Butterfree (Japanese: バタフリー Butterfree) is a dual-type Bug/Flying Pokémon.
It evolves from Metapod starting at level 10. It is the final form of Caterpie.
Biology
Butterfree resembles a vaguely anthropomorphic butterfly with a purple body. Unlike true insects, it only has two body segments and four light blue legs. Butterfree has two black antennae, a light blue snout with two fangs underneath, and large, red compound eyes. Its two pairs of veined wings are white with black accents. The oval scales of a female Butterfree's lower wings are black, but white in males.
Butterfree's wings are covered with poisonous powders that fall off continuously as it flies. This powder repels water, enabling it to gather honey even in the rain. Butterfree will roam up to six miles from its nest in search of honey, which it carries with the hairs of its legs. It also consumes sap from trees pierced by Heracross, as seen in the anime. Butterfree is found in forests, but has also been observed flying near the ocean as part of its migratory breeding pattern.
In the anime
Major appearances
Ash Ketchum had a Butterfree that he had caught as a Caterpie, the first Pokémon he ever caught. Butterfree was also the first Pokémon Ash let go, allowing him to mate with a Pink Butterfree in Bye-Bye Butterfree.
A pink Butterfree appeared in Bye-Bye Butterfree. Ash's Butterfree fell in love with her and fought to save her from Team Rocket. At the end of the episode, Ash released his Butterfree to mate with the pink Butterfree.
Other
Ritchie has a Butterfree named Happy. It was first seen in A Friend in Deed.
An Orange Archipelago variant of Butterfree living on Valencia Island appeared in Poké Ball Peril. It had not eaten for days despite Professor Ivy's effort to make different kinds of food for it. It took a liking to Brock's food, however, and was one of the reasons he stayed behind. It reappeared in a flashback in A Tent Situation.
A Butterfree appeared under the ownership of Lisa in Spell of the Unown: Entei.
After Team Rocket kidnapped Dr. Gordon and flew away on Jessie's Dustox in Caterpie's Big Dilemma, Xander's giant Metapod evolved into a Butterfree to chase Team Rocket. Xander's Butterfree shrunk back to its normal size at the end of the episode.
Jeremy used a Butterfree in the first half of the Silver Town Pokémon Contest in Weekend Warrior.
Drew has a Butterfree that debuted in The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing.
Multiple Butterfree appeared in Butterfree and Me!., including one which Ash helped to evolve.
Minor appearances
A Butterfree appeared in The Path to the Pokémon League under the ownership of A.J..
Multiple Butterfree appeared in Battle Aboard the St. Anne, The Power of One, A Sappy Ending, Celebi: Voice of the Forest, Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias and Destiny Deoxys and Giratina and the Sky Warrior.
A Butterfree also appeared in Pokémon Fashion Flash, The March of the Exeggutor Squad, Pallet Party Panic, Once in a Blue Moon, Curbing the Crimson Tide!, Pinch Healing!, Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Part One and Camping It Up!.
A flock of Orange Archipelago Butterfree living on the Seven Grapefruit Islands appeared in a flashback in Snack Attack.
An Orange Archipelago Butterfree under the ownership of an unnamed Trainer appeared in The Mandarin Island Miss Match.
An Orange Archipelago Butterfree living on Shamouti Island appeared in Slowking's Day.
Three Butterfree were seen at Professor Oak's Laboratory in The Rivalry Revival.
Multiple Butterfree appeared in For Crying Out Loud where they played with Wilhelmina's Marill.
A Butterfree was one of the Pokémon seen at the Pokémon Swap Meet in Tricks of the Trade.
A flock of Butterfree were seen flying over Mount Quena in Mewtwo Returns.
Multiple Butterfree appeared in the wild in Houndoom's Special Delivery.
Three Butterfree appeared in a flashback in The Light Fantastic.
Several Butterfree appeared in Brock's dream in Sick Daze.
A Butterfree was one of the inhabitants of an oasis just for Pokémon in Got Miltank?.
A Butterfree appeared in A Tyrogue Full of Trouble where it was followed by Misty's Togepi.
Two Butterfree were seen at Lake Slowpoke in Enlighten Up!.
Several Butterfree were among the inhabitants of the Dragon Holy Land in Fangs for Nothin'.
A Butterfree made a brief appearance in Camp Pikachu.
A flock of Butterfree appeared before Ash's Larvitar in Hatch Me If You Can.
A Butterfree appeared in Now That’s Flower Power! as a Pokémon in the Contest.
In Channeling the Battle Zone, Solidad used her Butterfree in the Kanto Grand Festival.
It was also seen as part of Lila's famous "Tiger Lily Smile" background in Battling the Generation Gap!.
