PokeBonkINDEPENDENT FAN SITECaterpie trades an easy damage opening for experience gain and an early evolution. Metamorphosis grants +15% experience and a starting shield; Metapod arrives at run level 8.
The first attack starts equipped. Later kit levels unlock attack offers; they do not automatically equip or level the attack. Kit-offer levels and the level of an individual attack are separate.
+15% experience and +20 shield. Evolves soon (Metapod at Lv. 8, Butterfree at Lv. 36). As Metapod, the cocoon gives you +30 armor.
String ShotSpecial · Cone · Starts equipped↗Bug BitePhysical · Strike · Kit offer from Lv. 2↗
GustSpecial · Vortex · Kit offer from Lv. 4↗Bug BuzzSpecial · Shockwave · Kit offer from Lv. 7↗Fires a cone-shaped torrent in front of you. Can cause rooted.
An arcing strike against the closest enemy. Can cause poisoned.
A whirlwind that pulls in enemies and then explodes. Can cause knockback.
Releases a wave that hits everything around you. Can cause poisoned.
Throws silk webs that stick to the ground and trap; then a buzz makes them vibrate and each web releases a sound wave that punishes the trapped more.
Both component attacks must reach attack level 8. The later kit offer still needs to appear and be upgraded; reaching a run level alone does not complete the fusion.
Inspect the recipe, upgrades and comparison values →These are PokeBonk run levels. They differ from evolution levels in the main Pokémon games. Evolved forms stay attached to the partner you started with.
String Shot opens the kit, followed by Bug Bite, Gust and Bug Buzz offers. Make sure an attack keeps an exit clear before spending every upgrade on faster progression.
The six bars describe Caterpie’s species stats. Your current in-run values also depend on your starting partner, passive, evolution bonuses, Lab purchases and collected upgrades.
Before the passive, Lab, vitamins, items or evolution bonuses. The League preview can show higher numbers after applying the passive.
Each stage has its own Ultimate in a run started with Caterpie. The highlighted card is Caterpie’s form. The listed time describes the ability’s duration, not its recharge time.
Caterpie · 1.2 s · THIS FORMYou throw eight silk nets around you: they trap and damage anyone who steps on them for 4 s.
Metapod · 4 sThe cocoon hardens: 4 s of invulnerability, a 40% shield and repelling waves, with a burst at the end.
Butterfree · 3.2 sA cloud of butterflies and colorful scales puts to sleep, paralyzes and poisons over a huge area and ends in a gale.
These are starting points for a Caterpie family run, not a promise of one best loadout. Keep damage, survival and movement balanced around what is ending your attempts. The planner uses the three base vitamin slots and saves locally on this device.
Your saved selections are shared with the Vitamins page and every form in this family. This does not change your game account.
Calcium ↗Special damageSpecial damage for the family signature. Compare attack classes before favoring this over Protein.
Iron ↗ArmorArmor when repeated contact hits are deciding the run.
Exp. Candy ↗ExperienceExperience when attacks already keep a lane clear. Give the slot to damage or defense if they are still missing.
Saved in this browser. Remove a vitamin to free a slot.
Compare all 26 vitamins and edit this plan →
Silver Powder ↗+30% Bug-type move damage and +3% total damage.
A Bug-focused choice for the family’s Bug attacks and signature.
Starting item pool
Leftovers ↗+1.2 HP regen per second.
Recovery without waiting for an attack to connect.
Starting item pool
Wise Glasses ↗+15% special damage.
Special damage when the signature or special attacks carry the build.
Starting item poolBuy for the problem you actually have. A fourth move slot gives a future attack room, while health, armor, recovery or movement can help you reach the later offers in the first place.
Stamina ↗+8 max HP per level.
8 levels · First purchase 85 StardustLeftovers ↗+0.2 regen per level.
5 levels · First purchase 100 Stardust
4th move ↗Unlocks the fourth move slot.
1 level · First purchase 1275 StardustTo get Caterpie as a playable partner, complete its three-evolution League challenge, then weaken and capture its normal encounter in the following run. Merely spotting Caterpie or finishing the challenge does not add it to your selectable partners.
Caterpie’s League challenge is to evolve 3 times during your runs. This is an evolution count, not a request to catch three Caterpie or finish three runs. Work on it with a partner you already own, then check Caterpie’s challenge in the League.
The game’s challenge-complete message says the partner will appear in your next run for you to catch. Caterpie is not automatically a starting choice as soon as the counter reaches three. Keep the same account or session so the challenge progress belongs to the League you are trying to expand.
If Caterpie was not your initial partner, find its challenge encounter in the following run. Defeat or weaken it until the game marks it ready for capture, then move close and use the capture input shown on screen to throw your Poké Ball. Do not leave the encounter or take the exit while it is still waiting to be caught. Completing the challenge and defeating the encounter are separate from actually capturing it.
Check the League after the capture and select Caterpie when you start the run you want to play. A Pokédex sighting only records that you have seen a species. A shiny catch unlocks a look but does not substitute for the normal challenge-and-capture requirement; a captured Alpha fights beside you for that run and does not join your League.
Once Caterpie belongs to your League, you can choose it at the beginning of later runs. You do not have to repeat its unlock challenge for every attempt. Its later forms are reached by leveling during a run, so unlocking the family’s starting partner and evolving it are two different goals.
Experience and a starting shield help reach later stages, with cocoon armor during evolution. It ranks low for the immediate opening because survival still needs a useful attack before the payoff arrives.
Protect the early shield and concentrate upgrades enough to make the experience lead meaningful.
39/100 is an editorial opening score, with comfort weighted at 50%, offensive potential at 30% and utility at 20%. It is not a measured win rate. Survival scaling and co-op team roles can change the choice.
Complete Caterpie’s League challenge by evolving 3 times during your runs. Start the following run, weaken the normal Caterpie encounter and use its capture prompt. The challenge counter alone does not add it to your League.
Caterpie evolves into Metapod at run level 8 in the reviewed v0.8.62 data. The same run later reaches Butterfree at level 36. Use the displayed run level, not an individual attack’s level or the evolution threshold from another Pokémon game.
Its opening favors setup: String Shot, extra experience and a starting shield rather than immediate broad damage. Prioritize an attack that keeps a lane clear. Faster experience does not help if the opening ends before you collect enough upgrades.
Resonant Web combines String Shot and Bug Buzz. Both attacks must reach attack level 8 before using Bill’s Machine. The later ingredient still needs to appear as an offer and receive upgrades; reaching a run-level milestone does not finish it for you.
For a build centered on Resonant Web, Calcium supports its special damage. Iron is worth comparing for contact damage; Exp. Candy is a progression choice only when your current attacks already keep a lane clear. These are build directions, not a requirement to fill all three base slots with one fixed combination.
A shiny catch unlocks the family’s shiny look but does not replace the normal League challenge and capture for Caterpie. If Caterpie is still locked, complete its League challenge and capture the normal partner. Seeing it in the Pokédex or recruiting an Alpha for one run is not the same unlock.
Choose a partner, keep the opening attack productive and spend upgrades where the run is struggling.
Read the starter guide →A safe opening is only the start. Plan how the attacks and defenses will hold up as pressure grows.
Plan a Survival run →Compare your role with the rest of the party rather than filling every slot as if you were alone.
Plan with your team →Game values: reviewed public v0.8.62 client, 2026-10-28. Recommendations describe build choices rather than measured results. Open the original game ↗ · About this fan guide
