Butterfree Movesets & Competitive Sets

Butterfree can attempt to be a Quiver Dance sweeper, with Sleep Powder creating chances for it to set up. Sadly, however, this set is outclassed by other special setup sweepers like Omastar and Oricorio-E, which respectively offer a better offensive presence and the bulk and typing to successfully set up. Bellossom is a notably better user of Quiver Dance thanks to its far better bulk, typing, and access to Strength Sap, giving it longevity and several more chances to set up.

Moves Sleep Powder can allow free setup and can force an opponent to take away a Pokemon from their team to deal with Butterfree. Quiver Dance allows Butterfree to have a niche in the tier, as Butterfree's only chance to sweep is to boost its offensive stats. Bug Buzz is the only viable STAB move on Butterfree and does a huge hunk of damage to a foe. Any move that you select for Butterfree's final slot will allow it to beat a certain Pokemon but not another. Energy Ball can allow it to take on Ground-, Rock-, and Water-types, while it can use Psychic to take on Roselia and Monferno. Set Details Life Orb allows Butterfree to get the most out of its damaging capabilities and spamming of its Bug moves, with the downside of losing HP. The EVs provide the best Speed and Special Attack that Butterfree can salvage. A Timid nature allows Butterfree to outspeed the likes of Floatzel and Zebstrika after a Quiver Dance. Tinted Lens is used over Compound Eyes to allow for Butterfree to take on Pokemon that resist its moves better. Usage Tips Bring in Butterfree during late-game to set up and attempt a sweep. It is preferred not to put Butterfree on the field if Stealth Rock is on your side, seeing as it heavily cripples it. Depending on the last slot Butterfree is using, be sure to weaken or take out the Pokemon that wall Butterfree. Butterfree should only set up when faster threats and priority users are eliminated or severely weakened so it won't be crippled by a Taunt or KOed. In most cases, switch Butterfree in after a teammate has fainted or from a slow U-turn or Volt Switch from the likes of Vibrava, Probopass, and Lumineon. Butterfree is able to set up on Pokemon locked into a status or resisted move, a Pokemon the foe has to preserve to win, or a Pokemon Butterfree has a type advantage against, such as Tangela, Beheeyem, or Servine. Team Options Butterfree needs to be used in combination with an entry hazard remover because Stealth Rock takes away half of its HP. Examples include Vullaby, Avalugg, Swanna, and Armaldo. It also appreciates entry hazards on its side of the field to weaken foes and break their Focus Sashes. This can be provided by the likes of Golem, Stunfisk, Probopass, Monferno, Roselia, and Solrock. With entry hazard support Butterfree can almost guarantee KOs on Pokemon such as Pawniard, Floatzel, and Zebstrika. Pokemon such as Stoutland, Beheeyem, Simipour, Kadabra, Raichu, Bouffalant, and Servine weaken or take out specially defensive walls such as Audino to allow Butterfree an easier time sweeping. Pokemon like Air Balloon Probopass, Golem, and Stunfisk can take on opposing Probopass, which can give Butterfree a lot of trouble on an attempted sweep, as well as Rock-types in general. Healing Wish support from either Mr. Mime or Clefairy can allow Butterfree to regain its health and attempt another sweep. Memento also helps by excessively weakening the opposing Pokemon and then allowing Butterfree a free turn of setup. It can be provided by Jumpluff or Misdreavus. Dual screen support from Pokemon such as Meowstic and Solrock can assist Butterfree even more and allow easier setup. Clerics such as Audino, Altaria, and Grumpig can heal status from Butterfree to allow for an easier sweep.

