Fiery Companion

There comes a point in time where every gamer must make the choice …. Ah bloody hell, we all know where this sentence is going. Anyways, in my second FireRed playthrough, my starter’s Squirtle, although my starter was Charmander in my previous playthrough. That is because I know I can have a much better fire-type Pokémon later in the game – Arcanine.

Since this was my second playthrough, I know where to find my beloved fire pup. After an agonizing lack of fluffy fire-breathing cuteness for longer than it should be, I found the one grass patch that I was seeking.

And lo and behold, after a few random encounters, I found my Growlithe. He came with me to Lavender Town, and we went to Pokémon Tower. It was a dark and treacherous place full of unseen foes, but we persevere and fought our way through ghosts and ghouls until he hit level 49 and learned Flamethrower. Blessed with this power gained from fighting these undead spirits, he received the Fire Stone and evolved into Arcanine.

We descended from the tower and went to the Name Rater, where he was renamed Amaterasu and learned how to summon forth the power of the Sun. Later to my disappointment I learned that it can only learn Morning Sun through breeding with an Espeon. And I need to beat the Elite Four to get to Four Island to do so. Bloody hell.

I first fell in love with Arcanine because of how majestic it looks with its cream-coloured tufts of fur flowing in the wind. Also, it has always been known to be loyal to its trainers. Essentially, it is a giant orange puppy that can literally roast whoever looks at you funny. And it will be so, so great to just pet it, tickle its chin, stroke its mane, gently comb its fur, and…. what was I talking about?

Anyways, I always like both Arcanine and its pre-evolution, Growlithe. Part of it is because of how they look, and part of it is because of my best buddy Amaterasu, who rapidly outleveled my Blastoise and became my right hand man in my second playthrough. This made Cinnabar Island’s Pokémon Mansion a slightly awkward affair, since I needed to grind there to beat Blaine and that place has a rather large population of Growlithes. Although beating Blaine’s Arcanine with my own and steamrolling his team with Amaterasu is rather satisfying. Yes I know I have a Blastoise, but it’s about sending a message.

In fact, I love them so much, I have these!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find an Arcanine plushy. I just really want a large Arcanine plushy that I can lean on like a giant pillow. Although considering what happened with the giant Snorlax plushies, I might end up regretting that.

As to which of the two do I like the most? Hmmm…. If your dad and your mum both fell into a river and none of them can swim, who would you save first?