Summary
- August 19 marks the emotional anniversary of Ash saying goodbye to his first captured Pokemon, Butterfree.
- Fans still get emotional over Butterfree's departure 27 years later, hoping it got to live a happy life with its mate.
- Butterfree's story gets a heartwarming conclusion in Pokemon Journeys, showcasing the impact of their bond.
August 19 marks the anniversary of one of Pokemon’s most emotional episodes, Season 1’s “Bye-Bye Butterfree.” Ash Ketchum and his friends went through many memorable adventures and moments throughout the original Pokemon anime’s first 25 seasons, including a few heart-wrenching farewells to Pokemon that they had previously caught and formed a bond with. The first of these was with Ash’s Butterfree, which he originally captured as a Caterpie way back in the show’s third episode.
As the first wild Pokemon he ever caught, Ash was quite fond of Caterpie, and the Worm Pokemon would remain a staple of his Pokemon team throughout the earlier portion of the first season. It quickly evolved into a Metapod and Butterfree, and remained by Ash’s side during his first few Kanto Gym battles. However, Ash’s partnership with his high-flying Butterfly Pokemon would be ultimately short-lived, and the two ended up parting ways in the aptly-named 21st episode of the first season, “Bye-Bye Butterfree.”
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As Reddit user javier_aeoa pointed out on r/pokemon, August 19 is the original Japanese airdate for “Bye-Bye Butterfree,” which sees Ash say goodbye to his very first Pokemon capture while journeying toward Saffron City. Along the way, Ash and his friends come across a flock of Butterfree flying above the ocean for their mating season. Ash’s own Butterfree desires to find its own mate, which it eventually does in the form of a pink, female Butterfree. At the end of the episode, Ash decides to let his Butterfree go with a heavy heart, waving goodbye to his insect partner as it and its mate fly toward the sunset together.
Pokemon’s "Bye-Bye Butterfree" Episode First Aired On August 19, 1997
Butterfree wouldn’t be the last Pokemon Ash set free during the Pokemon series, but its departure is still considered by many fans to be one of the show’s saddest moments. The Reddit users of r/pokemon seem to agree, saying that they still get emotional whenever they think of Butterfree’s goodbye scene 27 years after it initially aired and hoping that it at least had a happy life with its chosen mate.
As sad as it was to see Butterfree leave at the end of Pokemon’s 21st episode, its story would eventually get a happy conclusion during the show’s final Ash-centric season. As one of the Reddit users pointed out, Ash is shown meeting up with Butterfree once again in the 136th episode of Pokemon Journeys: The Series – itself one of Ash’s final appearances in the series. This heartwarming reunion served as a bookend for an emotional storyline that started way back in the early days of the Pokemon anime, one that continues to impact fans almost three decades later.
- Created by
- Satoshi Tajiri
Pokemon is a franchise that needs no introduction. One of the most successful media empires in history, Pokemon spans games, television, films, manga, merchandise, music, and more.