Caterpie dreaming about evolving into a Butterfree
Butterfree first appeared as aCaterpie at the end ofPokémon Emergency, where he was staring at the group as they passed by.Misty was freaked out because he was aBug-typePokémon, and insisted that Ash do something. Ash pulled out aPoké Ball and threw it at Caterpie, hoping to catch him. Inthe next episode, Ash managed to successfully catch theWorm Pokémon, making him the firstwild Pokémon he ever caught. Remarkably, Ash caught him without initiating aPokémon battle, which Misty attributed to Caterpie's weakness. Caterpie was quite fond of Misty, but, much to Caterpie's dismay, she kept her distance due to fear. At night, Caterpie andAsh's Pikachu talked things over, and Caterpie revealed his desire toevolve into aButterfree. He became very sad as he was unsure he could do it, but Pikachu offered support.
The next day, Caterpie was the first Pokémon Ash sent out against the next Pokémon he tried to capture,Pidgeotto. With a large disadvantage against theFlying-type Pokémon, he was beaten severely and was quicklysubstituted for Pikachu. Later, whenTeam Rocket appeared to attempt to steal Pikachu, Ash sent out his weakened Caterpie after Pikachu had been blinded and Pidgeotto was defeated. Despite Team Rocket's ridicule, he managed to take down bothJames's Koffing andJessie's Ekans by usingString Shot andTackle, causing Team Rocket to run away. Just as Misty was about to overcome her fear and congratulate Caterpie on his victory, he suddenly evolved intoMetapod, which bothered her even more.
Butterfree and Ash
InChallenge of the Samurai, Metapod was sent out in a battle againstSamurai. Despite only being able to useHarden, he managed to defeat hisPinsir by solidifying so much that the Stag Beetle Pokémon's pincers broke. Samurai decided to send his own Metapod out against Ash's. Neither could attack, as both sides could only use themove Harden. The battle was interrupted by a swarm ofBeedrill, and Metapod was carried off after Ash forgot to recall him. Ash felt guilty about this and became determined to get his Metapod back, finding it with a hive ofKakuna. Team Rocket woke up the whole hive of Beedrill with theirmotto, allowing Ash to rescue his Metapod. Despite this, the Cocoon Pokémon was unhappy with Ash, but the Trainer tried to make an excuse and claim he didn't abandon Metapod. When Ash tripped on a rock and dropped Metapod, he owned up to his mistake and swore never to leave his Pokémon behind again. This moved Metapod, and, seeing a Beedrill about to attack Ash, he leaped up and took the blow, breaking the Beedrill's stinger and getting a large gash in his shell. Metapod evolved into Butterfree and stopped all the Beedrill with his newly learnedSleep Powder attack.
InClefairy and the Moon Stone, Ash used Butterfree against Team Rocket again, this time inMt. Moon. Battling alongsideBrock's newly acquiredZubat, the evolved Butterfree rematched Koffing and Ekans. The combined power of Butterfree'sWhirlwind and Zubat'sDouble Team neutralized Koffing'sSmokescreen, but left Butterfree open to an attack from Ekans. After Team Rocket's Pokémon were leftconfused by Zubat'sSupersonic, Ash commanded Butterfree to unleash Whirlwind once more, this time blasting their opponents out of Mt. Moon and ending the battle.
InThe Water Flowers of Cerulean City, Butterfree was used in Ash'sCerulean Gym battle against Misty, where he faced herStaryu. Butterfree hitStaryu with Tackle and then dodged Staryu's own Tackle. As Staryu landed, it lost its balance, allowing Butterfree to hit it with two more Tackles. Staryu scored a hit withWater Gun and kept firing off the attack. Butterfree, however, dodged them all andcrippled Staryu withStun Spore. Misty had Staryu jump into the water to wash the spores off. When Butterfree went for Sleep Powder, Staryu dodged it by diving into the water and kept using Tackle from underwater. Butterfree was struck by a Tackle and knocked into the water. With his wings wet, Ash was forced to concede the round and recall Butterfree to the safety of his Poké Ball.
Butterfree being traded for Raticate
Butterfree battledA.J.'s powerfulSandshrew inThe Path to the Pokémon League. Butterfree went for Stun Spore, but Sandshrew avoided it usingDig before pinning Butterfree to the ground to win the round.
