Kabutops
Shellfish Pokémon
Its body had begun to change so it could function on land. But it didn’t adapt in time and went extinct.
Base Stats
Type Effectiveness
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Evolution Chain
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Details
Sprites
Competitive
Strategy Overview
Kabutops is a solid Choice Scarf user that has plenty of utility in checking top threats such as Oricorio-E due to its unique combination of typing and Speed. Unlike most Choice Scarf users, it functions more as a utility revenge killer, with excellent support options such as Rapid Spin and Knock Off, and not as a check to most setup sweepers due to its mediocre base Speed. Kabutops is also notable for its role on rain teams, as its solid Speed, decent Attack, access to Swords Dance, and excellent STAB combination all make it highly suited to become one of the tier's top rain sweepers. Kabutops gets by on key resistances to Fire, Flying, Ice, and Normal, but its typing is a double-edged sword, leaving it with common weaknesses to Fighting, Ground, Electric, and Grass. This leaves it vulnerable to many coverage moves such as Kangaskhan's Earthquake and Dodrio's Jump Kick, and this can often limit its opportunities for setup or revenge killing. Additionally, outside of rain, Kabutops is prone to being revenge killed by common Choice Scarf users such as Primeape and Dodrio and struggles with how common Mach Punch Hitmonchan and Gurdurr are. Ultimately, Kabutops faces a lot of competition from faster Choice Scarf users such as Dodrio, Primeape, and Swanna, which are far more capable at revenge killing, and only sets itself apart with its unique set of resistances and ability to remove entry hazards.
Most Used Moves
Competitive data from Smogon University via data.pkmn.cc