Golbat 31 — what does this card actually do?
This card has 70 HP and a Lightning weakness.
Psychic · Stage 1 · Generations · measured against 20,444 cards on file — card data read July 28, 2026
What does Golbat 31 do in a game?
Golbat 31 is a Psychic Pokémon card with 70 HP, printed as Stage 1.
Because of the Lightning weakness, any Lightning attack printed at 35 damage or more removes it in a single turn.
Golbat 31Generations
Golbat 31 performance summary
70 HP · Psychic · Stage 1 · retreat 0 · Lightning weakness ×2
Strongest on Retreat lightness — top 0.1% of the archive. Weakest on Hit points — bottom 25.7%.
Each spoke is this card's place among every card in the archive that prints that figure. Further out is stronger — retreat and attack cost are shown as lightness, so a cheap card reaches outward. Counted July 28, 2026.
| Measure | Percentile | Printed value |
|---|---|---|
| Hit points | 25.7% | 70 HP |
| Retreat lightness | 100.0% | 0 Energy |
| Attack cost lightness | 98.2% | 1 Energy |
1 attack printed on the card. The badge is the Energy it asks for.
Among the 17,290 cards in every card in the archive that carry printed HP, this one is number 10,622 at 70 HP.
Golbat 3170 HPPrinted HP
The ceiling of this archive is 380 HP — 310 HP above this card.
Mega Emboar ex 273380 HPWhat stands out on Golbat 31
- Hit points 70 HP puts it in the ~70 band, where 38.6% of 17,290 cards with printed HP sit.
- Weakness A Lightning attack printed at 35 damage or more removes it in a single turn.
- Legality 6 of the 25 prints that carry this name are legal in Standard play.
Golbat 31 at a glance
- What it is. A Psychic Pokémon card with 70 HP printed as Stage 1, printed in Generations.
- What it can do. 1 attack printed on the card, the strongest at 0 damage for 0 Energy.
- What it fears. A Lightning weakness at ×2, which means 35 printed damage is enough to remove it.
- What it costs to move. 0 Energy to retreat, discarded from the card itself.
- Where it can be played. Unlimited and Expanded only.
- What this page does not claim. Deck lists, tournament results and win rates are not published here, because the card files this site reads do not contain them.
What do the attacks on Golbat 31 cost, and what do they hit for?
Every attack printed on the card, with the Energy it asks for.
| Attack | Energy cost | Cards of Energy | Printed damage | Damage per Energy | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swoop Across | 1 Colorless | 1 | — | — | This attack does 10 damage to each of your opponent's Pokémon. (Don't apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon.) |
This card has no retreat cost at all, so it can leave the active spot without discarding any Energy — the only limit is that retreating happens once a turn.
The Energy this attack asks a deck to attach before it can be used, drawn as the symbols printed on the card.
One Energy card attaches per turn, so the number of symbols is also the number of turns the attack waits.
Back to summaryHow does Golbat 31 compare with every other card?
Each bar below is the whole archive cut by one printed figure, with the band this card falls into marked. A number on its own says nothing about whether it is high or low — the shape of the archive does.
The ceiling of this archive is Mega Emboar ex at 380 HP — every bar here is measured against it.
This card prints 70 HP, which is 18% of that ceiling.
Every figure in this panel is counted the same way: from the card files this site reads, read July 28, 2026, over the 17,290 cards that print an HP figure. Each bar is measured against the tallest HP in the archive, 380 HP.
17,290 cards in the archive carry a printed HP figure. This one has 70 HP.
Cards in the ~70 band typically print 23 damage and ask 1 Energy to retreat.
| Group | Share | Value |
|---|---|---|
| ~70 — this card | 38.6% | 6,669 cards |
| 80~120 | 33.1% | 5,725 cards |
| 130~180 | 15.5% | 2,679 cards |
| 190~230 | 6.6% | 1,148 cards |
| 240~280 | 3.3% | 567 cards |
| 290~330 | 2.4% | 412 cards |
| 340+ | 0.5% | 90 cards |
17,262 cards have at least one attack with an Energy cost. The cheapest on this card asks 1 Energy.
Cards whose cheapest attack costs 1 typically have 93 HP and print 49 damage.
| Group | Share | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1.8% | 304 cards |
| 1 — this card | 54.4% | 9,392 cards |
| 2 | 26.4% | 4,565 cards |
| 3 | 14.7% | 2,533 cards |
| 4 | 2.4% | 421 cards |
| 5 | 0.3% | 47 cards |
17,240 cards carry a retreat cost. This one costs 0 Energy to retreat.