InBattle Aboard the St. Anne, Ash used him in a battle against aGentleman and hisRaticate. Butterfree countered Raticate'sJump Kick with Tackle. After dodging aHyper Fang, Butterfree crippled it with Stun Spore. As Ash was about to finish the battle, the Gentleman called it off and declared it a draw, despite Butterfree's almost certain victory. The Gentleman approached Ash and asked totrade the Pokémon. Ash accepted but quickly regretted the decision after realizing his attachment to Butterfree. Later, Ash managed to exchange the Raticate for his Butterfree. While he was reunited with his friend, the decision led Ash andhis friends to be left trapped aboard the sinkingSt. Anne.
The last time Butterfree was seen under Ash's ownership was inBye Bye Butterfree. At the start of this episode, Ash saw many Butterfree flying around in the sky, and Brock told him that it was the Butterfree mating season. Ash realized that his Butterfree would probably want to havebabies like the other Butterfree, so he and his friends rented a hot air balloon and watched Butterfree mingle with the others. Despite Brock's encouragement for Butterfree to choose one belonging to a cute female Trainer, Butterfree had his heart set on apink Butterfree. He tried to impress the pink Butterfree with some fancy flying, only to be rejected with a slap to the face. Heartbroken, he flew into the woods below, followed by Ash and his friends, who tried to encourage Butterfree, telling him to be assertive and tying a yellow ribbon around his neck to help him catch the pink Butterfree's eye.
Butterfree tried a second time to impress the pink Butterfree with his Whirlwind and Tackle attacks, but this tactic also failed. Then, Team Rocket showed up in a helicopter and captured all the Butterfree, except Ash's, in a giant net. Butterfree pursued them, followed by the group in their hot air balloon, and they headed into a canyon where the Butterfree were stashed. While Ash handled the Rocket trio, Butterfree freed the captured Butterfree from their cage. Team Rocket tried a second time to capture all the Butterfree, only to be stopped by both Butterfree and Pikachu. Afterward, the pink Butterfree approached Ash's Butterfree, and the two paired up. The two departed as Ash watched in tears, remembering what the two had been through together and wishing his dear friend a fond farewell.
Butterfree with his mateButterfree reuniting with Ash
As a Caterpie, he had a very positive but shy attitude, with his biggest dream being able to one day become a Butterfree and fly around in the skies. He was shown to suffer from low self-esteem if he didn't make a good first impression; whenMisty consistently expressed her fear and disgust for him, Caterpie would hold back tears but continue to try and befriend her. Only after she went deep with her insults is when he finally became subdued and gave up trying to become her friend. At the same time he doesn't hold grudges as after his Evolution, Misty lost her fear of him and even commented on his beauty, with Butterfree accepting her new outlook without any ill-will. Besides his positive attitude, he's very brave and not afraid to stand up for himself, squaring up against aPidgeotto and thenbothofTeam Rocket's Pokémon single-handedly despite his small and weak-looking stature.
After his Evolution into Metapod, he became quiet and reserved although he remained loyal to his Trainer. However, when he was kidnapped by awildBeedrill, and forced to spend the whole night under Beedrill's nest, Metapod came to believe that Ash had abandoned him and completely lost any trust towards his Trainer. Even when Ash rescued him the next morning, Metapod could only stare at him with betrayal in his eyes, but after Ash's genuine apologies and emotional breakdown, Metapod forgave his Trainer and defended him against the herd of Beedrill, which also triggered his Evolution into Butterfree. After reaching his final Evolution stage, Butterfree became a more graceous and elegant Pokémon, swiftly flying around and displaying tremendous agility and acrobatic maneuvers. While somewhat competent even as a Caterpie, his power truly skyrocketed after becoming a Butterfree. While more confident as a Butterfree, his self-esteem still suffered when he didn't make a good first impression, as seen inBye Bye Butterfree.
Butterfree appeared inI Choose You!, which is set in a different continuity fromPokémon the Series. Like in that series, Butterfree was the first Pokémon Ashcaught on his journey while it was still a Caterpie.
While exploring Viridian Forest early on in his journey,Ash encountered a Caterpie. He battled him with hisPikachu and managed to catch him. Caterpie accompanied Ash and Pikachu on their journey and became a trusted partner. While Ash was trying to catch aPinsir by battling it with Caterpie, Caterpie evolved into Metapod.
