Community POTW #85

[Serebii]

Time for another Pokémon of the Week. The RNG has spat out a good one this week



It's Crobat. Golbat's loveable evolution. It is ridiculously fast and capable of doing serious damage

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/169.shtml

Go nuts

[csraito]

Wallbreaker

Crobat
Leftovers
Jolly 252 Speed 252 Hp 4 Atk
Taunt
Roost
Brave Bird
Cross Poison/Super Fang/Toxic

[your boss]

Oh yes, I love this guy but get ready for the bat puns

Nasty Plot
Nature: Modest
EVs 252 sp att 252 speed 4 hp
Item: Life Orb
Nasty Plot
Air Slash
Heat Wave
Sludge Bomb

[Del Mundo]

Golbat is interesting too.

Golbat-Eviolite
Bold 252HP 252Def/ 252HP 176Def 90SDef
Super Fang
Taunt
Roost
Brave Bird

I suppose he could be great in the lower tiers as a defensive pokemon. He's got Taunt, Hypnosis, and Super Fang, plus there's always Toxic. Good defensive staller?

[MatchMaster]

Crobat's been banished to BL for the last two generations, but has been hampered by the constantly changing metagame. It works well as a stallbreaker, as it has decent defenses, a good typing, and almost unrivaled speed in UU and OU. It can also use a Choice Band with that incredible speed. Unfortunately, it has a Stealth Rock weakness, limiting its usefulness. If you use Crobat's niches though, you will be rewarded.

Abilities
Inner Focus: Your immune to flinches. Not as useful as the other ability IMO. It does allow you to beat Fake Out Ambipom, which can be very annoying at times though.
Infiltrator: A rather underrated ability. Allows you to Poison an opponent even if they are under the effects of Safeguard. It can also be used to beat teams that rely on screens.

Stallbreaker
Ability: Infiltrator
Item: Black Sludge
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Toxic / Super Fang
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Taunt

Standard stallbreaker that can beat things like Jellicent, Chansey, and Blissey. Toxic ruins the former, while Super Fang can wear down the latter two. It can also cripple its normal counter like Zapdos and Slowbro on the switch. Brave Bird is a general good move to wear down Jellicent in conjunction with Toxic, but Jellicent will win if Crobat gets burned. Roost gives Crobat reliable recovery. Taunt can shut down the first three aforementioned Pokemon, but Crobat will still have to watch out for Scald burns. An alternate EV spread of 176 HP / 192 Atk / 4 SpD / 136 Spe is worth considering to OHKO Scrafty with Stealth Rock, and still outspeed Azelf.

Choice Band
Ability: Infiltrator
Item: Choice Band
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
- Cross Poison
- Brave Bird
- U-Turn
- Pursuit

This set was a bit more useful in DP, but still can be effective due Crobat's resistance and Immunity to the two most common attacking types in the game: Fighting and Ground. Cross Poison is STAB and has a nice effect of poisoning or landing a crit easier. Brave Bird is Crobat's most powerful move, and OHKOs Heracross. U-Turn can scout as well as hit Celebi hard, and Pursuit can catch fleeing Psychics and Ghosts.

[grantholomew]

Quickly, the the Crobatmobile!
Crobat @ Life Orb/Choice Band
Trait: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk /4 Def/252 Spd
Jolly (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Cross Poison
- U-Turn
- Pursuit/Roost/Super Fang

Obviously, don’t use Roost or Super Fang along with a Choice Band. Oh Arceus, the bat puns…

[Spinner]

Die Flittermouse
Crobat
Bold 252 HP, 252 speed, rest Sp Att
Inner Focus/Infiltrator Leftovers

Fly
Confuse Ray
Heat Wave
Air Slash

I have been told this one is super annoying/deadly by people who picked it up for their battle room in HG/SS, so it has the virtue of being played well by the game's AI also. Fly is the poor man's protect. You do have to be good at timing confuse ray, but the idea is to get the opponent to damage themselves, and help.

[EonDragonFTW]

I'M (cro)BATMAN!!!
You're driving me batty
Sorry for all the bat puns

Toxic and Fly can work really well together, as it lets you break down your opponents HP and deal extra damage, as said before, Fly is his Protect thanks to his almost unrivaled speed.

