Butterfly and Moth Pokémon
23 Pokémon are based on or look like butterflies and moths. They run from Caterpie (#0010) to Iron Moth (#0994).
Butterfly and Moth Pokémon facts
- Most butterfly and moth Pokémon are Bug types (21 of 23), then Flying (4) and Fire (3).
- Generation 1 added the most (4 of 23).
- Heaviest: Slither Wing (92 kg). Lightest: Sewaddle and Scatterbug (2.5 kg).
- Legendary: Tapu Lele.
- Paradox Pokémon: Slither Wing and Iron Moth.
All 23 Butterfly and Moth Pokémon
Each Pokémon is here because its lore page on pokee.si says it is based on or inspired by butterflies and moths, or looks like them. Game Freak does not always say what inspired a design, so some of these are well-supported readings, not official facts.
| # | Pokémon | Type | Why it counts | Gen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #0010 | Caterpie | Bug | A caterpillar, maybe a swallowtail larva. | 1 |
| #0011 | Metapod | Bug | Looks like the chrysalis a butterfly forms before it changes. | 1 |
| #0012 | Butterfree | Bug/Flying | Modelled on the black-veined white butterfly. | 1 |
| #0049 | Venomoth | Bug/Poison | Appears to be based on swallowtail moths. | 1 |
| #0265 | Wurmple | Bug | A caterpillar, maybe a puss moth or swallowtail one. | 3 |
| #0267 | Beautifly | Bug/Flying | Looks like a swallowtail butterfly, most of all the common yellow swallowtail. | 3 |
| #0268 | Cascoon | Bug | Looks like the cocoon of a moth. | 3 |
| #0269 | Dustox | Bug/Poison | Modelled on the Japanese luna moth. | 3 |
| #0412 | Burmy | Bug | Based on bag moth caterpillars that build a mobile shelter. | 4 |
| #0413 | Wormadam | Bug/Grass | The grown-up female of a bag moth. | 4 |
| #0414 | Mothim | Bug/Flying | A fully grown male bag moth. | 4 |
| #0540 | Sewaddle | Bug/Grass | Seems modelled on the silver-spotted skipper's caterpillar. | 5 |
| #0541 | Swadloon | Bug/Grass | Based on the pupa of a leaf-rolling insect, like a skipper chrysalis. | 5 |
| #0636 | Larvesta | Bug/Fire | Modelled on a moth larva, with a white fuzzy mane. | 5 |
| #0637 | Volcarona | Bug/Fire | Maybe a garden tiger moth, tied to a Japanese proverb. | 5 |
| #0664 | Scatterbug | Bug | A caterpillar, perhaps a carpet moth larva. | 6 |
| #0665 | Spewpa | Bug | Likely based on carpet moth and clothes moth larvae. | 6 |
| #0666 | Vivillon | Bug/Flying | A butterfly with many wing patterns, like a real butterfly. | 6 |
| #0786 | Tapu Lele | Psychic/Fairy | Looks like a butterfly coming out of its chrysalis. | 7 |
| #0872 | Snom | Ice/Bug | Maybe a jewel caterpillar or a woolly bear moth caterpillar. | 8 |
| #0873 | Frosmoth | Ice/Bug | Maybe a giant silk moth, with a thick ruff-like body. | 8 |
| #0988 | Slither Wing | Bug/Fighting | A moth-like creature, like a moth that has just hatched. | 9 |
| #0994 | Iron Moth | Fire/Poison | A robot version of Volcarona, a moth. | 9 |
Butterfly and Moth Pokémon by type
A Pokémon with two types is counted once for each type.