Like its pre-evolution, Cyndaquil, the top half of Quilava's body is blue and the lower half creamy-colored; however, its entire body is slimmer in proportion and it is now a quadruped. It also has triangular ears with red-colored insides. Quilava possesses a much smaller, more rounded nose than the one it had as Cyndaquil, and its eyes are open, revealing its red irises. It has five red-colored spots on its body in which it projects flame at will, two in a somewhat exclamation-mark shape on its forehead and three lined up horizontally on its rear.