Caterpie | Pokémon guide
The worm Pokémon Caterpie looks more like a caterpillar than anything, and its name sounds more like that too, but we love it regardless. This little green critter is a staple of many early Pokémon teams, so here’s everything you need to know about its stats, moves, weaknesses, and more.
Caterpie is just one of the many delightful creatures in the Pokédex, so take a look at our lists of the best gen 1 Pokémon and bug Pokémon to see some more. We’ve also got in-depth guides on other familiar faces like Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.
Here’s everything in our Caterpie guide:
Here’s the key information you need to know about Caterpie:
| National Pokédex # | 0010 |
| Type | Bug |
| Abilities | Shield Dust |
| Hidden ability | Run Away |
| Gender ratio | Male – 50% Female – 50% |
| Catch rate | 255 |
| Egg groups | Bug |
| EV yield | One HP point |
Caterpie’s evolutions
Caterpie is the first evolution in its chain, and it evolves really quickly and simply, without the need for any stones or items. Caterpie evolves into Metapod starting at level seven, and then Metapod evolves into Butterfree starting at level ten.
Caterpie’s locations
Here are all the locations you can find Caterpie in each Pokémon game:
Gen 1 locations
| Red / Blue | Blue: Routes 2, 24, and 25, and Viridian Forest Red: Route 25 and Viridian Forest |
| Yellow | Viridian Forest |
Gen 2 locations
| Gold / Silver | Gold: Routes 2, 26, 27, 30, 31, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, and 39, Azalea Town, Ilex Forest, Lake of Rage, and National Park Silver: National Park |
| Crystal | Routes 2, 24, 25, 30, and 31, Ilex Forest, and National Park |
Gen 3 locations
| Ruby / Sapphire | Trade |
| Emerald | Trade |
| FireRed / LeafGreen | Routes 2, 24, and 25, Pattern Bush, and Viridian Forest |
| Colosseum | Trade |
| XD | Trade |
Gen 4 locations
| Diamond / Pearl | Route 204 (with FireRed inserted) |
| Platinum | Route 204 and Eterna Forest (with FireRed inserted) |
| HeartGold / SoulSilver | HeartGold: Routes 2, 30, and 31, Ilex Forest, Bug-Catching Contest, and Viridian Forest SoulSilver: Bug-Catching Contest |
Gen 5 locations
| Black / White | Black: Trade White: Breed Metapod or Butterfree |
| Black 2 / White 2 | Black 2: Trade White 2: Breed Butterfree |
Gen 6 locations
| X / Y | X: Santalune Forest Y: Route 2 and Santalune Forest |
| Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire | Trade |
Gen 7 locations
| Sun / Moon | Routes 1 and 5, Melemele Meadow, and Lush Jungle |
| Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon | Routes 1 and 5, Melemele Meadow, and Lush Jungle SOS battles |
| Let’s Go Pikachu / Let’s Go Eevee | Route 2 and Viridian Forest |
Gen 8 locations
| Sword / Shield | Route 1 and Max Battles in Bridge Field, Dappled Grove, Rolling Fields, and South Lake Miloch |
| Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl | Brilliant Diamond: Grand Underground caverns (after obtaining the National Pokédex) Shining Pearl: Trade |
| Legends: Arceus | Unobtainable |
Gen 9 locations
| Scarlet / Violet | Unobtainable |
Caterpie’s base stats
Caterpie’s base stats are as follows:
- HP – 45
- Attack – 30
- Defense – 35
- Sp. Atk – 20
- Sp. Def – 20
- Speed – 45
As you level it up, these stats grow, but you’ll likely see your Caterpie evolve before its stats reach a decent level.
Caterpie’s type strengths and weaknesses
The eternal bug Pokémon weakness is fire, and Caterpie isn’t exempt. As a mono-Bug type, it has a relatively balanced type spread, so you only really need to look out for its three big weaknesses. Don’t take Caterpie into a cave or a volcano!
| Normal damage | Bug, Dark, Dragon, Electric, Fairy, Ghost, Ice, Normal, Poison*, Psychic, Steel, Water |
| Weak | Fire, Flying, Rock |
| Resistant | Fighting, Grass, Ground |
| Immune | – |
Note: In the first-generation Pokémon games, Poison moves are also 2x effective against Caterpie.
Caterpie’s moveset
In the latest generation of Pokémon games it appears in, Caterpie can learn the following moves:
Level up moves
| Level | Move | Type |
| One | Tackle | Normal |
| One | String Shot | Bug |
| Nine | Bug Bite | Bug |
Learnable TMs
| Move | Type |
| Electroweb | Electric |
That’s it for our Caterpie guide. Now that you’re here, take a look at which other gen 2 Pokémon you can catch alongside it in Johto’s Bug Catching Competition. We’ve also got a great guide on all Pokémon games in order, if you fancy a trip down memory lane.
