#012: Butterfree
A Butterfree's wings are actually completely transparent and only appear white because they are covered in millions of tiny opaque scales. Butterfree use these scales to defend themselves, shedding them as tiny spikes that enter the bloodstream and cause debilitating statuses, or launching them at great speeds as Silver Wind attacks.
Trainers from the Kalos region see Butterfree as Vivillion's plainer cousin, but only if they've never glimpsed one during mating season. It is then that the less obvious but more important purpose of Butterfree's scales becomes clear. A subtle shift within a Butterfree's wings, and its scales become angled to catch the light. The pokemon becomes iridescent, its wings a shimmering, ever-changing rainbow.
Solitary by nature, Butterfree live alone, and regularly migrate hundreds of miles as they need access to flowers all year-round. They only come together for one month to mate but are unusual among bug pokemon in that they mate for life. When Butterfree fly home they use their wings to reflect light onto their bodies in a unique colour display, a way to help their partner seek them out amongst the crowd.
In Kanto, paired Butterfree dancing together in the skies at sunset is considered one of the most famous and romantic sights of summe r. Spotting two Butterfree often provides comfort for lovers in long-distance relationships, a reminder that no matter how far they apart they may drift, they will always come back together again.