Caterpie Family
Caterpie is one of those Pokémon I didn’t fully appreciate until I grew older. As a child, I only ever cared about extremely specific animals or creatures: birds, lizards, and dragons among the top favorites. I can only guess bugs weren’t “cool enough” because I was scared of roaches – so naturally, “all” insects were gross and lame, too!
Now that I’m learning more about the insect world while researching Pokémon trivia (thanks, Bulbapedia!), Caterpie is a design I find both cute and wonderful.
For those who don’t know, Caterpie most closely resembles the larva of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Just like its real-world counterpart, the red “horn” on its head creates a nasty odor as a defense mechanism.
However, Caterpie’s design goes further than being a caricature of just one caterpillar. The patterns across its body and the little “tail” horn suggest it represents multiple species. All these different features are distilled into one streamlined design that encompasses caterpillars as a whole. That’s an impressive accomplishment from the people who drew up Caterpie’s final concept!
A smaller detail I enjoy is how Caterpie’s eyes are interpreted between the media it appears in. In the video games, they’re either real eyes that can’t move, or they’re false markings. Yet in the Anime, they can express emotion. It’s an interesting little feature.
Two Thumbs Up!
Following traditional caterpillar metamorphosis, Caterpie wraps itself into a cocoon, now known as Metapod. For the longest time, I actually forgot that Metapod’s body is that of a fairly common chrysalis shape found in nature:
I mean, I did raise a caterpillar in my grade school science class, but I have no memory of what that little bug actually looked like. My caterpillar turned into something so “boring,” you see. I was also in the third grade and had the attention span of a butterfly, so I can’t be too harsh on myself there.
I could be snooty and say Metapod is “just a generic chrysalis with eyes.“ But when I give myself a few minutes to stare at Metapod’s features, I start to enjoy all the lines curving around its shell. It hints at Caterpie’s encased body without cluttering the design. It’s just the right amount of information in the right places.
Two Thumbs Up!
I’m surprised I went this long talking about a chrysalis with eyes.
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot I can say about Butterfree. It’s not a terrible design, but there are other butterfly Pokémon that better grab my attention.
I will admit I love the veins in its wings. Just like I said with Metapod, the lines are drawn in just the right places, and I like the patterns formed by them.
I like the simplified, cutesy facial details that give Butterfree a fantasy monster feel, but I also think this exact face is worn better on Venonat.
It’s merely a personal preference. Ultimately, Butterfree is a Pokémon I neither love nor hate.
"Meh"
Gigantamax Review: Added June 6, 2020
With Generation 8’s theme being “Giant-sized monsters,” Game Freak slid in several quiet yet obvious references to Godzilla. Gigantamax Butterfree may seem like a random inclusion, but the Pokedex’s details of massive glowing wings uncovers its chosen role as Mothra!
Gigantamax Butterfree benefits from the exaggerated overhaul on its wings. They now dwarf its body in size, and have a fantastic gradient of blue-green paired with its solid white patterns. And with its scales visibly flaking off, Butterfree’s new set of flying appendages are show stealers for its design.
Focusing on the smaller aesthetic updates, I like the fluff ball added to Butterfree’s back. It’s a nice visual bonus to its wings.
If you’ve read or followed my project on bird trinket photography, you’ll know that I adore designs based off of blobby round shapes. I am happy to report that Gigantamax Butterfree is fantastic blobby bug material with its body’s snowman-like composition. Plus, it still has those adorably small hands and that button-shaped “proboscis.” The best blobby designs are adorned with impractically tiny features.
With a pleasant blend of exaggerated and subtle features, Gigantamax Butterfree stands as a better example of how these alternate designs can be handled.
Thumbs Up!
