I’m afraid not, which is an odd thing to say, given that Kanto is a region home to a young man who’s both a breeder in his spare time and a rock specialist, and rockruff are capable of adapting to our climate. Nonetheless, there doesn’t seem to be much local interest in breeding rockruff specifically. However, because both of your pokémon are canines, you may have some luck in simply giving them a growlithe, houndour, or eevee puppy instead (which all are popular breeding subjects in this region). So long as it’s young and has similar needs to their species, they likely will still accept it as their own.
Tag: growlithe
Hi there! I’ve been traveling with my Growlithe and I started wondering, is there a right time to evolve it? Should I wait until it learns a certain move or is it ok to evolve it when I feel the time is right?
This is actually quite an interesting question because it depends. Some trainers prefer to wait until their growlithe learn Flamethrower, as it’s sometimes easier (by which I mean cheaper) to let it learn that move naturally, rather than use the TM system. Others prefer waiting until their growlithe learns Crunch, which typically happens much, much later. On the other hand (compared to both options), some trainers prefer evolving their growlithe right away, as arcanine is very adaptable to the TM system, and only younger arcanine can learn Extreme Speed (a move inaccessible to growlithe). Likewise, such trainers very rarely have use for Crunch, or if they do, they also are acquainted with a move relearner or tutor capable of teaching newly evolved arcanine Extreme Speed far later than they would naturally.
In short, the answer is it depends in part on which move you would like your arcanine to know. If you’d prefer a faster arcanine, evolve it sooner, but a stronger arcanine (or an arcanine that requires fewer TMs) should be evolved later. (There are no differences in health if you choose to wait. In fact, the vitality an arcanine gets through evolution means that a growlithe that waits to evolve is just as healthy as one that’s evolved immediately.)
Ultimately, though, waiting until the time is right is also sound advice and perhaps the better avenue, especially if your growlithe has a strong opinion one way or another. If your growlithe is impatient to evolve, consider doing so sooner, whereas a hesitant growlithe should hold off until they’re ready.
Best of luck!
My Growlithe feels hotter than usual, almost like he has a fever. Is it possible that he’s overheated?
It’s possible, anonymous. As mammalian pokémon, a growlithe’s body temperature can indeed skyrocket if they’re feeling a bit under the weather. However, keep in mind that it’s also possible that your growlithe is reacting to the weather. For half of the world, it’s currently summer, and many fire-types “feed” on the heat, in a way. That is, they thrive in it and sometimes even feel more energetic and powerful on a particularly sunny day. For simplicity’s sake, this process (of “feeding” on heat) is often called “heat-boosting.”
Telling the difference between a fever and a heat-boosted growlithe is simple but requires quite a bit of observation on your part. Keep an eye out for these signs:
- Lethargy
- Faster or labored breathing; panting if it’s not particularly hot
- Dry nose and/or gums
- Lack of appetite or difficulty eating or drinking
- Runny nose
- Shivering
- If you’re particularly well-verse in your growlithe’s vitals: increased resting pulse
If you see any of these signs, then yes, your growlithe has a fever, and your next step should be taking him to the pokémon center immediately. If, conversely, your growlithe is displaying these signs:
- Disinclination to sit still for at least half a minute
- Fire displayed in his mouth, despite the fact that you haven’t ordered him to attack
- Increased appetite and thirst
- Increased energy and mood overall
…then your growlithe is actually heat-boosted, and it would be a good idea to take him out for exercise, a battle, and a period in cool water, in that order. These steps aren’t for his health, exactly. They’re more for you, as a heat-boosted growlithe will very likely continue to run about attempting to set everything it can see on fire until it releases its pent-up energy, and I highly doubt anyone short of someone paid rather handsomely by the League would have homeowner’s insurance good enough to cover fire damage from a rambunctious pokémon.
Ever since adopting a Rockruff (a week ago), my Growlithe (who I have owned for 5 years now) has started resource guarding, which she has never done before. I believe it’s because she is wary of the new addition, but she’s started growling at me as well when I go near her food or toys. How can I train her out of this without catching a Flamethrower in the face, as well as get her and Rockruff comfortable with each other?
Any change in a house growlithe’s living situation may cause stress, and any form of stress may manifest in a variety of negative behaviors. In short, what you’re observing is stress related to the new addition to your family, and it’s important that you treat this in order to get the hoarding behavior to stop.
