Caterpie

Biodata

Power Progression

Appearance

• Body: A plump, initially palm-sized caterpillar with a green back and white belly; grows larger as its level rises 1 3.
• Antenna: A red, Y-shaped antenna on its head 1.
• Feet: Suction-cupped prolegs that can cling to Yu Xiaochuan’s palm 1.
• Later changes: Develops extremely fine, almost imperceptible scales after the battle with Yu Xiaogang 22.
• Manifestation: Appears in verdant light and returns to Yu Xiaochuan’s body when recalled 1 6.

Personality

Caterpie is affectionate toward Yu Xiaochuan and responds readily to his instructions. Their linked minds allow it to understand his intentions through brief commands or even a glance. It practices earnestly and visibly enjoys praise, raising its head and puffing out its chest after its first victory 1 3 5 6 8.

Its appetite is central to its daily routine and growth. After tasting hundred-year-old ginseng, it becomes less enthusiastic about Blue Silver Grass and reacts excitedly when offered more ginseng 3 6.

Abilities & Skills

Feeding and Soul Power Accumulation

Caterpie converts food and medicinal potency into strength, accelerating Yu Xiaochuan’s cultivation 2 12.

• Early nourishment: Aged Blue Silver Grass supports its initial rapid growth 2 3.
• Attribute absorption: Lightning-attribute leaves supply the Electric-type power needed to develop Electroweb 8.
• Richer food: Thunderstorm Sparrow eggs bring it close to level nine shortly after reaching level eight 9.
• Limits: Four-hundred-year-old and thousand-year-old ginseng fail to break the level-nine bottleneck. Thousand-year medicinal herbs are too potent for Caterpie to withstand safely; hundred-year herbs are better suited to it 11 12 23.

Tackle and String Shot

Caterpie possesses both moves from birth. Yu Xiaochuan combines Tackle’s propulsion with String Shot’s anchoring silk to overcome its slow crawling speed 3.

• Swings between anchor points and launches itself through the air, enabling rapid movement and ambushes 3 5.
• Uses silk attached to a distant tree to escape Luo Sanpao’s blast unharmed 18.
• Requires intact silk for aerial movement; Yu Tianheng’s Thunder Dragon Claw severs it and forces Yu Xiaochuan to land 10.

Run Away and Antenna Stench

Yu Xiaochuan initially identifies Caterpie’s Ability as Run Away, noting its smooth, powderless skin 6.

• Improves Yu Xiaochuan’s escape speed and evasive footwork through their shared Martial Soul connection 6.
• Releases foul-smelling gas from its antenna to repel or disorient pursuers 6.
• Blindsides Yu Tianheng with the stench during a chase, creating an opening for Yu Xiaochuan’s finishing strike 6.

Electroweb

Developed by consuming lightning-attribute leaves and practicing full-web production, Electroweb begins as a golden ball that unfolds into an electrified net 8.

• Restrains and shocks targets; defeats Xiao Chenyu and temporarily traps Luo Sanpao 14 18.
• Retains useful restraint against the lightning-resistant Thunderstorm Sparrow, despite reduced electrical damage 9.
• Has limited offensive power against Yu Tianheng, whose Thunder Dragon Claw can pierce it 10.
• Can be used by Caterpie directly or by Yu Xiaochuan during possession 9 14.

Martial Soul Possession

Although Caterpie normally manifests externally, it can possess Yu Xiaochuan and grant him its capabilities 8.

• Enhances physical strength, agility, and coordination 8.
• Produces a red Y-shaped forehead mark without other visible insect features 8.
• Allows silk and webs to fire from his wrists; combining them improves their ability to bear weight 8.
• Transfers Caterpie’s condition back to him: recalling a herb-drowsed Caterpie makes Yu Xiaochuan drowsy as well 23.

Bug Bite

Learned at level nine, Bug Bite consumes power from its target. During possession, Yu Xiaochuan performs it with paired punches acting like mandibles 9.

• Consumes part of a tree trunk during practice and extracts a small amount of power 9.
• Absorbs lightning Soul Power from Yu Tianheng’s punches, allowing Yu Xiaochuan to turn that power against him 11.
• Absorbs some of Yu Xiaogang’s Soul Power during the finishing attack against him 22.
• Extracts power from medicinal herbs during Sleep Powder training 23.

