Is Butterfree Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Bug/Flying at level 10 with AbilityCompound Eyes. Sleep Powder hits 97.5% of the time, giving Butterfree a real niche for catching Pokemon and softening gym leaders through Morty. The stats don't survive past Chuck.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Jasmine's team hits Butterfree's weaknesses hard.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Butterfree resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Butterfree resists most of Misty's coverage and hits back hard.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Butterfree resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Blaine's team hits Butterfree's weaknesses hard.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Butterfree resists most of Will's coverage and hits back hard.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Lance's team hits Butterfree's weaknesses hard.
Catch Metapod
Catch Metapod on Route 30 (walking, Lv 4, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- After Pryce
- REMINDERNormalTacklePower 35Accuracy 95%PP 35
How to Get Butterfree in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Butterfree does have a few wild slots of its own, uncommon to rare, including special Headbutt encounters on Route 47. The faster route is a Metapod evolved at level 10, off the Caterpie you trip over early.
Wild Butterfree may be holding when caught:
Silver Powder (5% chance) An item to be held by a Pokemon. It is a shiny, silver powder that ups the power of Bug-type moves.5 locations to catch Butterfree7 locations to catch Metapod
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Catch Metapod at any of the 7 locations below, then level it up to 10 — it evolves into Butterfree.
Badge 1 Badge 2 Badge 3 Badge 4 Badge 5 Badge 6 Badge 7 Badge 8Where To Catch Butterfree in HGSS
Metapod gets you Butterfree sooner: catch it at the very start and evolve it at Lv 10. Wild Butterfree first appears at Ilex Forest (after Badge 1).
- Step 1Catch CaterpieIlex ForestLv.5-6GrassHeartGoldRate 60%DayRoute 30Lv.3-4GrassHeartGoldRate 50%MorningIlex ForestLv.5-6GrassHeartGoldRate 50%MorningNational ParkLv.10-12FloorHeartGoldRate 50%MorningViridian ForestLv.3GrassHeartGoldRate 40%Morning/dayRoute 30Lv.3-4GrassHeartGoldRate 35%DayRoute 31Lv.4-5GrassHeartGoldRate 35%Morning/dayRoute 2 - NorthLv.3-4GrassHeartGoldRate 31%Morning/dayRoute 2 - SouthLv.3-4GrassHeartGoldRate 31%Morning/dayIlex ForestLv.3-5Headbutting treesHeartGoldRate 30%National ParkLv.10FloorHeartGoldRate 30%DayNational Park - Bug Catching ContestLv.7-18FloorRate 20%Before post-gameNational Park - Bug Catching ContestLv.24-36FloorRate 20%Post-game (Tue)
- Step 2Catch or Evolve MetapodViridian ForestLv.3-5GrassHeartGoldRate 30%Morning/dayIlex ForestLv.5-6GrassHeartGoldRate 30%DayIlex ForestLv.6GrassHeartGoldRate 30%MorningNational ParkLv.10FloorHeartGoldRate 30%Morning/dayRoute 2 - NorthLv.5GrassHeartGoldRate 20%MorningRoute 2 - SouthLv.5GrassHeartGoldRate 20%Morning/dayRoute 30Lv.4GrassHeartGoldRate 15%DayRoute 31Lv.5GrassHeartGoldRate 15%Morning/dayIlex ForestLv.3-5Headbutting treesHeartGoldRate 10%Route 30Lv.4GrassHeartGoldRate 10%MorningNational Park - Bug Catching ContestLv.9-18FloorRate 10%Before post-gameRoute 47Lv.25-28Headbutting special treesHeartGoldRate 50%National Park - Bug Catching ContestLv.26-36FloorRate 10%Post-game (Tue)or evolve from Caterpie (Step 1)
Not landing the catch? Calculate Butterfree catch rates for HeartGold & SoulSilver by ball, status, and HP.
How to Get Shiny Butterfree in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Butterfree flutters around Viridian Forest and the National Park, but a shiny comes fastest from Masuda breeding. Compare Shiny Butterfree odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Butterfree Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in HeartGold & SoulSilver with Butterfree preloaded.
Butterfree Weakness
Butterfree is weak to Rock, Fire, Electric, Ice, and Flying. 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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Rock |
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Electric, Ice, Flying |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Bug |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Butterfree Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Butterfree
 Ninetales Fire | C | |
 Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Butterfree View Lapras builds →Ice Beam 2x92-108%KO Thunderbolt 2x61-72% | ||
 Glaceon Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
 Arcanine Fire | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Butterfree View Arcanine builds →Fire Blast 2x126-150%KO Thunder Fang 2x71-83% | ||
 Magmar Fire | C | |
 Noctowl Normal | C | |
 Plusle Electric | B | |
 Scyther Bug | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Butterfree View Scyther builds →Wing Attack 2x99-117%KO | ||
 Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter | ||
 Minun Electric | C | |
 Magnemite ElectricSteel | C | |
 Quilava Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cyndaquil (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
 Flaaffy Electric | C | |
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Butterfree View Graveler builds →Rock Tomb 4x149-175%KO Fire Blast 2x49-58% | ||
Butterfree Evolutions
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 (+60), bringing the total to 385 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Butterfree to get Caterpie eggs easily using 48 partners from the Bug egg group.
HGSS Butterfree Best Moveset
Sleep support defines this moveset: MoveSleep Powder hits at 97.5% accuracy through AbilityCompound Eyes, putting one target down before anything happens. Special Bug and Psychic attacks follow off 80 Sp. Atk. Thin at 60 HP and 50 Defense, but the sleep turn changes games.
Best Build
Butterfree best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Attacker Moveset
- Sleep Powder
- Bug Buzz
- Stun Spore
- Protect
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Butterfree develops a solid moveset just through leveling. Bug Buzz and Hyper Beam show up naturally, and the progression handles both STAB and utility without leaning on TMs for the core attacks.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 21 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Reminder Moves
Base Stats
It collects honey every day. It rubs honey onto the hairs on its legs to carry it back to its nest.
Water-repellent powder on its wings enables it to collect honey, even in the heaviest of rains.
Butterfree HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
Yes. Wild Butterfree in HeartGold & SoulSilver can hold Silver Powder (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Silver Powder.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Butterfree can work for a story run. It rates C-Tier, a middle-of-the-pack pick, so the Bug/Flying typing decides whether it earns a team slot.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Butterfree plays as a balanced. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Timid is the go-to nature for Butterfree. That's +Speed / -Attack. Pair it with 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe EVs. Fits the balanced role.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Butterfree pairs best with Gyarados, Electivire, and Latias. Gyarados has Decent synergy and covers what Butterfree can't handle on its own.
Game Availability
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.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwShGigantamax
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
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