Noivern #715: the wyvern whose ultrasound shatters boulders

The night belongs to it. Noivern (Bruyverne in French) is the final stage of Kalos's Sound Wave Pokémon: a 1.5-meter wyvern whose ears, rimmed with circles that look like loudspeaker cones, emit ultrasonic waves capable of pulverizing large boulders. In the dark, the Pokédex is clear: no Pokémon can rival it.

Contents

• Who Is Noivern?
• Type and abilities
• Ultrasonic Waves That Crush Stone
• Evolution: Noibat at Level 48
• Noivern Fact Sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who Is Noivern?

Listed as #715 in the National Pokédex, Noivern closes out the "Sound Wave Pokémon" line. It goes from a small eight-kilo bat to a predator standing 1.5 meters tall and weighing eighty-five kilos, revealed to the public in a Nintendo Direct on June 11, 2013.

Its slender body, almost entirely black, ends in a long pointed tail ; its belly, lower jaw and the tips of its broad wings are mauve, while the underside of its wings and the lower part of its tail lean toward turquoise. Three red claws on each hand.

Its neck disappears beneath thick white fur and its black head bears two large ears, turquoise on the inside, whose circles are an unmistakable nod to loudspeakers. Two large fangs form its snout, and two pointed red growths serve as its nostrils.

The design blends three references: the wyvern, the two-legged, two-winged mythological dragon that gives it the second half of its name; the flying fox, the world's largest bat and a fruit eater just like it; and the long-eared bat for the ears. Its German name, UHaFnir, layers UHF and Fáfnir, the Norse dragon.

Type and abilities

Like its pre-evolution, Noivern is typed Flying and Dragon — in that order, and that is an absolute exclusive of its line. No other Pokémon has Flying as its primary type with Dragon as its secondary: Dragonite, Salamence, Altaria and Rayquaza all do the reverse.

The downside is brutal: Ice deals four times the normal damage to it, because Flying and Dragon are both weak to it. Rock, Dragon and Fairy hit it for double damage, but it takes half damage from Fighting, Bug, Fire and Water, a quarter from Grass, and it ignores Ground entirely.

Its stats outline a special attacker built for speed: 123 Speed, 97 Special Attack, for a base stat total of 535. A nice nod: Crobat, the series' other great bat, has the same total, the same HP and the same defenses.

Its abilities are, word for word, those of Noibat : Frisk, which reveals the opponent's held item as soon as the battle starts, and Infiltrator, which slips past barriers such as Light Screen, as well as substitutes, to hit directly.

Its hidden ability is Telepathy, which lets it anticipate and dodge its own allies' attacks in Double and Multi Battles. Let's be perfectly clear: Noivern has no signature ability, and above all no ability that would power up its sound-based moves.

That ability does exist, though, and the mix-up is common: it is called Punk Rock, boosts the power of sound-based moves and halves the damage taken from such attacks — but it was introduced in the eighth generation and belongs only to Toxtricity.

✨ Want to spoil a Dragon-type fan? Kalos's wyvern and its cousins are waiting for you in our Pokémon gift ideas.

Ultrasonic Waves That Crush Stone

Where Noibat stuns, Noivern destroys. The Pokémon Y Pokédex is adamant: it can literally pulverize large boulders with the ultrasonic waves emitted from its ears, before swooping out of the darkness to attack by surprise. Pokémon Shield adds that it then finishes off its victims with its sharp fangs.

Its nocturnal reputation is absolute: on moonless nights, it patrols the sky, and in the dark, no Pokémon can match it. Scarlet credits it with a cruel temperament, Sword with a "cruel and impulsive" nature, and Violet takes the comparison all the way: when darkness reigns, even Hydreigon fears it.

Its most iconic move lives up to its name: Boomburst, a deafening Normal-type sound wave with 140 power that hits every Pokémon around it. It learns it at level 75 in X and Y, at level 62 in Sword and Shield as well as in Scarlet and Violet, then as early as level 52 in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

There remains a contradiction the games fully embrace: in broad daylight, this same Noivern flees from any fight. And Ultra Sun promises that a normally violent individual will literally eat out of your hand if you offer it ripe fruit.

Evolution: Noibat at Level 48

Noivern is the evolution of Noibat starting at level 48, with no item, no trade and no friendship requirement. A high threshold that hasn't changed since Pokémon X and Y and still applies in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

The leap is spectacular: from 0.5 meters and 8 kilos to 1.5 meters and 85 kilos, and a base stat total that jumps from 245 to 535. Speed climbs from 55 to 123, and Noivern learns Dragon Pulse at the very moment of its evolution.

A useful clarification, since Pokémon Legends: Z-A handed out Mega Evolutions to plenty of Kalos Pokémon: Noivern has none, and neither does Noibat. No regional form or Gigantamax form either: the line stays at two stages.

In the anime, the Noibat owned by Ash Ketchum makes the leap in episode XY110, during a battle against a wild Zapdos. Alexa and Drasna each own one as well, and that dragon-bat silhouette explains why it shows up so often among Pokémon figures.

Noivern Fact Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

• At what level do you get Noivern?
  Noibat evolves into Noivern at level 48, only by leveling up: no stone, no held item, no trade, no friendship requirement. This high threshold has been the same in every game since Pokémon X and Y, including Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
• Does Noivern have a Mega Evolution?
  No. Neither Noivern nor Noibat can Mega Evolve, not even in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which nonetheless gave Mega Evolutions to many Kalos Pokémon. The line has no regional form or Gigantamax form either: it is limited to two stages.
• What are Noivern's abilities?
  Two regular abilities: Frisk, which reveals the opponent's held item at the start of battle, and Infiltrator, which slips past barriers and substitutes to attack directly. Its hidden ability is Telepathy, which lets it avoid its allies' attacks in Double and Multi Battles. These are exactly the same as Noibat's, and none of the three has anything to do with sound.
• Does Noivern have an ability that boosts its sound-based moves?
  No, and it's a widespread mix-up. The ability that boosts the power of sound-based moves is called Punk Rock; it was introduced in the eighth generation and belongs to Toxtricity, not Noivern. Noivern's abilities are Frisk, Infiltrator and Telepathy.
• Is Boomburst Noivern's signature move?
  It's its most iconic move, but not an exclusive one. Boomburst is a Normal-type special move with 140 power and 100 percent accuracy that hits every Pokémon around it; Noivern learns it by leveling up: at level 75 in X and Y, at level 62 in Sword and Shield as well as in Scarlet and Violet, and at level 52 in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. As early as the sixth generation, Exploud learned it too, and both Chatot and Taillow could get it through breeding.
• What are Noivern's weaknesses?
  Ice deals four times the normal damage to it, since the Flying type and the Dragon type are both weak to it: that is its real vulnerability. Rock, Dragon and Fairy hit it for double damage. On the other hand, it takes half damage from Fighting, Bug, Fire and Water, a quarter from Grass, and it is completely immune to Ground.

In short

Cruel in the dark, docile in front of ripe fruit, Noivern is a two-faced dragon — but either way, it's its ears that do the talking, at frequencies that stone can't withstand.