Doing so may be easier said than done, however, as it will require you to exercise the utmost patience and skill with reading body language, even though what you’ll have to do is actually fairly simple. That is to say, what you need to do is set aside some time and a space for both of your pokémon to meet. And yes, they need to interact, although at first, it’s okay to have them do so at a distance. More specifically, you’ll need to set up a comfortable, relaxed environment stocked with enough toys, food, water, or comfortable bedding to keep both pokémon calm. Allow your growlithe into this space first and let her get comfortable, then introduce your rockruff. Remove one or the other and end the encounter as soon as one (or both) begin to show signs of stress.
The trick is to teach your growlithe (and your rockruff, for that matter) to stay in one place at a distance for a period of time. You may need to use positive reinforcement (perhaps by giving your growlithe treats whenever she stays or heels), but either way, you must be patient. Training out negative behaviors takes time, especially if a pokémon is responding to extreme stress (as your growlithe seems to be).
Hi Bill! I have a primarily fire-type team, which causes a lot of problems since everyone tends to be a little ‘hot-headed.’ I just adopted a quilava, and my vulpix, growlithe and flareon have been picking on him a lot. They’ve started a LOT of fires, and now they’re dragging the rest of the team into things… let’s just say a certain vaporeon got fed up with the bickering and I had to rush someone to the pokemon center last week. Any suggestions?
You may wish to consider spending a bit more time training each of them every day. For your vulpix, growlithe, and flareon, this is a great way to release pent-up aggression in a constructive manner, especially if you also train them to focus their negative energies into their attacks. You may also consider some team building exercises, such as double-battling or joint-training. This can be done either by pairing your other pokémon with your quilava (which will help him integrate into your team) or with each other (which will help reinforce what it means to be on a team in the first place). Finally, see if you can communicate how destructive behavior—including bullying and literally destroying your home with fire—is affecting not only your quilava but your family as a whole. It’s possible that if you speak clearly but firmly like a loving parent, your pokémon will understand.
If all else fails, training will of course help your quilava to get stronger, and it can learn the rock-type move Rollout naturally, just before evolution. Just as a thought.
Do growlithes or rockruffs make better travel companions ? What about service animals?
This is difficult to say, anonymous, because they both have fantastically similar dispositions. Both are extremely loyal, friendly, and easy to train, both require exactly the same kind of care, and both have excellent hearing and senses of smell, among other physical attributes.
As a traveling companion, it really depends on which region you’re starting in. For many regions, beginning with a fire-type is a bit more challenging than beginning with a rock-type. Additionally, in some regions, the fire stones growlithe need to evolve are rare to nonexistent, which only adds to the challenge. On the other hand, just because rockruff may pose less of a challenge when it comes to the gym circuit and evolution doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t be difficult to handle overall. While it’s true that lycanroc are generally more powerful than arcanine, they’re also generally more fragile as well, and rock-types have more weaknesses than fire-types. Likewise, the midnight form of lycanroc are notoriously rowdier but also slower than either its midday counterpart or arcanine.
As a service pokémon, it’s roughly even … but there’s a footnote to this. Growlithe is slightly easier to train than rockruff when it comes to getting them to heel and work, but rockruff have the ability to sense when their trainers are in need of emotional support, which makes rockruff slightly better as an emotional support pokémon than growlithe. However, growlithe are highly difficult to evolve, so they rarely need retraining because they’ll often remain growlithe for their entire lives. Rockruff, on the other hand, evolve by field experience, which means they can evolve at any time if they’re not wearing specialized collars equipped with everstones. This is dangerous because both of its evolutionary forms may pose a risk to their human partners. Obviously, midnight lycanroc are naturally hot-blooded and must be retrained to heel. Otherwise, they have a tendency to run off and challenge practically any pokémon that wanders into their line of sight. Midday lycanroc, meanwhile, are highly obedient and loyal and thus don’t actually need retraining … it’s just that their manes contain extremely sharp and long rocks that can damage property or anyone that touches them. If these manes are trimmed and smoothed down, then they’re actually fantastic choices for service pokémon, but it’s very rare to find a lycanroc who will sit through such a procedure.
After many long weeks I finally found out what my growlithe was barking at. My neighbour had a gengar which he kept secret as the apartments we live in don’t allow ghost pokemon. It kept sneaking in my flat at night and my growlithe was simply trying to keep it out. Just wanted to update!
Excellent to hear … that you found out what the source is, anyway. It’s not quite as exciting to know that you’re being haunted by your neighbor’s gengar, and I wish you the best of luck at resolving that particular issue. (Unfortunately, I have no advice when it comes to dealing with inconsiderate neighbors. Terribly sorry, anonymous!)
