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 Gold & Silver, 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 role does Kabuto play in battle?

Kabuto is a mixed attacker with base 80 Attack and 55 Sp. Atk. 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 Gold & Silver, 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.

At what level does Kabuto evolve?

Kabuto evolves into Kabutops at level 40. Takes some grinding. Plan your team around the mid-game wait.

Kabuto - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Mixed

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 stat exp 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

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

HPAtkDef+1SpASpDSpe

Defense training source

Pokedex Entries

On rare occasions, some have been found as fossils which they became while hiding on the ocean floor.

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

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 Kabuto in Gold & Silver (Best Counters)

In Gold & Silver, Jolteon can KO Kabuto with Thunderbolt (197-231%). Rhydon threatens a KO with Earthquake (148-175%). Venusaur's Giga Drain also KOs at 304-358%.

Jolteon Electric	A
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves ThunderboltSTAB Baton Pass Thunder Wave GrowthSetup Damage vs Kabuto Thunderbolt 2x 197-231%KO View Jolteon builds →
Rhydon GroundRock	B
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves Rock Slide EarthquakeSTAB RoarUtility CurseSetup Damage vs Kabuto Rock Slide 56-66% Earthquake 2x 148-175%KO View Rhydon builds →
Venusaur GrassPoison	C
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves Leech Seed Sleep Powder Giga Drain SynthesisRecovery Damage vs Kabuto Giga Drain 4x 304-358%KO View Venusaur builds →
Electabuzz Electric	C
Recommended Build ItemScopelens Moves Ice Punch Cross Chop ThunderSTAB Hidden Power Grass Damage vs Kabuto Thunder 2x 211-249%KO View Electabuzz builds →
Poliwrath WaterFighting	C
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves Belly Drum Lovely Kiss Body Slam Hydro Pump Damage vs Kabuto Body Slam 16-19% Hydro Pump 83-98% View Poliwrath builds →

Gold & Silver Evolution

Kabuto is the base form in a two-stage line leading to Kabutops. Check the evolution method below. A decent partner pool 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 37 breeding partners from the Water1 and Water3 egg groups. Pass egg moves like Aurora Beam, Bubble Beam, Dig and 2 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

5moves

Breed With (best first)

Gold & Silver Kabuto Best Moveset

Best Build

Gen 2 build content has limited support (no abilities).

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. Normal and Grass coverage and more rounds out the picture alongside Bubble Beam and Ancient Power.

Level-Up Moves

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 46

Mega Drain

D4010010Grass

Lv 55

Ancient Power

D601005Rock

TM Moves

TM45

Attract

D—10015Normal

TM14

Blizzard

D120705Ice

TM03

Curse

C——10Ghost

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM20

Endure+4

D——10Normal

TM21

Frustration

D—10020Normal

TM19

Giga Drain

D751005Grass

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

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

TM34

Swagger

C—8515Normal

TM46

Thief

D6010025Dark

TM06

Toxic

C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg

Aurora Beam

—6510020Ice

Egg

Bubble Beam

—6510020Water

Egg

Dig

C6010010Ground

Egg

Flail

D—10015Normal

Egg

Rapid Spin

D5010040Normal

Tutor Moves

Kabuto can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Kabuto in Gold & Silver

No wild encounters for Kabuto in Gold & Silver. It's available in Red, Yellow, or Shield and can be transferred over. The details below show where to find it.

Kabuto is not available as a wild encounter in this game.

Also found in:

Red Yellow FireRed Diamond Platinum HeartGold

Kabuto Guide

At 355 BST, Kabuto is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Kabutops before bringing it to any serious fight.
In Gold & Silver, 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.
Kabuto is a mixed attacker with base 80 Attack and 55 Sp. Atk. 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 Gold & Silver, 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 evolves into Kabutops at level 40. Takes some grinding. Plan your team around the mid-game wait.

Game Availability

Present since Red & Blue, Kabuto appears in 19 games spanning 10 generations. Gen 1 originals like Kabuto have the longest track record of availability in the series.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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