Zubat

The Bat Pokémon
#041 - Zubat
Evolve	Golbat
Debut	Pokémon: Red Version Pokémon: Green Version
Species Info
Type	+ +
Height	0.8 m (2'07")
Weight	7.5 kg (16.5 lbs.)
Color	Purple
Gender Ratio	1♂ : 1♀
Ability	Inner Focus
Hidden Ability
Egg Group	Flying
Icon		Sprite
		File:041sprite.png
Footprint
30px
Base Statistics
Hit Points	40	Speed	55
Attack	45	Sp. Attack	30
Defense	35	Sp. Defense	40
Training Info
Catch Rate	255	Hatch Steps	3,840
Base Exp.	054	Effort Points	Spe
Happiness	70
To Lv.100	Normal

Kanto #	Johto #	Hoenn #	Sinnoh #
< 041 >	< 037 >	< 063 >	< 028 >
Unova #	Johto (IV) #

Zubat is a bat-type Pokémon from the first generation games that is very commonly found in caves and dark areas. Their only evolution was originally believed to be Golbat, but in the second generation its third evolutionary stage, Crobat, was discovered.

Information

These small creatures form colones in perpetually dark places. When flying, they frequently emit ultrasonic waves to identify and approach targets, acting as a sonar to check for obstacles in their paths. During the days, various Zubat gather and hang from the ceilings of old buildings and caves, where they stay still and sleep hanging upside down. They avoid daylight because of the effect that the Sun has on their health, as prolonged exposure to it burns their skin.

All the time that they spend in the dark caused their eyes to permanently shut, depriving them of vision which led them to rely on their ultrasonic waves for navigation. They evolve into Golbat at Level 22.

Gen		Game	Pokédex entry
I		Red	Forms colonies in perpetually dark places. Uses ultrasonic waves to identify and approach targets.
		Blue
		Yellow	Emits ultrasonic cries while it flies. They act as a sonar used to check for objects in its way.
		Stadium	It has neither eyes nor a nose. It emits ultrasonic cries that bounce back to its large ears, enabling it to fly safely.
II		Gold	While flying, it constantly emits ultrasonic waves from its mouth to check its surroundings.
		Silver	Capable of flying safely in dark places, it emits ultrasonic cries to check for any obstacles.
		Crystal	During the day, it gathers with others and hangs from the ceilings of old buildings and caves.
III		Ruby	Zubat remains quietly unmoving in a dark spot during the bright daylight hours. It does so because prolonged exposure to the sun causes its body to become slightly burned.
		Sapphire	Zubat avoids sunlight because exposure causes it to become unhealthy. During the daytime, it stays in caves or under the eaves of old houses, sleeping while hanging upside down.
		Emerald	While living in pitch-black caverns, their eyes gradually grew shut and deprived them of vision. They use ultrasonic waves to detect obstacles.
		FireRed	It has no eyes. Instead, it relies on its ultrasonic cries for echo location to flit about in darkness.
		LeafGreen	It forms colonies in perpetually dark places and uses ultrasonic waves to identify and approach targets.
IV		Diamond	Even though it has no eyes, it can sense obstacles using ultrasonic waves it emits from it mouth.
		Pearl	Disliking sunlight, it sleeps deep in forests and caves until sundown.
		Platinum

Appearances

Mainstream Games

In Pokémon: Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen, Zubat could be found at Mt. Moon, Rock Tunnel, Seafoam Islands and Victory Road. In FireRed/LeafGreen, they also appeared at Icefall Cave and Lost Cave.

In Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold and SoulSilver, Zubat could be found at Routes 3, 4, 10, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 42 at night, and at Slowpoke Well, Union Cave, Dark Cave, Mt. Mortar, Burned Tower, Whirl Islands, Ice Path, Tohjo Falls, Rock Tunnel and Mt. Moon at all times of day. It also appears at Route 9 at night in Crystal. They could also be caught at the Dim Cave and Night Sky's Edge courses of the Pokéwalker, from which they could be transferred to HeartGold/SoulSilver.

In Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, they could be found at Cave of Origin, Granite Cave, Meteor Falls, Seafloor Cavern, Shoal Cave and Victory Road. They also appeared at Altering Cave in Emerald.

They also appeared in Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, in which they appeared at Routes 203, 204, 206, 207, 208, 209, 211, 214 and 216 at night, and at Oreburgh Gate, Oreburgh Mine, Iron island, Ravaged Path, Wayward Cave, Mt. Coronet and Lost Tower at all times of day.

Other Games

Within Pokémon Pinball, they could be found at Mt. Moon, Rock Mountain, Seafoam Islands and Indigo Plateau. In Pokémon Snap, Zubat appeared and could be photographed in the Cave area. A Zubat was also featured as one of Brock's three Pokémon in Pokémon Puzzle League. Among the Pokémon e-Reader games, Zubat was featured in the Night Flight cave in which the player had to navigate it through a dark cave and avoid Koffing with the help of Zubat's Supersonic. Wild Zubat could also be caught at the Cave Poké Spots in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, from which they could be transferred to any of the third generation color versions.

In Pokémon Channel, Zubat could be found in the Ruins of Truth only on mornings. They could only be obtained by hatching them from eggs in Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire. In Pokémon Trozei!, Zubat could be found at Phobos Drill, Endless Level 19, Trozei Battle and Mr. Who's Den. In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red and Blue Rescue Teams, Zubat was found on the first three floors of Lapis Cave and the first five floors of Murky Cave, while in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness they could be found throughout Aegis Cave. Within the latter games, an antagonistic Zubat appears as one of Skuntank's lieutenants in Team Skull and acts as the games' first boss.

Zubat appeared in Pokémon Ranger at Krokka Tunnel. In Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, they could be obtained at Ranger School and Marine Cave, while in Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs they were obtained at Risp Cavern and Fire Temple. In Pokémon Rumble, Zubat could be found at Rocky Cave.

Other Appearances

In Other Media

• In the Pokémon anime, Brock caught a Zubat in an early episode at Mt. Moon, and it was notable as going against his team's type theme. It later evolved into a Golbat and Crobat during the Johto series.

Trivia

• Its name could be a pun combining "bat" as in its species with the Japanese word "zubatto" which refers to a sharp object piercing something.