Hi there! My husband and I are thinking of adopting either a Growlithe or Houndour puppy. Which has better temperament, house broken, health concerns, and recommendations to ‘fire-puppy’-proof our house? :)
In general, growlithe tend to be among the easiest pokémon to train for domestic purposes, hence why they’re far more popular as pets than houndour. Don’t get me wrong, of course. Houndour are also excellent pets and far better guard pokémon. It’s just that they’re less friendly, more stoic, and otherwise pack creatures. They’re not the sort who will be eager to entertain the way growlithe are, and they fare much better when homed with at least one more of their own species. As such, it may be harder to get them to listen to commands than it would be for the notoriously loyal growlithe, which means it may be harder to housebreak them, walk them, and generally train them.
On the other hand, they’re also less excitable than growlithe, and thus, they’re less likely to bark or use their fire abilities excessively. Very minimal fireproofing is necessary for a houndour, whereas a growlithe may howl, pounce, and use Ember in celebration for your return home after a long day at work. Thus, for a houndour, you may only need a handy, charged fire extinguisher in as many rooms as humanly possible, whereas growlithe need training and a constant water-type partner at minimum.
In short, I supposed it would depend on your needs. Growlithe are easier to train and more affectionate, but houndour are quiet and well-behaved by default but not quite as emotionally available as growlithe may be.
One last note, though: if you have small children or are expecting, contrary to popular belief, houndour are excellent choices—far better than growlithe. Not only is this because houndour are generally calmer, but it’s also because their pack instincts kick in around human babies and toddlers. The truth is, you’ll likely find no canine pokémon more protective and concerned for a child’s well-being than a houndour, even though the species is often (wrongly) associated with violence.
Hopefully, this helps, anonymous. Best of luck with your decision.
Is it unusual that my zangoose and seviper are being friends despite what pokedex says?
Not at all, actually! While it’s true that wild zangoose and seviper are blood enemies, once tamed and given proper homes (with properly established feeding routines), you can actually eliminate any need for either of them to fight. It’s much like how most people believe that growlithe, meowth, and marill are all mortal enemies, but in actuality, all three lines can get along just fine if introduced to a loving home … and, well, taught not to attack each other.
It’s wonderful to hear that your pokémon are getting along splendidly, though, anonymous, so may their relationship thrive for years to come!
How do you stop a Growlithe from barking at nothing? I haven’t slept for days.
When it comes to correcting pokémon behavior, the most important first step is determining why that behavior is occurring. Your local Nurse Joy may be able to assist you with that step, but other than that, it’s highly recommended that you observe your growlithe closely to see if any part of its barking patterns can give you a hint as to what’s wrong.
That having been said, there are a number of reasons why your growlithe may be barking at nothing. One possibility has to do with the fact that growlithe possess extremely powerful senses of smell and hearing. Your growlithe could be responding to a howl or a bark outside of your home, or it could be responding to pokémon or animal sounds inside. Remember that growlithe are highly territorial pokémon. If any of your neighbors have dogs or dog-like pokémon—including other growlithe—yours will attempt to assert dominance and claim your neighborhood as its own, especially if it’s lived with you at your current residence for a long time. Pay close attention to your neighborhood whenever you take your growlithe for a walk to see if any other dogs live near you.
Alternatively, yes, growlithe also bark at vermin, even if those intruders are inside your walls. Growlithe are hunters, after all, so if your growlithe is staring at a wall during or shortly before barking, it’s trying to alert you to possible prey.
If it’s neither of these things, there may be a plethora of other reasons why your growlithe is barking. Some growlithe bark because they’re scared or anxious, particularly if you’ve just adopted them, if you’ve added new pokémon or people to your home, or if you’ve just moved to a new location. (Some are even afraid of the dark or of storms, so knowing precisely when your growlithe barks may be helpful.) Other growlithe bark because they’re bored and want your attention. Still other growlithe bark out of sympathy. (Growlithe, being highly loyal pokémon, are acutely in-tune with their owners’ moods. If you feel overwhelming negative emotion—say, for example, due to a lack of sleep—your growlithe may be barking as a means of saying, “Hello, trainer! I am here! What can I do for you?” Growlithe unfortunately lack the capability of understanding that they may be the cause of your problem unless you’re visibly upset with them.) In all of these cases, pinpointing the root cause of your growlithe’s barking is simply a matter of observing its body language and the timing of its barks.
Regardless of what the underlying cause is, it’s important to use positive reinforcement with your growlithe. Be firm with your growlithe but never shout or punish it for barking. Rather, reward it for not barking whenever it stops. Knowing the underlying cause just helps you to figure out how, specifically, to get your growlithe to stop barking, whether it’s removing vermin from your walls, soundproofing your home, reassuring your growlithe whenever it’s scared or anxious, or simply being stern with it if it’s simply trying to get your attention.
The Pokédex According to Bill 