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Growlithe is a quadruped, canine Pokémon. It has a short, rounded muzzle, a small, fluffy tail, a tuft of fur on top of its head, and rounded ears. It has bright orange fur with black stripes over its back and on its forelegs. Its belly, tail, and fluff on top of its head are a cream color. Its nose is shiny black, while the insides of its ears are light brown. Growlithe has two claws on its forepaws, and its paw pads are brown.
Gender differences
None.
Special abilities
Growlithe can spit fire. It has a powerful sense of smell to identify the emotions of others. Upon getting a scent, it will not forget it, no matter what. However, strong, unpleasant smells can disable their sense of smell for short periods, as seen in The Case of the K-9 Caper.
Behavior
Extremely loyal, this Pokémon fiercely defends its Trainer and territory.
Growlithe live in active volcanoes, grassy plains, and scorched plains heated by geothermal energy. Its native range includes Kanto and Johto, as well as Fiore and Almia, but it can be found in Sinnoh and Unova on some occasions. In captivity, they're often used as police dogs due to their loyal nature and powerful sense of smell. They're also seen occasionally as pets.
Growlithe first appeared in The Flame Pokémon-athon!. This Puppy Pokémon showed up when Ash was making an attempt to attack a herd of Tauros while at a Pokémon Ranch.
In On Cloud Arcanine, Drew and May discovered that the Arcanine they were trying to catch had a litter of Growlithe to take care of. Because of this, they decided to leave the Arcanine alone.
In Paras Sight, Blaine is seen to have a Growlithe, which he uses to track the smell given off by the cloth fragments Miles took from a frozen form of Red at Mt. Moon.
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.
Its superb sense of smell ensures that this Pokémon won't forget any scent, no matter what. It uses its sense of smell to detect the emotions of others.
Growlithe can be seen as a parallel to Vulpix. Both of them are Generation I Pokémon whose only evolutionary event utilizes a Fire Stone into their evolved forms. Vulpix is exclusive to Pokémon Blue/Green and LeafGreen while Growlithe is to Pokémon Red and FireRed, Growlithe has a 75% chance of being male while Vulpix has a 75% of being female, and they are both in the Field Egg Group. Additionally, both can have Flash Fire as their Ability, are based on canines (Growlithe being a dog, Vulpix being a fox), and both changed their alternate coloration to yellow in Generation III. Both are based on animals of Japanese folklore, Vulpix being based on the Kitsune and Growlithe being based on the Shisa.
It shares its species name with Lillipup. They are both known as the Puppy Pokémon.
Origin
Growlithe is most likely based on Japanese 獅子 Shisa, which are Japanese dog statues. It is also possible that they could take homage from shishi, or 狛犬 koma-inu, which are guardian statues found in China that resemble lions, with traits of tigers and dogs. They are incorrectly called "Foo dogs" in the West. Both Shisa and Shishi statues alike are often found in pairs, are used as guardians, and are believed to invite good luck. This could have been inspiration for Growlithe's protective nature.
Name origin
Growlithe is likely a combination of growl and lithe (limber or flexible).
Gardie may refer to its abilities as a guard dog, as a corruption of guard or guardian.
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.