Cards with a retreat cost of 0 typically have 103 HP and print 61 damage.
| Group | Share | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 0 — this card | 5.3% | 914 cards |
| 1 | 49.3% | 8,503 cards |
| 2 | 28.6% | 4,926 cards |
| 3 | 12.6% | 2,168 cards |
| 4 | 4.2% | 729 cards |
That is where Golbat 31 stands highest on HP — number 1,349 of 2,334 cards in Psychic cards. Cut the archive a different way and the answer moves, which is what the bars below are for.
- Hit points 70 HP
middle half 60–130 HP
- Lowest to highest printed in the archive
- Middle half of the archive
- This card
Each row is stretched from the lowest printed figure to the highest, so the two rows are not on one shared scale — read each row on its own.
Open the group this card falls into
Back to summaryWhat Golbat 31 does without attacking
Golbat 31 carries 1 printed effect that work outside the attack step, so it can matter on a turn the card never attacks.
Why this sits apart from the attacks
An attack costs Energy and ends your turn. What is printed above does neither — it is available while the card is in play, so it is a different kind of cost to a deck. Attack costs are in the section above.
This effect places damage counters, which is not the same as dealing damage
Sneaky Bite puts damage counters on a Pokémon rather than dealing damage to it. One counter is ten damage on the board, but the rules keep them apart: effects that reduce or prevent damage do not stop counters from being placed, and weakness and resistance are not applied to them.
What does being a Psychic card do for Golbat 31?
Type decides two things at once — which cards take double damage from this one, and which cards deal double to it. Both are read from the weakness printed on each group, not from a rule of thumb.
17,249 cards carry an energy type. The note under each name is the weakness printed most often on that group.
| Group | Share | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Psychic — this card | 13.5% | 2,335 cards |
| Water | 14.1% | 2,435 cards |
| Colorless | 12.6% | 2,173 cards |
| Fire | 9.1% | 1,574 cards |
| Fighting | 10.9% | 1,884 cards |
| Lightning | 8.8% | 1,520 cards |
| Grass | 13.8% | 2,387 cards |
| Metal | 5.4% | 925 cards |
| Darkness | 7.2% | 1,249 cards |
| Dragon | 3.1% | 530 cards |
| Fairy | 1.4% | 237 cards |
Read from the weakness printed on each group. The first row is this card; the rest are groups that most often print a Psychic weakness.
What being a Psychic card is worth
Groups that most often print a Psychic weakness: Psychic (2,335 cards). Against those, this card's printed damage counts double. Going the other way, Psychic cards are themselves most exposed to Lightning.
What knocks out Golbat 31 in one hit, and what does it knock out?
Weakness doubles the damage a Lightning attack deals to this card, so the bar it has to clear is 35 printed damage rather than 70.
Flaaffy40 damage40 damage becomes 80 against this card
Golbat 3170 HPWhy this card was picked to stand opposite
Of the 871 cards in the archive that can remove Golbat 31 in a single attack, this one clears the bar by the smallest margin — 40 printed damage against a bar of 35. Anything printed higher removes it just as surely, so this is where the line actually sits, and this print is legal in Standard play today.
Read from the two boxes in the lower-left corner of the card — weakness multiplies incoming damage, resistance subtracts from it.
What the Fighting resistance changes
Damage from Fighting attacks is reduced before it is applied, so an attack printed high enough to knock this card out on paper may not do it. Resistance is a flat subtraction, not a multiplier — it does not scale with the attack.
| Card | Set | HP | Printed damage | After weakness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pikachu ex (57) | Ascended Heroes | 200 | 300 | 600 |
| Pikachu ex (277) | Ascended Heroes | 200 | 300 | 600 |
| Pikachu ex (57) | Surging Sparks | 200 | 300 | 600 |
| Pikachu ex (219) | Surging Sparks | 200 | 300 | 600 |
| Pikachu ex (238) | Surging Sparks | 200 | 300 | 600 |
| Pikachu ex (247) | Surging Sparks | 200 | 300 | 600 |
70 HP against a Lightning ×2 weakness means any Lightning attack printed at 35 damage or more is enough. 877 cards in the archive clear that bar.
Back to summaryWhat is Golbat as a Pokémon, across every card it has been printed on?
