Headbutt tree

This article is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this article to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Generation IV mechanics

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Headbutt trees are special trees found in the Johto and Kanto regions that a Pokémon can use Headbutt on to encounter wild Pokémon. They are only found in the games that contain Johto: Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Generation II

Headbutting a tree in Generation II

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Confirm that formulas/algorithms apply to both Gold/Silver and Crystal (and not only to one)

In Generation II, most outdoor areas contain a number of special trees () that Pokémon can use Headbutt on. These trees are distinct from other trees that either take up two vertical paces or that have rounded tops. When a Pokémon uses Headbutt on a tree, a wild Pokémon may drop out of the tree. Depending on the time of day, the Pokémon that falls out may be asleep. Some Pokémon can only be caught by this method (e.g., Pineco, Heracross).

All headbuttable trees contain wild Pokémon, but different trees have different chances of creating an encounter after Headbutt is used. The headbuttable trees in an area also generate their encounters from different sets of Pokémon depending on whether they have moderate encounter chances or low encounter chances. For example, on Route 44, trees with moderate encounter chances may only contain Spearow or Aipom, while trees with a low encounter chance may also contain Heracross.

Mechanics

Every headbuttable tree can be associated with an index from 0 to 9. Depending on the player's Trainer ID, half of those indices correspond to trees with moderate encounter chances, while the other half correspond to trees with a low encounter chance.

A tree's index depends on its X and Y coordinates in the map; that is, its distance from, respectively, the westmost and and northmost edges.

index = ( ( X * Y + X + Y ) / 5 ) % 10

To gain some insight into this formula, it is possible to "fix" one dimension and traverse the other, since X and Y are freely interchangeable. Substituting "Z" for one axis (the fixed axis) and "n" for the other (the axis that will be traversed), the formula becomes:

( ( Z * n + Z + n ) / 5 ) % 10

which then becomes:

( ( (Z + 1) * n + Z ) / 5 ) % 10

This result shows that, if a single row or column of trees is traversed (i.e., if n changes), moving from one tree to the next changes the index (before the modulo operation) by (Z + 1) / 5, where Z is the distance of that row or column from its origin edge (north or west). In short, the closer a row or column is to the edge (the smaller Z is), the slower the indices of those trees will change as the row or column is traversed.

The encounter chances associated with a tree of a given index are determined by a "pivot" index determined by the player's Trainer ID (specifically, the rightmost digit of the player's Trainer ID).

pivot = trainer_id % 10

If a tree's index matches the pivot index, its encounter chances are 80%; the next four tree indices (effectively, ( pivot + n ) % 10, where n = 1...4) have encounter chances of 50%; and the remaining indices have encounter chances of 10%. The 80% and 50% indices make up the "moderate" encounter chances referred to above, and share a common set of Pokémon from which encounters are created, while the 10% indices draw from a different set of Pokémon for encounters.

Pokémon

Pokémon Gold and Silver

Wild Pokémon encounters from headbuttable trees in Pokémon Gold and Silver fall into two simple groups.

• Azalea Town, Ilex Forest, Lake of Rage, Route 26, 27, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Caterpie	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	65%
Metapod	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	15%
Butterfree	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	5%
Weedle	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	65%
Kakuna	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	15%
Beedrill	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	5%
Exeggcute	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	15%
Low-encounter trees
Caterpie	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	50%
Butterfree	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	5%
Weedle	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	50%
Beedrill	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	5%
Exeggcute	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	15%
Pineco	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	30%
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

• Route 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 42, 43, 44

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Spearow	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	80%
Aipom	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	20%
Low-encounter trees
Spearow	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	50%
Aipom	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	20%
Heracross	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	30%
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

Pokémon Crystal

In Pokémon Crystal, wild Pokémon encounters from headbuttable trees fall into six different groups.

• Azalea Town, Route 33, 42

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Spearow	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	65%
Ekans	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	15%
Aipom	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	20%
Low-encounter trees
Spearow	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	50%
Aipom	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	20%
Heracross	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	30%
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

• Ilex Forest

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Butterfree	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	5%
Beedrill	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	5%
Hoothoot	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	50%
Noctowl	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	10%
Pineco	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	30%
Low-encounter trees
Caterpie	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	15%
Metapod	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	5%
Weedle	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	15%
Kakuna	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	5%
Hoothoot	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	60%
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

• Lake of Rage, Route 43

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Venonat	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	15%
Exeggcute	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	20%
Hoothoot	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	65%
Low-encounter trees
Exeggcute	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	20%
Hoothoot	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	50%
Pineco	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	30%
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

