Bug (type)

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The Bug type (Japanese: むしタイプ Bug type) is one of the seventeen types. Notable Trainers that specialize in Bug-type Pokémon are Bugsy of Azalea Town, Aaron of the Sinnoh Elite Four, and Burgh of Castelia City. Prior to Generation IV, where moves are designated physical or special based on the move itself rather than its type, all Bug-type moves were physical.

Statistical averages

Overall

Stat
HP: 56.03
Attack: 67.66
Defense: 70.08
Sp.Atk: 53.89
Sp.Def: 64.09
Speed: 59.82
Total: 371.57


Fully evolved

Stat
HP: 64.83
Attack: 82.74
Defense: 80.63
Sp.Atk: 68.49
Sp.Def: 79.51
Speed: 70.83
Total: 447.03


Battle properties

Generation I

Offensive Bug Defensive
Power Types   Power Types
Grass
Poison
Psychic
½× Fighting
Grass
Ground
½× Fighting
Fire
Flying
Ghost
Fire
Flying
Poison
Rock
None None


Generation II-onward

Offensive Bug Defensive
Power Types   Power Types
Dark
Grass
Psychic
½× Fighting
Grass
Ground
½× Fighting
Fire
Flying
Ghost
Poison
Steel
Fire
Flying
Rock
None None


Characteristics

Bug Pokémon are usually amongst the first Pokémon types a Trainer can find in the wild, with the exception of Pokémon Black and White. They generally evolve at very early levels compared to most other Pokémon. The type varies from strong to weak. Depending on the Bug Pokémon, they can prove to be a nuisance with stat altering moves or hit hard with attacks such as Megahorn, X-Scissor, Signal Beam and Bug Buzz. As of Generation V there is only one legendary Bug-type Pokémon. (Excluding Arceus holding the Insect Plate.)

Offense

Offensively, they are somewhat flawed. They are effective against Psychic and Dark types, which are two types common in most teams; but their strength against the very common Grass-type is reduced by the common Grass/Poison typing. In the Generation I games, there were only three Bug-type moves; none of which were very powerful. Since then, the range (and average base power) of Bug-type moves has increased. However, since six types resist Bug-type attacks (making it the second-most ineffective type, after Grass), Bug-type attacks still don't deal a lot of damage to many types. The fact that they are resisted by Poison—a popular defensive type—causes further problems (though many Poison types also have a subtype that is weak to Bug—commonly Grass—which helps alleviate this issue). Furthermore, their advantage over Psychic types is compromised by the relatively common typing of Bug/Poison types; Psychic types with Bug-resistant types; and the high speed, special attack and wide movepools that many Psychic types have. Despite these offensive flaws, the Bug-type pairs effectively with Water and Ice.

Defense

Defensively, Bug types are still flawed, because of their low Defense and the fact that there are many that are part Flying, multiplying their weakness to Rock. In this way their resistance to Ground and Fighting, the two most effective types (in terms of number of type advantages), are of little use seeing as many Pokémon of both types can learn Rock moves. Dual-type Bug/Flying and Bug/Poison Pokémon have an outstanding double resistance to Fighting, which can make up for their low Defense. They also have a double resistance to common Grass moves, meaning they would take very little damage from powerful moves such as Giga Drain, Energy Ball, or Petal Dance. The Bug/Steel Pokémon prove particularly effective as they only have one weakness (although it's a double weakness) and ten resistances (including one immunity).

Contest Properties

When used in Contests, Bug-type moves do not favor one Contest category.

Pokémon

As of Generation V, there are 63 Bug-type Pokémon or 9.71 % of all Pokémon, making it the sixth most common type.

Pure Bug-type Pokémon

# Name
010 Caterpie Caterpie
011 Metapod Metapod
127 Pinsir Pinsir
204 Pineco Pineco
265 Wurmple Wurmple
266 Silcoon Silcoon
268 Cascoon Cascoon
313 Volbeat Volbeat
314 Illumise Illumise
401 Kricketot Kricketot
402 Kricketune Kricketune
412 Burmy Burmy
588 Karrablast Karrablast
616 Shelmet Shelmet
617 Accelgor Accelgor

