

I have not watched the Pokémon anime since Battle Frontier, but I saw a
snippet of a much newer episode in a region that is most definitely not Johto,
that featured Claire, the Dragon gym leader from the Johto region.

This led me to realize that it's not impossible for the anime producers to
bring back characters from the very distant past.

So I was thinking, does Ash ever re-encounter his Butterfree in an episode
after Butterfree's Goodbye?


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question
pokemon
Does Ash ever re-encounter his Butterfree after Butterfree's Goodbye episode?


A simple answer is no. We don't see Butterfree and Ash ever meeting again
after their farewell in [Bye-Bye
Butterfree](http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/EP021):

>              [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/AVdFy.gif)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/AVdFy.gif)
[code]

>                         A scene just before butterfree's departure
>  
[/code]

As mentioned on the
[Bulbapedia](http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Ash%27s_Butterfree) (and
partially in the comments):

  * > Ash's Butterfree has since appeared in the tenth opening for the anime, [Spurt!](http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Spurt!), along with his mate, the pink Butterfree. 

  * > However, he has not returned in any episodes since his last appearance. Ash has, however, flashed back to having him several times, such as in [The Thief That Keeps on Thieving!](http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/DP080), [A Trainer and Child Reunion!](http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/DP099), and [Butterfree and Me!](http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/BW130). 


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I'm assuming it died. If it's anything like a real-life butterfly or insects
in general which have short life spans, real butterflies (depending on the
type) live from a few weeks to a year at most. Considering how in Pokemon
insect types evolve the fastest and are found in bulk it should correlate they
die the youngest and lay many eggs to compensate like real life insects as
well.


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At the time this of post, the answer is no. However, there might be a
possibility of Butterfree returning in Pokemon Master Journeys.


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**Yes.**

In the final episode of _Pokémon Journeys_ , "Satoshi and Go! Embark on a New
Journey!!", aired in Japan on 16 December 2022, Ash reunites with both
Butterfree and its mate:

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/OwnXh.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/OwnXh.jpg)

For context, this is exactly 1,200 episodes after Butterfree was initially
released.


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