Tag: growlithe

Did domestic canine Pokemon descend from wilder Pokemon like Mightyena, or is there no real evolutionary history for the overall canine family? (I do hope this makes science. Biology and it’s vocabulary was not my strong suit in school.)

They did indeed! In fact, mightyena are themselves descendants from the same common ancestor as growlithe, lillipup, and so forth.

I could go further into detail as to when, roughly, each species diverged, but this may overcomplicate matters a bit. The important thing to know is that, indeed, mightyena is very closely related to the “dog” pokémon—possibly, even, to the point where a proto-mightyena might have been the common ancestor and that human domestication led to dog-like pokémon adapting into their own species.

It’s actually quite interesting to look at, actually. Each of the dog-like species share similar traits, but it’s very easy to tell why they were domesticated based on what types they’ve become. But that’s neither here nor there, I suppose.

Growlithe and Arcanine

Growlithe
The Puppy Pokémon
Type: Fire
Official Registration #: 58
Entry: An extremely loyal dog-like pokémon, growlithe is eager to execute any order to the best of its ability, and when not given an order, it tends to remain perfectly still. Yet at the same time, when ordered to guard a home or valuables, it will bark and bite at anything that is not its trainer, even if that anything is another human being. If the reader believes that these two states are not contradictory, then one has not watched a growlithe happily stand by and watch their owner get robbed on the streets of Goldenrod City because it has not been ordered to attack.

Arcanine
The Legendary Pokémon
Type: Fire
Official Registration #: 59
Entry: The evolved form of growlithe, by exposure to fire stone. In China, arcanine are widely regarded as legendary pokémon. Given the commonness of growlithe and the fact that arcanine is not regarded so highly anywhere else in the world, you would think this would result in major debates across the planet concerning religion, culture, and the definition of “legendary pokémon,” but somehow, the human race has gotten along just fine without talking about it.