But that’s not all that bat Pokémon are about! Yes, you’ll normally meet them in less than ideal circumstances. But these creatures often have some of the coolest designs in the games. And they can be formidable partners in battle too. For those of you who like edgy vicious-looking Pokémon, bats are a no-brainer. There’s dark types, flying types, poison types and even a legendary to pick from. So I hope my ranking of every bat in the franchise will help you choose the best critter for your team.
10. Golbat
First up in our ranking is Golbat, one of the few cases where evolving actually makes a Pokémon less cool than they originally looked. This Poison/Flying-type from the original 151 went from Zubat’s minimalist design to something straight out of a comic strip. It comes with a giant mouth, pointless eyes, and weird feet. Just an odd critter. It’s not even that great in combat to justify the change until it evolves into its final form. Speaking of which…
9. Crobat
Disregard that weird adolescent period and keep training your Zubat. You’ll be rewarded with a cool-looking and ultra-fast companion for your journey. Crobat’s design ditches essentially everything about Golbat in favor of something more aerodynamic and overall logical. Plus this guy can actually learn Fly in most games so he can take you town-to-town on your journey. With super fast yet completely silent movement, this Pokémon will fly down and suck your blood without you even noticing. Talk about a smooth criminal!
8. Woobat
Being a bat doesn’t mean you’re unable to be cute too! Woobat is a Psychic/Flying-type introduced in generation 5 to populate the dark forests and twisting cave systems of the Unova region. Unlike its annoying counterparts from other generations, this ball of fur is too cute to hate. They prefer eating fruits and bugs rather than sucking on blood, so they’re harmless to humans as well. They even have heart-shaped noses. Come on! These adorable creatures are based on real-life baby Honduran White Bats. Do your soul a favor and Google it!
7. Swoobat
If you liked the cuddly, round, living marshmallow that is Woobat… well chances are good you’ll end up with a Swoobat somewhere down the line. After becoming good friends with their Trainer, Woobat will evolve into Swoobat through happiness levels. While they retain the cute heart-shaped nose, their bodies have now emerged from the fur and look much more like an actual bat. Regrettably this doesn’t make them any stronger in battle, even though they’re much faster now.
6. Gligar
If you’re looking for a batty Pokémon that’ll carry you through many battles then you can start here. Introduced first in generation II, Gligar are technically not bats. But rather flying scorpions, which is probably the scariest thing I’ve ever read or typed. That said, they share enough characteristics with a bat to include them in this ranking. Not only is their ground/flying-type quite unique and useful, but their defensive stats are amazing. Especially for a non-fully evolved Pokémon. They also have the Hyper Cutter ability which keeps its opponents from lowering its pretty solid Attack stat.
5. Gliscor
You may love your Gligar but it’s worth noting that it doesn’t have to stop there. After enough battles your Gligar will evolve into a Gliscor as long as it’s holding a Razor Fang. Once that happens you’ll have the most vampire-looking Pokémon of them all. Like Gligar, this little guy retains an exceptional defense stat. But it’s now complemented by great speed and pretty good attack too. This makes it an excellent, albeit bulky physical sweeper. And it’s even better considering that being inflicted with poison(a valid strategy to wear down Pokémon with lots of Defense) will actually heal Gliscor.
4. Noibat
For a long time I thought no bat-like Pokémon would look nearly as cool as Gligar does. Then Generation VI came along and we got Noibat, the Sound Wave Pokémon. As a Flying/Dragon-type this purple critter was fated to look great from the moment it was conceived. Like Zubat before it, Noibat’s concept revolves around the idea of echolocation. That’s the technique lots of bats use to find their way in the dark by using sound. And that’s what the big ears are for! Like many baby forms, this guy prefers to eat ripe fruit rather than prey on other creatures. So you can even travel around with your Noibat without worrying about any missing blood pints or small pets.
3. Noivern
After some adventures and a lot of battles your Noibat will evolve into Noirvern, taking on many more dragon-like traits and a notorious taste for flesh. Not only that, but it’ll have the combat prowess to subdue and consume most small Pokémon thanks to its amazing speed and overall solid offensive capabilities. While you’ll no longer be able to travel peacefully through the Unova region without angry mobs claiming that your partner ate the local children, you’ll have a powerful ally in battle. Not to mention one of the coolest looking Pokémon in existence.
2. Zubat
Look, the fact everyone hates a Pokémon doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t deserve a top spot here. The OG bat Pokémon from the first generation has been a staple of Pokémon memes before we even started calling them memes. These guys are everywhere! Under your bed, your table, in the neighbor’s garage fridge, and definitely covering every square inch of every cave in the Johto and Kanto regions. Like Noibat, Zubat’s design takes a lot from the idea of echolocation. This is why it lacks eyes (and the reason it was so silly to put eyes on Golbat). Since sunlight is unhealthy for this critter, you only ever see them outside when they’re part of a Trainer’s team. But they also taught us a valuable lesson. Walking into a cave without any repel? Never again.
1. Lunala
While I normally stay away from legendaries in the top spots, it’s hard not to celebrate the elegant and majestic form of Lunala. It’s the final form of Cosmog in Pokémon Moon, making it one of the two legendaries with an actual evolutionary line. Channeling the light of the moon, this vaguely bat-shaped creature is able to achieve incredible feats of power as well as literally pretending to be the moon by releasing all that stored-up energy. For this reason, it’s known in the Alola region as a divine “Emissary of the Moon”. As a psychic/ghost-type with exceptional Sp. Atk, Lunala is one of the most interesting sweepers among the legendary-level Pokémon(even for all of the games!) And it’s got to be the most amazing bat-themed creature in the whole franchise.
