Crobat Report

Crobat (the Bat Pokémon) is a rare Poison/Flying-type Pokémon found among dark caverns and forests within the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar and Hisui regions as well as parts of the Sevii Islands. Silent as the night itself and wickedly fast in the air, Crobat are highly-maneuverable beasts that can easily outwit and outrun lesser opponents in battle without even trying. They might not be able to provide much more than a slightly above-average offensive or defensive game in battle, but when it comes to running circles around the opposition, no Poison-type can ever come close to what these freakish bats are capable of!

The members of the Zubat family share a great deal in common with traditional bats, in particular vampire bats. While they might occasionally feed on small insects and even rodents in the case of Golbat, these creatures derive much of their nutrition from the energy of others and specialize in being able to punch through skin of many types in order to absorb vital fluids. In fact, this behavior is so prolific among these species that they automatically begin with the Absorb attack the moment they are born with no other forms of offense to speak of, and eventually gain access to the powerful Leech Life attack later in life. Moreover, these creatures have a penchant for roosting in large numbers within caverns of all types, but interestingly enough, this is not because they are nocturnal. While the trait is most noticeable with Zubat, all three creatures within this family are particularly susceptible to the damaging effects of sunlight, as their skin is rather thin and easily burned by prolonged exposure; as a result, Zubat, Golbat and Crobat prefer to remain inside darker areas in the daytime (though Zubat in particular will huddle together in large groups if it is too cold inside) and usually only travel outside in the night, though the degree to which they follow this basic routine is dependent upon their stage of evolution as Golbat and Crobat are much more resistant to sunlight than Zubat. Finally, as with normal bats, these creatures specialize in using echolocation to find their way in darkness without accidentally running into objects; while this function usually only applies to Zubat as a dominant component of daily life, Crobat rely on it a great deal as well to prevent any accidents while flying at high speeds, leaving Golbat the only member of the family that merely uses its Supersonic technique to Confuse opponents and prey.

Although Golbat are considered to be the fully-grown adult form of their species, specimens that experience very happy lives or otherwise become able to shrug off their brutish ways and develop a strong relationship with another life-form spontaneously mutate (the reason is unknown, but is likely genetic in origin) and evolve into Crobat. Evolution into Crobat provides these creatures with many benefits that would otherwise be unprecedented, most notably the addition of a second pair of wings. These wings are actually the result of the hind feet of Golbat mutating and becoming wings, while a smaller set of feet is grown directly underneath the bottom of their main body for support. With four wings, Crobat are able to counter the buffering of air rapid wing movement would normally generate and can thus fly while producing almost no sound at all, or at least nothing discernible to the average ear, even in the most cramped of spaces and without ever having to slow down. This gives these creatures an enormous tactical advantage in battle and in the wild, as they can easily fly through even the most confined of spaces without losing speed and readily sneak up on unsuspecting insect prey and opponents, striking without ever being noticed before hiding again. Moreover, Crobat are light enough that they only need to flap a single pair in order to support themselves in flight, though they will usually only do so and alternate between wing sets when on long journeys or otherwise exhausted. This anatomical design further makes these creatures unbelievably fast in the air and allows them to learn the devastating Cross Poison attack immediately after evolving, with their venom increasing in potency alongside this to also give them access to the Tailwind and Toxic techniques with a bit of artificial help, making them the only member of the Zubat family able to truly make use of their natural type assignment in serious combat. However, as a result of a change in body form due to evolution, Crobat possess smaller fangs than Golbat and are unable to siphon blood in volumes as large as what a Golbat could drain, so they must feed more often in order to get their required nutrition and prevent themselves from becoming exhausted and unable to fly; the upside to this is that their incredibly sharp fangs and silent movements allow them to sneak up more easily on prey items for a quick feeding, often times going completely unnoticed. In addition, Crobat are poor walkers and are unable to do much else with their hind legs aside from use them to crawl around or rest on tree branches and other objects, but this rarely has much of an impact on their performance in combat.

While they might not instill the same sense of fear imposed by their pre-evolved form, Crobat are lethal beasts that can easily make life miserable for opponents on the battlefield that can't find a way to overcome their incredible mobility. With the highest base Speed stat (tied with Eternatus) and non-legendary, non-UB base stat total out of all Poison-type Pokémon and a toxic mix of physical and special attacks sure to make things difficult for others, it goes without saying that any trainer capable of making use of these beasts will find them to be perfect for tactical fights of all types. If anything else, though, at least these beasts can transport their trainer with exceptional grace that their pre-evolved forms lack; of course, if they have difficulty even lifting you with both pairs of wings at work, you might want to consider some larger alternatives instead!

Professor Wormwood