Ash's Noivern

Ash's Noivern (Japanese: サトシのオンバーン Satoshi's Onvern) was the fifth that   in the Kalos region, and his forty-sixth overall.

History
In A Not-So-Flying Start!, Noibat was in his when he was first found by, who was doing training exercises. The Wrestling Pokémon brought the Egg back to and, where he was about to hatch. In response, Ash,, , Hawlucha, , , , and covered the Egg to keep it warm while it hatched, with Fletchinder using its  Ability to help.

When he hatched, Noibat first saw Ash. He was introduced to him along with his friends and their Pokémon. Noibat was very stressed out, so he let out a powerful attack, hurting everyone's ears. He was eventually calmed down by Ash. Afterwards, the group found apples for him with Noibat using his ultrasonic waves to sense the apples' taste. Noibat then attempted to fly, but failed, causing him to launch another Supersonic until he was calmed down by Ash again. The group decided to help teach Noibat how to fly with Hawlucha and Fletchinder aiding him. Despite Noibat improving, he was still unable to fly. While training with Hawlucha and Fletchinder, appeared and fired a net at Noibat whom they wanted to evolve into a. In the process of the kidnapping, they also captured Hawlucha, who attempted to protect him. The two s were then tied up to a tree. Noibat tried to use Supersonic on them, but failed due to Team Rocket's soundproof earphones. Hawlucha managed to cut the rope using his nails and tried to sneak away along with Noibat, but they were soon spotted by Team Rocket. Hawlucha successfully escaped with Noibat, after attacking with, and knocking him down together with. As they were still being pursued by the trio, Noibat spotted a cave and told Hawlucha to hide in there. Inside the pitch black cave, Jessie, James, and tried to capture them and lure them into a trap set by Inkay and Pumpkaboo. Noibat used to sense the trio and had Hawlucha kick off their soundproof headphones, which allowed Noibat to use Supersonic, causing Team Rocket to flee. After Ash appeared and defeated Team Rocket with and, the two Flying-types left the cave. Afterwards, Noibat accepted Ash's offer to go with him and allowed himself to be captured in a Poké Ball. He was then let out, allowing him to train with Hawlucha and Fletchinder again.

In A Relay in the Sky!, he continued to train how to fly along with Fletchinder and Hawlucha. Noibat struggled at tackling high winds, but Hawlucha taught Noibat how to deal with it. Afterwards, the group noticed a, , and. They went to the source of this, the Pokémon Sky Relay, where they discovered that the birds came from the Sky Relay Champion, Orson. Later, Ash used Fletchinder, Hawlucha, and Noibat in the relay. Ash used Noibat in the last segment of the race. He started out in first place, but Starly was right behind him and had the advantage since Noibat hadn't fully mastered flying yet. Although he remained in first place initially, he encountered high winds, which Noibat struggled with. Starly used this to his advantage to pass Noibat and gain first place. After remembering his training with Hawlucha and everyone's support, he managed to overcome this and managed to get neck-to-neck with Starly. He eventually ended up second after barely losing to Starly, and was disappointed at first, but found that he had made his friends happy by learning to fly.

In Meeting at Terminus Cave!, Noibat was used to navigate through Terminus Cave, using echolocation in conjunction with 's searchlight, 's fire, and 's X-ray sight. During the group battle against Team Flare, Noibat stunned Celosia's with Supersonic and knocked it back with his newly revealed  attack, but was then hit by 's. Noibat continued to battle until Squishy transformed to its 10% Forme and defeated Team Flare's Pokémon.

