History GoddamnedBats / Pokemon

** Riolu, the pre-evolution of BreakoutCharacter Lucario, during mass outbreaks. Generally, Riolu aren't found in large clusters, but mass outbreaks show how annoying they can get in groups. Even when hiding in the grass near them and/or using Stealth Spray and baiting them with food, they will often notice you (likely due to their aura abilities) and start pelting you with near-unavoidable and extremely damaging Aura Spheres. ''Then'', if you pick one off to fight it, the other Riolu will run away and you have to scour the area of the map you're in to find where the others went off too, all while they all continuously aggro you one after the other. Have fun shiny hunting!

* Paras in ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'' like Geodude & Graveler above are extremely common and extremely aggressive, hindering exploration in nearly every map in the game as they go out of their way to attack the player. Unlike Zubat who only appear at night, Paras are found at all times of the day.
** Same goes for Carnivine.

** Here's a bit of trivia: The Zubat line has appeared in ''every'' regional Pokédex as of the Crown Tundra. ''[[TheScrappy Zubat]]'', of all things.

* There is also the equally frequent Geodude and its evolution, Graveler (often in the same caves, at that), which are a combination of this and DemonicSpiders depending on their levels. While they tend to go down quicker, they have an inexplicable tendency to use the insanely powerful [[TakingYouWithMe "suicide" moves]] "Self-destruct" and "Explosion" before you manage to land the final blow on them. This usually screws you out of experience points and a usable Pokémon (especially if you're using the "faint = death" rule of a Nuzlocke SelfImposedChallenge). Lovely. Fortunately, they are [[NonElemental Normal-Type moves]], so sending out a [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Ghost-Type]] would mean that they'll have blown themselves up [[NoSell for]] [[AllForNothing nothing]]. Do keep in mind, though, that Ghost-Types tend to be [[GlassCannon Glass Cannons]] and that Geodude and Graveler are (in)famous for their [[TheBrute high physical Attack and Defense.]]

* In almost every installment of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games, you will have different RandomEncounters in different areas of the map. Pokémon that are numerous in one place are often unknown in another... except for the bats. '''Zubat''', that is. Each and every [[UndergroundLevel cave]] is filled with them. Unlike the great outdoors, where you would usually be able to avoid random encounters by staying away from the tall grass, when you're in a cave ''everywhere'' is a danger zone and you find yourself traversing vast underground mazes laden with complex rock-smashing and [[BlockPuzzle rock-pushing]] puzzles while every third step you take, the [[FightWoosh screen flashes]] and you find yourself fighting yet another [[GoddamnedBats Goddamned (Zu)bat]]. These things are very fond of using a move called "Supersonic" to [[StatusEffects confuse your Pokémon]] into attacking itself half the time. Later in the game, they learn "Confuse Ray," which is like Supersonic but 100% accurate, and even gain the power to prevent you from running away, or even switching Pokémon, with the move "Mean Look" (They're hard to run away from even when they don't use Mean Look, because running is determined partially by speed, and the bats have pretty darn good speed stats), quickly turning them into borderline DemonicSpiders. To exacerbate things further, they happen to be unusually popular among whatever evil cult you're foiling. Popular enough to warrant carrying three or four of them. In generations three and four, they (logically, but frustratingly) even appear when you're surfing over water.
** LetsPlay/{{Chorocojo}} notes this in two separate ways in his Let's Play of ''[=FireRed=]'', first by having a Zubat encounter ''in the middle of a Pokédex entry'', then by this report from a Team Rocket grunt:
--->'''Report''': ...I'd like to make an aside and say this: Mount Moon has made me hate Zubat with no end. Zubat Zubat Zubat. Endless swarms of damnnable Zubat. I was breathing Zubat with every breath. I couldn't move my arm without hitting a dozen Zubat into about a hundred other Zubat, causing them to all get pissed off and start divebombing me... (it goes on and it continues about 3/4 down this page).