Shield Dust and Sleep Powder

Shield Dust appears after the Yu Xiaogang battle as a layer of extremely fine scales. Yu Xiaochuan identifies it as protection against moves’ additional effects and develops it into a means of dispersing Sleep Powder 22 23.

• Sleep Powder: Mastered through carefully adjusted sleep-inducing herbs, Bug Bite, and wakefulness medicine over a month 23.
• Combat use: Yu Xiaochuan disperses it covertly while evading Qian Renxue, eventually putting her to sleep 24.
• Training risk: Initial herb doses put Caterpie to sleep immediately, forcing Yu Xiaochuan to reduce them 23.
• Unrealized applications: Poison Powder and Stun Spore are considered, but neither is shown mastered 22 23.

History

Awakening and Clan Training

Caterpie awakens in Yu Xiaochuan’s right palm during the clan’s awakening ceremony. Its unusual form and innate half-level Soul Power prompt unfavorable comparisons with Yu Xiaogang’s Luo Sanpao. Yu Xiaochuan instead welcomes it, believing its connection to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon bloodline could offer a path toward Rayquaza 1.

At the clan school, Caterpie accidentally falls onto Yu Tianheng’s face and frightens him unconscious. The incident sparks repeated challenges, with Yu Tianheng supplying ginseng that funds Caterpie’s growth. Caterpie wins its first battle by striking from ambush, then helps win a rematch with its antenna stench 3 4 5 6.

After Yu Tianheng acquires his first Soul Ring, Yu Xiaochuan counters with Electroweb, possession, and Bug Bite. Despite the opponent’s greater physical power, Bug Bite’s absorption of lightning enables another victory 8 9 10 11.

Bottleneck and Nuoding Academy

Caterpie stalls at level nine despite increasingly potent ginseng. Yu Xiaochuan leaves the clan for Nuoding Academy, seeking opportunities to improve its potential rather than permit immediate evolution 11 12.

At the academy, Caterpie defeats Xiao Chenyu with Electroweb. Later, it evades and restrains Luo Sanpao before Yu Xiaochuan uses possession and Bug Bite to defeat Yu Xiaogang, clearing the way for his departure to Spirit Hall 14 18 19.

Spirit Hall Training

After Bibi Dong adopts Yu Xiaochuan, access to Spirit Hall’s books and medicinal resources supports further experimentation. Yu Xiaochuan discovers Shield Dust and spends a month developing Sleep Powder, while varied medicinal herbs slightly loosen the level-nine bottleneck 20 22 23.

Sleep Powder proves decisive against Qian Renxue in a spar where she has agreed not to use Soul Rings or Soul Skills. Yu Xiaochuan leads her on a chase until the powder puts her to sleep 23 24.

Evolution Potential

• First signs: Caterpie begins showing an urge to evolve at level seven, but suppresses it at Yu Xiaochuan’s instruction 7.
• Available route: Yu Xiaochuan believes evolving into Metapod would overcome the level-nine bottleneck 12.
• Reason for delay: He fears using up the Metapod and Butterfree evolutions at successive bottlenecks could leave him trapped at level twenty-nine 12.
• Rayquaza goal: Evolution into Rayquaza remains Yu Xiaochuan’s belief and objective, not an achieved transformation 1 12 22.
• Proposed support: He considers dragon-type Soul Rings and Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma as ways to pursue greater potential. His planned Blue Silver Emperor Soul Ring has not been obtained 2 4 15.

Relationships

• Yu Xiaochuan — Owner, trainer, and mentally linked partner. He develops Caterpie’s techniques and refuses to accept its apparent cultivation limit 1 3 12 23.
• Yu Tianheng — Early opponent whose fear of insects initiates their rivalry; his challenge payments supply several growth-enabling ginseng roots 4 6 9.
• Yu Xiaogang — Dismisses Caterpie as a weak Martial Soul and declares level nine its limit. His defeat later precedes Caterpie’s Shield Dust awakening 2 17 18 22.
• Luo Sanpao — Fellow external beast Martial Soul and battle opponent. Greets Caterpie on appearing, but is subsequently trapped and shocked by Electroweb 18.
• Qian Renxue — Opponent against whom Caterpie’s newly developed Sleep Powder secures victory under restricted sparring rules 23 24.