
Is Zubat Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Mt. Moon is full of them, same as Red and Blue. Zubat's stats are too low to justify catching one this early. If you really want a Golbat, at least wait for a higher-level cave encounter later.
Brock's typing presses Zubat's defenses.
Misty's typing presses Zubat's defenses.
Lt. Surge's team hits Golbat's weaknesses hard.
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 trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Golbat trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Golbat trades roughly evenly with 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
- LV 28FlyingWing AttackPower 53Accuracy 100%PP 35
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- TM02NormalRazor WindPower 80Accuracy 75%PP 10On B4F of the Rocket Hideout, in the northwest area near Giovanni's office
- 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 10On B4F of the Rocket Hideout, in the northwest area near Giovanni's office
- After Koga
- TM06PoisonToxicPower —Accuracy 85%PP 10Prize for defeating Fuchsia Gym Leader Koga
How to Get Zubat in Yellow
Zubat floods the caves. 12 encounter spots pack into just a handful of underground areas, common at every one. Levels climb from a tame 6 near the surface to 45 in the deepest tunnels, so where you catch one matters.
4 locations to catch Zubat
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Where To Catch Zubat in Y
Zubat is where the line starts, caught through walking encounters at Lv. 6-45. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
Step 1Zubat ✓Mt. Moon - 1FLv.6-11CaveRate 75%Mt. Moon - B1FLv.8-11CaveRate 65%Mt. Moon - B2FLv.10-13CaveRate 55%Rock Tunnel - 1FLv.15-21CaveRate 50%Seafoam Islands - 1FLv.9-36GrassRate 45%Seafoam Islands - B1FLv.18-36GrassRate 40%Rock Tunnel - B1FLv.20-22CaveRate 40%Seafoam Islands - B2FLv.27-36GrassRate 35%Seafoam Islands - B3FLv.27-36GrassRate 30%Seafoam Islands - B4FLv.36-45GrassRate 25%Victory Road - 1FLv.39-44CaveRate 20%Victory Road - 2FLv.44CaveRate 10%
Step 2Catch or Evolve into GolbatSeafoam Islands - B4FLv.27-36GrassRate 25%Seafoam Islands - B3FLv.27GrassRate 20%Seafoam Islands - B2FLv.27-36GrassRate 15%Seafoam Islands - B1FLv.27GrassRate 10%or evolve from Zubat (Step 1)
Bring the right balls: check Zubat catch odds in the Yellow 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
Y Zubat Best Moveset
Stats in the 40s everywhere with Poison/Flying typing that provides no offensive or defensive advantage. The moves don't matter because nothing behind them threatens any target. Golbat offers marginal improvement at best.
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
Emits ultrasonic cries while it flies. They act as a sonar used to check for objects in its way.
Zubat Yellow Guide
In Yellow, 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.