Metapod would eventually fully evolve into Butterfree while battling a bunch of angryPrimeape and subduing them withString Shot. After evolving into Butterfree, he put the Primeape to sleep withSleep Powder. A short while after that, Ash and Butterfree encountered apink Butterfree. Ash's Butterfree defended the pink Butterfree from aFearow. The two Butterfree bonded but would later part ways. Not long after, the Butterfree reunited when Ash came across a herd of Butterfree, which included the pink Butterfree. Seeing how happy the two Butterfree were together, Ash decided to let his Butterfree go and said a tearful goodbye as he departed.
Ash's Butterfree first appears as aCaterpie and evolves intoMetapod at the beginning ofPlay Misty For Me when Ash is showing off all of his Pokémon toMisty. Later in the same chapter, during Ash's Gym battle against Misty, Metapod evolves into Butterfree.
Ash's Caterpie was given thenickname "Felix" (Japanese:ランドルフRandolph) inPlay Misty For Me, however, like the other nicknames that appear in that chapter, it seems to have been a one-off gag nickname.
Ash's Butterfree appeared inI Choose You!. It was first seen as a Caterpie. AfterAsh andPikachu escaped from a flock ofSpearow and theirleader, Ash encountered a Caterpie and caught it.
Later, it was shown battling aPinsir and during the battle, it evolved into a Metapod. Unfortunately, while Ash celebrated the Evolution of Caterpie into Metapod, Pinsir ran away.
Metapod was sent out to deal with a bunch of angryPrimeape. Ash had Metapod useString Shot on them to tie them up. This resulted in Metapod evolving into Butterfree. The String Shot didn't hold Primeape for long as they broke free from it. When the Primeape were chasing Ash andhis friends, Ash had Butterfree useSleep Powder on the Primeape, putting them to sleep. This gave the group a chance to escape before the Primeape had a chance to wake up.
Ash's Butterfree and the Pink Butterfree
Sometime after that, Butterfree was sent out to defend aPink Butterfree from awildFearow attacking her. Ash's Butterfree was able to drive off Fearow withGust. Since then, it took a liking to the Pink Butterfree. While Ash and his friends were about to go toMount Tensei, they saw a flock of Butterfree and the Pink Butterfree from before was seen. Ash sent out his Butterfree to interact with the flock. It did a courtship dance with the Pink Butterfree and she accepted. As such, Ash had no choice but to say goodbye to his Butterfree since they were migrating to the south. After some memories, Ash said a tearful goodbye to his Butterfree seeing as to how it was happy being with the Pink Butterfree.
A† shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves.
Pokémon Newspaper Strip
This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Ash's Metapod debuted inStrip 7. In this strip,Gary commanded hisRapidash to attack it with fire, but Metapod usedHarden, thus deflecting the attack back at Rapidash and defeating it. Unlike the animated series, Butterfree was caught as a Metapod. Metapod evolves into a Butterfree but most of its comic appearances (including subsequent ones after Evolution) are as a Metapod.
Caterpie is the first of a main character's Pokémon whose design was changed to match new official game art, despite being introduced before the change. In a flashback inThe Thief That Keeps on Thieving!, Caterpie's mouth was green as per the officialGeneration III game art. However, when it was first introduced, Caterpie's mouth was yellow as per the officialGeneration I game art.
Butterfree is the firstrecurring Pokémon to be caught by a main character, and the first to be released.
Butterfree was Ash's fastest evolving Pokémon, reaching his final evolved form two episodes after his debut.
He is also Ash's only Pokémon to evolve in the same episode in which he was caught (not countingPrimeape orDragonite, who evolved prior to their respective captures).
When Metapod evolved into Butterfree, he became Ash's first Pokémon to share a type with another Pokémon already in his team, sharing hisFlying type withPidgeotto.
Butterfree has used the moststatus moves out of all of Ash's Pokémon, with a total of five.
Furthermore, out of all of Ash's Pokémon, excluding temporary ones, Butterfree has the least amount of damage-dealing moves, with just one.
Butterfree is Ash's only Pokémon:
To use aGrass-typemove while not being a Grass type himself.
