Is Kabutops Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Kabuto evolves at level 40. Rock/Water with AbilityBattle Armor. The physical/special split finally lets Kabutops use physical Water moves matching its Attack stat. Fossil timing limits it to postgame and Battle Frontier use.
Kabuto has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Kabuto resists most of Bugsy's coverage and hits back hard.
Kabuto has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Chuck's Pokemon outpace and outclass Kabuto here.
Kabuto has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Kabuto has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Kabuto has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Kabuto has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
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 has the type edge here and should clean up 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.
Fossil Kabuto
Kabuto can be revived from a fossil obtained in Pewter City. Revive Dome Fossil. Revive a Dome Fossil at the Pewter Museum of Science.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Kimono Girl in the Ecruteak Dance Theater
- LV 31WaterAqua JetPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Pryce
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Item ball on Ice Path 1F
- After Jasmine
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Lake of Rage
- LV 46RockAncient PowerPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 5
Evolve Kabuto to Kabutops
Kabuto evolves into Kabutops at Level 40. Your Kabuto should hit Level 40 before you reach Sabrina, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- TM75NormalSwords DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 30Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Kimono Girl in the Ecruteak Dance Theater
- After Pryce
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Item ball on Ice Path 1F
- LV 54RockAncient PowerPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 5
How to Get Kabutops in HeartGold & SoulSilver
You cannot find Kabutops wild. Revive the Dome Fossil into Kabuto in Pewter City, then push it to level 40 for the evolution.
Catch Kabuto at any of these 1 spot to eventually evolve into Kabutops.
- 1Catch Kabuto
- 2Evolve Kabutopsat Lv.40
Badge 8How to Obtain Kabutops in HGSS
- Step 2Kabutops ✓
How to Get Shiny Kabutops in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Kabutops evolves from Kabuto, so breed that fossil baby Masuda-style at 1 in 1,638 and raise its scythes. Compare Shiny Kabutops odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Kabutops 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.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in HeartGold & SoulSilver with Kabutops preloaded.
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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Kabutops Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Kabutops
 Tangrowth Grass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Tangrowth builds →Solar Beam 4x292-344%KO Earthquake 2x54-64% Focus Blast 2x97-115%KO Shock Wave 2x49-58% | ||
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
 Sceptile Grass | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Treecko (Silph Co Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Sceptile builds →Leaf Storm 4x328-386%KO Focus Punch 2x70-83% Earthquake 2x48-56% | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Cacturne builds →Solar Beam 4x303-357%KO Focus Punch 2x91-107%KO | ||
 Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Breloom builds →Seed Bomb 4x162-191%KO Focus Punch 2x151-178%KO | ||
 Venusaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Venusaur builds →Solar Beam 4x270-318%KO Earthquake 2x46-54% Rock Smash 2x19-23% | ||
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Victreebel builds →Leaf Storm 4x314-370%KO | ||
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Vileplume builds →Solar Beam 4x292-344%KO Drain Punch 2x28-32% | ||
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Shiftry builds →Leaf Storm 4x286-337%KO Dig 2x44-52% Focus Blast 2x83-97% | ||
 Meganium Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (New Bark Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Meganium builds →Solar Beam 4x231-272%KO Earthquake 2x46-54% Rock Smash 2x19-23% | ||
 Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Ludicolo builds →Solar Beam 4x248-292%KO Focus Punch 2x61-71% | ||
 Toxicroak PoisonFighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Toxicroak builds →Focus Punch 2x128-151%KO Earthquake 2x57-67% | ||
 Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Pewter City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Cradily builds →Solar Beam 4x229-269%KO Earthquake 2x46-54% Rock Smash 2x19-23% | ||
 Carnivine Grass | 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 69 partners from the Water 1 and Water 3 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Aurora Beam, Bubble Beam, Confuse Ray and 7 more.
HGSS Kabutops Best Moveset
Physical Rock/Water attacker at 115 Attack and 105 Defense with AbilitySwift Swim doubling 80 Speed in rain. The moveset delivers fast physical Water and Rock damage while tanking physical hits. Without rain, 80 Speed is average. 4x Grass weakness persists.
Best Build
Kabutops best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Setup Sweeper Moveset
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Jet
- Swords Dance
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Kabutops misses out on Aurora Beam and Bubble Beam. That's 10 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Surf and Aqua Tail, with coverage across 8 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. 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
All 27 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
In the water, it tucks in its limbs to become more compact, then it wiggles its shell to swim fast.
With sharp claws, this ferocious, ancient Pokémon rips apart prey and sucks their body fluids.
Kabutops HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
Yes. Kabutops is a post-game Pokemon. You need to defeat the Elite Four and enter the Hall of Fame first. Kabutops becomes available after the main story is complete in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, use Kabutops as a wallbreaker. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling, Waterfall is the primary attack.
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, run Adamant on Kabutops. +Attack is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the wallbreaker role.
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
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