Is Caterpie Good in Sun & Moon Playthrough?
Caterpie shows up on Route 1 from the very start. Evolves fast into Butterfree, but even that won't last past Akala Island.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with the Totem Gumshoos.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Hala's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with the Totem Wishiwashi.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with the Totem Salazzle.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with the Totem Lurantis.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Olivia's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with the Totem Vikavolt.
The Totem Mimikyu's typing presses Butterfree's defenses.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Nanu's team.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Hapu's team.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should bring the Totem Kommo-o down.
Butterfree has the type edge here and should clean up Hala's team.
Olivia's team hits Butterfree's weaknesses hard.
Butterfree trades roughly evenly with Acerola's team.
Kahili's team hits Butterfree's weaknesses hard.
Kukui's team hits Butterfree's weaknesses hard.
Catchable
Catch Caterpie on Route 1 (walking, Lv 2-3).
How to Get Caterpie in Sun & Moon
The classic little bug munches leaves across four grassy routes, and any early stroll through the brush can turn one up anywhere between level 2 and level 21.
Where To Catch Caterpie in SM
Caterpie is where the line starts, caught through walking encounters at Lv. 2-21. The chain covers 3 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into MetapodRoute 1 - WestLv.3-5GrassRate 10%Route 1 - SouthLv.10-13GrassRate 10%Melemele MeadowLv.9-12GrassRate 9%Route 5Lv.13-16GrassRate 9%or evolve from Caterpie (Step 1)
- Step 3Catch or Evolve into ButterfreeMelemele MeadowLv.9-12GrassRate 1%Route 5Lv.13-16GrassRate 1%Lush Jungle - SouthLv.18-21GrassSOS from Metapodor evolve from Metapod (Step 2)
Bring the right balls: check Caterpie catch odds in the Sun & Moon Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Caterpie in Sun & Moon
Caterpie strings together SOS allies in Melemele Meadow, and a long chain lifts the shiny rate to 1 in 274 as helpers keep pouring in. Compare Shiny Caterpie odds across every game
Sun & Moon Shiny Caterpie Calculator
3 MethodsThe best route is SOS Chaining at full boosts, about 1 in 274 on each try. Tune it below.
SOS Chaining: Leave one ally fainted and force endless calls. Bonus rolls step up at 11, 21, and 31 calls.
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 |
|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 29 |
| 25%one in four | 79 |
| 50%coin flip | 190 |
| 90%very likely | 630 |
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.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Caterpie in the Sun & Moon Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
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 |
What is Caterpie Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Caterpie
 Salamence Dragon | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Salamence builds →Fly 2x226-267%KO Fire Fang 2x109-130%KO | ||
 Oricorio Fire | C | |
 Fearow Normal | C | |
 Torracat Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Litten (Iki Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Torracat builds →Fire Fang 2x117-139%KO Acrobatics 2x65-78% | ||
 Trumbeak Normal | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Trumbeak builds →Pluck 2x107-128%KO Rock Blast 2x33-41% | ||
 Rufflet Normal | C | |
 Quilava Fire | C | |
 Litwick GhostFire | C | |
 Carbink RockFairy | C | |
 Drifloon Ghost | C | |
Butterfree Bug | C | |
 Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
 Vullaby Dark | C | |
 Growlithe Fire | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Caterpie View Growlithe builds →Flame Wheel 2x94-111%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 plenty of partners 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 77 breeding partners from the Bug egg group.
SM Caterpie Best Moveset
Bug at 30 Attack and 20 Sp. Atk. No competitive moves and base stats near single digits across every category. The moveset has no function at any level. Butterfree two evolutions away adds AbilityCompound Eyes accuracy.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Bug Bite
- String Shot
- Tackle
- Electroweb
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Not a lot to pick from. Caterpie gets Bug Bite 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
When attacked by bird Pokémon, it resists by releasing a terrifically strong odor from its antennae, but it often becomes their prey.
It’s easy to catch, and it grows quickly, making it one of the top recommendations for novice Pokémon Trainers.
Caterpie Sun & Moon Guide
For Sun & Moon, 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.
Keep playing · Sun & MoonSun & Moon Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Sun & Moon Tier List