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Arcanine Poll

What is Arcanine?

  • Total voters
    35
Andros 1337

Andros 1337

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What do you think Arcanine is: a dog, a wolf, a lion, a tiger, or something else?

While Arcanine has a mane and has stripes like a tiger, overall Arcanine still looks predominantly canine, plus he barks, so I will say dog.
 
He has 'canine' in his name, and Gen 1 names seem to be notoriously unoriginal, so...

H's clearly a tiger, haha. Who evolves from a puppy--the puppy actually, the Puppy Pokemon.
 
League said:
He has 'canine' in his name, and Gen 1 names seem to be notoriously unoriginal, so...

H's clearly a tiger, haha. Who evolves from a puppy--the puppy actually, the Puppy Pokemon.
Click to expand...

Well, Arcanine's Japanese name (Windie) doesn't refer to anything canine, however, I still consider Arcanine a dog as he looks much more canine than feline, plus he barks.
 
Arcanine looks more like a canine to me. His tail is bushy and has more fur than cats, common characteristics among canines. As to what kind of canine, it's hard to pinpoint, because he doesn't look like any particular kind. I am leaning towards one of those dogs. Its fur is tiger-like, but Pokemon has always have imaginary fur patterns (like Stoutland).

Thanks for reading.
 
In my taste it's a dog.
But I voted for a wolf, because it looks so much like one.
...Meh...potato potato...
 
To me, it looks like the mix of a Dog (general shape, furry tail), Lion (mane) and Tiger (colour scheme, stripes). He's too bulky to be a wolf, and his snout too short. (not counting the common canine traits, of course)
 
I think Arcanine is just a big dog! with tiger stripes like some one mixed a chow and a tiger striped looking dog and got Archanine! ^-^
 
Andros 1337 said:
Well, Arcanine's Japanese name (Windie) doesn't refer to anything canine, however, I still consider Arcanine a dog as he looks much more canine than feline, plus he barks.
Click to expand...
If you're going to go back to the original source to make your argument, then consider what it was based off of. The Smog had a pretty good article about it.

Taken from that article:
Not just lions, but throughout China, Korea, and Japan, one can find bizarre and fantasized depictions of animals like lions, tigers, elephants, and giraffes, with all manner of fangs, horns, and even scales. Try taking a gander at the dragon-like creature that is the mascot of Kirin Beer (Kirin means giraffe in Japanese). The reason lies in the ancient relations between China and its western neighbors in India and the Middle East. The traders of the silk road brought all manner of legends and tales of their lands, along with goods like tiger skins and elephant tusks—but there was no photography, and no means to accurately describe animals that the Chinese (and subsequently, the Japanese) could never see. These animals were also deeply connected to Buddhism and Middle Eastern folklore. The result is that these animals became increasingly fantastic in Eastern depiction. The lion, with its reverence as a symbol of fearsome power, was especially romanticized, and the lion-dogs and their wild manes became increasingly popular.
Click to expand...

So my answer? Why limit yourself to rigid categories that don't accurately represent what Arcanine is? Whatever the Shisu and Komainu were based off of when the Chinese and Japanese thought them up from lion pelts certainly isn't just a lion and was influenced by their imaginations, so you can't just categorize them as "lion", "dog", or "tiger". Likewise, the english translation of lion-dog doesn't seem accurate either.
 
Last edited:
At first glance, I would say Arcanine is a liger of some sort(orange with black stripes and a mane)but he also could be a dog.I got this from wikipedia:

In a poll conducted by IGN, it was voted as the 12th best Pokémon, where the staff described it as a "huge fire breathing dog that looks like a tiger for some reason".
 
Arcanine is based on a dog, I'm sure. That fits with it's theme somewhat, too. Burning Police dogs on steroids?
 
Please note: The thread is from 13 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
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