
Is Butterfree Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Available before Brock if you catch Caterpie in Viridian Forest, and MoveConfusion at level 10 actually handles his gym. Butterfree's real value is MoveSleep Powder, which trivializes tough fights for the rest of the game. Doesn't hit hard enough to be a main attacker, but the utility keeps it relevant longer than you'd expect.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Butterfree resists most of Giovanni's coverage and hits back hard.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Lorelei's team.
Butterfree resists most of Bruno's coverage and hits back hard.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Agatha's team.
Lance's typing presses Butterfree's defenses.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catch Caterpie
Catch Caterpie on Route 2 (walking, Lv 3-5, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 3)
- LV 3NormalTacklePower 35Accuracy 95%PP 35
How to Get Butterfree in Red & Blue
No wild Butterfree in Red or Blue. Level a Metapod to 10 and it evolves, which usually means raising a Caterpie caught in Viridian Forest first.
Catch Caterpie or Metapod at any of these 4 spots to eventually evolve into Butterfree.
Encountered via tall grass encounters
How to Obtain Butterfree in RB
To get Butterfree, start by catching Caterpie through walking encounters at Lv. 3-8. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
Step 2Catch or Evolve MetapodViridian ForestLv.4-6GrassBlueRate 40%Route 24Lv.8GrassBlueRate 20%Route 25Lv.9GrassBlueRate 20%Viridian ForestLv.4GrassRedRate 5%or evolve from Caterpie (Step 1)
Step 3Butterfree ✓
Butterfree Weakness
Butterfree is weak to Rock, Fire, Electric, Ice, Poison, 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 Special) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Rock |
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Electric, Ice, Poison, Flying |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Bug |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Butterfree Weak Against
FragileBest Pokemon Against Butterfree
Geodude RockGround | C | |
Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
Pikachu Electric | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Butterfree View Pikachu builds →Thunder Shock 2x30-36% | ||
Spearow Normal | C | |
Pidgey Normal | D | |
Zubat Poison | D | |
Weedle BugPoison | D | |
Butterfree Evolutions
Butterfree is the evolved form of Caterpie, reached at level 10. A Bug/Flying type at 385 stats that still can't breed. Evolving from Caterpie gave Butterfree the biggest boost in Special (+60), bringing the total to 385 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Butterfree Best Moveset
MoveSleep Powder is the entire identity. Bug/Flying typing, 80 Special, and poor Speed mean one thing happens: something falls asleep, and then Butterfree folds. The move slots after sleep are irrelevant because nothing else hits hard enough to matter.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Mega Drain
- Stun Spore
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
TMs define Butterfree's movepool. The natural moves cover basics with Bug and Flying STAB, but the real versatility comes from technical machines giving it Psychic and Normal coverage. That's where the options open up.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM 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 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 19 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
In battle, it flaps its wings at high speed to release highly toxic dust into the air.
Butterfree Red & Blue Guide
Honestly, in Red & Blue Butterfree is a tough sell. It rates just E-Tier, and stronger Bug/Flying options exist. Fun pick, not a practical one.
In Red & Blue, Butterfree plays as a balanced. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully.
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
Explore
Where to go next after Butterfree.