** In later games, Zubat's evolved form, Golbat, is even worse: gets Poison Fang at high levels, which has a decent chance of [[StatusEffects inflicting high-strength poison]] on its target. If you didn't stock up on Antidotes and don't have the extremely rare "Aromatherapy" or "Heal Bell" moves, you'll either have to leave the cave to visit the [[TraumaInn Pokémon Center]] and start the dungeon over again or just watch as your monster slowly faints (with screen flashes to indicate HP loss every few steps). Golbat also gets Air Slash and Bite, which have a 30% chance of making the target ''flinch'', essentially forcing it to skip a turn. Bear in mind that Zubat and Golbat do not learn too many moves while leveling up, so they can still be expected to have Confuse Ray and Mean Look at those levels. With all those Textbook Annoyer moves, it's almost like Zubat was ''designed'' to be such a pest. The saving graces are that it isn't ridiculously fast (Base 90 Speed), will more than likely be a lower level than the Pokémon in your team, its flinch moves can only trigger the secondary effect if the user is faster, has poor defenses (75/70/70), and shitty typing.
*** There is one small upside that applies in certain games; Golbat may be frustrating to engage, but they also [[PinataEnemy tend to give fairly good amounts of EXP]].
*** [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Kalos]] only has Zubat in one small cave (called, appropriately enough, "Zubat Roost"), and even there they are rarer than a Pokémon fan may have come to expect -- but the Woobat are all over the Coastal portion's caves. They like to swoop down at you if you cross easy-to-overlook shadows on the floor, and ''Repels have no effect on this''.
** You thought it couldn't get any worse? ''HOOOOO BOY.'' In [[VideoGame/PokemonSunandMoon Alola]], Zubat and Golbat are again found in nearly every cave. Because most of the Pokémon in Alola are fairly slow compared to other regions, running from them is harder, a problem compounded by the new SOS battles, which cause them to call for help and summon another copy of themselves. This is further exacerbated by 1.) Leech Life, one of Zubat's evolutionary family's signature moves, having its power increased from 20 to ''80,'' and 2.) the Alolan Diglett and Dugtrio that appear in most of the same places, causing use of the Magnemite line to be risky; however, the Zubat and Golbat outnumber them, even in Diglett's Tunnel. It's to the point where, if you don't think that you can knock out a Zubat or a Golbat in one hit, just ''RUN''.
** Just when you thought that "Dexit" cut them for good in ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', the Zubat line returns in the Crown Tundra ExpansionPack. Here, though, they appear in PreexistingEncounters rather than random ones, so they're much more avoidable.

** They're worse in ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'', where their constant Supersonic attacks confuse you and mess your controls around.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'' eliminates needing to battle anything (there is battling, but all of it is optional), so how bad can Zubat be? Just as awful as any of its previous appearances. For one, when encountered, it's far from the player, making it difficult to aim at properly, particularly with curved throws (which give a bonus to catch rate when they connect), so it's naturally tricky to hit at all, let alone in the target circle to get a bonus to experience/catch rate. Plus, they fly a bit erratically even when not performing their dodge/attack animation, so it's even harder to connect with a throw. Finally, their dodge animation involves them zipping around the screen randomly, making it nigh impossible to connect with a throw if they start it (and woe betide the player if they start spamming their dodge). It's rather telling that, despite having much lower base catch rates, players rather would attempt to catch Golbat and Crobat (its evolutions) because the latter two are much easier to target with throws due to eliminating pretty much all of the things that make Zubat so frustrating. There are other Pokemon in the games with similar behavior (like Yanma), but Zubat is still the game's gold standard for frustrating catches.

* Stunky and Skuntank, especially in the Crimson Bog area. Prepare to be constantly poisoned the entire time you’re there.

* Paras in ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'' are extremely common and extremely aggressive, hindering exploration in nearly every map in the game as they go out of their way to attack the player. Unlike Zubat who only appear at night, Paras are found at all times of the day.

