Butterfree

Butterfree (バタフリー, Butterfree) is one of the 649 fictional species of Pokémon in the Pokémon franchise (a series of video games, anime, manga, trading cards and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri).

Butterfree’s name is probably a combination of butterfly and free. It could also mean Butter-free, referring to how skinny it is.

Butterfree is not to be confused with Beautifly, a similar butterfly Pokémon indigenous to a different region.

Butterfree is a butterfly Pokémon with large red eyes, a dark purple body, two hands, and two feet (instead of the six legs real butterflies have). Its white wings are covered with a toxic dust, which also makes them water repellant. This lets it fly in even heavy rains, something that many real insects and other Bug-type Pokémon cannot do.

In battle, it flaps its wings at high speeds to release the dust into the air, weakening the opponent with a variety of ailments so that Butterfree can either flee or continue the battle with an advantage. Butterfree also has a rather startling ability to use moderate telekinetic and telepathic powers.

Butterfree feeds by collecting honey every day, flying from flower to flower, and rubbing the honey onto the hairs on its legs to take back to its nest. It is capable of sighting blooming flowers as far as six miles away from the nest.

In the new Diamond and Pearl versions of the game, female Butterfree have an extra black marking on each of their lower wings.

In the anime Butterfree have a mating season just about when summer is about to end. Each Butterfree must find a mate and cross the sea so they can lay their eggs. Some trainers free their Butterfree so they can lay eggs. It evolves from a Metapod and a Caterpie.

Shiny Butterfree have green eyes instead of red and have a pink tint to their wings. Butterfree looks similar to its new counterpart Beautifly.

Characteristics
Butterfree is a butterfly Pokémon with large red eyes, a dark purple body, two hands, and two feet (instead of the six legs real butterflies have). Its white wings are covered with a toxic dust, which also makes them water repellant. This lets it fly in even heavy rains, something that many real insects and other Bug-type Pokémon cannot do (see Masquerain).

In battle, it flaps its wings at high speeds to release the dust into the air, weakening the opponent with a variety of ailments so that Butterfree can either flee or continue the battle with an advantage. Butterfree also has a rather startling ability to use moderate telekinetic and telepathic powers.

Butterfree feeds by collecting honey every day, flying from flower to flower, and rubbing the honey onto the hairs on its legs to take back to its nest. It is capable of sighting blooming flowers as far as six miles away from the nest.

In the new Diamond and Pearl versions of the game, female Butterfree have an extra black marking on each of their lower wings.

In the anime Butterfree have a mating season just about when summer is about to end. Each Butterfree must find a mate and cross the sea so they can lay their eggs. Some trainers free their Butterfree so they can lay eggs. It evolves from a Metapod and a Caterpie.

Shiny Butterfree have green eyes instead of red and have a pink tint to their wings. Butterfree looks similar to its new counterpart Beautifly.

In the video games
In Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow, Butterfree is only obtainable through evolving a Metapod found in the Viridian Forest, which remains the same in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. In Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal, it is available in the National Park during contests. Butterfree are not generally found in the wild, appearing only in a few locations within the Johto region. Otherwise, Butterfree must be evolved from Caterpie or Metapod. In Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, a Shadow Butterfree can be snagged from Cipher Peon Targ.

Butterfree is one of few evolved Pokémon to reach its final form as early as level 10, along with certain other Bug-type Pokémon, like Beautifly, Kricketune, Dustox and Beedrill

Butterfree also appears in the Nintendo 64 game Pokémon Snap, flitting around the Beach area.

In the Pokémon anime
In episode four, “Challenge of the Samurai”, Ash’s Metapod evolved into a Butterfree, and by the end of the episode, Butterfree saves Ash and his friends from a swarm of Beedrill with its powerful Sleep Powder. Ash used Butterfree in battle quite often, particularly taking advantage of its status-affecting powders.

In episode 21, “Bye Bye Butterfree”, Ash’s Butterfree fell in love with a pink Butterfree during the Butterfree mating season. Trying to act in its best interests, Ash released his Butterfree. A popular rumor suggests that the Japanese episode revealed that Butterfree dies after mating and 4Kids simply cut this from English version. However, this rumor was caused by a mistranslation of the Japanese version. To counter this, Ash's Butterfree, and its mate, appear in one of the Japanese openings for the Battle Frontier season "Spurt".

Richie also has a Butterfree, first seen in the episodes "A Friend in Deed" and "Friend and Foe Alike", named Happy. He used it in the 5th round of the Pokémon League to battle with Ash in the Pokémon League, and won.

In Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns, a flock of Butterfree took part in a combat against Team Rocket when they were attempting to establish a new hideout for Giovanni on top of MT. Kaima in the Johto region.

The pink Butterfree in “Bye Bye Butterfree” was the first unusually-colored Pokémon featured in the anime, long before this was a feature of the games.

On Valencia island, Brock mentions to Professor Ivy that Butterfree like sweet-tasting food. Also in the Orange Islands, Ash and his friends discover Butterfree with different wing-patterns; they are told that this is indicative of climate and other environmental factors, and Butterfree experts can identify where in the world and even where in the Orange Islands a Butterfree is from by looking at its wings.

Also, a Butterfree belongs to Solidad, one of May's rivals.

In the Battle Frontier episode, "The Unbeatable Lightness Of Seeing", Drew appears with a Butterfree in a contest battle with his Roselia against May's Combusken and Beautifly, which he wins, with Butterfree's Psychic attacks and its Solar Beam.

Butterfree is voiced by Rikako Aikawa in the original Japanese version of the anime.

In the Pokémon manga
In the Pokémon: The Electric Tale of Pikachu! manga, which loosely parallels the storyline of the anime, Ash’s Metapod evolved into Butterfree during his battle with Misty. Ash used Butterfree a few more times before it stopped appearing with no explanation given. In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Yellow was reluctant to let her Caterpie evolve, but it finally did so, rapidly becoming first Metapod and then Butterfree, to help in the showdown with Lance.

In the Pokémon Trading Card Game
There are six distinct Butterfree cards in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, two more than either Caterpie or Metapod. Specifically, it appears in Jungle (included in Base Set 2 and Legendary Collection), Southern Islands, Neo Discovery, Pokémon *VS (as Bugsy’s Butterfree, a basic Pokémon), Expedition, EX FireRed & LeafGreen, and EX Deoxys. Like other Stage 2 Pokémon, Butterfree is much less common (and therefore more valuabe) than its Basic and Stage 1 forms.