Butterfree's plethora of status moves allow it to support its own team, and make it capable of crippling a good portion of the opposing team. Compoundeyes increases the accuracy of its moves, improving the accuracy of Butterfree's status moves to 97.5%. Sleep Powder is the main move, temporarily removing an opposing Pokemon from battle. This allows it to stop most hazard setters, or to neutralize a problematic Pokemon for your team. Stun Spore is an auxiliary move that can allow Butterfree to paralyze a switch-in after Sleep Clause is in effect. It's also a nice alternative for hitting Primeape on the switch, as well as being usable when Sleep Clause is in effect. Stun Spore is also a very effective move to use when you are unwilling to waste Sleep Powder on a Pokemon that doesn't significantly threaten your team. U-turn is an integral move as it helps ease prediction after one of your opponent's Pokemon has been put to sleep by allowing Butterfree to get a teammate in for free regardless of what your opponent does. Tailwind is mostly filler, but doubling your team's Speed can be useful if Butterfree is too low on health to support the team any further. The EV spread allows Butterfree to outspeed as many Pokemon as possible and inflict status upon them before they can move. A spread with maximum Special Attack and Speed investment with a Timid nature and Bug Buzz instead of Tailwind can be worth considering to prevent Butterfree from being forced out by Sap Sipper Pokemon. This set doesn't mind Stealth Rock on its side nearly as much, as it is meant to simply inflict as much status as possible and then bring in a teammate safely. Thanks to Butterfree's ability to cripple a significant portion of teams, Pokemon that can take advantage of free turns or being able to outspeed more Pokemon, such as various wallbreakers or setup sweepers, are good teammates. Sawk, Fraxure, Carracosta, and Marowak are good examples of such Pokemon. Pokemon that can beat Sap Sipper users are also good teammates, with Gurdurr being a very effective option. Toxic is a viable option to use over Tailwind, as it allows Butterfree to cripple defensive Pokemon that don't particularly mind being paralyzed after Sleep Clause is in effect.

With Quiver Dance, Butterfree functions as a capable setup sweeper, while being able to incapacitate a slew of slower Pokemon with Sleep Powder when necessary. Sleep Powder is one of this set's most important qualities, and is the move that allows this set to function. Butterfree has the ability to force out a myriad of defensive Pokemon, such as Musharna, Tangela, and Alomomola, as well as Choice-locked Fighting and Ground-types, such as Sawk and Golurk, respectively, which allows Butterfree to use Sleep Powder on your opponent's initial switch-in and gain setup opportunities. Alternatively, sometimes it is better to save Sleep Powder for your opponent's main counter to Butterfree and set up to begin with instead. Bug Buzz is the only attacking move that Butterfree needs on this set, as Tinted Lens doubles the power of resisted moves. Substitute allows Butterfree to avoid both status from Pokemon such as Musharna and Mandibuzz and revenge killing from Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Primeape. Maximum Speed investment with a Timid nature allows Butterfree to outspeed Swellow after a Quiver Dance Boost and tie with positive-natured Ludicolo in the rain after two boosts. However, if outspeeding those threats isn't a big deal, using a Modest nature gives Butterfree more power and still allows it to outspeed maximum Speed Serperior after a boost. Even though it might seem attractive on a Pokemon that can boost its Special Defense, a defensive EV spread is better left to Pokemon with actual defenses. Leftovers is usually the preferred item as it makes up for the HP lost creating Substitutes and switching into Stealth Rock, but if you want a boosting item, then Bug Gem is the best option as it allows Butterfree to gain some important KOs, such as against Charizard after Stealth Rock damage without any boosts. Alternatively, Insect Plate and Life Orb are suitable replacements. Insect Plate gives a consistent 20% boost in power to Bug Buzz without recoil, while Life Orb allows Butterfree to OHKO Pokemon such as Choice Band Sawk and Braviary after a boost and Stealth Rock damage. Roost is a possible choice over Substitute that allows Butterfree to heal off damage taken from Stealth Rock or from weak attacks, such as Giga Drain from Roselia and Foul Play from Mandibuzz. Stealth Rock support is extremely helpful, as it allows Butterfree to cleanly OHKO Primeape after a Quiver Dance boost with no boosting item, while getting the OHKO on Choice Band Sawk and Braviary with a boost and a Bug Gem. In general, many of Butterfree's checks tend to be weak to Stealth Rock, such as Regice, Charizard, and Rotom-S. Golem is a good partner for Butterfree, as are most Rock- and Ground-types, since it only shares Butterfree's weakness to Ice-type attacks, and it resists every other one of Butterfree's weaknesses; in exchange, Butterfree 4x resists Fighting- and Grass-type moves, and is immune to Ground-type moves. Other good options for the same role include Golurk, Piloswine, and Seismitoad. Probopass is also worth mentioning, as it can trap opposing Steel-types that wall Butterfree, and can gain momentum with a slow Volt Switch. Butterfree also appreciates Rapid Spin support; Wartortle is the best of the bunch in NU, as it resists Ice-type moves and has the combination of Foresight and Rapid Spin to ensure hazards leave your side of the field. Butterfree has trouble breaking through dedicated special walls such as Regice, Audino, and Lickilicky. Choice Band Sawk (and to a lesser extent, Gurdurr and Primeape) is a good partner, as it can KO all of those Pokemon with ease. It also functions as a good anti-lead, as it can OHKO most Stealth Rock setters through Sturdy due to Mold Breaker.

