At 355 BST, Kabuto is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Kabutops before bringing it to any serious fight.

What is Kabuto weak to?

In Sword & Shield, Kabuto's biggest threats include Venusaur (Grass), Jolteon (Electric), and Hitmonlee (Fighting), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Venusaur is the most dangerous since Grass moves deal 4x damage. Ground-type attackers are also a problem.

What is the best ability for Kabuto?

Kabuto gets Swift Swim, Battle Armor, and Weak Armor. But Swift Swim is the one that matters. It's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.

What role does Kabuto play in battle?

Kabuto is a physical attacker with base 80 Attack. Fragile, can't afford to take many hits, too. Speed tells the real story. At base 55 Speed, it won't be moving first often.

In Sword & Shield, For a casual playthrough, Kabuto works as a placeholder. Rock/Water coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Kabutops . That's where the stats start mattering.

Kabuto - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Balanced

DTier

55Speed · Slow

Stats & Training

Nothing fancy in Kabuto's spread. It leans physical with Defense out front. And you'll get 1 Defense EV per KO for it. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats

Avg

HP30

Attack80

Defense90

Sp. Atk55

Sp. Def45

Speed55

Total355

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging45 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Fast1M XP

Height0.5 m

Weight11.5 kg

Base XP71

Abilities

Swift Swim

Doubles Speed during rain.

Battle Armor

Protects against critical hits.

Weak ArmorHA

Raises Speed and lowers Defense by one stage each upon being hit by a physical move.

EV Yield

HPAtkDef+1SpASpDSpe

Defense training source

Pokedex Entries

This species is almost entirely extinct. Kabuto molt every three days, making their shells harder and harder.

Kabuto Weakness

Kabuto is weak to Grass, Electric, Fighting, and Ground. Watch out for Grass attacks, those deal 4x damage. The Rock/Water typing picks up 5 resistances to work with. Kabuto's physical bulk (base 90 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

Kabuto Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
4x (Critical)	Grass
2x (Weak)	Electric, Fighting, Ground
0.5x (Resist)	Normal, Ice, Poison, Flying
0.25x (Resist)	Fire

Type ChartVulnerable

4Weak

5Resist

0Immune

Score-4

4xCritical

Grass

2xWeak

Electric Fighting Ground

½xResist

Normal Ice Poison Flying

¼xResist

Fire

0xImmune

None

STAB (6)

Fire Ice Flying Bug Ground Rock

How to Beat Kabuto in Sword & Shield (Best Counters)

Ferrothorn GrassSteel	A
Available Moves Moves Power WhipLv. 1 Solar BeamTM11 RevengeTM42 BulldozeTM81 Damage vs Kabuto Power Whip 4x 272-321%KO Solar Beam 4x 292-345%KO Revenge 2x 47-55% Bulldoze 2x 47-55% View Ferrothorn builds →
Dhelmise GhostGrass	B
Available Moves Moves Solar BeamTM11 Giga DrainLv. 28 Brick BreakTM43 BulldozeTM81 Damage vs Kabuto Solar Beam 4x 419-493%KO Giga Drain 4x 267-315%KO Brick Break 2x 75-89% Bulldoze 2x 60-71% View Dhelmise builds →
Abomasnow GrassIce	C
Available Moves Moves Wood HammerLv. 43 Solar BeamTM11 Stomping TantrumTM98 Brick BreakTM43 Damage vs Kabuto Wood Hammer 4x 267-315%KO Solar Beam 4x 444-523%KO Stomping Tantrum 2x 56-67% Brick Break 2x 56-67% View Abomasnow builds →
Maractus Grass	C
Available Moves Moves Solar BeamTM11 Petal BlizzardLv. 36 Giga DrainLv. 24 Mega DrainLv. 8 Damage vs Kabuto Solar Beam 4x 494-582%KO Petal Blizzard 4x 191-226%KO Giga Drain 4x 313-368%KO Mega Drain 4x 171-202%KO View Maractus builds →
Eldegoss Grass	C
Available Moves Moves Leaf StormLv. 46 Solar BeamTM11 Leaf TornadoLv. 23 Magical LeafTM10 Damage vs Kabuto Leaf Storm 4x 429-505%KO Solar Beam 4x 393-463%KO Leaf Tornado 4x 217-255%KO Magical Leaf 4x 202-238%KO View Eldegoss builds →

