From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.

Caterpie (Japanese: キャタピー Caterpie) is a Bug-type Pokémon introduced in Generation I.

It evolves into Metapod starting at level 7, which evolves into Butterfree starting at level 10.

Biology

Caterpie emitting a terrible stench

Caterpie is a Pokémon that resembles a green caterpillar with a yellow underside and teardrop-shaped tail. There are yellow ring-shaped markings down the sides of its segmented body, which resemble its eyes and are meant to scare off predators. Its most notable characteristic is the bright red antenna (osmeterium) on its head, which releases a stench to repel predators. Despite these features and its camouflage in green foliage, Caterpie is often preyed upon by Flying-type Pokémon. Its four tiny feet are tipped with suction cups, permitting this Pokémon to scale most surfaces with minimal effort.

Caterpie is easy to capture and grows quickly, making it ideal for new Trainers.

As Caterpie grow and develop over time, it will shed its skin many times before finally cocooning itself in thick silk. It can also spit this silk in order to entangle foes as seen in the anime. It has a voracious appetite, which drives it to eat a hundred leaves a day. It will even eat leaves bigger than itself. According to Pokémon Adventures, its favorite food is the Vermilion flower. Caterpie lives in temperate forests and jungles.

In the anime

In the main series

Major appearances

Caterpie debuted in Pokémon Emergency!, where Ash encountered it in Viridian Forest. He caught it in Ash Catches a Pokémon, making Caterpie the first Pokémon he caught in the wild. It evolved into Metapod in the same episode after a battle with Team Rocket, and then into Butterfree during the following episode.

Caterpie also appeared in I Choose You!, which is set in a different continuity from the main series. It evolved into Metapod during a battle against Pinsir and later into Butterfree after a battle against Primeape.

Other

In The Dunsparce Deception, Bucky's Caterpie competed in a race with Dunsparce, but it ultimately lost due to its slow speed. It also helped him catch a Dunsparce of his own.

In Caterpie's Big Dilemma, Zander's Caterpie ate some of Dr. Gordon's enhanced Rare Candies and turned giant as a result. It eventually evolved into a Mothra-sized Butterfree before it reverted to its normal size.

In Butterfree and Me!, Ash befriended a Caterpie at Wayfarer Island after realizing it had yet to evolve, which reminded Ash of his own Caterpie. As a result, he helped Caterpie evolve into Metapod and then into Butterfree.

Minor appearances

In Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village, Melanie cared for a Caterpie. It reappeared in a flashback in Bulbasaur... the Ambassador!.

A Trainer's Caterpie appeared in Electric Shock Showdown.

In Battle Aboard the St. Anne, a Caterpie was aboard the St. Anne.

In Pokémon Fashion Flash, a Caterpie was on Scissor Street.

A Caterpie appeared in a fantasy in Dig Those Diglett!.

In The Ultimate Test, an image of Caterpie was used in the exams.

A Caterpie appeared in The Breeding Center Secret.

A Caterpie appeared in Clefairy Tales.

In Mewtwo Strikes Back, a Trainer's Caterpie was defeated by Mewtwo while it was serving Giovanni.

In In the Pink, Caterpie was one of the species seen on Pinkan Island turned pink by consuming the Pinkan Berry.

In Tracey Gets Bugged, multiple Caterpie were residents of Murcott Island.

Two Caterpie appeared in a flashback in Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon?, one each under the ownership of Ralph and Emily.

A wild Caterpie appeared in Pikachu's Rescue Adventure.

In Illusion Confusion!, a Caterpie was one of the illusions created by a group of Haunter and Gengar.

In For Crying Out Loud, multiple Caterpie were accidentally splashed by Wilhomena's Marill.

In Gettin' The Bugs Out, multiple Caterpie resided in the Azalea Gym. One Caterpie scared Misty by coming down the trees. Later on, they assisted in apprehending Team Rocket with silk.

In The Bug Stops Here, a Caterpie was chased away by Misty after she found it talking with Togepi.

In Carrying On!, a Caterpie was in Way Away Island's Pokémon Center.

A Caterpie appeared in Jessie's fantasy in Wings 'N' Things.

Multiple Caterpie appeared in Celebi: The Voice of the Forest. One of them appeared during the movie's opening intro, which was reused for Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias.

In Got Miltank?, a Caterpie was a resident in a Pokémon-exclusive oasis.

In For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll!, multiple Caterpie were protecting the Tin Tower after Team Rocket stole the Crystal Bells on the top floor.

In Talkin' 'Bout an Evolution, a Caterpie fell sick due to Team Rocket's experiments.

A Caterpie appeared in Camp Pikachu.

In Gonna Rule The School!, the Pokémon Trainers' School lent a Caterpie to the school's underage students for use in lessons.

A Caterpie appeared in Destiny Deoxys.

A Caterpie appeared in Hi Ho Silver Wind!.

A Caterpie appeared in The Green Guardian.

