Shiny Butterfree Guide: Is This Iconic Bug-Pokemon Worth Shiny Hunting?

• About
• Latest Posts

Callum Marshall

Callum is POK Universe's Managing Editor and a long-time-fan of the Pokémon series. He's a Gen-One kid at heart with a huge bias towards the first three generations. However, after reengaging with Pokémon XY, he has caught up with the pack and has absorbed all there is to know with regards to Pokémon, including some very interesting fan-made ROM Hacks!

Latest posts by Callum Marshall (see all)

• Pokemon Victory Fire Walkthrough and Guide - February 27, 2024
• Pokemon Fire Red Omega Walkthrough And Guide - February 21, 2024
• Pokemon Clover Guide and Walkthrough - February 12, 2024

Pokemon is a series that has been a staple of the gaming industry, the trading card scene, and the anime world for the best part of a quarter of a century. The level of consistency throughout this time by Game Freak has pleased the fans and allowed new generations of gamers to jump into the Pokemon Universe and enjoy the whimsical worlds that this series offers.

There are so many different regions, Pokemon, moves, competitive categories, episodes of the show, and trading card expansions out there right now, meaning that even if you wanted to learn all there is to know about Pokemon, you would be hard-pressed.

The sheer amount of new Pokemon and their unique attributes is enough to alienate casual fans aiming to take the plunge into the series. Especially with the move to more modern systems like the Nintendo Switch in the form of Pokemon Shining Diamond and Pokemon Brilliant Pearl. However, we are here to help with this issue. We have compiled a series of guides looking at each and every Pokemon in-depth, giving you all the information you could possibly need about these weird and wonderful monsters.

In this Shiny Butterfree guide, we look specifically at the shiny variant of the Pokemon Butterfree. We look at this first-gen Pokemon, assess how aesthetically pleasing their unique variant is, and give you all the finer details concerning this bug-type Pokemon. Here is our essential guide on Shiny Butterfree.

What is Butterfree?

Firstly, let’s take a look at the vanilla Pokemon before we dive into the shiny version. Butterfree is a bug and flying type Pokemon that has been around since the first generation of the Pokemon series. In terms of appearance, this Pokemon resembles a real-world butterfly but also has an anthropomorphic appearance too. The Pokemon has a purple body which is made up of two large spherical shapes. Then the Pokemon has large red eyes, two black antennae, a blue nose, two small white fangs, two small blue hands, and then two blue feet.

The wings of this Pokemon are very striking, with a monochrome color scheme with a majority white design and black trimming. The ears of this creature share this design. This Pokemon also has a gigantic max design that swaps these wings for huge white and green wings and there is also a red hue to the trim of this larger design.

As for the behavior of this Pokemon, this creature uses its wings as a weapon if threatened. The wings have poisonous scales that they shed as they fly.

These scales, if inhaled, cause several status effects, hence why this Pokemon has access to moves like Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, and Poisonpowder. Butterfree is known to defend their first evolution Caterpie in the wild and will use this powder on the Pokemon as a deterrent.

This Pokemon also searches for nectar from plants much like a bee. It will use the hair on its leg to carry this nectar and can use its antennae to sense this nectar from up to ten kilometers away. This behavior tends to lead to natural disputes with the Pokemon Cutiefly. This Pokemon is most commonly found in jungles, forests, areas of vast vegetation and can also be found near the sea when they are migrating to a new habitat.

It’s also worth mentioning that this Pokemon was one of the original members of Ash’s party within the Pokemon anime. Ash caught a Caterpie in the anime, evolved this Pokemon into a Metapod and after an intense battle with another Metapod consisting mainly of the move Harden, Butterfree soon came on the scene. Ash would later release Butterfree into the wild in a later, very emotional episode.

This Pokemon is number twelve in the Pokedex, is about 1.1 meters tall, weighs about 32 kilograms, has a medium to fast leveling rate, and has a catch rate of 11.9%. It is also worth stating that the gigantimax version of this Pokemon is 17 meters tall and its weight is unknown.

Here is a video of this Pokemon in action so you can see exactly what this Pokemon has to offer:

What is a Shiny Pokemon?

Now that we know all about Butterfree, it’s time that we explain what a shiny Pokemon is. A shiny Pokemon is an alternative version of the vanilla Pokemon with a new design. In terms of the body composition, the move sets, the attributes, and the base stats of this Pokemon are all very much the same.

The key difference between this Pokemon and the original is the color palette of the model. This Pokemon will tend to have a negative color scheme or something more specific depending on the Pokemon in question. These Pokemon are essentially novelty items, however, they are very rare and very in demand.

These Pokemon are very hard to come by in the wild. In the early generations of the Pokemon series, these Pokemon would pop up once in every 8192 battles. Meaning that you could play the game multiple times and never see one.

However, in later series, the odds were dropped to one in every 4096 encounters. So these Pokemon are still very hard to find but much easier than before. There are several techniques that a trainer can use to make it easier and more likely to find a shiny Pokemon, but we will get to that just a little bit later.

What is a Shiny Butterfree?

So now that you have all the pieces of the puzzle, let’s move on to Shiny Butterfree. This Butterfly Pokémon has the same core design as the vanilla Pokemon and also keeps a lot of the original color scheme. The wings still maintain their monochrome style and the Pokemon’s body still has that deep purple color.

However, the slight changes applied to this Pokemon are just enough to make this one stand out. The shiny version sees the eyes of this Pokemon swap red for a very bright, lime green color. Then the nose, hands, and feet change from a serene blue color to a vibrant pink.

