Is Kabutops Good in Crystal Playthrough?
Trade-only from Gold or Silver. Kabutops has strong physical Attack and Rock/Water typing that handles Blaine and the Fire trainers in Kanto. But importing a fossil Pokemon for Kanto rematches is a steep ask when local options cover the same ground.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Chuck's team hits Kabutops's weaknesses hard.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Kabutops resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Kabutops resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Trade
Kabutops 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. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 40.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner prize (5500 coins)
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Ecruteak City
- LV 40NormalSlashPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Celadon Game Corner prize (7500 coins)
- TUTORIceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod City
- TM19GrassGiga DrainPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 5Prize for defeating Erika
- LV 65RockAncient PowerPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 5
How to Get Kabutops in Crystal
Kabutops shares the fossil problem, with no in-game source in Crystal. Trade in a Kabuto and raise it to level 40, since the line can't start inside this game.
How to Obtain Kabutops in C
- Step 1Obtain KabutoLATER 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 2Kabutops ✓
How to Get Shiny Kabutops in Crystal
Kabutops is off the table in Crystal too, with no fossil to revive here, and the shiny has to be traded in from another game entirely. See every game where Shiny Kabutops can be hunted
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.
| 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 Kabutops Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Kabutops
 Celebi PsychicGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodIlex Forest Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Celebi builds →Solar Beam 4x271-319%KO Mud-Slap 2x11-14% | ||
 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 Kabutops View Meganium builds →Solar Beam 4x233-274%KO Earthquake 2x46-55% Rock Smash 2x11-13% | ||
 Quagsire WaterGround | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 32 Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Quagsire builds →Earthquake 2x71-84% Dynamic Punch 2x48-56% | ||
 Marowak Ground | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Marowak builds →Earthquake 2x68-81% Dynamic Punch 2x46-54% Thunder Punch 2x34-40% | ||
 Poliwrath WaterFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Poliwhirl (Route 30 Surfing) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Poliwrath builds →Earthquake 2x52-61% Submission 2x64-75% | ||
 Jumpluff Grass | C | |
 Raikou Electric | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Raikou builds →Thunder 2x151-178%KO Dig 2x29-35% Rock Smash 2x11-13% | ||
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Parasect builds →Solar Beam 4x181-214%KO Dig 2x32-38% Rock Smash 2x11-14% | ||
 Donphan Ground | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Donphan builds →Earthquake 2x96-113%KO Rock Smash 2x14-16% | ||
 Magneton ElectricSteel | C | |
Kabutops Evolutions
Kabutops is the evolved form of Kabuto. Breeding produces Kabuto eggs, and they are 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
Breeding
Breed with Kabutops to get Kabuto eggs using 37 partners from the Water 1 and Water 3 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Aurora Beam, Bubble Beam, Dig and 2 more.
C Kabutops Best Moveset
MoveSwords Dance doubles 115 Attack for devastating physical hits, and MoveRapid Spin clears MoveSpikes for team support. Rock TermStab from the physical side adds coverage. Held ItemLeftovers sustains. Attacker and hazard remover combined, a rare and valuable dual role.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Ancient Power
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Rapid Spin
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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.
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
21 of 27 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It was able to swim quickly through the water by compactly folding up its razor-sharp sickles.
Kabutops Crystal Guide
In Crystal, use Kabutops as a wallbreaker. Splits damage between physical and special. Speed is middling,
Game Availability
Kabutops has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 19 titles across all 9 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
- 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 Kabutops.
Keep playing · CrystalCrystal Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Crystal Tier List