Evolving your Pokémon can bring powerful new abilities and unlock fresh strategies—if you know the right steps. In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to evolve Noibat into its evolved form, as well as what to watch out for and how to prepare. The process is straightforward, but a few details matter.
Noibat is a dual-type Flying/Dragon Pokémon introduced in Generation VI. Its design is bat-like, complete with large funnel-ear structures and a thin build. By evolving it, you gain access to its more powerful form, Noivern, which delivers a considerable boost in stats and battle potential. If you’ll be using the family in competitive play, completing its evolution is a must.
Step-by-step: How to Evolve Noibat
To evolve Noibat, follow these steps:
- Make sure Noibat is in your active party (not boxed).
- Level it up until it reaches Level 48. That is the trigger for evolution.
- Once Noibat gains a level while at or above level 48, it will begin its evolution into Noivern.
- There are no additional items, special locations, or alternate conditions required in the mainline games.
- If you want to delay evolution for a particular move, ability or strategy, you can cancel when the prompt appears and keep Noibat unevolved for the time being.
Why Level 48? What to watch out for
Many players assume evolution happens earlier; however for Noibat the threshold is strictly Level 48. For example, one player queried why their Noibat at level 47 hadn’t evolved—because the trigger hadn’t been met.
Here are a few additional details:
- Gaining levels via experience is fine—battles, EXP-Candies, Rare Candies all count, as long as you cause a level up while it’s in your party.
- If Noibat is outside your party (in storage) while earning EXP, sometimes the evolution trigger may not immediately register until you swap it in and gain the next level.
- There are no hidden conditions like happiness, time of day, held item or special move for the standard evolution.
- In spin-off games (e.g., in some fan-mods) there may be alternate methods, but for mainstream releases the rule is level-based.
Best practices for evolving effectively
Here are smart tips to make the evolution smoother and ensure you gain maximum benefit:
- If your Noibat has been under-leveled, consider using Rare Candies or EXP-Candies (in games where available) to get to level 48 faster.
- Before evolving, check that Noibat doesn’t need to learn a move unique to its pre-evolution form—sometimes evolving early might skip a move you want.
- Consider the Nature and IVs of your Noibat: if you plan to use Noivern competitively, you may want a favourable Nature (such as Timid or Modest) and strong IVs.
- After evolution you may want to revisit move-sets and EV/IV optimization, because Noivern has higher stats and access to more potent moves.
How to Use Noivern Once Evolved
Once Noibat evolves into Noivern, you’ll see tangible benefits:
- Improved overall stats: Noivern boasts greater speed, special attack and bulk compared to Noibat.
- Expanded movepool: Evolving opens access to stronger attacks and more strategic options.
- Versatility: It can function as a fast special attacker, often exploiting its Flying/Dragon typing to cover a wide range of opponents.
- In the context of battling and competitive play, evolving at the right time means you don’t lag behind in power.
