But, anyways, I can't agree with you on your view of experience gaining. Dealing damage to another Pokémon is not the only way to gain experience and be evolution ready. In the anime is not all about attacking, as I said before, resisting attacks is also a form of experience gaining.
The only reason I would question this is because the only logical thing it would help with is being able to resist more damage, makes you tougher, not stronger.
Taking a lot of hits doesn't help improve the strength of your tackle, for example only using the attacks.
Goomy however can't increase the damage of its bide though that's dependent on the enemy.
So I think you mixed it up. Goomy could get stronger by taking a lot of hits, but Noibat wouldn't get stronger, Both would get tougher though.
But I just don't know if toughness would help a Pokemon evolve or would strength or both.
If we assume a Pokemon can force itself from the stress of battle, then obviously toughness is a key factor, because in the moment a Pokemon doesn't evolve to overpower the opponent, its too keep from fainting and not giving up.
But I wonder if strength has something to do with it, because while determination and resilience would come from toughness. Actually reaching deep inside for it to evolve might require evolution.
None of this really matters though.
Also other things, I mean some Pokémon could also evolve because of "age" and not because they battled frequently.
I guess but Goomy was SO inexperienced, I cannot imagine it wouldn't learn a third move if it was old. Especially since it learns Bubble, Absorb, Tackle before bide and learns dragon breath BEFORE rain dance.
Now this could just be preference choice by the writers, but it would make more sense if Goomy was barely hatched with those moves.
Having only those moves and have Goomy be a seasoned/old Pokemon just doesn't make sense to me.
Even in places of peace a lot of other Pokemon have more than what Goomy had.
It's possible Goomy had no reason to learn other moves, but I can't imagine Goomy being so traumatized if it was so much older than Noibat at their respective ages when they evolve.
You could argue that Goomy's peacefulness would contribute to it being traumatized, and Goomy's actions against Team Rocket a sign of maturity but would the writers go in depth like that. Rather than just "A weak Pokemon being traumatized by a traumatizing event"
Plus even if Goomy was so much older than Noibat and I know this goes back to what you said, but I just don't think something regarded is weak would've evolved the way it did without criticism, especially when I think respectively Noibat has to already been much stronger.
If Ash's newly hatched Binacle were to take down a Gym Leader's Pokemon the episode after it hatched, and was strong, why would immaturity prevent Binacle from evolving.
See I think the problems in regards to this and why its hard to argue when there's so many contradictory arguments being thrust out for why Noibat couldn't evolve.
1. It's not strong enough....neither was Goomy.
2. Then it's not old enough......but if its strong, why would that matter?
3. It's not developed enough.....have you seen Pokemon? Should I list the multitude of Pokemon that didn't develop very much and still evolved quickly. How about the Pokemon with heavy development that took forever to evolve?
4. It's hatched though......again if its strong enough....
5. But its not strong.....it dealt noticeable damage to Celosia's Drapion and took a very powerful hit from Byrony's Bisharp.
6. They aren't strong......yes because having evolved Pokemon means your weak.
7. Team Rocket........Yes because Ash and company frequently struggle against team Rocket right? Pretty sure they can hold their own barely with Team Flare and Ash kind of needed Ash Greninja and even then it didn't outright knock them out. Had it been Team Rocket they would've blasted off.
8. THE WRITERS/PRODUCERS.........*inflicts fatal physical damage to self*
So final thing to say until we get more information: If you don't believe Noibat could evolve, that's fine, if it doesn't more development for Noibat, maybe, we have no idea if its evolution will be like Gligar or like Froakie/Frogadier.
If it doesn't evolve here which appears to be a Gligar like evolution episode, then I expect a rushed Froakie/Frogadier like evolution.
I could be wrong. But you know if Noibat does evolve here, I guess I'd be the only one that doesn't find it unexpected or out of place. If it doesn't, that could be a win as well.
I'm pretty much the only one who can have a win-win situation here regardless of what happens in this episode.
Because when they first got added to Ash's team, they were pretty much both helpless batlike creatures that begged Ash for attention or tear-up otherwise?
Not to mention the comparable movesets (outside of the Dragon-typing).. with moves such as Screech, Leech Life and Fang-based moves..
Also, Noibat/Noivern can't learn Take Down, so when Tackle is upgraded, the likely suspect is Giga Impact.. Now.. Which of Ash's Pokémon had Giga Impact? I can't remember..
But it makes no sense to assume tackle is anything other than a placeholder move rather than a move to be upgraded to Giga Impact.
Moves that could replace tackle-
Wing Attack/Bite/Aerial Ace/Steel Wing/Acrobatics/U-turn/Wild Charge/Fly/Outrage/Sky Attack.
