
Is Zubat Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Every cave in Red and Blue is crawling with Zubat, and none of them are worth catching at this stage. The stats are terrible early on, and Golbat doesn't improve things enough to justify the grind. Most players associate Zubat with annoyance, not team building.
Brock's typing presses Zubat's defenses.
Misty's typing presses Zubat's defenses.
Golbat trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Golbat has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Golbat has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Golbat has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Golbat trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Golbat has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
Golbat trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Golbat has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Golbat trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Golbat trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Golbat trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catchable
Catch Zubat in Mt. Moon (walking, Lv 6-11, common).
Recommended Moves
- LV 15NormalBitePower 60Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Misty
- TM39NormalSwiftPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 12 Gate 2F
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- TM02NormalRazor WindPower 80Accuracy 75%PP 10Celadon Department Store
- LV 28FlyingWing AttackPower 53Accuracy 100%PP 35
- After Erika
- TM21GrassMega DrainPower 40Accuracy 100%PP 10Prize for defeating Celadon Gym Leader Erika
- After Koga
- TM06PoisonToxicPower —Accuracy 85%PP 10Prize for defeating Fuchsia Gym Leader Koga
Evolve Zubat to Golbat
Zubat evolves into Golbat at Level 22. Your Zubat should hit Level 22 before you reach Lt. Surge, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 22)
- LV 22NormalBitePower 60Accuracy 100%PP 25
- LV 22GhostConfuse RayPower —Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Misty
- TM39NormalSwiftPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 12 Gate 2F
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- TM02NormalRazor WindPower 80Accuracy 75%PP 10Celadon Department Store
- After Koga
- TM06PoisonToxicPower —Accuracy 85%PP 10Prize for defeating Fuchsia Gym Leader Koga
How to Get Zubat in Red & Blue
Zubat floods the Kanto caves, 18 spots across Mt. Moon, Rock Tunnel, Victory Road, and Seafoam. Common in both versions, it is the cave Pokemon you cannot avoid.
4 locations to catch Zubat
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Where To Catch Zubat in RB
Zubat is the chain's first catch. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 6-46 across 32 total spots in the chain.
Step 2Catch or Evolve into GolbatSeafoam Islands - 1FLv.29GrassRate 5%Seafoam Islands - B2FLv.30GrassRate 4%Victory Road - 2FLv.40CaveRate 5%Victory Road - 1FLv.41CaveRate 5%or evolve from Zubat (Step 1)
Bring the right balls: check Zubat catch odds in the Red & Blue Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
Zubat Weakness
Electric, Ice, Psychic, and Rock moves hit Zubat for super-effective damage. The upside? Ground-type moves can't touch it at all.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Ice, Psychic, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Poison |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Zubat Weak Against
GoodZubat Evolutions
You'll evolve Zubat into Golbat the traditional way. This Poison/Flying type doesn't breed despite having a chain ahead. The evolved forms gain up to 200 total stats over Zubat. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Zubat Best Moveset
Poison/Flying pre-evolution with stats in the 40s everywhere. No competitive moves, no role. Evolve toward Golbat.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Confuse Ray
- Double Edge
- Mega Drain
- Toxic
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The level-up pool is slim, so TMs matter here. Zubat's Bug and Dark coverage and more all comes from technical machines, built on top of Wing Attack for same-type damage. Double-Edge and Take Down are the payoff moves.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 13 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Forms colonies in perpetually dark places. Uses ultrasonic waves to identify and approach targets.
Zubat Red & Blue Guide
In Red & Blue, for a casual playthrough, Zubat works as a placeholder. Poison/Flying coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Golbat. That's where the stats start mattering.
Game Availability
Present since Red & Blue, Zubat appears in 21 games spanning 9 generations. Gen 1 originals like Zubat have the longest track record of availability in the series.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut

Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS

Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS

Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG

FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP

Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS

HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW

Black & White - Gen 5B2W2

Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY

X & Y - Gen 6ORAS

Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM

Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM

Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh

Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV

Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW

Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Zubat.