Half Bug-type Pokémon

Primary Bug-type Pokémon

# Name Type 1 Type 2
012 Butterfree Butterfree Bug Flying
013 Weedle Weedle Bug Poison
014 Kakuna Kakuna Bug Poison
015 Beedrill Beedrill Bug Poison
046 Paras Paras Bug Grass
047 Parasect Parasect Bug Grass
048 Venonat Venonat Bug Poison
049 Venomoth Venomoth Bug Poison
123 Scyther Scyther Bug Flying
165 Ledyba Ledyba Bug Flying
166 Ledian Ledian Bug Flying
167 Spinarak Spinarak Bug Poison
168 Ariados Ariados Bug Poison
193 Yanma Yanma Bug Flying
205 Forretress Forretress Bug Steel
212 Scizor Scizor Bug Steel
213 Shuckle Shuckle Bug Rock
214 Heracross Heracross Bug Fighting
267 Beautifly Beautifly Bug Flying
269 Dustox Dustox Bug Poison
283 Surskit Surskit Bug Water
284 Masquerain Masquerain Bug Flying
290 Nincada Nincada Bug Ground
291 Ninjask Ninjask Bug Flying
292 Shedinja Shedinja Bug Ghost
413 Wormadam Wormadam Bug Grass
Wormadam Bug Ground
Wormadam Bug Steel
414 Mothim Mothim Bug Flying
415 Combee Combee Bug Flying
416 Vespiquen Vespiquen Bug Flying
469 Yanmega Yanmega Bug Flying
540 Sewaddle Sewaddle Bug Grass
541 Swadloon Swadloon Bug Grass
542 Leavanny Leavanny Bug Grass
543 Venipede Venipede Bug Poison
544 Whirlipede Whirlipede Bug Poison
545 Scolipede Scolipede Bug Poison
557 Dwebble Dwebble Bug Rock
558 Crustle Crustle Bug Rock
589 Escavalier Escavalier Bug Steel
595 Joltik Joltik Bug Electric
596 Galvantula Galvantula Bug Electric
632 Durant Durant Bug Steel
636 Larvesta Larvesta Bug Fire
637 Volcarona Volcarona Bug Fire
649 Genesect Genesect Bug Steel

Secondary Bug-type Pokémon

# Name Type 1 Type 2
347 Anorith Anorith Rock Bug
348 Armaldo Armaldo Rock Bug
451 Skorupi Skorupi Poison Bug

Moves

Gen Move Category Contest Power Accuracy PP Target Description
IV Attack Order Physical Smart 90 100% 15 (max 24)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
The user calls out its underlings to pummel the target. Critical hits land more easily.
IV Bug Bite Physical Tough 60 100% 20 (max 32)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
The user bites the target. If the target is holding a Berry, the user eats it and gains its effect.
IV Bug Buzz Special Cute 90 100% 10 (max 16)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
The user vibrates its wings to generate a damaging sound wave. It may also lower the target's Sp. Def stat.
IV Defend Order Status Smart % 10 (max 16)
     
     
Self
The user calls out its underlings to shield its body, raising its Defense and Sp. Def stats.
II Fury Cutter Physical Cool 20 95% 20 (max 32)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
The target is slashed with scythes or claws. Its power increases if it hits in succession.
IV Heal Order Status Smart % 10 (max 16)
     
     
Self
The user calls out its underlings to heal it. The user regains up to half of its max HP.
I Leech Life Physical Smart 20 100% 20 (max 32)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
The user drains the target's blood. The user's HP is restored by half the damage taken by the target.
II Megahorn Physical Cool 120 85% 10 (max 16)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
Using its tough and impressive horn, the user rams into the target with no letup.
I Pin Missile Physical Cool 14 85% 20 (max 32)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
Sharp spikes are shot at the target in rapid succession. They hit two to five times in a row.
V Quiver Dance Status % 20 (max 32)
     
     
Self
The user lightly performs a beautiful, mystic dance. It boosts the user's Sp. Atk, Sp. Def, and Speed stats.
V Rage Powder Status % 20 (max 32)
     
     
Self
The user scatters a cloud of irritating powder to draw attention to itself. Opponents aim only at the user.
III Signal Beam Special Beauty 75 100% 15 (max 24)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
The user attacks with a sinister beam of light. It may also confuse the target.
III Silver Wind Special Beauty 60 100% 5 (max 8)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
The target is attacked with powdery scales blown by wind. It may also raise all the user's stats.
II Spider Web Status Smart % 10 (max 16)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
The user ensnares the target with thin, gooey silk so it can't flee from battle.
V Steamroller Physical 65 100% 20 (max 32)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
The user crushes its targets by rolling over them with its rolled-up body. This attack may make the target flinch.
I String Shot Status Smart 95% 40 (max 64)
     
     
All adjacent foes
The targets are bound with silk blown from the user's mouth. This silk reduces the targets' Speed stat.
V Struggle Bug Special 30 100% 20 (max 32)
     
     
All adjacent foes
While resisting, the user attacks the opposing Pokémon. The targets' Sp. Atk stat is reduced.
III Tail Glow Status Beauty % 20 (max 32)
     
     
Self
The user stares at flashing lights to focus its mind, drastically raising its Sp. Atk stat.
I Twineedle Physical Cool 25 100% 20 (max 32)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
The user damages the taget twice in succession by jabbing it with two spikes. It may also poison the target.
IV U-turn Physical Cute 70 100% 20 (max 32)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
After making its attack, the user rushes back to switch places with a party Pokémon in waiting.
IV X-Scissor Physical Beauty 80 100% 15 (max 24)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
The user slashes at the target by crossing its scythes or claws as if they were a pair of scissors.
All details are accurate to Generation VII games. For details that have changed between generations, please see an individual move's page. Target data assumes user is in the lower left.

