Is Growlithe Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Not native to Hoenn. Trade from FireRed or LeafGreen. AbilityIntimidate in Gen 3 lowers the opponent's Attack on switch-in, which is a strong defensive tool. Arcanine with Intimidate is a significant upgrade over previous generations, but RS has Blaziken and Camerupt locally.
Roxanne's team hits Growlithe's weaknesses hard.
Growlithe has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Growlithe has the type edge here and should clean up Wattson's team.
Growlithe trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Growlithe trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Winona's team hits Growlithe's weaknesses hard.
Tate & Liza's typing presses Growlithe's defenses.
Wallace's team hits Growlithe's weaknesses hard.
Growlithe trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Growlithe trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Growlithe trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Drake's team hits Growlithe's weaknesses hard.
Growlithe trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.
Trade
Growlithe cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- After Wattson
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Rusturf Tunnel
- LV 25NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Flannery
- TM50FireOverheatPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Prize for defeating Flannery
- LV 31FireFlame WheelPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Norman
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Norman
- After Wallace
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Meteor Falls
- LV 49FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Growlithe in Ruby & Sapphire
Numel and Slugma fill the early Fire role in Hoenn, so Growlithe is missing and only arrives by trade.
How to Obtain Growlithe in RS
- Step 1Growlithe ✓CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom FireRed & LeafGreenAvailableCatch in FireRed & LeafGreen via Walking · Route 8, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Walking · Pokémon Mansion. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom YellowNot TradeableAppears in Yellow via Walking · Pokémon Mansion. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Gold & SilverNot TradeableAppears in Gold & Silver via Walking · Route 7. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom CrystalNot TradeableAppears in Crystal via Walking · Route 37. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Diamond & PearlNot TradeableAppears in Diamond & Pearl via Walking · Route 202 · Dual-slot: FireRed. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom PlatinumNot TradeableAppears in Platinum via Walking · Route 201 · Dual-slot: FireRed. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Evolve into Arcanine
How to Get Shiny Growlithe in Ruby & Sapphire
Track down a shiny Growlithe on B1F of the Pokemon Mansion in FireRed, since Hoenn's routes never offer one, then bring it over. See every game where Shiny Growlithe can be hunted
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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Growlithe Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Growlithe
 Swampert WaterGround | S | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Mudkip (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Swampert builds →Earthquake 2x176-207%KO Surf 2x126-148%KO Rock Tomb 2x59-70% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Rhydon builds →Earthquake 2x203-239%KO Rock Tomb 2x103-121%KO Surf 2x51-61% | ||
 Flygon GroundDragon | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Flygon builds →Earthquake 2x162-190%KO Rock Tomb 2x54-64% | ||
 Walrein IceWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Spheal (Shoal Cave Surfing) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Walrein builds →Surf 2x137-162%KO Earthquake 2x90-107%KO Rock Tomb 2x46-54% | ||
 Donphan Ground | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Donphan builds →Earthquake 2x189-222%KO Rock Tomb 2x63-75% | ||
 Camerupt FireGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Camerupt builds →Earthquake 2x162-190%KO Rock Slide 2x81-96% | ||
 Azumarill Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Azurill (Petalburg City Surfing) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Azumarill builds →Hydro Pump 2x120-142%KO Dig 2x38-45% Rollout 2x20-24% | ||
 Sandslash Ground | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Sandslash builds →Earthquake 2x162-190%KO Rock Tomb 2x54-64% | ||
 Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Graveler builds →Earthquake 2x156-184%KO Rock Tomb 2x79-93% | ||
 Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodDewford Town Surfing | ||
 Regirock Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 111 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Regirock builds →Earthquake 2x108-127%KO Ancient Power 2x98-116%KO | ||
 Armaldo RockBug | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Rustboro City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Armaldo builds →Earthquake 2x130-154%KO Ancient Power 2x119-140%KO Water Pulse 2x46-54% | ||
 Claydol GroundPsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Growlithe View Claydol builds →Earthquake 2x121-143%KO Ancient Power 2x49-58% | ||
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 102 breeding partners from the Field egg group. Pass egg moves like Body Slam, Crunch, Fire Spin and 4 more to offspring.
RS Growlithe Best Moveset
Fire pre-evolution with AbilityIntimidate cutting opponent Attack on switch-in, valuable utility even from bad stats. AbilityFlash Fire absorbs Fire moves alternatively. Arcanine takes over with the stats to match the ability.
Best Build
Growlithe best EVs are HP and Sp. Atk
Special Tank Moveset
- Toxic
- Crunch
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power Grass
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 Fire Blast 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
All 21 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
GROWLITHE has a superb sense of smell. Once it smells anything, this POKéMON won’t forget the scent, no matter what. It uses its advanced olfactory sense to determine the emotions of other living things.
Growlithe Ruby & Sapphire Guide
No. Growlithe isn't catchable in Ruby & Sapphire. Catch one in FireRed, then trade it over.
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 · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List