This set allows Butterfree to outspeed many Pokemon in UU and quickly cripple them with an accurate Sleep Powder or Stun Spore. This set functions best as a lead, since there is no need to worry about switching into Stealth Rock; she can also stop the opponent from getting up entry hazards, which helps her teammates later in the match. Even though Choice Scarf may lock you into Sleep Powder or Stun Spore, it is still Butterfree's most consistent way of spreading status, as Butterfree's frailty and relatively low base 70 Speed really hurt her ability to status things. Sleep Powder is a given on this set, as the main reason you should be using Butterfree in the first place is her very reliable 97.5% accurate Sleep Powder. It's also (as mentioned previously) a great way to stop your opponent's lead from getting entry hazards up. U-turn provides a way for Butterfree to scout the opposition for any Sleep Talkers who may attempt to absorb your Sleep Powder, while Stun Spore allows Butterfree to accurately spread paralysis that's only blocked by Ditto, Persian and Hitmonlee later in the match. Bug Buzz rounds off the set by providing a nice STAB move from Butterfree's decent base 80 Special Attack. With a Timid nature, 252 Speed EVs, and a Choice Scarf, Butterfree reaches a Speed stat of 393, outspeeding every non-Scarfed lead in UU, barring Electrode. This almost guarantees that Butterfree will outspeed and put to sleep the opposing Pokemon. 252 EVs in Special Attack make Butterfree's Bug Buzz as strong as possible without sacrificing any Speed. Though a Timid nature weakens U-turn further, U-turn is extremely weak anyway, so there isn't much point to using a Naive or Hasty nature. However, if you wish for U-turn to hit harder, and don't find Bug Buzz too useful, max out Butterfree's Attack and give her a Jolly nature. If you opt for this route, you should replace Bug Buzz with another support move, such as Toxic, as Bug Buzz won't be doing much due to the lack of investment. Another alternate EV spread is 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe. This increases Butterfree's overall durability quite a bit and allows you to take Ambipom's Fake Out better. This spread also makes it easier for Butterfree to come in later in the match to spread status. Because this set loses badly to Electrode, having a way to deal with Rain Dance is advised. Pairing Butterfree with bulky Water-types like Milotic and a Registeel can help against Rain Dance teams, as well as providing two solid defensive Pokemon for Butterfree to U-turn to. Stealth Rock greatly hampers Butterfree's ability to switch in later in the match, so Rapid Spinners are useful. Hitmontop, Donphan, and Blastoise are great choices as they resist some of Butterfree's common weaknesses. They also have a way to get a guaranteed Spin off with Foresight or Odor Sleuth. Offensively, Swellow and Ursaring work well in conjunction with Butterfree. Butterfree can give both of them a free switch in with Sleep Powder or U-turn to activate their Orbs. From this point, they can proceed to rip large holes in the opposing team (or at least put immediate pressure on the opponent). Rhyperior and Aggron are also great options because Butterfree can give them a free switch-in or set up turn, which they can use to wreak havoc. Butterfree can also slow down the opposition with her accurate Stun Spore. In general, Pokemon who benefit from free switches and/or free turns are great choices to pair with Butterfree.

