
Is Caterpie Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Exists to become Butterfree. Caterpie can't contribute to any fight on its own. Get it to level 10 as fast as you can and move on.
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.
Catchable
Catch Caterpie on Route 2 (walking, Lv 3-5, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 3)
- LV 3NormalTacklePower 35Accuracy 95%PP 35
How to Get Caterpie in Red & Blue
Six grass encounters across both versions, clustered in and around Viridian Forest. Caterpie is common in Blue but turns rare in Red, where the Weedle line takes over the same spots.
4 locations to catch Caterpie
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Where To Catch Caterpie in RB
Caterpie is where the line starts, caught through walking encounters at Lv. 3-8. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
Step 2Catch or Evolve into MetapodViridian ForestLv.4-6GrassBlueRate 40%Route 24Lv.8GrassBlueRate 20%Route 25Lv.9GrassBlueRate 20%Viridian ForestLv.4GrassRedRate 5%or evolve from Caterpie (Step 1)
Step 3Evolve into Butterfree
Bring the right balls: check Caterpie catch odds in the Red & Blue Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
Caterpie Weakness
Type-wise, Caterpie takes extra damage from Fire, Poison, Flying, and Rock. Standard number of weaknesses for the Bug typing.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Poison, Flying, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, 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 Caterpie Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Caterpie
Pidgey Normal | D | |
Charmander Fire | D | |
Obtain MethodPallet Town Gift | ||
Weedle BugPoison | D | |
Caterpie Evolutions
Caterpie starts a line toward Butterfree. Can't breed this Bug type (195 stats), so keep the evolution path going. Evolving adds up to 200 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Caterpie Best Moveset
Base stats near single digits, no competitive moves, no role. Tackle is the best option. Evolve immediately.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Tackle
- 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.
- 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
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its short feet are tipped with suction pads that enable it to tirelessly climb slopes and walls.
Caterpie Red & Blue Guide
For Red & Blue, you can run Caterpie through the first few routes without issues. 195 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Metapod as fast as you can.
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 7Let's Go

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
Explore
Where to go next after Caterpie.