Pyroar is a quadrupedal, leonine Pokémon. It is mostly dark brown with light brown legs, tail tip, chest, and face. It has a rounded muzzle with a dark brown nose, round ears with dark brown interiors, bright blue eyes, and a dark brown stripe behind each eye. The fur around its thighs is longer and each paw has three toes. There is a tuft of longer fur on the tip of its tail. A male Pyroar has a large, predominantly red mane with gold streaks forming a pattern resembling the Daimonji symbol (大) and the symbol for fire (火). In contrast, a female has a long, gold and red crest-like mane extending from its forehead. Female Pyroar significantly outnumber their male counterparts. The female's mane is as long as its whole body, and the light brown on its front legs extends all the way to its shoulders. The light brown fur on the male's front legs only extends up to its elbows.
Like real-life lions, Pyroar live in prides, which are led by the male with the largest mane. The pride's females protect the Litleo cubs and teach them how to hunt. The females also work together to bring down prey, ensuring the pride never goes hungry. A male Pyroar is usually lazy, but will protect its friends at the risk of its own well-being. In battle, the male Pyroar's mane can heat up to over 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit (2,000 degrees Celsius), which can cause severe burns when approached. Pyroar viciously threatens any challenger with a fiery breath exceeding 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit (6,000 degrees Celsius). However, it prefers its meat raw and does not use its breath on its prey. Pyroar typically lives in grassy plains and mountainsides. In Generation VI, Noble Roar was its signature move.
Four Pyroar appeared in A Fiery Rite of Passage!, with three of them being female and one being male; this marked the debut of Pyroar's female form. The male Pyroar forced one of four Litleo cubs to leave their pride to become more independent, but kept an eye on it. It eventually allowed Litleo to find its independence and live outside the pride.
Lysandre's Pyroar appeared in The Beauty Eternal. He was seen accompanying Lysandre during his announcement of the Holo Caster, using Flamethrower on him to showcase its hologram functionality. He often appeared outside of his Poké Ball.
NA: The cute Litleo with a red tuft of fur evolves into the majestic-looking Pyroar. Male Pyroar have huge, fiery manes. In the wild, the male with the largest mane of fire becomes the leader. Female Pyroar have long manes and will fiercely protect the pride's cubs.
PAL: Litleo, that adorable little Pokémon with a red tuft of fur, evolves into the majestic Pyroar. Males have huge fiery manes, and the one has the biggest mane is the leader of the pride. Females, on the other hand, have long, flowing manes and play the vital role of protecting the pride's cubs.
Game data
Pokédex entries
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation VI.
In addition, Pyroar and its pre-evolved form, Litleo, are the first Pokémon to be classed with the Normal-type as their secondary type (not counting regional versions of Pokémon from prior generations).
Pyroar is the only Pokémon species with a majority female ratio to have gender differences.
Pyroar shares its category with Slowking. They are both known as the Royal Pokémon.
Although the male Pyroar has a chevron-shaped nose in its official artwork and in Pokémon Battle Trozei, all other merchandise, game, and anime artwork shows it with a triangular-shaped nose, similar to that of the female.
Origin
Pyroar appears to be based on a lion. The style of its fur, in particular the spiked areas on its limbs and tail, is more than likely a reference to stylized lions in heraldry and coat of arms, while the male's mane resembles escutcheons which would bear heraldic lions. The yellow pattern on the mane of a male Pyroar is similar in shape to the Daimonji, a bonfire lit during the Japanese festival Gozan no Okuribi in the shape of the symbol 大 (meaning great or large). The shape also resembles the kanji for fire (火), as written in certain (often calligraphic) styles. Its gender ratio also resembles lion prides, which consist of one primary male lion, several females, and one or two lesser males.
Name origin
Pyroar may be a combination of pyro- (prefix pertaining to fire) and roar.
Kaenjishi may be a combination of 火炎 kaen (flame) and 獅子 shishi (lion).