[misterdarvus]

It's simple, we whirl the Batman
Crobat @ Leftover
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid (+Spd, -Atk)
- Sleep Talk
- Whirlwind
- none
- none

Rather gimmicky, but you can try switch on Breloom/Amoongus' Spore or other sleep inducting moves and use Sleep Talk for guaranteed Whirlwind without negative priority, coupled with balzing speed. Make sure you have plenty hazards to maximally abuse this set.

[philzone]

Try this one
Bat out of hell
adamant/jolly
252 att 252 speed 4hp

-Brave bird
-cross poison
-u-turn
-steel wing
item life orb/choice band

hits hard and fast. Brave bird decimates anything that doesn't wall it. Cross poison gives it a secondary STAB move. U-turn is perfect on crobat, as it is an effective scouter, and counters psychic types. Steel wing stops rock and ice types.

Acro-Bat
adamant/jolly
252 att 252 speed 4hp

-Acrobatics
-cross poison
-u-turn
-steel wing

similar to above, yet acrobatics+flying gem is powerful. same stuff for the other moves as before.

[RainDance]

Try this one
Bat out of hell
adamant/jolly
252 att 252 speed 4hp

-Brave bird
-cross poison
-u-turn
-steel wing
item life orb/choice band

hits hard and fast. Brave bird decimates anything that doesn't wall it. Cross poison gives it a secondary STAB move. U-turn is perfect on crobat, as it is an effective scouter, and counters psychic types. Steel wing stops rock and ice types.

Lol that is exactly what I use.

[Meowmeow]

Crobat is a neat Pokemon. It's high speed and large array of support moves lets it annoy enemies to pretty good effect. On the offensive, you might as well use Aerodactyle instead. Or Azelf. Crobat is a UU Pokemon that has found very rough competition in the 5th generation because Prankster exists. That puts Crobat in a bad spot.
However, Crobat can make use of a usable base 90 attack to not become Taunt bait. In addition, despite a Stealth Rock weakness, Crobat can switch into bug, fighting, grass, and ground attacks, all very common in the metagame. In addition, Crobat is immune to Toxic.
During 4th gen, Crobat was a staple on my team. It can do stuff, but now there are things that do what Crobat does and do it better.

Meowmeow's Crobat
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 speed and HP, 4 special defense
@: Black Sludge

Hypnosis
Super Fang
Roost
U-Turn

This is my Crobat. I still use it from time to time. The idea was to lead with Crobat, Hypnosis whatever is there, and then use Super Fang. With the target asleep and at half HP, U-Turn would put the target below 50% HP, making whatever came in have either a free turn to set up, or an easy kill. Roost allowed me to use Crobat when its services would be needed again.
This Crobat has one major flaw: Hypnosis. 60% accuracy is not reliable.

[Ghosts of the Forums]

you wanna see something unexpected? here

Crobat @Leftovers
Timid
160spe 252sp.atk 92hp
-Taunt/Super Fang
-Roost/Super Fang
-Toxic/Super Fang
-Heat Wave/ lol i guess Super Fang
beats the crap out of forry. other uses too.

[Soperman]

Overview
Crobat used to be one of the coolest pokemon out there. Only the cool kids had them in-game, and then they were considered incredibly powerful. And why not? Crobat has record-high Speed and really nice offensive stats; it was a good pokemon. But oh, how it has fallen from grace! For one thing, it isn't cool anymore. Maybe it's because I've changed my taste in pokemon. More likely, however, is the fact that nobody has a Crobat in-game. Only three people every did; Archie and Maxie, of team Aqua and Magma respectively, each had Crobats in the final battle of Ruby and Sapphire, and boy where those Crobats powerful. Not annoying, like Zubats, but powerful and they demanded respect. Since those games, only one other trainer ever used a Crobat, and that was Koga in HGSS. Koga is an idiot, imo, and hasn't ever done anything to deserve respect (you may say he's part of the Elite Four, but if you've seen those guys, you'll realize that any clown can join the E4. It's not that impressive). Battling wise, Crobat was hit really hard in the Fourth Generation with the physical/special split, and since then hasn't really been able to recover. He hasn't gained much in the fifth generation either, while many others have. Not only that, but his typing is horrendous. Poison is by far the worst Offensive typing in the game, and Flying is a decent offensive typing at best. Speaking of offense, his Attack stat is usable, but his Sp. Atk is mediocre are best. His Speed, meanwhile, is really, really fast. On the other hand, his defenses are decent. 85/80/80 defenses aren't half bad, to be completely honest. His typing, however, kills it. The Flying type is one of the top five worst types defensively, as just about every pokemon in the game can learn Psychic, Stone Edge, Ice Beam, or Thunderbolt to hit it super-effectively. Due to this, Crobat is more of a wall-breaker, meaning he tries to weaken opponents walls as much as he can so other pokemon can sweep through teams. He's pretty good at that, though. Anyway, on to abilities.

