
Is Butterfree Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Your answer to Brock in Yellow. Pikachu can't touch Rock-types, so Butterfree with MoveConfusion is the real solution for the first gym. Beyond Pewter City, MoveSleep Powder keeps Butterfree relevant long after its stats should have fallen off. No other version makes Butterfree this essential this early.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Misty's typing presses Butterfree's defenses.
Lt. Surge's team hits Butterfree's weaknesses hard.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Blaine's team hits Butterfree's weaknesses hard.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Lorelei'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 Agatha's team.
Lance's team hits Butterfree's weaknesses hard.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catch Metapod
Catch Metapod in Viridian Forest (walking, Lv 4-6, uncommon).
How to Get Butterfree in Yellow
Grab a Viridian Forest Caterpie, push it past Metapod, and you'll have Butterfree at level 10. Viridian Forest is the start of the whole chain.
Catch Caterpie or Metapod at any of these 1 spot to eventually evolve into Butterfree.
Encountered via tall grass encounters
How to Obtain Butterfree in Y
Step 1Catch Caterpie
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 (Route 24 Gift) | ||
Pidgeotto Normal | C | |
Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
Pikachu Electric | C | |
Obtain MethodPallet Town Gift Available Move Moves
Damage vs Butterfree View Pikachu builds →Thunder Shock 2x29-35% | ||
Spearow Normal | C | |
Nidorina Poison | D | |
Zubat Poison | D | |
Bellsprout GrassPoison | D | |
Oddish GrassPoison | C | |
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
Y Butterfree Best Moveset
Lands MoveSleep Powder before going down to whatever wakes up. 80 Special can't threaten from Bug or Flying TermStab, so the contribution starts and ends with one sleep turn. Faster Pokemon do the same sleep job and survive to do something after.
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 Gust, 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 20 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its wings, covered with poisonous powders, repel water. This allows it to fly in the rain.
Butterfree Yellow Guide
Honestly, in Yellow Butterfree is a tough sell. It rates just E-Tier, and stronger Bug/Flying options exist. Fun pick, not a practical one.
In Yellow, 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.