Brock's Crobat
Brock's Crobat (Japanese: タケシのクロバット Takeshi's Crobat) was a Pokémon owned by Brock from near the beginning of the Pokémon anime until shortly after the beginning of Pokémon Advanced. Its voice actor in both Japanese and English was Shinichiro Miki.
It was first seen in Clefairy and the Moon Stone as a Zubat flying out of Mt. Moon with many others of its kind. Unlike most Pokémon captures, this was never shown happening, and it did not become known he had captured one until he used it in a battle against Jessie's Ekans and James's Koffing. Ash was puzzled by its appearance, and Brock explained that he had caught it before they entered the cave, much to Ash's frustration as he realized that he should have caught one as well.
Despite having been in Brock's possession in its unevolved stage for a long period of time, little was seen of Zubat in the anime and it was used rarely in battles. This may be because Brock himself did not battle often, and tended to favor his Rock-type Pokémon when he did. Possibly due to its lack of experience, Zubat did not evolve even as it traveled with Brock through Kanto, stayed with him with Professor Ivy while Ash and Misty explored the Orange Islands, and came with him to Johto.
It was in this region, over a hundred and fifty episodes after it was first obtained, that Zubat reached its second stage, Golbat. In Hassle in the Castle, Ash, Misty, and Brock entered a castle where a woman named Dr. Anna used different Pokémon for diagnosing and treating patients. One of these was her Zubat, Mimi, which used its Supersonic to scan patients. Eager to impress the doctor, Brock released his Zubat to assist her. Jessie, James, and Meowth entered the scene, and as Dr. Anna, Brock, and the two Zubat pursued them, causing them to become stuck in an underground maze. Dr. Anna had Mimi use Supersonic again to create a map, and with the assistance of Brock's Zubat an entire map of the maze was generated. They wandered through the maze, encountering multiple traps and with Brock fantasizing about marriage, until their Zubat were able to find the exit door. This wouldn't open, and Team Rocket were given the opportunity to grab both of the Zubat, only to find themselves stuck as well. They were eventually freed from the maze by Pineco's Explosion and the two Zubat flew free of the bag they were held in. Team Rocket tried to make off with Ash's Pikachu, but the two Zubat blew away Weezing's Smokescreen and Brock's Zubat engaged in battle with Team Rocket's Pokémon. During this battle, it evolved into Golbat, and was able to send Team Rocket packing with the help of Pikachu. Brock had hoped to stay and help Dr. Anna, but had his hopes crushed when he learned that Golbat was so strong that its Supersonic overloaded Dr. Anna's computer.
Compared to how long it took it to reach the Golbat stage, this Pokémon reached its final stage with surprising speed. However, this speed is understandable when it is considered that Golbat will evolve when their Happiness is high enough and Brock, being a Pokémon Breeder, takes notably good care of his Pokémon. In Control Freak, Brock found and agreed to help a woman who was looking for two artifact which were supposedly buried nearby and had been used by a woman to control Pokémon. Possibly having learned to do such from his encounter with Dr. Anna, Brock was able to hook up Golbat to her computer and display a map of the underground. They reached the chamber only to find Team Rocket had beaten them there and Jessie was using the artifacts to control Pokémon. Brock's Golbat was the only Pokémon that could resist the effects of the artifacts, and countered it using its Supersonic. Jessie turned Brock's Geodude and Onix against it, and it was trapped under the rubble of Onix's Dig. Brock was able to locate Golbat under the rocks by listening carefully for the sound waves, somehow having ears sensitive enough to pick up the ultrasonic waves. They tracked down Team Rocket to find them leaving, appropriately, in a rocket. Golbat and Ash's Noctowl flew after the rocket, but could not keep up. Brock called out Golbat, and this caused it to evolve into Crobat. It easily overtook the rocket and destroyed it with a Wing Attack.
The last time Brock's Crobat was seen was when he returned home in A Family That Battles Together Stays Together. It only appeared as Brock was giving it, along with his Onix and Geodude, to his younger brother, Forest.
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For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Zubat, Golbat, or Crobat.
