Pokémon of the Week #67: Zubat, Golbat, and Crobat

I have a love/hate relationship with this line. I love them for their useful Speed EVs and Crobat is not too bad to use in battle, but I hate how common they pop up (Zubat in particular), they have the most annoying moves that cause confusion or poisoning, and they're so fast that escaping is almost impossible if my team is around the same level as these guys. They can be great but they can be horrible, too.

In-game, they're not bad. Crobat's Attack is adequate and his high Speed can be useful. In competitive play, he's not too useful. His adequate Attack just isn't great for a competitive environment. He could be a great Pokemon to scout out in Singles, but Doubles... not so much. He's also a bit too frail for my liking. There are better Poison-type Pokemon to use in competitions.

I remember Brock's Zubat and it didn't leave any impression on me. It was just there. I hardly remember Golbat and Crobat.

Zubat would probably just as common in the real world as they are in the Pokemon world. They'd probably be just as annoying, too. Golbat and Crobat would be far more deadly and people would be wise to stay away due to their favorite food being blood. They're also not small. Imagine a 5'11" Pokemon trying to suck your blood. *shiver*

If I could change anything, I'd probably beef up Crobat a bit. Give it a higher Attack power so it can make better use of its moves that just don't rely on causing status conditions.

The combo is nice. A Poison/Flying-type isn't weak to Ground-type moves so that's a plus. They're weak to a few common moves, but it's not too terrible. I like the combination and would love to see more Pokemon with these types.

Repel when playing in-game! Always have them handy. They're a nightmare to deal with in a playthrough. If you are EV training, hold off on the Repels.