#015 - Beedrill

BEEDRILL

IN SHOW

Where there are Kakuna, there are Beedrill. Remember when I said seeing Kakuna in a tree would give you a heart attack? These guys are the reason. In their very first appearance they stole Ash’s precious Metapod because Ash attempted to catch a Weedle. After that they were simply something to be feared, and something that continuously attacked Team Rocket whenever they landed in a tree.

WHY YOU WANT A BEEDRILL

Because Beedrill strikes fear into the hearts of everyone who sees it. That and it can actually pack a pretty powerful punch. Or needle, as the case might be. Beedrill learns his signature attacks pretty early on, which could be useful and both of them had the ability to cause some serious damage if they hit properly and for long enough. Also his pokedex picture was perfect for what we thought of Beedrill, big and beefy, and took up a lot of the space provided. It definitely did him justice.

WHY YOU DO NOT WANT A BEEDRILL

Beedrill has sort of become a synonym for evil and aggression in the pokemon world. Do you really want that following you around? Some people might decide that they cannot they live without a giant angry bee following them, but I’ve never been one for it. Beedrill has always seemed to me like it would be untameable because even if you managed to catch it’d probably slaughter you the moment you attempted to use it in another battle. The other problem? Even though Beedrill could pack a bunch, bug is a pretty weak type and so he couldn’t stand up to a lot of the tougher pokemon whose path he’d be thrown in to.

IN SUMMARY

As far as being the perfect example of naked thoughtless aggression, Beedrill had everything down. He’s definitely untouchable in that category. He even was a great example of what many people actually view bees as, evil things that just want to get in your pop or beer because they just have to ruin your day otherwise they can’t go home and be happy and maybe they’ll beat their wife because they’re so angry with you and do you really want to be responsible for that? Abuse jokes aside Beedrill was a pretty good pokemon, at least for the first little while and he could help out with some of the gym leaders.

#014 - Kakuna

KAKUNA

IN SHOW

Where there is a Weedle, there are Kakuna. Kakuna was often shown hanging as a warning that there were Beedrill in the area and that the Beedrill were protective. Kakuna was a bad sign.

WHY YOU WANT A KAKUNA

You want a Kakuna so that you can evolve it into a Beedrill. But you always wanted to catch a Weedle first because otherwise Kakuna would become completely useless. With poison sting a Kakuna could stay in a fight longer, and possibly even hold its own. Another bonus to a Kakuna? Kakuna was only ever shown with arms once, and that is in the pokedex for Red and Blue.

WHY YOU DO NOT WANT A KAKUNA

If you completely skipped over the Weedle stage of the evolution, you would regret it. Evolving a Kakuna or Metapod is hard enough but without poison sting many would find it impossible and your Beedrill would be forever tainted with the fact that you had to struggle so hard just to get one.

IN SUMMARY

If any child were to ever see a bunch of Kakuna hanging in a tree, I’m pretty sure they would suffer some sort of heart attack.

#013 - Weedle

WEEDLE

IN SHOW

Weedle was always more of annoyance than a main character, and tended to stick around to mess up other people’s plans. It is true Ash almost caught one before being challenged to a battle, but he didn’t. This did lead to Metapod evolving at such a rapid rate, and for that we thank it.

WHY YOU WANT A WEEDLE

If you wanted a Weedle you wanted a Beedrill, and lots of people wanted a Beedrill. Weedle was exactly the same as Caterpie having a very limited move set, but Weedle had Poison Sting instead of Tackle. For some people, this made the difference. Tackle was an attack that would do more damage, but was only good for one turn. The potential to poison other pokemon? That made Weedle that much cooler.

WHY YOU DO NOT WANT A WEEDLE

Like Caterpie, Weedle had to evolve. It was no real use otherwise.

IN SUMMARY

Weedle was as cute as Caterpie, but much more dangerous. Touch a Weedle in the wrong spot and you’ve been poisoned, Caterpie could never do that to you.

#012 - Butterfree

BUTTERFREE

IN SHOW

By the end of the 4^th episode, Ash had a Butterfree. He had him for 17 whole episodes, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I cried when Butterfree left. It was a touching moment, Ash letting go of the very first pokemon he caught. And why did Butterfree leave? True love. Nothing else would have separated the two steadfast friends from one another. With a sweet montage, sad music, and a crying Ash, Butterfree fluttered out of the show, but not out of our hearts.

WHY YOU WANT A BUTTERFREE

Unlike the other main bug pokemon Butterfree won its fights by using status ailments. It may take a bit longer, but it was a much more interesting way to fight than the simple pick strongest attack, use, win. Butterfree’s sleep powder also helped us catch a lot more pokemon than we ever thought we’d be able to, because everyone knows a pokemon is easier to catch when he’s asleep.

WHY YOU DO NOT WANT A BUTTERFREE

If you are not the kind of person who relies on slowly debilitating your enemy until it’s too weak with illness to fight, then Butterfree is not your type of pokemon. Butterfree’s main attack couldn’t be reached until level 32 and most people aren’t that patient when they have Charizards burning down forests. So while Butterfree was really good at catching pokemon, and helping out in a battle, it couldn’t really handle its own. For many trainers Butterfree was a trophy, and not a real fighter.

IN SUMMARY

Butterfree had an emotional goodbye. He was the first proper pokemon anyone had seen caught, and he showed us the love that we could experience with our pokemon. He was also the first pokemon to say goodbye, and hit that landmark as well. As a pokemon he had the quickest evolutionary cycle, so though his previous forms were weaker it didn’t take as long to reach him and many trainers found him to be worthwhile, at least for catching other pokemon.