Pokémon TCG: Top 10 Best Crobat of All Time

Today, we'll discuss the best Crobat in Pokémon TCG, since the Wizards of the Coast era until today.

10 - Dark Crobat (Ruby/Sapphire: Team Rocket's Returns)

This Crobat was released in the "Team Rocket's Returns" set alongside Dark Pokémon, which accepted Darkness Energy EX 158. This energy increases the damage these Pokémon deal.

Its ability, Black Beam, lets you Poison an enemy Pokémon.

Its first attack, Dark Drain, deals 10 damage to all enemy Pokémon in play. At the same time, Dark Crobat TRR 3 also heals itself according to how many enemy Pokémon are on the board.

As for its second attack, Skill Dive, you can use it as a "sniper" attack if you need to knock out any Pokémon that you damaged with its other attack, Dark Drain, and thus finish the combo.

9 - Crobat (Black/White: Plasma Storm)

This Crobat PLS 55 played an interesting role in the Black/White era in decks that focused on Team Plasma: its ability draws you cards, its attack Poisons Pokémon and gives you 4 damage counters to put on enemy Pokémon instead of 1 in between turns.

8 - Crobat (Black/White: Phantom Forces)

This Crobat, Crobat PHF 33, is supposed to deal damage to your opponent bit by bit as a support attacker for "sniper" combos. That's because its ability states that, if you evolved it from your hand, you get to put 3 damage counters (30 damage) on one of your opponent's Pokémon. Furthermore, its attack, Skill Dive, also deals 30 damage to any enemy Pokémon.

After that, you can easily retreat it, as its retreat cost is zero!

7 - Crobat (Sun/Moon: Unbroken Bonds)

We had to add this Pokémon because of its ability, Sound Veil: when you evolve this Crobat from your hand into a Golbat in play, it is protected from attack damage and effects until the end of your opponent's next turn!

So, ideally, you'll set up at least 2 or more Crobat on the board to keep them immune to damage as much as you can and deal damage with its main attack, which costs (C)(C)(C) (so, it's easy to set up with Triple Acceleration Energy UNB 190). You'll also be able to put four Poison counters on the enemy Pokémon instead of 1.

To create this combo loop, you can use Devolution Spray Z UNB 166.

6 - Crobat (Sun/Moon: Base Set)

This version of Crobat is almost like a "coward attacker" - that is, it deals damage then runs to the bench. Then, when it's the right time, you promote it to the active position to deal more damage.

Its first attack Poisons enemy Pokémon and lets you put 3 damage counters on it in between turns instead of 1. Then, you must retreat this Pokémon at any cost (either with third-party abilities, combos, or Trainers).

As soon as it retreats, you can promote it to the active position again and then use its second attack, Surprise Strike.

5 - Crobat (Scarlet/Violet: Shrouded Fable)

Crobat SFA 29 has just been released (on September 2024), but is interesting for two reasons:

When you play its ability with Janine's Secret Art SFA 59, it will draw you up to 8 cards on the turn you played it.

As for its attack, besides dealing a reasonable amount of damage (120) for just two energies (D)(C), it also Poisons the enemy Pokémon and lets you put 2 damage counters on it instead of 1 in between turns. Virtually, you'll deal a total of "140" damage to that Pokémon, which is great.

And the best part about it all is that, in Standard, with Radiant Hisuian Sneasler LOR 123's ability, Crobat SFA 29's attack will give you two extra counters, so you'll be able to put 4 counters on Poisoned enemy Pokémon in between turns. This totals "120 + 40" damage per turn.

4 - Crobat (Sword/Shield: Silver Tempest)

This Crobat earned a spot on our list because of its second attack, Critical Bite, which may draw you an extra Prize card.

That is quite powerful in decks that set up combos to attack opponents from different fronts.

3 - Crobat "Prime" (Heart Gold/Soul Silver: Unleashed)

The best part about this Crobat is how much its attacks cost: just one basic Psychic energy.

Its first attack Poisons an enemy Pokémon and gives you 4 damage counters to put on it in between turns instead of 1. Its second attack deals a reasonable amount of damage and could be useful as a "sniper attacker".

Furthermore, as it is a "Prime" Pokémon, it won't give your opponent two Prize cards if they K.O. it.

2 - Crobat ex (Ruby/Sapphire: Deoxys)

This Crobat is one of the best special attackers. That is because its ability, Distortion, states that, if Crobat ex DX 96 is your active Pokémon, you can put a damage counter (10 damage) on any enemy Pokémon in between turns. This will help you knock out specific Pokémon.

As for its attacks, they are part of a bigger combo. For instance, if you use Cross Attack and hit at least two coins, the defending enemy Pokémon is now Confused. Then, you follow up with its other attack, Pester, which deals 60 base damage plus 40 extra damage if the opponent's active Pokémon is affected by a Special Condition, so it will deal a total of 100 damage!

Please note that, at this time (Ruby/Sapphire), most Pokémon didn't have a lot of HP. So this Crobat was quite efficient!

1 - Crobat V & Crobat VMax (Sword/Shield: Darkness Ablaze & Shining Fates)

For our top Crobat, we decided to include both of these, as we consider them a complement of the "Gigantamax" mechanic. Nonetheless, the base card, Crobat V DAA 104, was more relevant for the meta when it was valid in Standard because of its ability, Dark Asset, which draws a generous number of cards.

As for Crobat VMAX SHF 45, it is a great Pokémon in Poison decks, and you'll most often find it in Expanded with Galarian Slowking VMAX CRE 100 combos.

Crobat "Galactic" (Diamond/Pearl: Platinum)

This Crobat became famous because of Mychael Bryan's deck, also known as Happy Luck. Mychael Bryan was a finalist of the Senior category of the World Championships.

Crobat G PL 47's ability gives you counters to put on enemy Pokémon when you play it on the board, so it was great to knock out enemy Pokémon alongside Gyarados SF 19.

Crobat (e-Cards Series: Skyridge)

This Crobat's ability sabotages opponents. In between turns, you may flip a coin. If it's heads, you get to look at your opponent's hand. If your opponent has any baby Pokémon, basic Pokémon, or evolution cards there, choose 1 of them. Your opponent shuffles that card into their deck.

Its attack relied on coin tosses, but was very efficient regardless of the result.

What did you think of our list? What would your "Top 10 Best Crobat" list look like? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!