Growlithe was introduced in Pokemon Red and Green in Japan in 1996, as the fire-type puppy Pokemon that later evolves into Arcanine. Its cry comes from the games, where each Pokemon species has a short synthesized call played when it enters battle or appears in the Pokedex. As the games and anime spread worldwide, those cries were ripped, shared and reused by fans in videos, streams and soundboards. Growlithe remains popular because it is both cute and loyal in the series, making its short bark easy to recognise for longtime players.