Introduced in the original generation one, with Pokemon Red, Blue, and Green games, Golbat is a dual type poison and flying Pokemon. It is the middle evolution in its line and evolves from Zubat once it reaches the level threshold and then into Crobat with a unique condition in place. The Pokedex classifies Golbat as the “Bat Pokemon” which is a nod to its general design. This guide will showcase Golbat’s capabilities in battle, its appearances in the anime, as well as other general facts about Golbat.
About Golbat
As one of the original 151 Pokemon of generation one, Golbat first appeared in the original series with the episode Hassle in the Castle. This is the episode where Brock’s Zubat evolved into Golbat. Golbat is the second evolution in its three stage evolution line and Zubat will evolve once it reaches level 22. It will further evolve into Crobat once it levels up with a high enough friendship level. The Pokedex states that Golbat will drain energy from its victims and constantly search for new prey.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Original Series: Hassle in the Castle |
| First appearance in game | Red/Green (Japan) Red/Blue (International) |
| Region | Kanto |
| Evolution | Evolves from Zubat, evolves into Crobat once it levels with high enough friendship |
| 1st Evo level | 22 |
| 2nd Evo level | Evolves when leveled up with high friendship |
| Pokedex Entry | Golbat loves to drink the blood of living things. It is particularly active in the pitch black of night. This Pokémon flits around in the night skies, seeking fresh blood. |
Golbat Base Stats
| HP | 75 |
| ATTACK | 80 |
| DEFENCE | 70 |
| SP. ATTACK | 65 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 75 |
| SPEED | 90 |
| TOTAL | 455 |
Appearance
Golbat is a large bat that is mostly pink and blue with the inside of its wings pink while its exterior is almost entirely blue. There are four pointed fangs on the inside of Golbat’s mouth and its eyes are pointed half circles with slitted pupils and has two pointed ears on top of its head. While it has two stubby feet to land or hang from, it tends to spend most of its time flying. Golbat is rather large for a bat at 5 feet and 3 inches, or 1.6 meters, tall.
Behavior
Throughout the original series, Brock had a Zubat that evolved all the way to its final evolution, Crobat. Despite not appearing often, it was shown to be a loyal Pokemon and proved to be useful over the course of its appearances. Golbat never showed any malicious behavior and was depicted to be reliable and not the blood-sucker that the Pokedex makes it out to be. The Pokedex states that Golbat can drink more than 10 ounces of blood which can even impede its flying capabilities.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Golbat has fairly balanced base stat totals with its speed the best stat that it has to offer and its lowest stat is found with its special attack. It is a fairly well-rounded Pokemon and can serve in a variety of roles. As a dual type poison and flying Pokemon, Golbat takes 2x damage from rock, electric, psychic, and ice type moves. It is also immune to ground type moves but will take half the normal damage from poison and fairy type moves, and a quarter the normal damage from fighting, bug, and grass type moves.
Best Moveset
In competitive play, Golbat can function as a physical defensive Pokemon along with a few supportive moves. Historically, Golbat has been near the bottom of competitive brackets but it can still function in its role as a defensive Pokemon. With an Eviolite, as a held item, its balanced stats becomes that much more impressive. Consider running Defog, Roost, Brave Bird, and Toxic/Super Fang/Taunt. Defog can remove problematic hazards on your side of the field, Roost can extend Golbat’s survivability while Brave Bird benefits from STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus). Finally, Toxic/Super Fang/Taunt are interchangeable depending on if you want inevitability, burst damage, or to disable your opponent’s supportive Pokemon respectively.
| Defog | Roost |
| Brave Bird | Toxic/Super Fang |
How to Catch Golbat in Pokemon Go
If you would like to obtain a Golbat in Pokemon Go, the easiest way to do so would be to first obtain a Zubat and eventually evolve it into Golbat. That is because the base Pokemon of an evolution line is a more common spawn to encounter than the final or middle evolution. You can find a Zubat spawning at a boosted rate near wetlands areas like marshes, ponds, and even lakes. It can also be hatched from 2 or 5 km eggs, and can be found in tier one raids but you cannot find a Golbat in raid battles. You will need 25 Zubat candies to evolve it into Golbat and another 100 to evolve it into Crobat.
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Trivia
- Despite being a generation one Pokemon, no other Pokemon in the entire franchise has the same type combination as Golbat’s evolution line type combinations.
- The inspiration for Golbat’s design is likely based on vampire bats.
- The name Golbat is a combination of the words gollop (a variation of the word gulp) and bat.
FAQ
How do you evolve Golbat into Crobat?
There is a unique condition to fulfill in order to evolve Golbat into Crobat. Instead of a level threshold to hit, you will need to raise your Golbat’s friendship value high enough to where it can evolve. Battle with your Golbat, walk with it in your party, and give it treats that it likes to boost its friendship level higher. Once it is high enough, you will just need to level your Golbat again and it will automatically evolve into Crobat.
How do you evolve Zubat?
Evolving Zubat is a fairly basic procedure as you just need to level your Zubat up to level 22 and it will evolve into Golbat. There is no special condition to fulfill with evolving Zubat and it will evolve once it reaches the level threshold. Once Zubat reaches level 22 just allow the evolution animation to play without pressing the “B” button.
Why is Crobat so good?
Crobat benefits from a particularly fast speed stat making any strategy easier considering you will likely move first. It also has a balanced stat distribution even with its spike in the speed stat. Crobat can function as an offensive supporting Pokemon and it can enable your own strategies or shut down your opponent’s.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this “Bat Pokemon”. While Golbat only reached relevance with its final evolution being introduced in generation two, it still functioned as a well rounded Pokemon in its debut generation. Golbat has a variety of uses in terms of battle strategy and can help you figure out what kind of game plan you would like to use. Consider running Golbat if you want a poison and flying type Pokemon on your team.
