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 resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Golbat has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Golbat trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Golbat has the type edge here and should clean up 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.
Catch Zubat on Mt. Moon (walking, Lv 6-11, common).
- STARTING (Lv 6)
- LV 6BugLeech Life80100%10
- LV 15DarkBite60100%25
- LV 28FlyingWing Attack90100%35
- After Erika
- TM10NormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- TM02NormalRazor Wind80100%10
- TM39NormalSwift60100%20
- After Koga
- TM06PoisonToxic—90%10
- TM09NormalTake Down9085%20
Your Zubat should hit Level 22 before you reach Lt. Surge, at typical leveling pace.
- STARTING (Lv 22)
- LV 22BugLeech Life80100%10
- LV 22GhostConfuse Ray—100%10
- After Erika
- TM15NormalHyper Beam15090%5
- TM10NormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- TM02NormalRazor Wind80100%10
- LV 32FlyingWing Attack90100%35
- After Koga
- TM06PoisonToxic—90%10
- TM09NormalTake Down9085%20
How to Get Zubat in Red & Blue
Zubat is available from early-game routes onward at high spawn rates. 18 encounter spots give you plenty of options. Grab one early and it'll be ready to evolve or train by mid-game.
Where To Catch Zubat in RB
Zubat is your first catch on the way to Zubat. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 6-46 across 32 total spots in the chain.
Step 1Zubat ✓Mt. Moon - 1FLv.6-11CaveRate 75%Mt. Moon - B1FLv.7-11CaveRate 60%Rock Tunnel - 1FLv.15-18CaveRate 55%Mt. Moon - B2FLv.9-12CaveRate 45%Rock Tunnel - B1FLv.16-18CaveRate 50%Seafoam Islands - 1FLv.21GrassRate 10%Victory Road - 1FLv.22CaveRate 10%Victory Road - 3FLv.22CaveRate 10%Victory Road - 2FLv.26CaveRate 10%
Step 2Catch or Evolve into GolbatSeafoam Islands - 1FLv.29GrassRate 5%Seafoam Islands - B2FLv.30GrassRate 5%Seafoam Islands - B4FLv.32GrassRate 5%Victory Road - 2FLv.40CaveRate 5%Victory Road - 1FLv.41CaveRate 5%Victory Road - 3FLv.41CaveRate 5%Cerulean Cave - 1FLv.46CaveRate 20%or evolve from Zubat (Step 1)
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
GoodBest Pokemon Against Zubat
 Pikachu Electric | C | |
 Hypno Psychic | C | |
 Lapras WaterIce | B | |
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zubat View Lapras builds →Ice Beam 2x159-188%KO Thunderbolt 2x105-125%KO Psychic 2x101-120%KO | ||
 Jolteon Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
 Kadabra Psychic | B | |
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
Hypno Psychic | C | |
Lapras WaterIce | B | |
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zubat View Lapras builds →Ice Beam 2x165-194%KO Thunderbolt 2x109-129%KO Psychic 2x103-122%KO | ||
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | S | |
Jolteon Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Kadabra Psychic | B | |
 Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zubat View Rhydon builds →Rock Slide 2x194-228%KO Blizzard 2x76-90% Thunderbolt 2x65-77% | ||
Hypno Psychic | C | |
Exeggutor GrassPsychic | S | |
Jolteon Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Lapras WaterIce | B | |
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zubat View Lapras builds →Blizzard 2x182-215%KO Thunderbolt 2x106-125%KO Psychic 2x99-117%KO | ||
 Articuno Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Interact Encounter | ||
Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zubat View Rhydon builds →Rock Slide 2x203-240%KO Blizzard 2x79-94% Thunderbolt 2x69-82% | ||
 Zapdos Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
Hypno Psychic | C | |
 Magneton Electric | C | |
 Mewtwo Psychic | S | |
Obtain MethodCerulean Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zubat View Mewtwo builds →Psychic 2x261-308%KO Blizzard 2x212-250%KO Thunderbolt 2x184-217%KO | ||
Articuno Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Interact Encounter | ||
Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Zubat View Rhydon builds →Rock Slide 2x204-241%KO Blizzard 2x79-93% Thunderbolt 2x68-80% | ||
Zapdos Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
Hypno Psychic | C | |
Zubat 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.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- 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. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, 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, Egg, 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
Egg Moves
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 10 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 7LGPE
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