In A Windswept Encounter!, while Noibat was flying around as the group settled down for a rest, he accidentally rammed into a while the Mushroom Pokémon was admiring the flowers he was planning to give to an Orange Flower  to proclaim his love. As Noibat tried to apologize for crushing the flowers, the Breloom attacked him in rage first by using, then striking him down with his claw. When Floette passed by, she healed Noibat's condition using and became friends with him. As Noibat flew around with her on his back, the offending Breloom became heartbroken and furious, leading him to threaten Noibat with his entourage to separate Floette from him. Noibat defended Floette by trying to fight Breloom one on one, but was beaten down. Pikachu wished to interfere to help, but Hawlucha prevented him from doing so and Ash explained that Noibat wanted to prove his worth as a full-fledged fighter. Noibat eventually managed to hit Breloom with a Tackle attack, but was still about to lose. Before Breloom finished Noibat off, Floette saved him, but was then kidnapped by Team Rocket along with Breloom. Noibat used Supersonic to search for their location after 's machine failed, and found them quickly. After repeatedly trying to break the cage that held Breloom and Floette hostage with Tackle, he learned and successfully broke it. He then used the move again to defeat James's Inkay, making Team Rocket blast off. In An Electrifying Rage!, Ash used Noibat to navigate through a cave as Ash needed to deliver medicine to Joule Town's hospital. On their way, they got attacked by a rampaging. Noibat witnessed Talonflame's and Hawlucha's battles against Zapdos. Although both of them were able to hold their own, Zapdos was able to defeat Talonflame because of its type-advantage and likewise blasted Hawlucha off a cliff. Seeing Hawlucha falling down the ravine, Noibat flew to him as quickly as possible, eventually evolving into for extra speed. After successfully saving Hawlucha, Noivern fought off Zapdos. With his newly gained speed and power, he was able to dodge Zapdos's attacks and attacked it with his newly learned, although Zapdos dodged that as well. At Ash's command, Noivern engaged with Zapdos in a high-speed aerial duel and eventually managed to hide behind the cliffs, taking Zapdos by surprise with his powerful Boomburst and blasting it into a local mountain range. As Noivern had gained the upper hand, Team Rocket jumped in and tried to capture the weakened Zapdos, but Noivern and Pikachu sent them blasting off. Zapdos, having calmed down and respecting Noivern's power, made the thunderstorm disappear and flew off. Once Ash reunited with his friends, Noivern was seen sitting in a tree, eating some fruit after a long day.

In The Synchronicity Test!, Noivern was chosen by Ash to battle Alain's. The battle started with a collision between Acrobatics and, after which Noivern countered Metang's with Boomburst. He managed stun Metang using Supersonic and went for another Acrobatics, but Metang quickly recovered and countered with another Psyshock, hitting Noivern hard. While falling down Noivern made a speedy recovery and dodged an incoming. He then hit Metang with another Boomburst, after which they collided with Acrobatics and Metal Claw again. After the smoke cleared, Noivern fell to the ground and Metang emerged victorious. Ash then thanked Noivern for the good battle.

In A Full-Strength Battle Surprise!, Noivern was Ash's first Pokémon used in his three-on-three battle against Sawyer, where he faced Sawyer's. At first he constantly attacked with Acrobatics, but Doublade shielded itself with, wearing Noivern out. After they repeatedly clashed this way, Doublade knocked down Noivern with its and attempted to finish Noivern off using. Noivern, however, used the dust from the battlefield to dodge Doublade's attack and used echolocation to spot Doublade in the dust cloud. He then proceeded to knock Doublade into the air with his newly revealed, and finished his opponent off with Acrobatics, netting him his first official win. He then fought Sawyer's, dodging an incoming and knocking Clawitzer down with Boomburst. After Clawitzer recovered with, Noivern attacked with Dragon Claw, but fell to a -boosted super-effective.

In A Riveting Rivalry!, Noivern was used as Ash's fourth Pokémon in the semi-finals of the Lumiose Conference. He battled against Sawyer's. Noivern started off with Boomburst, and although Salamence was initially able to dodge the attack, it was eventually struck down. Both Pokémon then clashed with Dragon Claw and, but Salamence was able to overpower Noivern, knocking him back. Noivern was then forced to dodge Salamence's attacks and was then hit hard by a super effective. A collision between Incinerate and Boomburst created a large cloud of smoke. Knowing about Noivern's echolocation ability, Sawyer had Salamence use to block an incoming Acrobatics. After the smoke had cleared, both s once again clashed with Acrobatics and Dragon Rush, creating a large explosion. As a result, both Pokémon were unable to battle any further, resulting in a draw.

Noivern was Ash's second Pokémon used in the finals of the Conference against Alain in Finals Not for the Faint-Hearted!, where he went up against his. Despite being at a severe type disadvantage, Noivern was able to put up a good fight. He started the battle with Supersonic, but Weavile blocked the attack with Protect, allowing it to retaliate with Night Slash. Noivern, however, quickly recovered from the hit and sent Weavile flying into the rocky hill with another Supersonic. After a collision between and Boomburst, Noivern went for Dragon Claw. Weavile used in an attempt to dodge the attack, but Noivern was able to spot the real Weavile using echolocation. Despite this, Weavile was still able to dodge Dragon Claw and managed to hit Noivern with Ice Beam which partially freezed his wing, causing him to fall into the stream. Weavile then dove after Noivern and hit him with Night Slash, knocking him out. Before Ash recalled Noivern, Hawlucha popped out of his Poké Ball to comfort him and decided to fight Weavile in his place.