A group of Butterfree also appeared in Genesect and the Legend Awakened at Pokémon Hills.
A Butterfree appeared on the picture in the gallery museum in A Blustery Santalune Gym Battle!.
Pokédex entries
| Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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| AG142
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Butterfree
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May's Pokédex
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Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokémon. Butterfree is the evolved form of Metapod. The scales covering its wings help it to shed water.
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| Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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| BW130
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Butterfree
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Ash's Pokédex
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Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokémon. Butterfree's love of flower nectar draws it to seek out flowers, even if they don't have much pollen.
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In Pokémon Origins
A Butterfree appeared in File 4: Charizard in a fantasy.
In the manga
Butterfree in Pokémon Adventures
In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga
- Main article: Ash's Butterfree
Ash's Butterfree makes a brief appearance in the manga series The Electric Tale of Pikachu. It was first caught in Pikachu, I See You! as a Caterpie and then evolved into Metapod in Play Misty For Me.
Ash's Metapod evolves into Butterfree in Play Misty For Me during Ash's Gym battle with Misty. Its last appearance as a Butterfree was in Haunting My Dreams, battling a giant Haunter.
Melanie took care of three Butterfree in Pikachu's Excellent Adventure.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
- Main article: Kitty
Butterfree debuts in Wake Up—You’re Snorlax! as one of the Pokémon shocked by Red's Pika in a forest.
Yellow has a Butterfree which evolved from a Caterpie she befriended and captured. Her uncle, Fisherman Wilton, also has a Butterfree wich first appeared in Just a Spearow Carrier. Both of them are able to use Butterfree as a mode of flight, using Butterfree to hold onto their backs as they fly.
In The Last Battle XIII a Butterfree was one of the Pokémon sent to help the fight in Ilex Forest.
In the Pocket Monsters HeartGold & SoulSilver Go! Go! Pokéathlon manga
A Butterfree appeared in Pocket Monsters HeartGold & SoulSilver Go! Go! Pokéathlon.
In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
Giovanni used a Butterfree in a haircut salon that he built.
In the Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga
Bugsy has a Butterfree as his main Pokémon. It was first seen as a Metapod in Let's Aim For The Goal.
In the TCG
- Main article: Butterfree (TCG)
Game data
NPC appearances
Pokédex entries
| Generation I
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| Red(ENG)
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In battle, it flaps its wings at high speed to release highly toxic dust into the air.
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| Blue
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| Yellow
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Its wings, covered with poisonous powders, repel water. This allows it to fly in the rain.
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| Stadium
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Its wings are covered with poisonous dust. If you see one flapping its wings, be careful not to inhale any of the dust.
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| Generation II
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| Gold
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It collects honey every day. It rubs honey onto the hairs on its legs to carry it back to its nest.
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| Silver
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Water-repellent powder on its wings enables it to collect honey, even in the heaviest of rains.
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| Crystal
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It flits from flower to flower, collecting honey. It can even identify distant flowers in bloom.
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| Stadium 2
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It collects honey every day. It rubs honey onto the hairs on its legs to carry it back to its nest.
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| Generation III
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| Ruby
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Butterfree has a superior ability to search for delicious honey from flowers. It can even search out, extract, and carry honey from flowers that are blooming over six miles from its nest.
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| Sapphire
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| Emerald
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It has a superior ability to search for delicious honey from flowers. It can seek, extract, and carry honey from flowers blooming over six miles away.
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| FireRed
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The wings are protected by a rain-repellent dust. As a result, this Pokémon can fly about even in rain.
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| LeafGreen
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In battle, it flaps its wings at great speed to release highly toxic dust into the air.
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| Generation IV
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| Diamond
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It loves the honey of flowers and can locate flower patches that have even tiny amounts of pollen.
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| Pearl
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| Platinum
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| HeartGold
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It collects honey every day. It rubs honey onto the hairs on its legs to carry it back to its nest.
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| SoulSilver
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Water-repellent powder on its wings enables it to collect honey, even in the heaviest of rains.
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| Generation V
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| Black
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It loves the honey of flowers and can locate flower patches that have even tiny amounts of pollen.
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| White
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| Black 2
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It loves the honey of flowers and can locate flower patches that have even tiny amounts of pollen.
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| White 2
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| Generation VI
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| X
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It loves the honey of flowers and can locate flower patches that have even tiny amounts of pollen.
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| Y
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The wings are protected by rain-repellent dust. As a result, this Pokémon can fly about even in rain.
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| Omega Ruby
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Butterfree has a superior ability to search for delicious honey from flowers. It can even search out, extract, and carry honey from flowers that are blooming over six miles from its nest.