A Coordinator‘s Caterpie appeared in What I Did for Love!.

In Some Enchanted Sweetening!, two Caterpie were lured in by the Honey that Cheryl had slathered onto a tree. Additional Caterpie also appeared in a boss fantasy in the same episode, but said boss fantasy was cut from the dub due to it containing suggestive material.

A Caterpie appeared in The Grass-Type Is Always Greener!.

Two Caterpie appeared in An Angry Combeenation!.

A Caterpie appeared in Jessie's fantasy in One Big Happiny Family!.

A Caterpie appeared in One Team, Two Team, Red Team, Blue Team!.

Multiple Caterpie appeared in Coming Full-Festival Circle!.

In Genesect and the Legend Awakened, a Caterpie was in Pokémon Hills.

A Caterpie appeared in Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!.

In Lumiose City Pursuit!, Mega-Mega Meowth Madness!, Day Three Blockbusters!, and Battling With a Clean Slate!, a Caterpie was a resident of Professor Sycamore's lab.

A Caterpie appeared in a flashback in Seeing the Forest for the Trees!.

In Lillie's Egg-xhilarating Challenge!, two Caterpie were playing in Lillie's garden. One of them reappeared in The Ol' Raise and Switch!.

A Caterpie appeared in a fantasy in Lulled to La-La Land!.

Multiple wild Caterpie appeared in Alola, Kanto!.

A Trainer's Caterpie appeared in Now You See Them, Now You Don't!.

A Caterpie appeared in Tasting the Bitter with the Sweet!.

A Trainer's Caterpie appeared in The Power of Us.

Four Caterpie appeared in Securing the Future!, with three under the ownership of different Trainers and the fourth being wild. They joined the rest of Alola in showering Necrozma with light so it could return to its true form.

In The Battlefield of Truth and Love!, a Caterpie watched Bewear and Stufful put on a performance in their hot springs.

A Trainer's Caterpie appeared in Exhibition Unmasked!.

In From Z to Shining Z!, a Trainer's Caterpie watched the battle between Ash's Pikachu and Tapu Koko.

Two Caterpie appeared in a flashback in Enter Pikachu!, with one of them being caught by a female Trainer.

Three Caterpie appeared in a video hologram in Legend? Go! Friends? Go!.

In Working My Way Back to Mew!, Goh caught a Caterpie. It has since made further appearances throughout Pokémon Journeys: The Series.

In A Snow Day for Searching!, Goh's Butterfree encountered a Caterpie while it was out looking for Cubone's bone.

A Trainer's Caterpie appeared in Caring for a Mystery!.

A Trainer's Caterpie appeared in JN025.

A Caterpie appeared in JN033.

A Trainer's Caterpie appeared in JN037.

A Caterpie will appear in M23.

Pokédex entries

Episode Pokémon Source Entry AG142 Caterpie May's Pokédex Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon. Caterpie uses the suction cups on its feet to climb trees and feed on its favorite leaves.

Episode Pokémon Source Entry BW130 Caterpie Ash's Pokédex Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon. To repel enemies, Caterpie releases an unpleasant odor from its red antenna. It molts several times while growing.

In Pokémon Origins

In File 1: Red, a Caterpie was seen in Professor Oak's introduction, while Red caught another, which was registered in his Pokédex. It evolved into Metapod before his Gym battle with Brock.

In File 3: Giovanni, two Caterpie were seen caged in the Rocket Hideout and Silph Co., respectively.

In Pokémon Generations

In The Adventure, Pikachu encountered and battled a Caterpie in Viridian Forest.



In the manga

In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga

Ash's Caterpie is the second wild Pokémon that Ash catches, being caught in Pikachu, I See You!. It evolves twice in Play Misty For Me—first into Metapod while Ash is showing off his Pokémon to Misty, and then into Butterfree during his Gym battle against Misty.

Ash is not shown releasing his Butterfree in the manga, although it is not seen after Haunting My Dreams.

In the Magical Pokémon Journey manga

A Caterpie appeared in Tangela's Secret.

In the Pocket Monsters manga

Goh caught a Caterpie in JNM03, just like he does in the anime.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Main article: Kitty

Caterpie debuted in a cameo in Bulbasaur, Come Home! as one of the Pokémon that escapes from Professor Oak's Laboratory. It also makes a cameo in The Secret of Kangaskhan.

A Caterpie appeared as a silhouette when Green talks about Mew in The Jynx Jinx.

A Caterpie appeared in As Gastly as Before. With the help of her fishing rod and Red's Pika, Yellow saved a Caterpie from its tree, which was targeted by a Fire attack. Caterpie then followed Yellow to Route 9, where she and Blue were training. It took Yellow a whole day to properly catch this Caterpie with a Poké Ball, but once she prevailed, Yellow welcomed Caterpie to her team and called it "Kitty". It then became one of Yellow's most useful Pokémon, whose string was commonly used to make floaters. However, in the battle against Lance, Yellow did not have a Pokédex, which she needed to stop her Pokémon from evolving. As a result, Kitty evolved into Metapod and then into Butterfree right afterwards.