While making minor changes to create a Pokemon’s shiny form can be underwhelming, we don’t think that’s the case here. We admit that perhaps leaving the body parts as they were and changing the wing pattern would have been a better option, this is still a very good design.

It’s also worth noting that although you may have a shiny Butterfree in your party if you make use of the gigantimax form, the Pokemon will look the same regardless.

How to Catch a Shiny Butterfree?

Now that you know what this Pokemon looks like, chances are that you want to add this one to your collection. So you’ll need to know where you can acquire this Pokemon. Well, this Pokemon has been available since the first generation of the series and tends to be available in the early stages of each game it features in.

So the good news is that this Pokemon is one of the most common on the entire roster. This Pokemon does have a catch rate of about 11.9% which is relatively low. However, considering these creatures are a dime a dozen, you shouldn’t worry too much about that.

In terms of what games this Pokemon features in, it would actually be easier to highlight the games that this Pokemon doesn’t pop up in. You won’t be able to catch this Pokemon in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire and therefore, this Pokemon is only available by trade in Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby.

This means that the Dex Nav hunting technique isn’t applicable here. The Pokemon is also only available by trade in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl and Pokemon Black. Aside from this, the Pokemon is widely available in every other Pokemon main title.

With this in mind, it’s probably best that we give you some helpful hints to lower your shiny hunting odds. There are several techniques that one can use to make encountering a shiny a much more common occurrence. So here are a few great things you can try to catch a Shiny Butterfree:

Masuda Method

While this may not be the fastest method for finding a shiny Butterfree, it does allow you to control what kind of abilities and traits your shiny will have. Plus, if you breed your Pokemon a certain way, you can lower the odds of this egg hatching to reveal a shiny.

All you have to do is find two Pokemon that you can breed to make a Caterpie. However, each parent Pokemon will need to be from a different real-world region. Regions such as Asia and Europe for example. If you do this, the shiny odds of hatching a shiny drop from 4096/1 to 600/1, a huge difference.

Catch/Combo Battles

This Pokemon is one of the rare members of the Pokemon roster that appear in both Pokemon Sword and Shield and the Pokemon Let’s Go series. This means that you can use a technique called catch combo chaining to get your hands on a shiny Butterfree.

This method involves the player encountering the same Pokemon on repeat and battling or catching this Pokemon. Unlike the Dex Nav technique, you don’t have to kill every Pokemon you find so this method isn’t as sore on PP. Plus, the odds you can achieve can get as low as 270/1, meaning that finding a shiny is inevitable.

Shiny Charm

Then on top of the above methods, you can also make use of a modern Pokemon item called the shiny charm. This item allows the players to naturally bring the shiny odds of their shiny Pokemon encounters down from 4096/1 to 2732/1. Then this can be combined with the above methods to produce even better results.

Does Butterfree Evolve?

This depends on your definition of evolving. Butterfree is the final evolution in a three-stage evolutionary chain. This Pokemon begins life as an unassuming Caterpie, cacoons up into a chrysalis to evolve into the Pokemon, Metapod.

Then when the time is right, this Pokemon evolves, becoming the beautiful Pokemon, Butterfree. To evolve your Caterpie, you only need to train this Pokemon until it reaches level six. Then Metapod will evolve when it reaches level ten, making this the joint-fastest three-stage evolution in the entire Pokemon series.

However, if you count a gigantamax Pokémon evolution, then this Pokemon does evolve one more time on a temporary basis. Using a Dynamax band, you can evolve your Butterfree in battle into a huge version of itself capable of huge damage and inflicting status effects like no one’s business.

It is said that this Pokemon has the ability to lift a ten-tonne truck with a simple flap of its wings and this Pokemon can also create a poisonous area of effect by scattering its wing particles into the air.

Should I Evolve my Pokemon into a Shiny Butterfree?

We always approach this from two sides, the aesthetic side and the competitive side. In terms of aesthetics, we have already discussed that Shiny Butterfree is a fantastic design. However, is it better than both? Shiny Metapod and Shiny Caterpie.

Well, we certainly think it is nicer than Metapod’s design which changes its main color from lime green to a bright amber color. Quite frankly it makes the Pokemon look like a sentient fallen leaf in autumn and it’s rather unbecoming, so Butterfree wins that battle.

However, in terms of pure aesthetic, we love the simplicity and beauty of the Shiny Caterpie design. This Pokemon swaps its lime green body color for a golden sheen while keeping the same eye color and red attachment on its mouth. It’s a close call between these two but we think the Caterpie design wins it by the smallest of fractions. So if you are looking for the finest aesthetic, we would say stick an everstone on your Caterpie.

However, if you are looking for a battle-ready monster, there is no way you can look past Butterfree. The other two Pokemon are incredibly weak and limited by the lack of moves that they can learn.

Whereas with Butterfree, you have a Pokemon that can use status effects to their advantage, can evolve into a gigantamax Pokémon, and has very accurate and powerful moves at their disposal, such as Bug Buzz, Quiver Dance, and Air Slash. Whether it’s attacks that inflict poison, sleep, and paralysis, or hard-hitting special attack moves you want, Butterfree can provide. This Pokemon is one of the best options for the SS category, whereas the other Pokemon concerned are fodder Pokemon. So if you want to battle at the highest level, do yourself a favor and evolve your shiny Pokemon into a Butterfree.

Smooth as Butter

As you can see from the information above, Butterfree is one of the coolest and most accessible shiny Pokemon that you are likely to encounter. It has a great design, a gigantimax form has great competitive potential and you can find it in just about any Pokemon game in existence. There is no reason why you shouldn’t add this Pokemon to your collection. So get out there into the tall grass and get hunting.

FAQs