* In almost every installment of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games, you will have different RandomEncounters in different areas of the map. Pokémon that are numerous in one place are often unknown in another... except for the bats. '''Zubat''', that is. Each and every [[UndergroundLevel cave]] is filled with them. Unlike the great outdoors, where you would usually be able to avoid random encounters by staying away from the tall grass, when you're in a cave ''everywhere'' is a danger zone and you find yourself traversing vast underground mazes laden with complex rock-smashing and [[BlockPuzzle rock-pushing]] puzzles while every third step you take, the [[FightWoosh screen flashes]] and you find yourself fighting yet another [[GoddamnedBats Goddamned (Zu)bat]]. These things are very fond of using a move called "Supersonic" to [[StandardStatusEffects confuse your Pokémon]] into attacking itself half the time. Later in the game, they learn "Confuse Ray," which is like Supersonic but 100% accurate, and even gain the power to prevent you from running away, or even switching Pokémon, with the move "Mean Look" (They're hard to run away from even when they don't use Mean Look, because running is determined partially by speed, and the bats have pretty darn good speed stats), quickly turning them into borderline DemonicSpiders. To exacerbate things further, they happen to be unusually popular among whatever evil cult you're foiling. Popular enough to warrant carrying three or four of them. In generations three and four, they (logically, but frustratingly) even appear when you're surfing over water.

** In later games, Zubat's evolved form, Golbat, is even worse: gets Poison Fang at high levels, which has a decent chance of [[StandardStatusEffects inflicting high-strength poison]] on its target. If you didn't stock up on Antidotes and don't have the extremely rare "Aromatherapy" or "Heal Bell" moves, you'll either have to leave the cave to visit the [[TraumaInn Pokémon Center]] and start the dungeon over again or just watch as your monster slowly faints (with screen flashes to indicate HP loss every few steps). Golbat also gets Air Slash and Bite, which have a 30% chance of making the target ''flinch'', essentially forcing it to skip a turn. Bear in mind that Zubat and Golbat do not learn too many moves while leveling up, so they can still be expected to have Confuse Ray and Mean Look at those levels. With all those Textbook Annoyer moves, it's almost like Zubat was ''designed'' to be such a pest. The saving graces are that it isn't ridiculously fast (Base 90 Speed), will more than likely be a lower level than the Pokémon in your team, its flinch moves can only trigger the secondary effect if the user is faster, has poor defenses (75/70/70), and shitty typing.

* Another example is the Tentacool and Tentacruel in watery areas. Aside from also learning Supersonic, they learn a move called Poison Sting, which come with [[StandardStatusEffects a possibility of poisoning your Pokémon and eating its HP every turn while battling]], and every step while moving about the world. The fact that the screen does this flashy-glitchy thing every other second to remind you adds to the irritation.

* Continuing the trend in the fourth generation, there is Bronzor, which is a Steel/Psychic type whose only weaknesses are Fire and Ground, and both of its abilities can cancel out one of the two weaknesses, meaning that each time you fight one, [[LuckBasedMission you have no idea which it's weak to]]. In addition to that, they also come with the move Hypnosis [[StandardStatusEffects that can send a Pokémon to sleep]], and have [[StoneWall some of the greatest defense stats in the game.]] And there's only two Fire-type Pokémon (not counting their evolutions) in ''Diamond/Pearl'' [[ExtendedGameplay pre-National Dex]]. Luckily, they're rather slow, so you can get away. Thankfully, they lose their Ghost- and Dark-type resistances in games from [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Gen VI]] and onward, making them easier to take down.

* Minccino. While they can be defeated pretty easily, they can be rather annoying to battle. One reason is that one of the Abilities that they have increases the number of times a multi-hit attack strikes the opponent (So moves like Double-Slap and Tail-Slap are more likely to hit 4-5 times in a row instead of just 2). Not only that, but it can learn the move "Attract" (or some of them simply have the Ability "Cute Charm"), which causes its opponent to be Infatuated. What would otherwise be an easy battle is rendered '''annoyingly cheap''' thanks to your Pokémon being slapped silly while it's unable to fight back due to being ''in love'' with its opponent. Then they start learning [[ThatOneAttack Encore]] and [[StandardStatusEffects Sing]]...

** Weepinbell deserves special mention for having a moveset seemingly tailor-made to cause aggravation: Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Poison Powder, and Acid. This means that it has ''three'' StandardStatusEffects to throw around -- enough to cover just about anything you throw at it -- and if you send in a Grass-type to soak up the powder moves, you get hit with a super-effective Acid attack instead. Unless you take out the entire horde in one shot, expect a long, hard fight.