Though this set seems extremely similar to the first set, it plays quite differently. Whereas the first set is guaranteed to put a Pokemon to sleep, this set attempts to cripple more of the opponent's team after you've slept the opposing lead, or provide a free switch-in to one of your Pokemon. This set is especially effective against slower leads such as Omastar and Uxie because Butterfree will be able to outspeed and put them to sleep, allowing her to either paralyze the switch-in if they switch out, or simply scout the opponent's move with U-turn. Against faster leads with Taunt, this set does much worse, as it is almost forced to U-turn immediately. However, this can still give one of your Pokemon a free switch-in, so this can potentially benefit your team. Like the first set, Sleep Powder is once again used to stop slower leads from getting their entry hazards up. Stun Spore, with correct prediction, can allow you to cripple a third of your opponent's team in tandem with Sleep Powder via the Double Powder strategy. However, this strategy can be easily telegraphed due to it being commonly used on Butterfree, so U-turn provides a safe scouting move when you're unsure if your opponent will switch out. Protect is yet another scouting move that also allows you to stop the most common lead in UU, Ambipom, from breaking Butterfree's sash with Fake Out and KOing her the next turn. The given EVs make Butterfree as fast as possible without using a Choice Scarf. With 248 EVs in HP, Butterfree has a bit more overall bulk to take light attacks after her Sash has been broken. Maximum HP is not needed because Butterfree would only be able to switch into Stealth Rock once without taking any prior damage, thanks to her HP stat being an even number. Alternatively, you can move the HP EVs into Attack if you want to boost U-turn's power. However, U-turn is still quite weak, even with that much investment, so dropping the EVs into HP is generally the better option. As with the last set, Electrode is a huge threat. Carrying Pokemon like Milotic, Registeel, and Venusaur can help deal with the rain that Electrode is likely to bring. Kabutops and Arcanine leads can be quite threatening as well, seeing as they commonly carry Lum Berry. Milotic can once again be quite helpful in stopping these leads, though Kabutops will still be able to set up Stealth Rock, while Arcanine may try to Toxic Milotic. Once again, Pokemon who can abuse free switch-ins and turns when the opponent is crippled by sleep, such as Swellow and Ursaring, are effective partners to this set. However, this set provides more opportunities for slow, hard-hitting Pokemon such as Absol and Hariyama to set up or punch holes in the opposing team. This set can generally spread paralysis more easily than the first set because you aren't restricted to a single move. The paralysis can then assist these hard-hitting Pokemon, such as the aforementioned Absol and Hariyama, as well as Aggron and Rhyperior, in smashing through these teams that are slowed down from paralysis. Dugtrio is also an interesting partner for this set. Butterfree can U-turn out of a potential victim for Dugtrio, such as Registeel, who may attempt to absorb your sleep, allowing Dugtrio to get in for free and proceed to trap and KO the switch-in.

Choice Band Butterfree is decent for a Butterfree set, but Heracross, Scyther, and even Ledian do it much better in any metagame. Use it in NU play for a surprise. Sleep Powder is the only advantage Butterfree will have over them. You can use an attacking move first to hit the sleep absorber they'll likely bring in, and then save sleep for later when they think you have a pure attacking set. Shadow Ball is another option to hit Banette.

Using Butterfree in standard play is automatic suicide. The best way to use this set is to come in on a Choice Banded Earthquake, a slower Earthquake, or a predicted switch to a slower Pokemon and then use Sleep Powder. If you're sure you put something to sleep that is not a Sleep Talker, either start attacking or try to inflict more status on the switch with Stun Spore or Toxic. Psychic hits Heracross and Hidden Power Fire hits Steel-types. In a pinch, you can always pray for Quick Claw to activate to get that Sleep Powder in. Compound Eyes will make sure it hits. The same goes for switching in when using Butterfree in UU. Sleep Talk is less common in UU, but Pokemon are more offensive in general, so it's still dangerous. Using this set in NU play is not a bad idea at all, though you may want to use other attacking moves.

Go, useless butterfly! Bad typing + bad stats + bad movepool = bad Pokemon. OK, this may be one of the few times you'll see Nightmare as a move option. Sleep Powder and Stun Spore are needed. Psychic and Giga Drain are there because Butterfree really doesn't learn anything more useful, nor can it do too much more. Nightmare the RestTalk users, though it's doubtful you will live long enough for it to matter.