Trivia

  • Even though Flying is a common secondary type among Bug-type Pokémon, the only Bug-type Pokémon that can learn the move Fly, Volcarona and Genesect, are not Flying types.
    • However, no pure Bug-type Pokémon can learn Fly.
  • Until Platinum, several Bug-type Pokémon, Shuckle, Kricketot, Burmy, Wormadam, and Combee, were unable to learn any Bug-type moves. Each of them is now able to learn Bug Bite by level, and Wormadam can learn Signal Beam by Move Tutor.
  • Almost all Bug-type Pokémon evolve very early, perhaps due to their low stats. In the games, one reason for this could be to give the player the opportunity of having a strong, evolved, Pokémon in the beginning of their journey in order to earn the first Gym Badges more easily. Despite this, all but two of the very first Gyms are strong against Bug types, as they specialize in Rock and Flying types, and one that isn't, the Striaton City Gym, has a chance to specialize in Fire types while the Aspertia City Gym, however, does not at all.
    • Oddly, the only Gyms that aren't strong against Bug types are both in Unova.
  • Larvesta evolves at level 59, the highest among two-stage evolutionary lines and second-highest overall, only surpassed by Zweilous, which evolves at level 64.
  • Until Generation IV, the only Bug moves with a power above 25 were Megahorn, Signal Beam, and Silver Wind, which made them extremely difficult to use offensively.
  • As of Generation II, the Bug-type (along with the Fighting type) are one of only two pairs of different types to share the same interaction against each other (Bug resists Fighting and vice versa). The other pair is Normal and Ghost (Normal is immune to Ghost and vice versa).
    • In Generation I, the Bug-type and the Poison type also shared the same interaction: they were super-effective against each other. As of Generation II, Poison-type Pokémon now resist Bug-type moves, and Poison-type moves are neutral against Bug types.
      • The Poison type's now neutral match-up against the Bug type could reflect the real-life principle behind insects being able to adapt to poison.
  • The Flying type is one of the two types most commonly paired with the Bug type (along with Poison). However there are a number of Bug types, despite being able to fly, that are not Flying types, nor have the Ability Levitate. These include Beedrill, Venomoth, Heracross, Dustox, Volbeat, Illumise and Volcarona.
  • With the exception of Whirlipede, all mid-evolution Bug Pokémon are based on cocoons.
  • String Shot is the only Bug-type status move that can miss.
  • Generation V introduced the most Bug-type Pokémon of any Generation, with 18 and Generation IV introduced the least Bug-type Pokémon, with nine.
    • Additionally, Generation V is the only Generation to introduce a Bug-type legendary Pokémon: Genesect.
    • Generation V is the only Generation not to introduce a dual Bug/Flying Pokémon.
  • All Gym Leaders and Elite Four members that specialize in Bug-type Pokémon are male, making it the only type whose specialists are all of the same gender.
  • Statistically, the Bug-type is the weakest; among the 17 elemental types, the Bug-type has the lowest average base stat total (371.57). This may be a reference to the position of bugs in nature; they are small compared with other animals, and few of them are predators.
    • However, Generation IV and V introduced several Bug-type Pokémon with higher base stat totals, even over 500, including one at 600 (Genesect).
  • The Bug type was the most common 4× weakness in Generation I, with 11 Pokémon doubly weak to it, mainly due to Poison type having a weakness to it at the time.
  • Generation IV introduced the most Bug-type moves of any Generation, with seven and Generation II and III introduced the least Bug-type moves, with three.

In other languages

Language Title
Japan Flag.png Japanese むし (虫) Mushi
Mandarin Chinese 蟲 / 虫 Chóng
Denmark Flag.png Danish Insekt
Kryb
The Netherlands Flag.png Dutch Insect
Finland Flag.png Finnish Ötökkä Bug
Hyönteinen Insect
French Canada Flag.png Canada Insecte
France Flag.png Europe Insecte
Germany Flag.png German Käfer
Greece Flag.png Greek Εντόμου Entomou
Israel Flag.png Hebrew חרק Harak
Indonesia Flag.png Indonesian Serangga
Italy Flag.png Italian Coleottero
South Korea Flag.png Korean 벌레 Beolle
Norway Flag.png Norwegian Insekt
Poland Flag.png Polish Owad
Robaczy
Chrząszcz
Insekt
Portuguese Brazil Flag.png Brazil Inseto Insect
Portugal Flag.png Portugal Insecto Insect
Romania Flag.png Romanian Insectă
Russia Flag.png Russian Жучий Zhuchii (Beetle)
Насекомое Nasekomoye (Insect)
Spanish CELAC Flag.png Latin America Insecto
Spain Flag.png Spain Bicho
Sweden Flag.png Swedish Insekt (Insect)
Kryp (Bug)
Thailand Flag.png Thai แมลง