Is Kabuto Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
Transfer-only Rock/Water fossil from Kanto. Kabutops at 40 leans physical, opposite of Omastar. AbilitySwift Swim in rain doubles that Speed. The physical/special split benefits the physical attack side.
Kabuto resists most of Roark's coverage and hits back hard.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Gardenia's team.
Maylene's team hits Kabuto's weaknesses hard.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Kabuto has the type edge here and should clean up Fantina's team.
Kabuto has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Kabuto has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Kabutops resists most of Aaron's coverage and hits back hard.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Kabutops resists most of Jupiter's coverage and hits back hard.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Fossil
Kabuto can be revived from a fossil obtained in Oreburgh City. Revive Dome Fossil. Revive from Dome Fossil at the Oreburgh Mining Museum. Found in the Underground after obtaining the National Dex.
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Lake Acuity
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 216
- After Crasher Wake
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Celestic Town
- TM55WaterBrinePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 10Prize for defeating Crasher Wake
- After Fantina
- TM03WaterWater PulsePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Ravaged Path
- After Candice
- TM80RockRock SlidePower 113Accuracy 90%PP 10Mt. Coronet
- LV 46RockAncient PowerPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Volkner
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sunyshore City
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Evolve Kabuto to Kabutops
Kabuto evolves into Kabutops at Level 40. Your Kabuto should hit Level 40 before you reach Aaron, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- TM75NormalSwords DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 30Veilstone Game Corner
- After Crasher Wake
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Celestic Town
- TM55WaterBrinePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 10Prize for defeating Crasher Wake
- After Candice
- TM80RockRock SlidePower 113Accuracy 90%PP 10Mt. Coronet
- After Volkner
- TM71RockStone EdgePower 150Accuracy 80%PP 5Victory Road
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sunyshore City
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Kabuto in Diamond & Pearl
Kabuto comes from a fossil, not the wild. Each Dome Fossil you dig out of the Underground revives into one Kabuto, so the count you get is capped by how many fossils you find.
1 location to catch Kabuto
How to Obtain Kabuto in DP
- Step 2Evolve into KabutopsBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Kabuto egg.
How to Get Shiny Kabuto in Diamond & Pearl
Kabuto revives from the Dome Fossil, but a shiny is far quicker to breed via the Masuda Method. Compare Shiny Kabuto odds across every game
Diamond & Pearl Shiny Kabuto Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Soft Reset: Save in front of a static, gift, or legendary encounter, then reset until it sparkles.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Curious how fast a hunt could go? Work out your Diamond & Pearl shiny odds for Kabuto.
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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Kabuto Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Kabuto
 Cubone Ground | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabuto View Cubone builds →Focus Punch 2x75-89% Bone Club 2x56-67% | ||
 Turtwig Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodLake Verity Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabuto View Turtwig builds →Razor Leaf 4x111-133%KO Rock Smash 2x28-33% | ||
 Geodude RockGround | C | |
 Shinx Electric | C | |
 Onix RockGround | C | |
 Seedot Grass | C | |
 Lotad WaterGrass | D | |
Kabuto Evolutions
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
Breeding
Breed Kabuto with 69 breeding partners from the Water 1 and Water 3 egg groups. Pass egg moves like Aurora Beam, Bubble Beam, Confuse Ray and 7 more to offspring.
DP Kabuto Best Moveset
Rock/Water with AbilitySwift Swim for rain, but 80 Attack and 55 Speed at these HP levels can't justify a competitive moveset. Evolve to Kabutops for the rain attacker role.
Best Build
Kabuto best EVs are HP and Defense
Bulky Support Moveset
- Aqua Jet
- Rock Slide
- Absorb
- Ice Beam
Recommended Teammates
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. Coverage across 7 types rounds out the picture alongside Surf and Waterfall.
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. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
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
32 of 33 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
It is thought to have inhabited beaches 300 million years ago. It is protected by a stiff shell.
Kabuto Diamond & Pearl Guide
Revive from Dome Fossil at the Oreburgh Mining Museum. Found in the Underground after obtaining the National Dex. Kabuto is revived at level 5. Give it Rare Candies or experience-share if you want it ready for the late-game.
Yes. Kabuto is not available during the main story. It can only be obtained after entering the Hall of Fame. Kabuto becomes available after the main story is complete in Diamond & Pearl.
In Diamond & Pearl, Kabuto has 355 BST and evolves into Kabutops. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
In Diamond & Pearl, Kabuto plays as a balanced. Not the fastest, so pick your spots carefully.
In Diamond & Pearl, Impish is the go-to nature for Kabuto. That's +Defense / -Sp. Atk. Pair it with 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe EVs. Fits the balanced role.
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 · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List