Growlithe is a quadruped, canine Pokémon. It has orange fur with black stripes along its back and legs. The fur on its muzzle, chest, belly, and tail is cream-colored, as well as an additional tuft of fur on top of its head. Growlithe's coat is noticeably longer on its chest and tail. It has gray eyes, a black nose, and large, round ears. Its forepaws have two visible claws, while its hind paws have three toes each. Each paw has a brown pad.
Growlithe is a friendly and loyal Pokémon that will fearlessly defend its Trainer and territory from harm, even against larger, stronger enemies. It will fiercely bark at, bite, and chase away any perceived threat, including those who suddenly approach its Trainer. Otherwise, this obedient Pokémon will wait motionlessly until given an order. Growlithe also has a powerful olfactory sense. If it detects an unknown smell in its territory, it roars to flush out the intruder. It is able to smell the emotions of others, and never forgets a scent. However, strong, unpleasant smells can disable its sense of smell for short periods, as seen in the anime. Growlithe can be commonly found in grassy plains and near human settlements.
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. Due to this, they decided to leave the Arcanine alone.
In Paras Sight, Blaine is seen to have a Growlithe, which he used to track the scent 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 that only evolve via a Fire Stone. Vulpix is exclusive to Pokémon Green, Blue, Blue (Ja), LeafGreen, and SoulSilver while Growlithe is exclusive to Red (Ja), Red, FireRed, and HeartGold. Growlithe has a 75% chance of being male while Vulpix has a 75% of being female, and both are 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 of their shiny colorations changed to yellow in Generation III. Both are based on animals of Japanese folklore, Vulpix from the kitsune and Growlithe from the shisa.
Growlithe shares its species name with Lillipup. They are both known as the Puppy Pokémon.
Origin
Growlithe is most likely based on Japanese dog statues called 獅子 shisa. They may also originate from Chinese 獅 shī or Japanese 狛犬 komainu, which are guardian statues that resemble lions, with traits of tigers and dogs. They are incorrectly called "Foo dogs" in the West. Both shisa and shī statues alike are often found in pairs, believed to invite good luck, and used as guardians, which may have inspired Growlithe's protective nature.
Name origin
Growlithe may be a combination of growl and lithe.
Gardie may refer to its abilities as a guard dog, as a corruption of guard or guardian.