* There is also the equally frequent Geodude and its evolution, Graveler (often in the same caves, at that), which are a combination of this and DemonicSpiders depending on their levels. While they tend to go down quicker, they have an inexplicable tendency to use the insanely powerful [[TakingYouWithMe "suicide" moves]] "Selfdestruct" and "Explosion" before you manage to land the final blow on them. This usually screws you out of experience points and a usable Pokémon (especially if you're using the "faint = death" rule of a Nuzlocke SelfImposedChallenge). Lovely. Fortunately, they are [[NonElemental Normal-Type moves]], so sending out a [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Ghost-Type]] would mean that they'll have blown themselves up [[NoSell for]] [[AllForNothing nothing]]. Do keep in mind, though, that Ghost-Types tend to be [[GlassCannon Glass Cannons]] and that Geodude and Graveler are (in)famous for their [[TheBrute high physical Attack and Defense.]]

** Finneon and Gastrodon in the games are the bane of Water-type players everywhere. To put it bluntly, these relatively common dungeon enemies have the ability "Water Absorb". Use a Water-type attack, and they'll absorb it and increase their Special Attack. Did we mention this happens ''every'' time you use a Water-type attack, even if you're not directly fighting them? That's right, a dungeon floor just needs '''one'' Finneon and/or Gastrodon to be in the area and it will screw you out of using your Water-Type moves. Now keep in mind that a floor can have ''several'' of these Pokémon at once.

* Crawbawler is quite annoying if you're collecting berries in Generation VII, as they often interrupt you and fight you, and must be defeated in order to collect the berries. The fact that they're the only Pokémon to be triggered like that adds the annoyance. Granted, this is also the only way to encounter Crabrawler, but once you've caught one there's no reason you'd ever want to see one again unless you're Shiny hunting.

* Skwovet and Greedent that get shaken out of of any Berry tree in Galar if you get greedy and try to harvest too much loot from the tree [[note]]When the tree starts shaking quickly and you shake it two more times, this causes these mons to appear to guard their hoard[[/note]], and being forced to fight these things is not only a chore in its own right due to their bulkiness but also causes you to lose a bunch of Berries, making Berry harvesting way more tedious than it should be. Greedent becomes even worse in the post-game Wild Area since they come at level 60 with Super Fang and Counter, and they're more than durable enough to survive a turn and take a huge chunk out of your Pokémon's health with either of those moves. And in case you thought you were smart to send out a Ghost-Type, it knows Bullet Seed.

** Porygon2, especially in the Temporal Tower (in Explorers) or SKy Tower in Rescue Team by spamming Agility, which in the Mystery Dungeons Universe causes allies to perform actions (such as moving or attacking) twice in 1 turn. WOe be to any team that encounters one in a Monster House.

** Just when you thought that "Dexit" cut them for good in ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', the Zubat line returns in the Crown Tundra DownloadableContent. Here, though, they appear in PreexistingEncounters rather than random ones, so they're much more avoidable.

* Generation VI has some old and new faces for annoyance. Horde Encounters will take the troublesome encounters to new levels of annoyance, and the infamous Zubat, Geodude and Graveler can appear in such formations, as can a few others. It is not only deceptively dangerous, especially after being repeatedly debuffed and [[GradualGrinder chipped away at by]] a bunch of lower-leveled Pokémon, but can be very time-consuming without area-of-effect attacks that can hit the whole formation.

** They're even more fun from Gen V on, where they have a 50/50 chance to have the Sturdy ability, which ensures they can't die in one hit. There's nothing so annoying as bringing a Graveler to 1 HP and then to see it [[SpitefulAI blow up and take your own Pokémon down with it.]] Thankfully, Gen V also weakened Self-Destruct and Explosion by eliminating their Defense-halving quirk, so they're not as irritating. However, like Zubat, the Geodude family was also excluded from the Galar Pokédex.