In A Towering Takeover!, Noivern, along with Ash and Ash's other Pokémon, was taken captive on the top of Prism Tower by Lysandre. He could only watch in horror while Ash and Greninja were hit by Team Flare's miniature version of the Mega Evolution energy weapon, until Ash and Greninja freed themselves using Bond Phenomenon, in the following episode. Alain's Charizard broke Noivern and the other Pokémon free with Dragon Claw, leaving everyone to battle Lysandre's Pyroar and a  together. During the battle, Noivern used Boomburst to protect Greninja from 's and double teamed with Hawlucha to attack the Royal Pokémon. Noivern continued battling Mega Gyarados in The Right Hero for the Right Job!, where he and Pikachu fired off their Boomburst and. Their attacks were countered by Gyarados's, however, who then targeted Pikachu for a Dragon Tail. Noivern then protected Pikachu by pushing him aside, taking the hit instead which knocked him out. In Battling With a Clean Slate!, Noivern and the rest of Ash's Pokémon received medals from Professor Sycamore for their heroic efforts against Team Flare.

Ash left Noivern at Professor Oak's Laboratory when he decided to go to Alola.

Personality and characteristics
After hatching, he quickly imprinted on Ash, presumably because he is who Noivern first saw. He was also impressed by Hawlucha's abilities in his debut. As a newborn Pokémon, he struggled to fly and was upset when he failed. When stressed or upset, he lets out a powerful attack. In A Relay in the Sky!, he did the same when he was happy. Like all Noivern, he has an affinity toward fruit, but can be a picky eater as he refused to eat apples which he thought were bad. As a Noibat, he had the ability to use ultrasonic waves, which he first used in A Not-So-Flying Start! to tell if a fruit was bad or good. He later used to spot Team Rocket in pitch darkness, allowing Hawlucha to attack them without being seen.

Noivern is shown to have a very parent-child like relationship with Ash. As such, Noivern is able to be calmed down easily by Ash, and very much enjoys being around him. He also has a close relationship with Hawlucha and Talonflame, since they helped Noivern learn how to fly and seems to enjoy being with them. Hawlucha's protective and father-like attitude for Noivern is observed in the events of Finals Not for the Faint-Hearted!. After Noivern is knocked out by Weavile, Hawlucha comes out of its Poké Ball to check on Noivern. Noivern also seems to take after Ash, acting very similarly to him, and seems to take inspiration from him. When in the Pokémon Sky Relay race, Noivern was determined to win and managed to come in second place due to Ash's encouragement. Much like, Noivern seems to want Ash's approval and is upset when he is denied a chance to prove himself, as shown when he was very upset at narrowly losing the Pokémon Sky Relay. Once Ash gave Noivern the praise he desired, he quickly cheered up.

During the events of A Windswept Encounter!, Noivern wished to prove himself as a full-fledged battler in his own right, and both Ash and Hawlucha understood this and refused to let Pikachu interfere with his battle, even though his opponent had the upper hand. Since evolving, Noivern became much stronger than before and is willing to go up against powerful and formidable foes like or.

Noivern has also been shown to willingly protect his friends, like in An Electrifying Rage!, where he flied to save Hawlucha while he was falling from the sky after battling a wild Zapdos. In The Right Hero for the Right Job!, he also protected Pikachu when Lysandre's  went to hit the Mouse Pokémon with  by pushing Pikachu aside and taking the attack for himself, resulting in Noivern's defeat.

Trivia

 * Noivern's capture as a Noibat was first teased in [[Media:M18 Pikachu the Movie poster.png|the poster]] for Pikachu and the Pokémon Music Squad.
 * Noivern took the shortest time to hatch out of all of the Pokémon owned by the main cast that hatched from Eggs, with the Egg being ready to hatch before being given to his Trainer.
 * Noivern spent only 34 episodes as a Noibat after hatching, making him the fastest evolved hatched Pokémon out of all the protagonists.
 * Noivern's evolution was first teased in the poster for the XY&Z arc of the.
 * Noivern is Ash's only Kalos Pokémon that wasn't used in a Gym battle.