Is Growlithe Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Only available in Red version. Growlithe needs a Fire Stone to reach Arcanine, so plan around when you want to evolve. Worth the wait if you need a Fire-type and didn't pick Charmander.
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.
Catchable
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 Growlithe in Red & Blue
Red-exclusive fire pup, uncommon on a route or two and common inside the Pokemon Mansion. Growlithe holds the same grass that Vulpix covers over on the Blue side.
3 locations to catch Growlithe
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7Where To Catch Growlithe in RB
The line opens with Growlithe at Lv. 15-35 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 2Evolve into Arcanine
To plan your throws, open the Red & Blue catch rate calculator with Growlithe preloaded.
Growlithe Weakness
Type-wise, Growlithe takes extra damage from Water, Ground, and Rock. Standard number of weaknesses for the Fire typing.
| 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 Growlithe Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Growlithe
 Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Graveler builds →Dig 2x148-175%KO Rock Slide 2x113-133%KO | ||
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Gift) | ||
 Dugtrio Ground | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Dugtrio builds →Dig 2x154-182%KO Rock Slide 2x77-91% | ||
 Marowak Ground | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Marowak builds →Dig 2x132-156%KO Bubble Beam 2x38-46% | ||
 Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Nidorino (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Nidoking builds →Rock Slide 2x78-94% Bubble Beam 2x57-68% | ||
 Wartortle Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Squirtle (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Wartortle builds →Bubble Beam 2x71-84% Dig 2x72-86% | ||
 Nidoqueen PoisonGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Nidorina (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Nidoqueen builds →Rock Slide 2x72-86% Bubble Beam 2x51-61% | ||
 Onix RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Onix builds →Dig 2x90-106%KO Rock Slide 2x67-80% | ||
Growlithe Evolutions
Growlithe starts a line toward Arcanine. Can't breed this Fire type (330 stats), so keep the evolution path going. Evolving adds up to 225 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Growlithe Best Moveset
Fire pre-evolution facing the same problems every Fire-type deals with: MoveEarthquake everywhere and Water-types at the top. The moves point toward Arcanine, not toward winning at this stage.
Best Build
Screens Setter Moveset
- Reflect
- Bite
- Body Slam
- Flamethrower
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
TMs carry this one. Growlithe learns Fire Blast and Flamethrower naturally for STAB, but the offensive range comes almost entirely from technical machines. Dark and Normal and beyond give it real matchup play.
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 16 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Very protective of its territory. It will bark and bite to repel intruders from its space.
Growlithe Red & Blue Guide
For Red & Blue, you can run Growlithe through the first few routes without issues. 330 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Arcanine as fast as you can.
Yes. Hisuian Growlithe is a regional variant with different typing and a reworked stat spread. Introduced in Gen 8. Plays completely differently from the original.
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 · Red & BlueRed & Blue Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Red & Blue Tier List