Bug-Catching Contest
The Bug-Catching Contest is a competition held every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday in Johto's National Park. The Bug-Catching Contest is introduced in Gold, Silver, and Crystal, and makes a return in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
In the games
Ruling
There is no entry fee for the Bug-Catching Contest. Anyone may enter once per day, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
To compete, Trainers must catch the single best Template:Type2 Pokémon they can find. To do this, Trainers are given twenty Compé Balls, which are similar to Safari Balls, and allowed use of a single Pokémon of their party. The rest of a Trainer's Pokémon and any items they may have remain with the contest officials until the competition is over.
Any Pokémon caught will be recorded in the Pokédex, but only one Pokémon can be kept to judge. The Pokémon that is judged may be kept after the competition.
The competition ends when all the Compé Balls are used, or when Trainers leave the way they came. After that, the judging will occur, where Trainers are scored on their skills of capturing rare and exclusive Pokémon.
Pokémon available
Generation II
| Pokémon | Games | Location | Levels | Rate
| |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Caterpie | G | S | C | Grass | 7-18 | 20%
|
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Metapod | G | S | C | Grass | 9-18 | 10%
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Butterfree | G | S | C | Grass | 12-15 | 5%
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Weedle | G | S | C | Grass | 7-18 | 20%
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Kakuna | G | S | C | Grass | 9-18 | 10%
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Beedrill | G | S | C | Grass | 12-15 | 5%
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Paras | G | S | C | Grass | 10-17 | 10%
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Venonat | G | S | C | Grass | 10-16 | 10%
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Scyther | G | S | C | Grass | 13-14 | 5%
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Pinsir | G | S | C | Grass | 13-14 | 5%
|
| A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here. | |||||||
- Except for Caterpie, Metapod and Paras in Gold, and Weedle and Kakuna in Silver, none of the above Pokémon are seen in the National Park outside the Bug-Catching Contest. In Pokémon Crystal, however, only Scyther and Pinsir are not available in the wild outside of the contest.
Generation IV
Always
| Pokémon | Games | Location | Levels | Rate
| ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Paras | HG | SS | Grass | Unknown | Unknown
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Caterpie | HG | SS | Grass | Unknown | Unknown
|
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Metapod | HG | SS | Grass | Unknown | Unknown
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Butterfree | HG | SS | Grass | Unknown | Unknown
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Weedle | HG | SS | Grass | Unknown | Unknown
|
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Kakuna | HG | SS | Grass | Unknown | Unknown
|
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Beedrill | HG | SS | Grass | Unknown | Unknown
|
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Venonat | HG | SS | Grass | Unknown | Unknown
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Scyther | HG | SS | Grass | Unknown | Unknown
|
|
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Pinsir | HG | SS | Grass | Unknown | Unknown
|
| A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here. | ||||||
Post-National Pokédex (Thursdays and Saturdays only)
| Pokémon | Games | Location | Levels | Rate
| ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wurmple | HG | SS | Grass | 25 | Unknown
|
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Silcoon | HG | SS | Grass | 32 | Unknown
|
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Beautifly | HG | SS | Grass | 25 | Unknown
|
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Cascoon | HG | SS | Grass | Unknown | Unknown
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Dustox | HG | SS | Grass | Unknown | Unknown
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Nincada | HG | SS | Grass | 31,33 | Unknown
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Volbeat | HG | SS | Grass | 31 | Unknown
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Illumise | HG | SS | Grass | 29,31 | Unknown
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Kricketot | HG | SS | Grass | 28 | Unknown
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Kricketune | HG | SS | Grass | 30 | Unknown
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Combee | HG | SS | Grass | Unknown | Unknown
|
| A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here. | ||||||
Scoring
The two primary factors that determine the score in the contest are the sum of the Pokémon's stats, which can be estimated by its rarity and its level, and the amount of damage it sustained in the capture attempt. The higher the Pokémon's remaining hit points at time of capture, the higher the score. Other factors, even Template:Shiny2, do not significantly affect the outcome.
Competitors
These are the competitors found in every contest:
- CoolTrainer Nick
- PokéFan William
- Samuel
- Camper Barry
- Ed
- Bug Catcher Benny
Prizes
| Version | Gold | Silver | Crystal | HeartGold | SoulSilver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place |  Sun Stone |
  File:Bag Thunderstone Sprite.png    Evolutionary Stone (Random) | |||
| 2nd Place |  Everstone | ||||
| 3rd Place | Gold Berry |  Sitrus Berry | |||
| Consolation Prize |
Berry |  Shed Shell | |||
In the anime
In The Bug Stops Here, Ash and Casey competed in the Bug-Catching Contest. During the competition, Casey caught a Weedle, and her Chikorita evolved into a Bayleef. Ash won the competition with a Beedrill, earning himself a Sun Stone. After the competition, he gave the Beedrill to Casey since she loves Pokémon with yellow and black stripes.
References
- Psypoke Pokémon Catch Rates