A Caterpie was mentioned as one of the Pokémon Crystal had caught for Professor Oak in Three Cheers for Chikorita.

A Caterpie was one of the Pokémon Crystal fails to catch in Absolutely Azumarill.

A Caterpie appeared in The Last Battle XIII as one of the Pokémon sent to participate in the fight in Ilex Forest.

According to the Pokédex at the end of Volume 1, Red appears to have caught a Caterpie, which evolved into a Metapod and then a Butterfree.

In the Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All manga

Shu caught a Caterpie in Shu and Pikachu's Debut!. He uses it in various creative ways, mostly involving strange uses of its String Shot.

A Caterpie appeared in GDZ23.

A Caterpie appeared in GDZ48.

In the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team manga

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team, Ginji saved a Caterpie from an attacking Ariados.

In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga

A Caterpie appeared in Catch That Pokémon Thief!!.

A Caterpie appeared in The Legendary Pokémon Appears!!.

A Caterpie appeared in Regain the Deserted Power Plant!.

A Caterpie appeared in Fierce Competition at the Pokémon Baseball Tournament!, where it was one of the Pokémon that took part in a baseball match. It was seen with Green during the game.

A Caterpie appeared in Pikachu's Birthday Party.

A Caterpie appeared in Demanding Tests at the Pokémon School!.

A Caterpie appeared in The Hardest Bug Pokémon Wins?!.

In the TCG

Game data

NPC appearances

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Caterpie is rescued in the first mission of the game. It is too young to be of any help to the rescue team but remains a strong fan throughout the game, even in its darkest hour.

Pokédex entries

Alternate games

Game locations

In side games

Held items

Stats

Base stats

Pokéathlon stats

Type effectiveness

Learnset

Generation VIII Other generations: I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII Level Move Type Cat. Pwr. Acc. PP 01 1 Tackle Normal Physical 040 40 100 100% 35 01 1 String Shot Bug Status 0000 — 095 95% 40 09 9 Bug Bite Bug Physical 060 60 100 100% 20 Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Caterpie

indicates a move that gets when used by Caterpie Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Caterpie

indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Caterpie Click on the generation numbers at the top to see level-up moves from other generations

Generation VIII Other generations: I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII TM Move Type Cat. Pwr. Acc. PP TM82 TM82 Electroweb Electric Special 055 55 095}} 95% 15 Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Caterpie

indicates a move that gets when used by Caterpie Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Caterpie

indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Caterpie Click on the generation numbers at the top to see TM moves from other generations

Generation VIII Other generations: II - III - IV - V - VI - VII Parent Move Type Cat. Pwr. Acc. PP This Pokémon learns no moves by breeding. Moves marked with an asterisk (*) must be chain bred onto Caterpie in Generation VIII

onto Caterpie in Generation VIII 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 Caterpie in that game.

Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Caterpie

indicates a move that gets when used by Caterpie Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Caterpie

indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Caterpie Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Egg moves from other generations

Generation VIII Other generations: II - III - IV - V - VI - VII Game Move Type Cat. Pwr. Acc. PP This Pokémon learns no moves by tutoring. Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Caterpie

indicates a move that gets when used by Caterpie Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Caterpie

indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Caterpie Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Move Tutor moves from other generations

Side game data

Evolution

Sprites

Trivia

Origin

Caterpie appears to be based on a caterpillar, with its color and eyespots resembling those of an Asian swallowtail, eastern tiger swallowtail, or spicebush swallowtail larva. Its red "antenna" is similar to an osmeterium, an organ that many swallowtail caterpillars use to emit a foul odor when threatened. The tip of its tail resembles the horn that many species of hawk moth larvae have on their rear ends.

Name origin

Caterpie may be a corruption of caterpillar.

In other languages

Language Title Meaning Japanese キャタピー Caterpie From キャタピラー kyatapirā French Chenipan From chenille and pan ; also a pun on chenapan Spanish Caterpie Same as English/Japanese name German Raupy From Raupe Italian Caterpie Same as English/Japanese name Korean 캐터피 Caterpie Same as Japanese name Cantonese Chinese 綠毛蟲 Luhkmòuhchùhng From 綠 luhk and 毛毛蟲 mòuhmòuhchùhng Mandarin Chinese 綠毛蟲 / 绿毛虫 Lǜmáochóng From 綠 / 绿 lǜ and 毛毛蟲 / 毛毛虫 máomáochóng More languages Bulgarian Катерпи Katerpi Transcription as English/Japanese name Hebrew קטרפי Caterpy Transcription of English name Hindi कटेरपी Caterpie Transcription of English/Japanese name Lithuanian Katerpis From English name Russian Катерпи Katerpi Transcription of English/Japanese name Thai คาเตอร์ปี Caterpie Transcription of trademarked Japanese name





Related articles