Golbat 31 is one print of Golbat. The figures below are about the Pokémon rather than this single card — how many times it has been printed, how tough those prints run, and how many of them can still be played.
Every Golbat print on record, split by whether it can still be entered in Standard play.
Legality is read from the print rather than from the Pokémon, so an older copy of the same Pokémon is a different card for tournament purposes.
Back to summaryWhat has to be in play before Golbat 31 can be?
Golbat evolves from Zubat, so the whole line has to be built before this card reaches the field.
- This card cannot be played from your hand onto an empty spot — it goes on top of Zubat.
- It is not the end of the line either — Crobat evolves from this card, so a deck can keep going past it.
- The line runs 3 stages, so the first card has to be in play 2 turns before this one can be.
- Every print in the line shares Pokédex number 042.
Every print of a stage is counted, not just the one shown in the chain above, so the bar is the ceiling that stage has reached rather than one card from it.
Is this the strongest Golbat print, and can the older ones still be played?
26 prints carry this name in the archive, and 25 of them are laid out below. They share a Pokémon but not a card — printed HP, printed damage and tournament legality all move from one print to the next.
Bar height and the number above each bar = highest HP that year; the two digits below = the year.
25 rows are shown of the 26 prints counted under this name.
| Set | Regulation mark | Standard | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golbat 30/95 | Unleashed | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Golbat 54/135 | Plasma Storm | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Golbat 65/214 | SM - Unbroken Bonds | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Team Rocket's Golbat 121/182 | SV10: Destined Rivals | Mark I | Legal in Standard |
| Golbat 042/165 | SV: Scarlet & Violet 151 | Mark G | Legal in Standard |
| Golbat 55/149 | SM Base Set | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Golbat 028/064 | SV: Shrouded Fable | Mark H | Legal in Standard |
| Golbat 050/086 | ME04: Chaos Rising | Mark J | Legal in Standard |
| Golbat 090/163 | SWSH05: Battle Styles | Mark E | Not legal in Standard |
| Golbat 111/182 | SV04: Paradox Rift | Mark G | Legal in Standard |
| Golbat 060/144 | Skyridge | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Dark Golbat 34/109 | EX Team Rocket Returns | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Golbat 43/113 | EX Delta Species | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Golbat 31/107 | EX Deoxys | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Golbat 36/101 | EX Hidden Legends | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Brock's Golbat 039/132 | Gym Heroes | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Golbat 50/123 | Mysterious Treasures | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Golbat 32/119 | World Championship Decks | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Golbat 31/83 | Generations | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Golbat 104/195 | SWSH12: Silver Tempest | Mark F | Legal in Standard |
| Koga's Golbat 046/132 | Gym Challenge | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Golbat 34/62 | Fossil | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Golbat 29/64 | Neo Revelation | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Dark Golbat 07/82 | Team Rocket | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
| Dark Golbat 24/82 | Team Rocket | No mark printed | Not legal in Standard |
6 of the 25 prints listed here are legal in Standard play. An older print of the same Pokémon is a different card for legality, because legality is read from the print rather than from the name — so owning the cheap old copy does not always mean you can enter with it.
Back to summaryWhat can you use instead of Golbat 31?
Every card below asks a deck for the same kind of slot, so the comparison is between what they print, not what they cost.
| Card | Set | HP | Top damage | Retreat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starmie | Skyridge | 80 | 40 | 1 |
| Dark Espeon | Neo Destiny | 60 | 10 | 0 |
| Espeon | Neo Discovery | 80 | 30 | 0 |
| Ninetales δ | Dragon Frontiers | 70 | 30 | 0 |
| Slowking | Southern Islands | 70 | 10 | 2 |
| Espeon | HS—Undaunted | 100 | 30 | 1 |
This card itself is 70 HP, 0 top damage and 0 retreat, and every card here is Psychic like it.
Back to summaryWhich other cards share the Pokémon behind Golbat 31?
Every card below carries the same Pokédex number as this one, so they are the same Pokémon printed as different cards — different stages, different mechanics and different names all sit in this group.