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| Alpha Sapphire
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Alternate games
- Pokémon Pinball, Pokémon Trading Card Game (Base Set)
- In battle, it flaps its wings at high speed, releasing highly toxic dust into the air.
- Pokémon Trading Card Game (Neo Discovery)
- It collects honey every day. It rubs honey onto the hairs on its legs to carry it back to its nest.
Game locations
In side games
Held items
Stats
Base stats
Generation I-V
| Stat
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Range
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| At Lv. 50
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At Lv. 100
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60
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120 - 167
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230 - 324
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45
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45 - 106
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85 - 207
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50
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49 - 112
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94 - 218
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80
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76 - 145
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148 - 284
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80
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76 - 145
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148 - 284
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70
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67 - 134
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130 - 262
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Total: 385
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Other Pokémon with this total
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- Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and (if applicable) a hindering nature.
- Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and (if applicable) a helpful nature.
- This Pokémon's Special base stat in Generation I was 80.
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Generation VI
| Stat
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Range
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| At Lv. 50
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At Lv. 100
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60
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120 - 167
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230 - 324
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45
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45 - 106
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85 - 207
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50
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49 - 112
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94 - 218
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90
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85 - 156
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166 - 306
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80
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76 - 145
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148 - 284
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70
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67 - 134
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130 - 262
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Total: 395
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Other Pokémon with this total
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- Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and (if applicable) a hindering nature.
- Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and (if applicable) a helpful nature.
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Pokéathlon stats
Type effectiveness
| Under normal battle conditions in Generation IX, this Pokémon is:
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Learnset
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Butterfree
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Butterfree
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see level-up moves from other generations
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Butterfree
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Butterfree
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see TM moves from other generations
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- Moves marked with an asterisk (*) must be chain bred onto Butterfree in Generation VI
- Moves marked with a double dagger (‡) can only be bred from a Pokémon who learned the move in an earlier generation.
- Moves marked with a superscript game abbreviation can only be bred onto Butterfree in that game.
- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Butterfree
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Butterfree
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Egg moves from other generations
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- A black or white abbreviation in a colored box indicates that Butterfree can be tutored the move in that game
- A colored abbreviation in a white box indicates that Butterfree cannot be tutored the move in that game
- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Butterfree
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Butterfree
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Move Tutor moves from other generations
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Butterfree
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Butterfree
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see moves from other generations
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TCG-only moves
Side game data
Evolution
Sprites
Trivia
- Butterfree was the first Pokémon shown in the anime to have an alternate color, pink. This has only been seen in a single female, and unlike a Shiny Butterfree, which has green eyes and pink wings, limbs, and snout, this Butterfree only differed in its pink body and wings.
- Butterfree has been trained by four important anime Trainers: Ash, Ritchie, Solidad, and Drew.
- Butterfree shares its species name with Beautifly. They are both known as the Butterfly Pokémon.
- Butterfree can be seen as a parallel to Beedrill. Both of their unevolved stages evolve at level 7 and again at level 10. They both go through metamorphosis-like evolution and have the same base stat total of 395. Also, while Beedrill is a version exclusive of Black and Black 2, Butterfree is exclusive to White and White 2.
Origin
Its design appears to be based the Black-veined White butterfly.
Name origin
Butterfree is a combination of butterfly and free, possibly referring to its ability to fly after being grounded for two evolutionary stages. In Japanese, the name may also derive from the word 振る furu (to flap, as in wings).
In other languages
| Language
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Title
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Meaning
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 Japanese
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バタフリー Butterfree
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From butterfly and free
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 French
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Papilusion
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From papillon and illusion
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 Spanish
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Butterfree
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Same as English/Japanese name
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 German
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Smettbo
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From Schmetterling and possibly Bö
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 Italian
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Butterfree
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Same as English/Japanese name
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 Korean
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버터플 Beoteopeul
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Corruption of butterfly
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 Mandarin Chinese
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巴大蝴 Bādàhú
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Partial transliteration of Japanese name. 蝴 is from 蝴蝶 húdié
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 Cantonese Chinese
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巴他蝶 Bātādihp
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Partial transliteration of Japanese name. 蝶 is from 蝴蝶 wùhdihp
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| More languages
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 Hungarian
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Csodalepke
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"Wonder butterfly"
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 Russian
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Батерфри* Baterfri
Баттерфри Batterfri
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Transcription of English/Japanese name
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 Thai
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บัตเตอร์ฟรี Butterfree
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Same as Japanese name
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Related articles
External links
Notes
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This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.
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SilverPowder (8%)
For other sprites and images, please see Butterfree images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
