Is Kabutops Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Faster and more physical than Omastar. Kabutops hits hard and has enough speed to go first in late-game fights. Pick Kabutops if you want offense, Omastar if you want staying power.
Brock's typing presses Kabuto's defenses.
Misty's typing presses Kabuto's defenses.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Erika's team hits Kabuto's weaknesses hard.
Kabuto trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Sabrina's typing presses Kabuto's defenses.
Kabutops resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Kabutops resists most of Giovanni's coverage and hits back hard.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Kabutops has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Kabutops trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Fossil Kabuto
Kabuto can be revived from a fossil obtained on Cinnabar Island. Revive Dome Fossil. Revive the Dome Fossil at the Pokemon Lab on Cinnabar Island. It is found at the end of Mt. Moon, where you choose it or the Helix Fossil.
Recommended Moves
- After Misty
- TM11WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Cerulean Gym Leader Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- After Erika
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- LV 49WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
Evolve Kabuto to Kabutops
Kabuto evolves into Kabutops at Level 40. Your Kabuto should hit Level 40 before you reach Blaine, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Misty
- TM11WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Cerulean Gym Leader Misty
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Koga
- TM03NormalSwords DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 30Silph Co.
- LV 53WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
How to Get Kabutops in Red & Blue
Reaching Kabutops takes a revived Kabuto leveled to 40, the same long climb its Helix-fossil rival faces. The Cinnabar lab only ever hands back the base Kabuto, never the evolution.
Catch Kabuto at any of these 1 spot to eventually evolve into Kabutops.
- 1Catch Kabuto
- 2Evolve Kabutopsat Lv.40
Badge 7How to Obtain Kabutops in RB
- Step 2Kabutops ✓
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 |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Kabutops Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Kabutops
 Tangela Grass | C | |
 Venusaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | S | |
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Parasect builds →Solar Beam 4x176-208%KO Dig 2x50-60% | ||
 Jolteon Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Jolteon builds →Thunderbolt 2x112-132%KO Double Kick 2x13-16% | ||
 Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Nidorino (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Nidoking builds →Earthquake 2x80-94% Thunderbolt 2x61-72% Submission 2x44-52% | ||
 Nidoqueen PoisonGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Nidorina (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Nidoqueen builds →Earthquake 2x74-87% Thunderbolt 2x56-66% Submission 2x40-47% | ||
 Machoke Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Machoke builds →Earthquake 2x54-63% Submission 2x64-76% | ||
 Electrode Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
 Raichu Electric | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Raichu builds →Thunderbolt 2x96-113%KO Submission 2x40-47% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Rhydon builds →Earthquake 2x98-116%KO Submission 2x54-63% Thunderbolt 2x39-46% | ||
 Hitmonlee Fighting | B | |
Obtain MethodSaffron City Gift | ||
 Dugtrio Ground | B | |
 Marowak Ground | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Kabutops View Marowak builds →Earthquake 2x66-78% Submission 2x35-43% | ||
Kabutops Evolutions
You get Kabutops from Kabuto at level 40. This Rock/Water-type hits 500 total stats and can't produce eggs. Evolving from Kabuto gave Kabutops the biggest boost in Attack (+35), bringing the total to 500 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Kabutops Best Moveset
115 Attack and MoveSlash that crits frequently thanks to the Speed-based critical hit formula (faster Pokemon crit more often). Rock TermStab from physical moves adds coverage. Built around high-crit Slash to outdamage what the base Attack alone would suggest.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Swords Dance
- Slash
- Hyper Beam
- Surf
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without TMs, Kabutops's movepool is bare bones. With them, you get Grass and Normal coverage and more on top of Hydro Pump and Surf for STAB. The natural kit handles basics, but TMs are doing the real work.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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 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 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 23 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its sleek shape is perfect for swimming. It slashes prey with its claws and drains the body fluids.
Kabutops Red & Blue Guide
In Red & Blue, use Kabutops as a wallbreaker. Splits damage between physical and special. Speed is middling, Surf is the primary attack.
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 · Red & BlueRed & Blue Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Red & Blue Tier List