Sword & Shield Evolution

Kabuto is the base form in a two-stage line leading to Kabutops. Check the evolution method below. Plenty of partners for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs are slow to hatch. Evolving adds up to 140 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#140Kabuto

Level 40

#141Kabutops

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Kabuto

RockWater

Kabutops

RockWater

60+30

ATK

115+35

DEF

105+15

SP.ATK

65+10

SP.DEF

70+25

SPE

80+25

BST

355D-Tier

495C-Tier+140

ROLE

Balanced

Wallbreaker

TYPE

Physical

Breeding

Moderate

Breed Kabuto with 81 breeding partners from the Water1 and Water3 egg groups. Pass egg moves like Aurora Beam, Bubble Beam, Confuse Ray and 5 more to offspring.

Egg Groups

Water1Water3

Gender

♂87.5%♀12.5%

Hatch Time

30 cycles·7,710 steps

Moderate~8 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

8moves

Breed With (best first)

Sword & Shield Kabuto Best Moveset

Best Build

No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 8.

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

Moves

Egg moves make a real difference. Kabuto gets Aurora Beam and Bubble Beam exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Grass and Normal coverage and more rounds out the picture alongside Meteor Beam and Hydro Pump.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Absorb

—2010025Grass

Lv 1

Harden

———30Normal

Lv 5

Scratch

—4010035Normal

Lv 10

Sand Attack

D—10015Ground

Lv 15

Aqua Jet+1

D4010020Water

Lv 20

Leer

D—10030Normal

Lv 25

Mud Shot

D559515Ground

Lv 30

Ancient Power

D601005Rock

Lv 35

Brine

D6510010Water

Lv 41

Protect+4

C——10Normal

Lv 45

Leech Life

C8010010Bug

Lv 50

Liquidation

C8510010Water

Lv 55

Metal Sound

D—8540Steel

Lv 60

Stone Edge

C100805Rock

TM Moves

TM31

Attract

C—10015Normal

TR06

Blizzard

D110705Ice

TR01

Body Slam

C8510015Normal

TM55

Brine

D6510010Water

TM15

Dig

C8010010Ground

TR67

Earth Power

D9010010Ground

TR26

Endure+4

C——10Normal

TM39

Facade

D7010020Normal

TM28

Giga Drain

D7510010Grass

TM35

Hail

C——10Ice

TR03

Hydro Pump

C110805Water

TR05

Ice Beam

D9010010Ice

TM27

Icy Wind

D559515Ice

TR46

Iron Defense

C——15Steel

TR18

Leech Life

C8010010Bug

TR98

Liquidation

C8510010Water

TM53

Mud Shot

D559515Ground

TM25

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM33

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM21

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM54

Rock Blast

D259010Rock

TM22

Rock Slide

C759010Rock

TM48

Rock Tomb

C609515Rock

TM76

Round

D6010015Normal

TM32

Sandstorm

D——10Rock

TR84

Scald

C8010015Water

TM16

Screech

D—8540Normal

TR27

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM24

Snore

—5010015Normal

TR76

Stealth Rock

C——20Rock

TR75

Stone Edge

C100805Rock

TR20

Substitute

C——10Normal

TR04

Surf

C9010015Water

TM23

Thief

D6010025Dark

TR16

Waterfall

C8010015Water

TM36

Whirlpool

D358515Water

Egg Moves

Egg

Aurora Beam

D6510020Ice

Egg

Bubble Beam

D6510020Water

Egg

Confuse Ray

D—10010Ghost

Egg

Flail

D—10015Normal

Egg

Knock Off

D6510020Dark

Egg

Mega Drain

—4010015Grass

Egg

Rapid Spin

D5010040Normal

Egg

Take Down

C908520Normal

Tutor Moves

Tut

Tutor

Meteor Beam

C1209010Rock

Sword & Shield Kabuto Locations

Kabuto appears at decent spawn rates across 8 spots in endgame water routes. Sort by Best below if you want the highest rate, or Earliest if you want the quickest access point in your playthrough.

Best Locations to Catch Kabuto in Sword & Shield

Surfing encounters at Lv. 60-65 across 8 spots for Kabuto. Sorted by progression so you can see what's reachable at your current point in the game.

Roaring-Sea Caves