| Weedle, Kakuna, and Beedrill | |
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Weedle (bottom left), Kakuna (bottom right), and Beedrill (top middle) National Pokédex Butterfree - Weedle (#13) - Kakuna (#14) - Beedrill (#15) - Pidgey |
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| First game | Pokémon Red and Blue |
| Designed by | Ken Sugimori |
| Voiced by (English) | Eric Stuart (Weedle), Shin'ichirō Miki (Beedrill) |
| Voiced by (Japanese) | Shin'ichirō Miki (Beedrill) |
Weedle, Kakuna, and Beedrill, known as Beedle (ビードル Bīdoru), Cocoon (コクーン Kokūn), and Spear (スピアー Supiā) respectively in Japan, are three Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. They were originally conceived by Game Freak's character development team and finalized by Ken Sugimori. Their names were changed from their Japanese titles to their current English titles during the English localization of the series in order to give them "clever and descriptive names." Weedle's English name is a combination of "weed" and "needle,"; Kakuna's is derived from "cocoon", and Beedrill's is a combination of "bee" and "drill".
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Weedle, Kakuna, and Beedrill were three of 150 different designs conceived by Game Freak's character development team and finalized by Ken Sugimori for the first generation of Pocket Monsters games Red and Green, which were localized outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue.[1][2] Originally called "Beedle", "Cocoon", and "Spear" in Japanese, Nintendo decided to give the various Pokémon species "clever and descriptive names" related to their appearance or features when translating the game for western audiences as a means to make the characters more relatable to American children.[3] Weedle's English name is a combination of "needle" and "weed,"; Kakuna's is derived from "cocoon", and Beedrill's is a combination of "bee" and "drill". Kakuna and Beedrill were originally intended to have different names in English; Kakuna was to be called Kokoon, and Beedrill was to be called Beedril.[4][5][6]
Weedle, known as the Hairy Bug Pokémon, are larval Pokémon found in the wild early in the Kanto and Johto regions. They are very weak Pokémon that are captured to be evolved into their cocoon-like Kakuna form and eventually into the hornet-like Beedrill form. Weedle have little pink feet and a pink, round nose. Commonly spotted in the forests and grasslands, eating leaves, Weedle are well protected from predators by sharp two-inch barbs on their heads[7] which secrete a strong poison, and another stinger is on each Weedle's rear. Sniffing with its big red proboscis, a Weedle uses its extremely acute sense of smell to find the types of leaves it eats.[8] Often living in forests and grasslands,[9] it eats its weight in leaves every day.[10]
Kakuna, known as the Cocoon Pokémon, are pupal Pokémon found in the wild early in the Kanto and Johto regions, of which its larval form is the worm-like Weedle. They can evolve into the hornet-like Beedrill. Kakuna is a yellow, cone-shaped cocoon Pokémon. Kakuna has a dome-shaped head and black, triangular eyes. Within the shell, a Kakuna busily prepares itself for evolution into its adult form, and the amount of energy released by this process makes the shell quite hot to the touch.[11] In the wild, Kakuna are often found near or on trees, and because their range of motion is extremely limited, they may be mistaken for dead. Carelessly approaching a Kakuna in this state would be extremely unwise because it can still extend the barb of its poisonous stinger to protect itself from threats.[12]
Beedrill, known as the Poison Bee Pokémon, are fully developed, hornet-like Pokémon that have hatched from their pupal Kakuna forms. Although they are hornet-like, they only have four legs. The first two are tipped with long stingers. It has veined wings, and another stinger on its abdomen in which it holds its most powerful poison.[13] Beedrill are extremely territorial, and will be set off by anything that approaches a Beedrill nest.[14] When angered, Beedrill attack in a furious swarm, and the sharp ends of their stingers and the poison stored in their abdomens will definitely be put to use.[15]
Weedle is one of the earliest appearing Pokémon in Pokémon Red and Blue, along with pure bug type Caterpie. It evolves into Kakuna, which typically only knows Harden. Besides the evolution by Caterpie into Metapod and Butterfree, the evolution of Weedle into Kakuna and Beedrill is the quickest evolution in the game. Weedle and its evolutions later appeared in several sequels, including Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the Red and Blue remakes Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. Outside of the main series, the three Pokémon have appeared in Pokémon Pinball, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, and the Pokémon Ranger games. In Pokémon Stadium, Kakuna featured in its own mini game called "Rock Harden", in which players must use Harden at the right time to avoid taking damage from the incoming rocks. Beedrill appears in Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64.
In the anime, Ash Ketchum was very close to catching a Weedle. He used his newly caught Pidgeotto to battle, Weedle was knocked unconscious and when Ash was about to throw his Poké Ball, Samurai came up and asked Ash if he was a trainer from Pallet Town. This distracted Ash from catching the Weedle, so it got away. This same Weedle later warns its kind consisting of all three species in its line and together, they try to avenge its near capture by attacking Ash and company. In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Weedle's first appearance is a cameo as one of the Pokémon that escapes from Professor Oak's Laboratory. Also, Green caught a Weedle to try to use to trick people into trading better Pokémon for it at the Pokémon League tournament.
Since they appeared in the Pokémon series, the Weedle evolutionary line has received mixed reception. It has been featured in several pieces of merchandise, including figurines, plush toys, and in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. A set of figurines consisting of Kakuna and Beedrill was released, though production of this set was ceased in April 1999.[16][17]
Loredana Lipperini, author of Generazione Pókemon: i bambini e l'invasione planetaria dei nuovi, commented that Weedle's stinger made it appear more wild-like than Caterpie.[18] San Antonio-Express News editor Susan Yerkes described Weedle as "disgustingly cute".[19] IGN's Pokémon Chick described the Pokémon Wurmple's design as a combination of Weedle and Caterpie.[20] She also commented that if anyone wanted to train a Caterpie to "show off" to train a Weedle instead, since Weedle has more weaknesses and as such is "more of a feat" to do.[21] GamesRadar editor Brett Elston likened the Weedle line to the Caterpie line, stating that Weedle has the advantage over Caterpie by having the move Poison Sting instead of Tackle.[22] Destructoid's Jim Sterling included it in his list of 30 "rubbish" Pokémon in Pokémon Red and Blue. He called it a "centipede thing" and criticized it for its "shitty, lazy facial features" such as what he calls the "'whack a horn on it' mentality of Goldeen and Seel". He added that while Caterpie resembles a caterpillar, Weedle is a "joke".[23] GamesRadar's Raymond Padilla called Weedle and Kakuna "immensely non-threatening".[24] Elston also compared Kakuna to Metapod, describing both as a “punching bag.”[25] IGN called Weedle and Kakuna "low-level misfits".[26]
In comparing Beedrill to Butterfree, he argued that both were there to demonstrate evolution to new players, adding that Beedrill focuses more on dealing damage than Butterfree does. He notes that Beedrill, like Butterfree, will be replaced with more powerful Pokémon.[27] Fellow GamesRadar editor Raymond Padilla commented that weak Bug Pokémon like Weedle and Kakuna give the impression that all Bug Pokémon suck.[28] Boys' Life named Beedrill one of the five "coolest" Pokémon from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, placing third on their list.[29] IGN described it as "somewhat cool", though noted its usefulness as limited.[30] IGN included Weedle as part of a poll of younger viewers on their favourite Pokémon.[31] They described Weedle and Kakuna as useless Pokémon, elaborating that Kakuna was tied for "most useless Pokémon ever" with Metapod.[4][5] However, they commented that while Beedrill was not the best Bug type, it was still more useful than its preceding forms.[6]
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