Abilities:
Inner Focus: Prevents flinching on your behalf. It's ok for the occasional haxkiss and ever-present Jirachi (not that you would ever counter a Jirachi using a Crobat, due to typing and move-set on both sides).
Infiltrator (DW): This ability is really meh. It basically ignores Reflect, Light Screen, and Safeguard, allowing you to attack your opponents normally. Not really that helpful, as Crobat is more of a wall breaker, and won't really be sweeping.

Imma Break Down Your Walls!
-Super Fang
-Brave Bird
-Zen Headbutt
-Poison Fang/Cross Poison
Item: Choice Band/Life Orb
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs and Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SP. Atk)
252 Atk/252 Speed
This is a wall-breaker set. Super Fang is incredibly deadly, taking away half of the opponent's health in one go. That really hurts walls, which is great. Brave Bird is STAB that hits hard and ultimately hurts Crobat. Zen Headbutt is filler. I chose the last two because each one can Poison the foe, and they're both STAB. The difference is, however, that Poison Fang can badly poison the foe, while Cross Poison only normally poisons the foe, but has more power and a higher critical hit chance. The EVs are to hit hard and fast. Same with the items.

Nasty Plot Sweeper
-Nasty Plot
-Air Slash
-Sludge Wave
-Giga Drain/Hidden Power Ground
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs and Nature: Modest (+Sp. Atk, -Atk)
252 Sp. Atk/252 Spd
While this may seem kind of odd, Crobat can make a decent Nasty Plot sweeper. He has Nasty Plot (obviously) and a decent special move-set. Nasty Plot doubles your Special Attack stat, making it usable to sweep with; Air Slash is STAB and can make the opponent flinch; Sludge Wave is STAB as well, and hits hard; Giga Drain heals the Life Orb recoil, while Hidden Power Ground hits Steel, Electric, and Rock types, which Crobat can't do otherwise. The EVs are for maximum sweepage.

Partners
Crobat is made for wall breaking, so you want sweepers who can take over when Crobat has done his job. As for the NP set, you will definitely need someone who can take a Rock or Electric type attack for Crobat for pokemon that out speed it, like Jolteon or pokemon that have the Choice Scarf.

Countering Crobat
Honestly, it's not that hard. Out-speed it with the Choice Scarf and use a super-effective attack on it, and it's down. Rock and Steel types wall it, but watch out for Super Fang. Jolteon has the same Speed as Crobat, but can take most of Crobat's attacks and destroy it with Thunderbolt.

[2406Blackbird]

Time to Cro my wings and FLY!
Crobat
Ability: Inner Focus
Item: Choice Scarf / Life Orb
Nature: Adamant / Jolly
Evs: 252 Speed / 252 Attack / 4 HP
Brave Bird
Cross Poison
U-Turn / X Scissor
Haze

Have you head of Nasty Plot sweepers? Well have you also heard of Haze? Probably one the most forgotten moves / underrated moves in the game. Haze is this difference between your loss to a sweeper, to your epic win! Weavile is the only one who's speed comes near to Crobat in UU, so you can definitely haze it b4 it attacks with Swords Dance boosted moves (it may cause u to die though). It also ruins the life of Baton passers and Stored Power users. Scarf is recommended for higher tiers (if u so choose to use Crobat there) and if you are allowing a mix of tiers (RU Aerodactyl is a threat), while Life Orb is for refular UU.