* Skwovet and Greedent get shaken out of of any Berry tree in Galar if you get greedy and try to harvest too much loot from the tree [[note]]When the tree starts shaking quickly and you shake it two more times, this causes these mons to appear to guard their hoard[[/note]], and being forced to fight these things is not only a chore in its own right due to their bulkiness but also causes you to lose a bunch of Berries, making Berry harvesting way more tedious than it should be. Greedent becomes even worse in the post-game Wild Area since they come at level 60 with Super Fang and Counter, and they're more than durable enough to survive a turn and take a huge chunk out of your Pokémon's health with either of those moves. And in case you thought you were smart to send out a Ghost-Type, it knows Bullet Seed.

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', like in the ''[[VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndEevee Let's Go]]'' games, this game has [[PreexistingEncounters mons walking around out in the open]]. Unlike in ''Let's Go'', many of them will actively pursue you, and some of them run incredibly fast, making them hard to escape unless you have a bike boost primed. Sneasel are particularly annoying — small, stealthy, lightning-fast, and aggressive, and their high Speed stat makes them hard to run from once they force you into battle. In non-snowy areas, Tyrogue becomes the biggest pest, with Croagunk not too far behind. Slow-moving ones can also be a problem if they're tiny and well-camouflaged, making them almost invisible in tall grass and effectively RandomEncounters.

* Galarian Zigzagoon and Linoone deserve special mention. Most Pokémon, before spotting you, move at a nearly glacial pace, with them only picking up speed when they spot you. However, Zigzagoon and Linoone go against that, and move as fast as Pokémon that've spotted you ''without spotting you''. If that wasn't bad enough, they move in extremely unpredictable patterns, making dodging them when you're in a patch of grass with them difficult. What makes this worse is that Zigzagoon's encountered in the overworld as early as ''Route 3''. Thankfully, their final evolution, Obstagoon, while fast, only goes at that speed when chasing you, and they have a giant delay when they spot you, so even in the Lake Of Outrage, the only place that they spawn naturally, they're not a problem.

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', Zubat itself may be gone, but like in the ''[[VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndEevee Let's Go]]'' games, this game has [[PreexistingEncounters mons walking around out in the open]]. Unlike in ''Let's Go'', many of them will actively pursue you, and some of them run incredibly fast, making them hard to escape unless you have a bike boost primed. Sneasel are particularly annoying — small, stealthy, lightning-fast, and aggressive, and their high Speed stat makes them hard to run from once they force you into battle. In non-snowy areas, Tyrogue becomes the biggest pest, with Croagunk not too far behind. Slow-moving ones can also be a problem if they're tiny and well-camouflaged, making them almost invisible in tall grass and effectively RandomEncounters.

** Just when you thought that "Dexit" cut them for good in ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', the Zubat line returns in the Crown Tundra DownloadableContent. Here, though, they appear in OverworldEncounters rather than random ones, so they're much more avoidable.

** The Zubat line appeared in every regional Pokédex...that is, until ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' ''finally'' excludes them from the Galar Pokédex and gives way for much more variety. Woobat still appears, but they're much less common.
*** However, [[https://twitter.com/poke_times/status/1215284078016188416 this screenshot showing off Crobat]] from the official Japanese Twitter page confirms they will return in one of the upcoming expansion packs. Whether or not they will be as irritating in other regions is currently unclear.

* Skwovet and Greedent have a chance of being shaken out of any Berry tree in Galar, and being forced to fight these things is not only a chore in its own right due to their bulkiness but also causes you to lose a bunch of Berries, making Berry harvesting way more tedious than it should be. Greedent becomes even worse in the post-game Wild Area since they come at level 60 with Super Fang and Counter, and they're more than durable enough to survive a turn and take a huge chunk out of your Pokémon's health with either of those moves. And in case you thought you were smart to send out a Ghost-Type, it knows Bullet Seed.
* The Isle of Armor update gives us Sharpedo. They appear in every major body of water on the Isle, and they ''immediately'' spawn and start the chase once the player sets foot in it. While they're easy enough to spot, their speed means that, unless the player manages to boost the speed of their Rotom Bike or get to land fast enough, they're always going to catch up and attack.