The Zubat trio first appeared in generation I and even back then it evolved into Golbat at level 22. Starting in gen 2 it could evolve again with a high friendship into Crobat. So maybe you’re here because you just want to know a little more about this evolutionary line. Well read on to pick up some really interesting factoids on these three Pokémon. But even though this is the case it makes it up with a mouth that has 2 really sharp teeth and pointed ears capable of hearing incredibly well. Some say that Zubat actually have better hearing than its later evolutions. Males have fangs that are much larger so it’s easier to tell them apart at a glance. Their natural environment is in dark caves and because of this Zubat have no nostrils or eyes. They mostly use echolocation to navigate. Note you might alternatively find Zubat in forests or in old buildings under eaves. This happens mostly during the night. During the day Zubat typically sleeps in. Zubat quickly becomes unhealthy when in daylight for too long. Prolonged exposure will burn the Pokemon’s skin. But when slowly trained and put into sunlight slowly over time, Zubat can have an easier time staying out in daylight. The rear feet that most Crobat have(also wings nearby) act like typical bat feet, so Crobats really enjoy hanging upside down on tree limbs. This is possible by alternating between the 2 sets of wings. Thanks to the extra set set of lower wings, flight speeds can increase much faster than a Golbat while flying even quieter. A Crobat will silently fly and surprise the prey. Then it drains their blood. When Crobat does not drink blood for a while it loses its ability to fly and becomes lethargic. Crobat’s body is similar in size to an adult person. However it is actually a bit smaller since wings make up most of its size. Crobats can have a wingspan that reaches out to at least 20 feet. This is about the same height as an adult giraffe! There are rare reports of Crobats reaching a wingspan of over 25 feet. These are almost impossible to catch and they’re also pretty hard to find in the wild. Like insanely fast. This may be one of the fastest out of any flying Pokémon in any region. Excluding the legendaries, just a few fall short of Crobat’s top speeds. You’ll notice Zubat tend to be blind as a bat(excuse the pun). However Golbat is the first in the evolutionary line to gain eyesight. There is a debate going on in the community but the general consensus is that the horns on its head are ears. A Crobat no longer has just the basic fangs of a normal Zubat. It features full teeth and they are terrifying. You can easily see this since the Pokémon’s mouth stays open in almost every sprite for every game. Crobat’s feet are different than Zubat’s. This allows it to stop mid-flight really fast by grabbing onto branches. Although this does not always work, it is effective. As opposed to Golbat and Zubat, most Crobat has blue wing membranes and a purple body. This is believed to be due to the lack of a need to blend into the sky. This is heavily debated but in the Ultra Sun Pokédex entry it states that Crobat can suck blood so fast that the prey won’t even notice that it’s happened… well, until much later when they notice bite marks. You have to look closely at the design but you’ll notice that Crobat actually gain a lower set of wings closer to their legs. Pretty cool! In the LeafGreen Pokédex entry it’s stated that Crobat’s wings are so quiet that even if they fly right by you, it’s possible you may not even hear them. Talk about a clean assassin! Group mentality no longer exists since many wild Crobat are solitary. Because of this, if two of these Pokémon meet they tend to fight wildly. Some are over 100 years old and keep traveling whenever they are in an area where there might be some threats to them. In order to ever get a Crobat you need to work with a Zubat to evolve it, then work on building trust and happiness levels. Even after putting a lot of effort into training it might take longer than you want. Patience is necessary to get your hands on one. This also means a lot of healing up your Zubat and giving it goofy haircuts. Also a Crobat never eats anything that is dead. If you ever somehow see a wild Crobat don’t panic: they won’t attack just for the heck of it. This Pokémon just hunts for food. This is how powerful they are. Even if their wings cannot finish off a target, its teeth can. This is particularly true if coated with poisonous attacks. In the main Pokémon anime in the episode “Clefairy and the Moon Stone”, Zubat made its first appearance. One of them was caught by Brock in Mt. Moon and this carried through into many later episodes. Eventually Brock’s Zubat evolved into Crobat in Johto episodes. A Crobat was used by Xerosic in “The Right Hero For The Right Job”. However he eventually lost when fighting the Pokemon under Clemont’s ownership. However, it only appears as a trophy. Sorry to all the smash fans that want to see Crobat as a playable character! Zubat emits an ultrasonic cry while flying. This is used for navigation purposes and works just like sonar. Zubat’s base Speed is 55. The second highest stat is Attack at 45. Neither are amazing until it evolves though. This is interesting as it is learned at level 25. At level 33 it learns another strong move, Air Slash. But that only has a power of 75 and an accuracy of 95%, while Leech Life is 100%. This is true specifically in gen 1 and in the newest games “Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!” and in “Let’s Go, Eevee!” The evolutionary family of the Zubat has a unique type combination that you don’t find in any other Pokémon in any game. The evolutionary line is connected with Woobat. All family members are bats (with the exception of Swoobat) and they all live in dark places and do not have eyes. This is common among a handful of monsters but all of the Zubat evolutionary line has been attainable in every game starting with gen 2. And of course in gen 1 you could get Zubat+Golbat, but Crobat didn’t exist yet. These two Pokémon are the only ones that appear in lineups for all villainous teams in the games. I wonder why they like Zubats so damn much… This one is pretty obvious but what you might not know is that it is based on bat and zubatto, which is an onomatopoeia specifically from Japanese culture. It refers to when edged tools pierce something in a forceful way. They are both the only ones of their particular body type that are not Bug type. There are 2 theories here. The first one states that the name is a combination of bat and cross. The second states that it refers to the word “acrobat” and that it describes the high air maneuverability that you gain when evolving into a Crobat. This is a clear reference to Nosferatu. Vampires all around! It was the first Pokémon he trained that evolved and the first fully evolved one that reached its final evolution. This happens when a proper meal is needed and the blood they get from other Pokémon is not enough. One Zubat alone is nothing to worry about. However, you will rarely find a Zubat that is alone since they prefer living in colonies. When hunting in colonies they can take down really large prey very fast. Zubat that stay in a colony rarely evolve. It is the stray ones that frequently do, in the event that they manage to survive since being alone makes them easy prey. According to the Pokémon Crystal Pokédex entry, most Zubats prefer to spend their days inside caves hanging around the ceiling with other Zubats. These guys really don’t like sunlight too much. Although Golbat still prefers to fly away from danger, when cornered it harshly and quickly attacks. This happens because their vision is changing and they find it really difficult to recognize threats. They need to get used to their new vision and larger wingspan. During this time, a Golbat might receive help from other Golbat so they can learn how to fly properly. Golbat usually drink much more blood than what is needed, which is different than Zubat. Because of this, their blood type temporarily changes and it is hard for them to get off the ground as they tend to weigh more. The entire design of Golbat’s mouth and teeth are meant to represent the large mouth of vampires who use their teeth to suck blood. This is preferable so that it’s easier to spot larger creatures that may be a threat. When living in caves, Golbat stay much closer to the entrance than Zubat. Although you wouldn’t know that by playing some of the games! Cyrus claims he does not make friends with Pokémon but he did have a Golbat that evolved into Crobat. This is only possible once a Crobat’s happiness levels are high enough. This discovery led to Pokémon fans being divided between the belief that Cyrus actually loves some of his Pokémon, or is really good at manipulating Pokémon, making Golbat just believe it is loved. I’m just going to believe that deep down Cyrus does truly consider his monsters as friends. I like my villains to be at least a little redeemable.