70
Golbat [60]
50
Dark Golbat [7]
70
Dark Golbat [34]
70
Golbat [43]
70
Golbat [31]
50
Dark Golbat [24]
80
Golbat [30]
70
Golbat [36]
70
Brock's Golbat [39]
60
Koga's Golbat [46]
60
Golbat [34]
60
Golbat [29]
80
Golbat [54]
70
Golbat [50]
70
Golbat [32]
80
Golbat [65]
80
Team Rocket's Golbat [121]
80
Golbat [42]
80
Golbat [55]
80
Golbat [28]
80
Golbat [50]
80
Golbat [90]
80
Golbat [111]
70
Golbat [104]
24 cards in the archive share this Pokédex number (#042). The badge on each card is its printed HP, the figure under the name is its hardest printed attack, and the name sits under the picture. Point at a card to see it full size.Tap a card to open its page.
What was printed next to Golbat 31 in Generations?
A card is met inside a set, not on its own, and the number on it is the order that set gave it. The cards either side are the ones a collector actually turns past to reach this one.
160
Jolteon-EX [28a]
170
Flareon-EX [RC28]
120
Zapdos [29]
60
Pikachu [RC29]
50
Zubat [30]
170
Gardevoir-EX [RC30]
210
M Gardevoir-EX [RC31]
50
Slowpoke [32]
170
Sylveon-EX [RC32]
50
Gastly [33]
70
Haunter [34]
130
Gengar [35]
These are the cards numbered either side of #31 in Generations. The badge on each card is its printed HP. Point at a card to see it full size.Tap a card to open its page.
Which rules apply to Golbat 31, and where can it be played?
Two kinds of rule meet on one card — the sentence printed on the card face, and the rulebook clauses that apply because of what the card carries.
| Clause | What the rulebook says | Cards it applies to | Share of the archive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weakness | Some Pokemon have Weakness or Resistance to Pokemon of certain types, marked in the lower-left corner of the card. | 16,744 cards | 81.9% |
| Retreat | Retreat your Active Pokemon (only once per turn). | 17,244 cards | 84.3% |
| Energy per turn | You can attach Energy just once each turn! | 17,180 cards | 84.0% |
Counted across 20,444 English cards. A clause applies to this card because the card carries the property the clause names, not because we judged it to.
| Format | Status | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Not listed | This card is not listed for this format |
| Expanded | Legal | Can be played in this format |
| Unlimited | Legal | Can be played in this format |
Read from the format list recorded with the card. Formats rotate on a schedule set by the organiser, and that schedule is not published on this page.
Where this card can be played
This card is legal in Unlimited and Expanded play. It was released on February 22, 2016.
Golbat 31 in depth — what these figures add up to
Three readings of the same card, side by side: what it costs to get going, where it sits among the cards it will be compared with, and what takes it off the field.
What it asks a deck for
- Moving it out of the active spot costs no Energy at all.
- It cannot start the game in play — Zubat has to be on the field first.
Where its HP stands, cut four ways
What actually removes it
- A Lightning attack printed at 35 damage removes it in a single turn — that is the bar, not its 70 HP.
- 877 cards in the archive clear that bar.
- Damage from Fighting attacks is reduced before it is applied, so an attack that clears the bar on paper may still fall short.
Golbat 31 card record
| Hit points | 70 HP | Type | Psychic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weakness | Lightning ×2 | Retreat cost | 0 Energy |
| Evolves from | Zubat | Card type | Stage 1 |
| Pokédex number | #042 | Set | Generations |
| Card number | 31 of 83 | Series | XY |
| Released | February 22, 2016 | Rarity | Uncommon |
| Illustrator | Kanako Eo | ||
| Tournament legality | Unlimited and Expanded only | ||
Read from the printed card face, the set listing and the official format list.
What does Golbat 31 cost?
This page is about what the card does. The figure below is the one number worth carrying across, read on August 14, 2026.
Golbat 31 — frequently asked questions
How much damage does it take to knock out Golbat 31?
What is the retreat cost of Golbat 31?
Does Golbat 31 deal damage or place damage counters?
Can an older Golbat print be played in a tournament?
What does Golbat evolve from?
Can Golbat 31 be played in a tournament?
Does this page say how good Golbat 31 is in a deck?
Where these card facts come from
Card facts are read once from openly published card files and do not change between readings — a printed card cannot gain HP. The places below are where the same information can be checked. Last updated: July 28, 2026 — the counts and rankings on this page were taken from the card files read on that day.
Primary official source
First-party official sources — the body that issues the data itself, such as a government agency, a statutory register or a rights holder publishing its own records.
Industry source
Second-party sources — marketplaces, trade associations, research institutes and companies that compile data about the market.