (always). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Rawst Berry.
For Diamond & Pearl, 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.
In Diamond & Pearl, Growlithe plays as a balanced. Not the fastest, so pick your spots carefully.
In Diamond & Pearl, Jolly is the go-to nature for Growlithe. That's +Speed / -Sp. Atk. Pair it with 236 HP / 36 SpA / 36 SpD / 196 Spe EVs. Fits the balanced role.
Game Availability
Since debuting in Red & Blue, Growlithe has appeared in 21 titles over 9 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
- 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 Growlithe.
Keep playing · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List