[Ilan]

Just a tip: don't put his poison STAB grass types are hit hard by brave bird anyway and steel wing LOL, nasty plot from a base 70 sp.attack heh good luck.
his main set have been posted already so I will try a gimmick one
edit: oh a good golbat set isn't posted
both of crobat abilities are situational: infiltrator is good against screens and inner focus is good against jirachi/togekiss mainly.
so a pun: nananana crobat

Acrobat
@ flying gem
252 attack 252 speed, 4 defense
Adamant/Jolly
Inner Focus/infiltrator
-Acrobatics
-Taunt
-U-turn
-Roost/hyper fang

Works best as a lead acrobatics is a strong recoiless STAB with 110 BP after a flying gem it have an insane 247.5 sure archeops hits way better with acrobatics but crobat is faster and works well also in late game (when down to 50%) Taunt stops stealth rock although leads are rare you never know, U-turn scouts althout the SR weakness it is still useful since as said he is a lead,Roost help him survive repeated SR damage and hyper fang is great against walls.


Edit: this set is actually worse than brave bird but it doesn't have recoil.. though leftovers recovery is missing..

Golbats,Golbats everywhere
@eviolite
252 HP, 176 Defense, 80 sp.defense (or 80 speed to outspeed.. stuff)
Impish
Inner Focus/infiltrator
-Brave Bird
-Roost
-Toxic
-Hyper Fang/Protect

So a wall golbat in NU/RU is a really good idea he resists fighting which is a cool resistance, immunity to ground, also bug and grass barely touch him that what make golbat a valuable wall. Brave Bird is kinda unortodox for a wall but it protects from being a taunt bait, roost is a logical move for a wall, toxic, toxics it is pretty obvious hyper fang just cuts 50% hp of something at full health really useful on switch ins protect pairs great with toxic.

parthners should be a spinner like warturtle,cryogonal (RU only also good synergy except shared rock weakness) or stuff weak to fighting in general like bastidon or aggron.

[GirlKirbyZombie]

I had one of these in my main Platinum team. She was one of the very powerful members of my team. Crobat was also one of the best rentals back in Pokemon Stadium 2.

Now Crobat has plenty of tricks to play, like its dreamworld ability and acrobat.

"The Acro-Bat"
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Att, 252 Spd, and 4 Sp. Def
Item: Flying gem
Moves:
Acrobat
Cross Poison
Haze
Zen Headbutt

A common moveset for Crobat (sort of). Haze may not be used very much, but I strongly encourage having it on board so you can stop Beat Up Terekion (why isn't it uber?) and Scizor.

Support
Nature: Careful Nature
EVs: 189 Sp. Def, 67 Def, 252 Speed
Ability: Infiltrator
Item: Leftovers or a critical hit boosting item
Moves:
Hypnosis
Super Fang
Tail Wind
Roost

This is for doubles or triples. Crobat should be able to boost its team's speed, put a pokemon to sleep, and attack with super fang. Roost can be used to recover health when needed.

[frogofdoom555]

Crobat is just plain awesome.

We're in Bat Country! @ Flying Gem
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 67 Def, 187 Sp. Def, 252 HP

Acrobatics
Toxic
Steel Wing
U-turn

This is the classic physical set. Crobat can set up toxic, while whittling away big damage.

[Serpentine]

Set with U-Turn could be called "The Batarang" if it revolves around going in and switching out... so like a Scouting set possibly.

[Vandslaux]

I'll say this: Crobat was BORN to stallbreak. Base 130 Speed Taunt + Super Fang cripples pokemon like Nidoqueen if you run a bulky EV spread and Roost (and that's only if it runs Ice Beam), and Brave Bird hits sort of hard.

I'm terrible with puns.

And Beat Up Terrakion isn't Uber because it gets screwed up by Rage Powder Amoonguss, Scizor, Trick Room Jellicent + Amoonguss and any Scarfer capable of OHKOing Terrakion. And Smogon doesn't ban move + pokemon. All of these except Scarfers and Scizor are extremely common in doubles.