• Route 26, 27, 32

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Ekans	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	15%
Exeggcute	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	20%
Hoothoot	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	65%
Low-encounter trees
Exeggcute	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	20%
Hoothoot	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	50%
Pineco	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	30%
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

• Route 29, 30, 31, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Exeggcute	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	20%
Hoothoot	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	50%
Ledyba	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	15%
Spinarak	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	15%
Low-encounter trees
Exeggcute	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	20%
Hoothoot	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	50%
Pineco	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	30%
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

• Route 44, 45, 46

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Spearow	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	80%
Aipom	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	20%
Low-encounter trees
Spearow	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	50%
Aipom	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	20%
Heracross	G		S		C		Headbutt	10	30%
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

Generation IV

Headbutting a tree in Generation IV

In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Pokémon are not grouped by terrain, but now appear in specific locations. Unlike Generation II, not all trees will guarantee an encounter with a wild Pokémon. However, if a tree does cause a wild Pokémon to appear, there is a high chance of encountering a Pokémon again next time, even if Repel is being used. Likewise, if no Pokémon appears when a tree is Headbutted, no Pokémon will ever appear for that tree.

Also, the population of Pokémon differs from tree to tree, as illustrated below.

An example of the population of two trees in Pewter City
Tree 1 Pokémon Levels Hoothoot 2-9 Pineco 2-11 Wurmple 3-6	Tree 2 Pokémon Levels Hoothoot 10-19 Wurmple 5-8

For example, a tree in Pewter City may house Hoothoot, Pineco and Wurmple, while another in the same locality may house only Hoothoot and Wurmple. The level ranges may also differ for the same Pokémon. As such, not all Pokémon may be found in one tree within a specific location; the (Pewter City) table only reflects the lowest and highest possible level of all Pokémon found in the entire location.

This also explains why some Pokémon can only be found in a specific tree within that location (e.g. Starly in Pewter City or Taillow in Cherrygrove City). These trees are usually hidden, or only accessible via an HM like Surf or Rock Climb.

Pokémon found through Headbutt

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Metapod	HG			SS			Headbutt	3-5 25-28	10% 50%
Butterfree	HG			SS			Headbutt	6-8 25-28	10% 30%
Kakuna	HG			SS			Headbutt	3-5 25-28	10% 50%
Beedrill	HG			SS			Headbutt	6-8 25-28	10% 30%
Spearow	HG			SS			Headbutt	2-8 11-20 21-30	50%-80%
Venonat	HG			SS			Headbutt	17-19	15%
Exeggcute	HG			SS			Headbutt	2-25 28-32	20%-65%
Tangela	HG			SS			Headbutt	24-30	15%
Hoothoot	HG			SS			Headbutt	2-19 21-34	50%-80%
Noctowl	HG			SS			Headbutt	5-7 6-8	5% 10%
Ledyba	HG			SS			Headbutt	3-7 11-19 21-27 31-32	10% 30%
Spinarak	HG			SS			Headbutt	3-7 11-19 21-27 31-32	10% 30%
Natu	HG			SS			Headbutt	39-43 42-48	20%
Aipom	HG			SS			Headbutt	3-8 13-16 21-27 39-48	20%-30%
Pineco	HG			SS			Headbutt	2-17 28-29	30%
Heracross	HG			SS			Headbutt	2-5 11-17 21-30 39-48	20%-50%
Pokémon appearing in only one location
Caterpie	HG			SS			Ilex Forest	3-5	30%
Weedle	HG			SS			Ilex Forest	3-5	30%
Ledian	HG			SS			Viridian Forest	5-7	10%
Ariados	HG			SS			Viridian Forest	5-7	10%
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

Post-National Pokédex only

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Wurmple	HG			SS			Headbutt	2-10 21-30	20% 65%
Combee	HG			SS			Headbutt	10-20 26-30	20% 65%
Pokémon appearing in only one location
Seedot	HG			SS			Viridian Forest	3-7	30%
Seedot	HG			SS			Viridian Forest	3-7	5%
Taillow	HG			SS			Cherrygrove City	18-25	35%
Shroomish	HG			SS			Viridian Forest	3-7	5%
Shroomish	HG			SS			Viridian Forest	3-7	30%
Slakoth	HG			SS			Kanto Route 25	10-18	35%
Starly	HG			SS			Pewter City	5-12	35%
Burmy	HG			SS			Johto Route 38	18-25	35%
Cherubi	HG			SS			National Park	18-25	35%
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.