Is Zubat Good?

No, Zubat itself is structurally weak and frustrating to use due to abysmal offensive stats and a shallow early movepool. However, catching one is highly recommended for story mode because it eventually evolves into the blisteringly fast and versatile Crobat. Treat it as a necessary early-game burden.

Zubat is terrible on its own, but the Crobat it becomes makes catching one practically mandatory for optimal playthroughs.

Rating 3/10 (Zubat) | 9/10 (Crobat Potential) · Tier F-(Unevolved) / S-(Investment) · Role : Early-game burden / Future fast physical pivot

Strengths

• Evolves into the exceptionally fast and useful Crobat via high friendship.
• Poison/Flying typing provides massive early-game resistances (4x against Grass, Bug, Fighting).
• Infiltrator hidden ability bypasses annoying NPC dual screens and substitutes.
• Extremely easy to encounter in almost every cave ecosystem across the franchise.

Weaknesses

• Base 45 Attack and 40 Special Attack make dealing meaningful damage early on nearly impossible.
• Incredibly frail; base 40 HP means it gets easily two-shot by neutral physical hits.
• Early movepool is notoriously awful, relying heavily on low-accuracy Supersonic and weak Astonish.
• Completely unviable in any serious competitive PvP format due to unevolved stats.

When evaluating Zubat, you have to look at it through the lens of investment. On its own, Zubat sits firmly at the bottom of the unevolved F-Tier. It lacks the immediate punching power of a Starly or the defensive utility of a Rookidee. If you are looking at raw data, its base stat total of 245 is a glaring warning sign. It cannot sweep, it cannot wall, and it struggles to even chip away at early-game opponents without taking massive damage in return.

However, its actual role on a playthrough team is that of a delayed fast physical pivot. You do not catch Zubat to use Zubat; you catch it to acquire Crobat. Once fully evolved, it jumps to an easy A or S-Tier for story modes, outspeeding almost the entire in-game roster. Until it hits level 22 to become Golbat, your primary strategy should be keeping it safely tucked away in your party, soaking up passive experience.

If you attempt to force Zubat into a frontline role early on, you will be met with frustration. Its reliance on moves like Astonish and Bite means it rarely secures one-hit knockouts, leaving it vulnerable to counterattacks that its base 40 HP simply cannot handle. Acknowledge its role as a temporary burden, and the eventual payoff will anchor your mid-to-late game team.

The viability of Zubat has drastically shifted depending on the generation you are playing. In older titles, raising a Zubat was a miserable test of patience, requiring constant switching to share experience. Today, the modern universal Exp. Share fundamentally changes how we grade this Pokémon. In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet (via The Teal Mask DLC), Zubat can passively reach level 22 without ever needing to risk fainting in active combat.

Friendship and Evolution Tracking

Because the final evolution into Crobat requires high friendship, modern games offer massive shortcuts. In Scarlet and Violet, the Picnic mechanic and the Soothe Bell allow you to max out its friendship before it even evolves into Golbat. This means you can often trigger the Golbat-to-Crobat evolution at level 23, completely skipping the awkward middle-stage phase.

Looking ahead to Pokémon Legends: Z-A (2025), if the mechanics mirror Legends: Arceus, Zubat will likely be an early cave staple. In the Legends format, catching multiple Zubat is usually required for Pokédex tasks, but its fast action speed in the Agile/Strong style system gives it a slight edge in overworld skirmishes compared to traditional turn-based titles. Still, the core advice remains: evolve it as fast as the game allows.

Despite its terrible stats, Zubat possesses one of the best defensive typings for the early game: Poison/Flying. This combination yields a staggering three quadruple resistances (4x against Fighting, Grass, and Bug) and a complete immunity to Ground-type attacks. Even with paper-thin defenses, Zubat can safely pivot into these specific move types.

