Although the art of Growlithe breeding is an ancient one, few breeds survive to the present day, and fewer still have diverged so much from their ancestors that they speak a name other than Growlithe. Among these are Snubbull (and its evolution of Granbull), a breed developed by desert tribesmen to get around religious prohibitions regarding the training of Growlithe, prohibitions which likely had their origin as much in the increased dangers of heat stroke involved in training Growlithe or other fire-types in that climate as from any divine order.
Unable to use fire, Snubbull instead developed a large and terrifying face in an effort to scare off its foes. It is not powerful in combat, but need not be, for they rarely fight alone. Throughout most of history they have been used to protect women, children, and the elderly while the men were off scouting; their four large ears and loud bark allowed them to alert the men from miles away and give them enough time to return. Snubbull are not cruel pokemon - in modern times, they are often found taking care of the disabled – but most pokemon and men fear them all the same, much to their dismay. To women, however, they might as well be Clefairy, and are kept as their pets as often as Pikachu.
There are many similarities between the fairy pokemon and Snubbull, such as their distinctive pink color. Snubbull are considered a "chain species" for their ability to breed with multiple egg groups, and many have suspected that modern Snubbull are the result of a Growlithe breeding with a Clefairy who passed down more than just their attacks. Some have dismissed this as impossible, while others considered it evidence of just how little we understand about pokemon genetics.