Summary
August 19 marks the anniversary of one ofPokemon’s most emotional episodes, Season 1’s “Bye-Bye Butterfree.” Ash Ketchum and his friends went through many memorable adventures and moments throughout the originalPokemonanime’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 hisfirst 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.”
As Reddit user javier_aeoa pointed out on r/pokemon, August 19 is the original Japanese airdate for “Bye-Bye Butterfree,” which seesAsh say goodbye to his very first Pokemon capturewhile 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 July 15, 2025
Butterfree wouldn’t be thelast Pokemon Ash set freeduring thePokemonseries, 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 ofPokemon’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 Butterfreeonce again in the 136th episode ofPokemon 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 thePokemonanime, one that continues to impact fans almost three decades later.
Pokemon
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.
