Growlithe

Growlithe is card 28 of 102 in Base Set, released in January 1999, an Uncommon. It is a Basic Fire-type with 60 HP.

As a Basic Pokémon, Growlithe needs no prior evolution to put into play, which made it a practical card in the era's decks.

Illustrated by Ken Sugimori. Sugimori is the lead character designer of Pokémon itself, so his card art carries the tight, on-model look that defined how the creatures appear in the games.

The Pokédex entry printed on Growlithe reads: "Very protective of its territory. It will bark and bite to repel intruders from its space."

A Fire-type puppy. Loyal in-game lore. Base Set Uncommon. Cheap and easy to grade; sentimental collector demand.

Based on recent eBay sales, raw copies trade from $3.56 to $56 depending on the print and a PSA 10 runs from $138 to $3,020. The 1st Edition print is the most valuable, with a PSA 10 near $3,020. The table on this page breaks the price down by print and grade, updated 2026-06-05.

Base Set produced three print waves that collectors track separately: 1st Edition (the launch print, with an Edition 1 stamp under the artwork), Shadowless (no stamp and no drop shadow on the right of the frame), and Unlimited (the long-running print with the drop shadow restored). On Growlithe, the price gap between these prints can run 10x or more, so confirm the variant before any purchase.

Growlithe grades forgivingly, but the same centering and edge standards apply. Pack-fresh raw copies are easy to find, which makes a clean PSA 10 submission a low-cost way to learn how the cardstock behaves under grading.

Raw copies of Growlithe are inexpensive enough that grading rarely pays unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completion, a clean sleeved Growlithe is the practical move.