• Early Bug Catchers and Grass Gyms: Zubat completely walls early-game staples like Caterpie, Weedle, Oddish, and Bellsprout. It can switch into a Leech Seed or Vine Whip with zero fear.
• Baiting Ground Moves: If you have a grounded Fire or Electric type that is about to take a Bulldoze or Mud Shot, Zubat is a perfect free switch-in thanks to its Flying type.
• Toxic Spikes Absorption: As a grounded Poison-type (when using Roost or if Gravity is active, though rare in story), or simply by existing as a Poison-type in certain puzzle mechanics, it brings inherent typing utility.

Once it learns Wing Attack (usually around level 15 in modern generations), it finally gains a reliable STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) move to actually threaten the Grass and Bug types it defensively walls. Until then, you are strictly using it as a defensive pivot to heal your actual damage dealers.

Zubat's early movepool is the primary reason it feels so terrible to use. You are typically stuck with Astonish, a base 30 power Ghost-type move that lacks STAB, and Supersonic, a 55% accuracy status move that misses when you need it most. Relying on confusion RNG to win early battles is a recipe for frustration and frequent trips to the Pokémon Center.

The Leveling Dead Zone

Between levels 1 and 15, Zubat is in a dead zone. It eventually learns Bite, which provides a slight damage increase and a flinch chance, leveraging its decent base 55 Speed. However, it lacks the raw Attack stat to make Bite truly threatening. It isn't until it learns Poison Fang or Cross Poison much later that its Poison STAB becomes relevant.

If you are playing a generation where TMs are single-use, do not waste high-value physical TMs on Zubat. Save your Aerial Ace or U-turn TMs for when it fully evolves into Crobat and actually has the stats to utilize them effectively. If TMs are infinite (like in Generation 8 or 9), teaching it U-turn early makes it an excellent fast pivot, allowing it to escape bad matchups while dealing chip damage.

We must be brutally honest: Zubat cannot take a hit. Its base 40 HP, 35 Defense, and 40 Special Defense mean that even neutral hits from equivalent-level Pokémon will easily strip away 60% to 80% of its health. If it gets hit by a super-effective Rock, Electric, or Ice move, it will be knocked out instantly. There is no surviving a stray Spark or Rock Throw.

The Stealth Rock Problem

While less common in standard playthroughs, certain NPC boss fights or rival battles utilize Stealth Rock. Because of its Flying typing, Zubat takes 25% of its maximum health in damage just by switching into the battle. Given its already low HP pool, a single switch-in with Stealth Rock on the field severely limits its ability to survive even a resisted hit.

Furthermore, Zubat is heavily reliant on its Inner Focus ability to avoid flinching, which is highly situational. Its hidden ability, Infiltrator, is fantastic for bypassing Reflect and Light Screen, but obtaining a hidden ability Zubat during a standard story playthrough is extremely rare without specific raiding or breeding effort. You will usually be stuck with Inner Focus, which offers zero offensive or defensive stat boosts.

Do not put Zubat on your team if you are playing older generations (Gen 1-5) and absolutely despise grinding. Without the modern, party-wide Exp. Share, manually leveling a Zubat requires the tedious "switch-training" method (putting it in the front of the party and immediately switching it out for a stronger Pokémon). If you lack the patience for this, Zubat will quickly fall behind your team's level curve and become entirely unusable.

Superior Alternatives

• Corviknight (Rookidee): If you want a Flying-type that can actually take a hit from the moment you catch it, Rookidee is far superior. It eventually gains the incredible Steel typing, making it a defensive powerhouse compared to the frail bat.
• Staraptor (Starly): For immediate early-game damage, Starly outclasses Zubat entirely. With Intimidate and early access to high-power STAB moves, Starly carries its own weight from Route 1.
• Kilowattrel (Wattrel): In Scarlet & Violet, if you need a fast Flying-type pivot, Wattrel offers excellent Special Attack and a secondary Electric typing, making it a much more immediate threat without the friendship grind.

Ultimately, skip Zubat if you want a Pokémon that is strong right out of the Poké Ball. Only catch it if you are explicitly building towards Crobat and are willing to carry dead weight for the first 20 levels of your journey.