Headbutt tree

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Revision as of 12:31, 21 October 2016 by KingHelps (talk | contribs) (→‎Pokémon Gold and Silver: There are no headbutt trees (i.e. the small ones) on Routes 45 and 46 in Generation II. Large trees cannot be headbutted in Gen II. I have checked. Please look at the Gen II maps on the Route pages to confirm.)
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050Diglett.png This article is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this article to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: Generation IV mechanics

Headbutt trees are special trees found in the Johto and Kanto regions that a Pokémon can use Headbutt on to encounter wild Pokémon. They are only found in the games that contain Johto: Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Generation II

050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: Confirm that formulas/algorithms apply to both Gold/Silver and Crystal (and not only to one)

In Generation II, most outdoor areas contain a number of special trees (GSC Headbutt.png) that Pokémon can use Headbutt on. These trees are distinct from other trees that either take up two vertical paces or that have rounded tops. When a Pokémon uses Headbutt on a tree, a wild Pokémon may drop out of the tree. Depending on the time of day, the Pokémon that falls out may be asleep. Some Pokémon can only be caught by this method (e.g., Pineco, Heracross).

All headbuttable trees contain wild Pokémon, but different trees have different chances of creating an encounter after Headbutt is used. The headbuttable trees in an area also generate their encounters from different sets of Pokémon depending on whether they have moderate encounter chances or low encounter chances. For example, on Route 44, trees with moderate encounter chances may only contain Spearow or Aipom, while trees with a low encounter chance may also contain Heracross.

Mechanics

Every headbuttable tree can be associated with an index from 0 to 9. Depending on the player's Trainer ID, half of those indices correspond to trees with moderate encounter chances, while the other half correspond to trees with a low encounter chance.

A tree's index depends on its X and Y coordinates in the map; that is, its distance from, respectively, the westmost and and northmost edges.

index = ( ( X * Y + X + Y ) / 5 ) % 10

To gain some insight into this formula, it is possible to "fix" one dimension and traverse the other, since X and Y are freely interchangeable. Substituting "Z" for one axis (the fixed axis) and "n" for the other (the axis that will be traversed), the formula becomes:

( ( Z * n + Z + n ) / 5 ) % 10

which then becomes:

( ( (Z + 1) * n + Z ) / 5 ) % 10

This result shows that, if a single row or column of trees is traversed (i.e., if n changes), moving from one tree to the next changes the index (before the modulo operation) by (Z + 1) / 5, where Z is the distance of that row or column from its origin edge (north or west). In short, the closer a row or column is to the edge (the smaller Z is), the slower the indices of those trees will change as the row or column is traversed.

The encounter chances associated with a tree of a given index are determined by a "pivot" index determined by the player's Trainer ID (specifically, the rightmost digit of the player's Trainer ID).

pivot = trainer_id % 10

If a tree's index matches the pivot index, its encounter chances are 80%; the next four tree indices (effectively, ( pivot + n ) % 10, where n = 1...4) have encounter chances of 50%; and the remaining indices have encounter chances of 10%. The 80% and 50% indices make up the "moderate" encounter chances referred to above, and share a common set of Pokémon from which encounters are created, while the 10% indices draw from a different set of Pokémon for encounters.

Pokémon

Pokémon Gold and Silver

Wild Pokémon encounters from headbuttable trees in Pokémon Gold and Silver fall into two simple groups.

Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Caterpie Caterpie
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 65%
Metapod Metapod
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 15%
Butterfree Butterfree
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 5%
Weedle Weedle
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 65%
Kakuna Kakuna
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 15%
Beedrill Beedrill
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 5%
Exeggcute Exeggcute
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 15%
Low-encounter trees
Caterpie Caterpie
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 50%
Butterfree Butterfree
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 5%
Weedle Weedle
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 50%
Beedrill Beedrill
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 5%
Exeggcute Exeggcute
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 15%
Pineco Pineco
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 30%
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.


Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Spearow Spearow
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 80%
Aipom Aipom
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 20%
Low-encounter trees
Spearow Spearow
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 50%
Aipom Aipom
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 20%
Heracross Heracross
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 30%
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.


Pokémon Crystal

In Pokémon Crystal, wild Pokémon encounters from headbuttable trees fall into six different groups.

Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Spearow Spearow
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 65%
Ekans Ekans
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 15%
Aipom Aipom
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 20%
Low-encounter trees
Spearow Spearow
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 50%
Aipom Aipom
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 20%
Heracross Heracross
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 30%
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.


Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Butterfree Butterfree
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 5%
Beedrill Beedrill
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 5%
Hoothoot Hoothoot
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 50%
Noctowl Noctowl
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 10%
Pineco Pineco
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 30%
Low-encounter trees
Caterpie Caterpie
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 15%
Metapod Metapod
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 5%
Weedle Weedle
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 15%
Kakuna Kakuna
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 5%
Hoothoot Hoothoot
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 60%
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.


Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Venonat Venonat
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 15%
Exeggcute Exeggcute
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 20%
Hoothoot Hoothoot
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 65%
Low-encounter trees
Exeggcute Exeggcute
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 20%
Hoothoot Hoothoot
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 50%
Pineco Pineco
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 30%
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.


Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Ekans Ekans
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 15%
Exeggcute Exeggcute
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 20%
Hoothoot Hoothoot
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 65%
Low-encounter trees
Exeggcute Exeggcute
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 20%
Hoothoot Hoothoot
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 50%
Pineco Pineco
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 30%
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.


Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Exeggcute Exeggcute
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 20%
Hoothoot Hoothoot
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 50%
Ledyba Ledyba
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 15%
Spinarak Spinarak
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 15%
Low-encounter trees
Exeggcute Exeggcute
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 20%
Hoothoot Hoothoot
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 50%
Pineco Pineco
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 30%
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.


Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate
Moderate-encounter trees
Spearow Spearow
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 80%
Aipom Aipom
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 20%
Low-encounter trees
Spearow Spearow
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 50%
Aipom Aipom
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 20%
Heracross Heracross
G S C
Headbutt Headbutt
10 30%
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.


Generation IV

In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Pokémon are not grouped by terrain, but now appear in specific locations. Unlike Generation II, not all trees will guarantee an encounter with a wild Pokémon. However, if a tree does cause a wild Pokémon to appear, there is a high chance of encountering a Pokémon again next time, even if Repel is being used. Likewise, if no Pokémon appears when a tree is Headbutted, no Pokémon will ever appear for that tree.

Also, the population of Pokémon differs from tree to tree, as illustrated below.

An example of the population of two trees in Pewter City
Tree 1
Pokémon Levels
163 Hoothoot 2-9
204 Pineco 2-11
265 Wurmple 3-6
Tree 2
Pokémon Levels
163 Hoothoot 10-19
265 Wurmple 5-8

For example, a tree in Pewter City may house Hoothoot, Pineco and Wurmple, while another in the same locality may house only Hoothoot and Wurmple. The level ranges may also differ for the same Pokémon. As such, not all Pokémon may be found in one tree within a specific location; the (Pewter City) table only reflects the lowest and highest possible level of all Pokémon found in the entire location.

This also explains why some Pokémon can only be found in a specific tree within that location (e.g. Starly in Pewter City or Taillow in Cherrygrove City). These trees are usually hidden, or only accessible via an HM like Surf or Rock Climb.

Pokémon found through Headbutt

Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate
Metapod Metapod
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
3-5
25-28
10%
50%
Butterfree Butterfree
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
6-8
25-28
10%
30%
Kakuna Kakuna
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
3-5
25-28
10%
50%
Beedrill Beedrill
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
6-8
25-28
10%
30%
Spearow Spearow
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
2-8
11-20
21-30
50%-80%
Venonat Venonat
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
17-19 15%
Exeggcute Exeggcute
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
2-25
28-32
20%-65%
Tangela Tangela
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
24-30 15%
Hoothoot Hoothoot
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
2-19
21-34
50%-80%
Noctowl Noctowl
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
5-7
6-8
5%
10%
Ledyba Ledyba
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
3-7
11-19
21-27
31-32
10%
30%
Spinarak Spinarak
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
3-7
11-19
21-27
31-32
10%
30%
Natu Natu
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
39-43
42-48
20%
Aipom Aipom
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
3-8
13-16
21-27
39-48
20%-30%
Pineco Pineco
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
2-17
28-29
30%
Heracross Heracross
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
2-5
11-17
21-30
39-48
20%-50%
Pokémon appearing in only one location
Caterpie Caterpie
HG SS
Headbutt Ilex Forest
3-5 30%
Weedle Weedle
HG SS
Headbutt Ilex Forest
3-5 30%
Ledian Ledian
HG SS
Headbutt Viridian Forest
5-7 10%
Ariados Ariados
HG SS
Headbutt Viridian Forest
5-7 10%
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 only

Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate
Wurmple Wurmple
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
2-10
21-30
20%
65%
Combee Combee
HG SS
Headbutt Headbutt
10-20
26-30
20%
65%
Pokémon appearing in only one location
Seedot Seedot
HG SS
Headbutt Viridian Forest
3-7 30%
Seedot Seedot
HG SS
Headbutt Viridian Forest
3-7 5%
Taillow Taillow
HG SS
Headbutt Cherrygrove City
18-25 35%
Shroomish Shroomish
HG SS
Headbutt Viridian Forest
3-7 5%
Shroomish Shroomish
HG SS
Headbutt Viridian Forest
3-7 30%
Slakoth Slakoth
HG SS
Headbutt Kanto Route 25
10-18 35%
Starly Starly
HG SS
Headbutt Pewter City
5-12 35%
Burmy Burmy
HG SS
Headbutt Johto Route 38
18-25 35%
Cherubi Cherubi
HG SS
Headbutt National Park
18-25 35%
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.


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