Special
Balanced
395Low
70Moderate
CTier

Without Tinted Lens, Butterfree wouldn't see any competitive play. With it? It makes resisted hits deal full damage, turning modest base stats into a real offensive threat. Bug/Flying is solid coverage on top of that. It needs some investment to avoid getting outsped.

Butterfree's spread isn't flashy. Sp. Atk leads, Attack trails, 2 stats clear the bar. Tough to catch and worth 3 Sp. Atk and Sp. Def EVs, on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
395Avg
HP60
C
Attack45
D
Defense50
D
Sp. Atk90
B
Sp. Def80
C
Speed70
C
Total395
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Butterfree yields +2 SpA, +1 SpD
HPAtkDefSpA+2SpD+1Spe
Details
Catch45Challenging•Medium Fast1M XP•1.1m / 3'07"•32kg / 70.5 lbs•178Base XP
Pokedex Entries

Its wings, covered with poisonous powder, repel water. This allows it to fly in the rain.

Lets Go Pikachu / Lets Go Eevee

Butterfree Weakness

Vulnerable

Butterfree is weak to Rock, Fire, Electric, Ice, and Flying-type moves. Watch out for Rock attacks, those deal 4x damage. On the flip side, it's immune to Ground-type moves entirely. Butterfree's special bulk (base 80 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.

4xCriticali
Rock
2xWeaki
FireElectricIceFlying
½xResisti
Bug
¼xResisti
GrassFighting
0xImmunei
Ground
STAB (5)i
GrassPsychicDarkFightingBug
5Weak
3Resist
1Immune
Scorei-4
Stealth Rock50% on switch
4x Rock — Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Stealth Rock
Abilities
Compound EyesIncreases moves' accuracy to 1.3×.
Tinted LensHADoubles damage inflicted with not-very-effective moves.

Butterfree is the final form in a three-stage chain from Caterpie through Metapod. Breeding this form produces Caterpie eggs (quick to hatch). Evolving from Caterpie gave Butterfree the biggest boost in Sp.Atk (+70), bringing the total to 395 stats.

How to Evolve

3 Forms
Caterpie
#010Caterpie
7
Level 7
Metapod
#011Metapod
10
Level 10
Butterfree
#012Butterfree
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Caterpie
Bug
Metapod
Bug
Butterfree
BugFlying
HP
45
50+5
60+10
ATK
30
20-10
45+25
DEF
35
55+20
50-5
SP.ATK
20
25+5
90+65
SP.DEF
20
25+5
80+55
SPE
45
30-15
70+40
BST
195D-Tier
205D-Tier+10
395C-Tier+190
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
Balanced
TYPE
Utility
Utility
Special
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed with Butterfree to get Caterpie eggs easily from the Bug egg group.

Egg Groups
Bug
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
15 cycles·3,855 steps
Quick~4 min with Flame Body

Prediction matters here. Choice Scarf means Butterfree can't change moves after clicking, but the payoff is speed patching through item lock. Max HP and Speed EVs with Compoundeyes back that up. Utility options prevents free switches.

Best Build

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee uses different battle mechanics.

Competitive build content is not applicable for this game. Select a main series game for builds.

TMs define Butterfree's movepool. The natural moves cover basics with Bug Buzz and Air Slash, but the real versatility comes from technical machines giving it Psychic and Normal coverage and more. That's where the options open up.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Confusion
5010025Psychic
Lv 1
Gust
4010035Flying
Lv 13
Poison Powder
—7535Poison
Lv 13
Sleep Powder
—7515Grass
Lv 13
Stun Spore
—7530Grass
Lv 16
Psybeam
6510020Psychic
Lv 19
Supersonic
—5520Normal
Lv 22
Quiver Dance
——20Bug
Lv 25
Whirlwind-6
——20Normal
Lv 28
Air Slash
759515Flying
Lv 31
Bug Buzz
9010010Bug

TM Moves

Src
TM59
Dream Eater
10010015Psychic
TM12
Facade
7010020Normal
TM01
Headbutt
7010015Normal
TM48
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM53
Mega Drain
7510015Grass
TM07
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM40
Psychic
9010010Psychic
TM09
Reflect
——20Psychic
TM05
Rest
——10Psychic
TM50
Roost
——10Flying
TM43
Shadow Ball
8010015Ghost
TM45
Solar Beam
20010010Grass
TM08
Substitute
——10Normal
TM04
Teleport-6
——20Psychic
TM27
Toxic
—9010Poison
TM18
U-turn
7010020Bug

Egg Moves

Butterfree doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Butterfree can't learn any Tutor moves

You'll want early-game access before hunting Butterfree. Low spawn rates across 1 encounter spots means the location matters. Sort by Best below and target the top-rated area first.

Where To Catch Butterfree in Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee

The path to Butterfree starts with Caterpie at Lv. 3-8 via walking encounters. 3 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.

  1. Caterpie
    Step 1Catch Caterpie
    Viridian Forest
    Let's Go PikachuGrassLv.3-625%EarlyForest
    EASY
    Viridian Forest
    Let's Go EeveeGrassLv.3-624%EarlyForest
    EASY
    Route 2 - Area 1
    Let's Go EeveeGrassLv.3-415%EarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 2 - Area 1
    Let's Go PikachuGrassLv.3-415%EarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 2 - Area 2
    Let's Go EeveeGrassLv.3-815%EarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 2 - Area 2
    Let's Go PikachuGrassLv.3-815%EarlyRoute
    EASY
  2. Metapod
    Step 2Catch or Evolve Metapod
    Viridian Forest
    Let's Go PikachuGrassLv.3-610%EarlyForest
    MODERATE
    Viridian Forest
    Let's Go EeveeGrassLv.3-610%EarlyForest
    MODERATE
    or evolve from Caterpie (Step 1)
  3. Butterfree
    Step 3Butterfree ✓
    Viridian Forest
    GrassLv.3-61%EarlyForest
    HARD
    or evolve from Metapod (Step 2)

  • Don't let Butterfree's 395 base stat total fool you. Tinted Lens is what makes it tick — it punches way above its weight class. We rate it C-Tier.

  • Butterfree's biggest threats include Golem (Rock), Charizard (Fire), and Raikou (Electric), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Golem is the most dangerous since Rock moves deal 4x damage. Ice and Flying-type attackers are also a problem. With 5 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter.

  • Metapod evolves into Butterfree at level 10. Butterfree is the final evolution in a 3-stage line starting from Caterpie.

  • Run Tinted Lens on Butterfree. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Butterfree also gets Compound Eyes, but they don't compare.

  • Butterfree fills the balanced role. It's a special attacker with base 90 Sp. Atk. Base 70 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many.

  • Butterfree appears in 19 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

Butterfree first appeared in Red & Blue and spans 19 games across 9 generations. It later gained a Gigantamax form in Generation 8, adding new dimensions to its competitive identity.