Is Kabuto Good in Crystal Playthrough?
Same as Omanyte: not available in Crystal without trading. The fossil that Crystal didn't include. Rock/Water typing would contribute against Kanto's Fire trainers but the trade requirement kills the practicality.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Chuck's team hits Kabuto's weaknesses hard.
Jasmine's team hits Kabuto's weaknesses hard.
Kabuto has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Sabrina's typing presses Kabuto's defenses.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Janine's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Kabuto has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Kabuto has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Will's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Bruno's team hits Kabuto's weaknesses hard.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Karen's team.
Kabuto has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Trade
Kabuto cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM04RockRolloutPower 45Accuracy 90%PP 20Route 35
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner prize (5500 coins)
- After Pryce
- TM16IceIcy WindPower 55Accuracy 95%PP 15Prize for defeating Pryce
- After Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
- LV 46GrassMega DrainPower 40Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Lt. Surge
- TUTORIceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod City
- TM19GrassGiga DrainPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 5Prize for defeating Erika
- LV 55RockAncient PowerPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 5
How to Get Kabuto in Crystal
Like the other fossil line, Kabuto isn't obtainable in Crystal. Its revival fossil never appears, so a trade from another game is the only route to one.
How to Obtain Kabuto in C
- Step 1Kabuto ✓LATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Gift · Cinnabar Island · Revive Dome Fossil. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom YellowNot TradeableAppears in Yellow via Gift · Cinnabar Island · Revive Dome Fossil. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom FireRed & LeafGreenNot TradeableAppears in FireRed & LeafGreen via Gift · Cinnabar Island · Revive Dome Fossil. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Diamond & PearlNot TradeableAppears in Diamond & Pearl via Gift · Oreburgh City · Revive Dome Fossil. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom PlatinumNot TradeableAppears in Platinum via Gift · Oreburgh City · Revive Dome Fossil. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in HeartGold & SoulSilver via Gift · Pewter City · Revive Dome Fossil. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Evolve into Kabutops
How to Get Shiny Kabuto in Crystal
Kabuto doesn't exist in Crystal at all, fossil or otherwise; a shiny one can only reach the game by trading it in from elsewhere. See every game where Shiny Kabuto can be hunted
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Grass |
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Fighting, Ground |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Normal, Ice, Poison, Flying |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Fire |
- 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
What is Kabuto Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Kabuto
 Celebi PsychicGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodIlex Forest Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabuto View Celebi builds →Solar Beam 4x481-566%KO Mud-Slap 2x18-21% | ||
 Tangela Grass | C | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
 Sunflora Grass | C | |
 Meganium Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (New Bark Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabuto View Meganium builds →Solar Beam 4x415-489%KO Earthquake 2x69-81% Rock Smash 2x15-18% | ||
 Quagsire WaterGround | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 32 Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabuto View Quagsire builds →Earthquake 2x105-123%KO Dynamic Punch 2x69-82% | ||
 Poliwrath WaterFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Poliwhirl (Route 30 Surfing) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabuto View Poliwrath builds →Earthquake 2x77-90% Submission 2x92-109%KO | ||
 Marowak Ground | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabuto View Marowak builds →Earthquake 2x100-119%KO Dynamic Punch 2x67-79% Thunder Punch 2x60-71% | ||
 Jumpluff Grass | C | |
 Raikou Electric | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabuto View Raikou builds →Thunder 2x271-319%KO Dig 2x42-50% Rock Smash 2x15-18% | ||
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabuto View Parasect builds →Solar Beam 4x320-377%KO Dig 2x46-55% Rock Smash 2x16-19% | ||
 Donphan Ground | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabuto View Donphan builds →Earthquake 2x140-165%KO Rock Smash 2x20-24% | ||
 Magneton ElectricSteel | C | |
Kabuto Evolutions
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
Breeding
Breed Kabuto with 37 breeding partners from the Water 1 and Water 3 egg groups. Pass egg moves like Aurora Beam, Bubble Beam, Dig and 2 more to offspring.
C Kabuto Best Moveset
Rock/Water pre-evolution where the Attack stat can't power Water TermStab since Water is special. Kabutops improves both Attack and Speed to competitive levels.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Bubble Beam
- Ice Beam
- Ancient Power
- Toxic
Moves List
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.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
16 of 21 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Three hundred million years ago, it hid on the sea floor. It also has eyes on its back that glow.
Kabuto Crystal Guide
In Crystal, Kabuto has 355 BST and evolves into Kabutops. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
Game Availability
Present since Red & Blue, Kabuto appears in 19 games spanning 9 generations. Gen 1 originals like Kabuto have the longest track record of availability in the series.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Kabuto.
Keep playing · CrystalCrystal Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Crystal Tier List