
Is Caterpie Good in FireRed & LeafGreen Playthrough?
A small upgrade over the originals. AbilityShield Dust blocks secondary move effects during the short grind to Butterfree. Flinching, stat drops, and status from attacks all get ignored. Evolves twice by level 10. The investment is Butterfree, not anything Caterpie does on its own.
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 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 has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Lorelei's team.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Lance's team hits Butterfree's weaknesses hard.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Terry's team.
Catch Caterpie on Route 2 (walking, Lv 4-5, rare).
- STARTING (Lv 4)
- LV 4NormalTackle40100%35
How to Get Caterpie in FireRed & LeafGreen
Rates swing from common to rare across Caterpie's 10 grass encounters in both versions. All early-game, but some spots have much better odds than others.
5 locations to catch Caterpie
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Where To Catch Caterpie in FRLG
To get Caterpie, start by catching Caterpie through walking encounters at Lv. 3-9. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
Step 2Catch or Evolve into MetapodViridian ForestLv.4-6GrassLeafGreenRate 10%Viridian ForestLv.5GrassFireRedRate 5%Pattern BushLv.9GrassFireRedRate 5%Pattern BushLv.9GrassLeafGreenRate 5%or evolve from Caterpie (Step 1)
Step 3Evolve into ButterfreeBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Four Island Pokemon Day Care to receive a Butterfree egg. Requires the Rainbow Pass to access Four Island.
Caterpie Weakness
Type-wise, Caterpie takes extra damage from Fire, Flying, and Rock. Standard number of weaknesses for the Bug typing.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Flying, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Ground |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Caterpie Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Caterpie
Charmander Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodPallet Town Gift | ||
Pidgey Normal | D | |
Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Charmeleon builds →Ember 2x89-107%KO Aerial Ace 2x56-67% | ||
Butterfree Bug | C | |
Geodude RockGround | C | |
Spearow Normal | C | |
Zubat Poison | D | |
Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Charmeleon builds →Ember 2x89-107%KO Aerial Ace 2x56-67% | ||
Butterfree Bug | C | |
Geodude RockGround | C | |
Spearow Normal | C | |
Zubat Poison | D | |
Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Golbat Poison | C | |
Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Charmeleon builds →Flamethrower 2x209-247%KO Aerial Ace 2x57-68% | ||
Fearow Normal | C | |
Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Pallet Town Old Rod) | ||
Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Golbat Poison | C | |
Dodrio Normal | B | |
Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Charmeleon builds →Flamethrower 2x221-260%KO Aerial Ace 2x60-71% | ||
Fearow Normal | C | |
Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Golbat Poison | C | |
Dodrio Normal | B | |
Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Charmeleon builds →Flamethrower 2x221-260%KO Aerial Ace 2x60-71% | ||
Fearow Normal | C | |
Charizard Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Charizard builds →Overheat 2x408-481%KO Fly 2x121-143%KO | ||
Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Dodrio Normal | B | |
Golbat Poison | C | |
Aerodactyl Rock | A | |
Obtain MethodCinnabar Island Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Aerodactyl builds →Fly 2x146-173%KO Ancient Power 2x126-149%KO Fire Blast 2x144-170%KO | ||
Moltres Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodMt Ember Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Moltres builds →Overheat 2x478-563%KO Fly 2x146-173%KO | ||
Charizard Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Charizard builds →Overheat 2x425-500%KO Fly 2x128-150%KO | ||
Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Magcargo FireRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Magcargo builds →Overheat 2x363-428%KO Rock Slide 2x93-110%KO | ||
Rapidash Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Rapidash builds →Overheat 2x331-390%KO Bounce 2x118-138%KO | ||
Ho-oh Fire | S | |
Obtain MethodNavel Rock Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Ho-oh builds →Overheat 2x438-516%KO Fly 2x183-216%KO | ||
Moltres Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodMt Ember Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Moltres builds →Overheat 2x488-574%KO Fly 2x146-172%KO | ||
Charizard Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Charizard builds →Overheat 2x435-512%KO Fly 2x127-150%KO | ||
Entei Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Interact Encounter | ||
Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
In FireRed & LeafGreen, Charizard can KO Caterpie with Fire Blast (427-503%).
Charizard Fire | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityBlaze ItemLeftovers NatureHasty Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Charizard builds →Fire Blast 2x427-503%KO | ||
Caterpie Evolutions
Three stages ahead. Caterpie grows into Metapod, then pushes on to Butterfree. Check the evolution methods below. For breeding, quick to hatch with a decent partner pool via one egg group. Evolving adds up to 200 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Caterpie easily with 37 breeding partners from the Bug egg group.
FRLG Caterpie Best Moveset
Stats near single digits everywhere. AbilityShield Dust blocks secondary effects but nothing survives contact anyway. Butterfree with MoveSleep Powder is the first useful stage.
Best Build
Caterpie best EVs are Attack
Utility Moveset
- String Shot
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Not a lot to pick from. Caterpie gets Bug STAB for same-type damage, and Normal coverage rounds things out. You're building around what's available rather than choosing from a deep bench.
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
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It is covered with a green skin. When it grows, it sheds the skin, covers itself with silk, and becomes a cocoon.
Its short feet are tipped with suction pads that enable it to tirelessly climb slopes and walls.
Caterpie FireRed & LeafGreen Guide
Caterpie can be caught in the wild at Viridian Forest, Route 2, Pattern Bush, and Route 24 in Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen.
Game Availability
One of the original 151, Caterpie has appeared in 19 games — most mainline games. From Red & Blue through the latest titles, it's rarely been left out of a regional Pokedex.
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 7LGPE

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh

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