In Gold & Silver, Kabutops has a 495 base stat total and ranks as C-Tier: a niche pick in Gold & Silver's meta. It works best as a wallbreaker. Ancientpower with Leftovers is the standard set.

What is Kabutops weak to?

In Gold & Silver, watch for Exeggutor (Grass), Raikou (Electric), and Machamp (Fighting) when using Kabutops. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Exeggutor is the most dangerous since Grass moves deal 4x damage. Ground-type attackers are also a problem.

What role does Kabutops play in battle?

In Gold & Silver, Kabutops fills the wallbreaker role. It's a mixed attacker with base 115 Attack and 65 Sp. Atk. Base 80 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.

What are the best moves for Kabutops?

In Gold & Silver, run Ancientpower, Swords Dance, Substitute, and Rapid Spin on Kabutops. Ancientpower is the most common pick at 25% usage. This set covers the wallbreaker role with a mix of damage and utility.

What counters Kabutops?

For Gold & Silver, Kabutops has answers, but so do you. Status moves (Toxic, Will-O-Wisp) wear it down. Setup sweepers can use it as a boost opportunity. Special attackers bypass its physical bulk.

Kabutops - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Mixed

Wallbreaker

CTier

80Speed · Above Avg

Stats & Training

Kabutops's spread isn't flashy. Attack leads, HP trails, 3 stats clear the bar. Tough to catch and worth 2 Attack stat exp, on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats

Above

HP60

Attack115

Defense105

Sp. Atk65

Sp. Def70

Speed80

Total495

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging45 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Fast1M XP

Height1.3 m

Weight40.5 kg

Base XP173

Abilities

Abilities were introduced in Generation III. Shown below for reference.

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

HPAtk+2DefSpASpDSpe

Attack training target

Pokedex Entries

In the water, it tucks in its limbs to become more compact, then it wiggles its shell to swim fast.

Kabutops Weakness

Grass, Electric, Fighting, and Ground moves hit Kabutops for super-effective damage. Grass hits land at 4x, so they're the biggest threat. It resists 5 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Kabutops's physical bulk (base 105 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

Kabutops 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

Gen II Type Chart

Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def

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 Kabutops in Gold & Silver (Best Counters)

In Gold & Silver, Machamp's Earthquake hits Kabutops for 67-79%. Golem threatens a KO with Earthquake (93-110%). Jolteon's Thunderbolt also KOs at 108-128%.

Machamp Fighting	A
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves Cross Chop Rock Slide Earthquake CurseSetup Damage vs Kabutops Rock Slide 25-30% Earthquake 2x 67-79% View Machamp builds →
Golem RockGround	A
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves EarthquakeSTAB Explosion Rapid Spin RoarUtility Damage vs Kabutops Earthquake 2x 93-110%KO Explosion 38-45% Rapid Spin 8-9% View Golem builds →
Jolteon Electric	A
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves ThunderboltSTAB Baton Pass Thunder Wave GrowthSetup Damage vs Kabutops Thunderbolt 2x 108-128%KO View Jolteon builds →
Venusaur GrassPoison	C
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves Leech Seed Sleep Powder Giga Drain SynthesisRecovery Damage vs Kabutops Giga Drain 4x 168-198%KO View Venusaur builds →

Gold & Silver Evolution

Kabutops is the evolved form of Kabuto. Breeding produces Kabuto eggs, and they're slow to hatch. Evolving from Kabuto gave Kabutops the biggest boost in Attack (+35), bringing the total to 495 stats. 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 with Kabutops to get Kabuto eggs using 37 partners from the Water1 and Water3 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Aurora Beam, Bubble Beam, Dig and 2 more.

Egg Groups

Water1Water3

Gender

♂87.5%♀12.5%

Hatch Time

30 cycles·7,710 steps

Moderate~8 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

5moves

Breed With (best first)

Gold & Silver Kabutops Best Moveset

Best Build

Experimental

Utility

Ability

Not in Gen 2

Item

LeftoversSUSTAIN

Nature

Not in Gen 2

Utility Moveset

Ancient PowerSTAB
Swords Dance
SubstituteUtility
Rapid Spin

Recommended Teammates

SkarmoryGood

TyranitarDecent

RhydonDecent

Moves

Without breeding, Kabutops misses out on Aurora Beam and Bubble Beam. That's 5 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Surf and Bubble Beam, with coverage across 7 types rounding things out.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Absorb

D2010020Grass

Lv 1

Harden

———30Normal

Lv 1

Scratch

—4010035Normal

Lv 10

Absorb

D2010020Grass

Lv 19

Leer

——10030Normal

Lv 28

Sand Attack

D—10015Ground

Lv 37

Endure+4

D——10Normal

Lv 40

Slash

C7010020Normal

Lv 51

Mega Drain

D4010010Grass

Lv 65

Ancient Power

S601005Rock

TM Moves

TM45

Attract

D—10015Normal

TM14

Blizzard

D120705Ice

TM03

Curse

C——10Ghost

HM01

Cut

—509530Normal

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM20

Endure+4

D——10Normal

TM21

Frustration

A—10020Normal

TM49

Fury Cutter

—109520Bug

TM19

Giga Drain

A751005Grass

TM02

Headbutt

C7010015Normal

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

C150905Normal

TM16

Icy Wind

D559515Ice

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM18

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM08

Rock Smash

—2010015Fighting

TM04

Rollout

D309020Rock

TM37

Sandstorm

D——10Rock

TM35

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM13

Snore

—4010015Normal

HM03

Surf

A9510015Water

TM34

Swagger

C—8515Normal

TM46

Thief

C6010025Dark

TM06

Toxic

C—8510Poison

HM06

Whirlpool

D358515Water

Egg Moves

Egg

Aurora Beam

—6510020Ice

Egg

Bubble Beam

—6510020Water

Egg

Dig

C6010010Ground

Egg

Flail

D—10015Normal

Egg

Rapid Spin

A5010040Normal

Tutor Moves

Kabutops can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Kabutops in Gold & Silver

Kabutops can't be caught in Gold & Silver. Transfer Kabuto from Red, Yellow, or Shield and evolve through the 2-stage line to get it. The step cards below map the full chain.

How to Obtain Kabutops in Gold & Silver

Step 1Obtain Kabuto
Also found in:
Red Yellow FireRed Diamond Platinum HeartGold
Train until Level 40
Step 2Kabutops ✓

Kabutops Guide

In Gold & Silver, Kabutops has a 495 base stat total and ranks as C-Tier: a niche pick in Gold & Silver's meta. It works best as a wallbreaker. Ancientpower with Leftovers is the standard set.
In Gold & Silver, watch for Exeggutor (Grass), Raikou (Electric), and Machamp (Fighting) when using Kabutops. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Exeggutor is the most dangerous since Grass moves deal 4x damage. Ground-type attackers are also a problem.
In Gold & Silver, Kabutops fills the wallbreaker role. It's a mixed attacker with base 115 Attack and 65 Sp. Atk. Base 80 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.
In Gold & Silver, run Ancientpower, Swords Dance, Substitute, and Rapid Spin on Kabutops. Ancientpower is the most common pick at 25% usage. This set covers the wallbreaker role with a mix of damage and utility.
For Gold & Silver, Kabutops has answers, but so do you. Status moves (Toxic, Will-O-Wisp) wear it down. Setup sweepers can use it as a boost opportunity. Special attackers bypass its physical bulk.

Game Availability

Kabutops has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 19 titles across all 10 generations. As a Gen 1 original, it's one of the most consistently available Pokemon in the franchise.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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