Kabutops (BW2 Revamp) [GP: 2/2]

Kabutops​

3/3: | BKC | Lavos Spawn | ginganinja |
2/2: | Oglemi | Jukain |



[Overview]

<p>Kabutops has a few great qualities that catch the eye. Kabutops displays great success as a physical sweeper on teams that have difficulty against rain teams and a physical offensive Rapid Spin user that can beat Ferrothorn on rain teams&mdash;a trait that separates Kabutops from other spinners such as Starmie&mdash;and has access to the combination of Swords Dance and Weak Armor, giving Kabutops the chance to potentially sweep under rain. Kabutops can also be used on manual Rain Dance teams to make use of Swift Swim, allowing Kabutops to act as a fearsome sweeper against opposing rain teams while outspeeding the majority of them. Boasting a base 115 Attack stat, Kabutops also comes with a great offensive STAB combination, hitting almost every type for neutral or super effective damage.</p>

<p>One of Kabutops's biggest flaws is its disappointing Speed when Swift Swim is not activated, as well as its bad defensive typing, which leaves it easily revenge killed by anything faster than it. Kingdra gives Kabutops stiff competition, as it can be useful outside of rain. Other Rapid Spin users, such as Starmie and Tentacruel, are often better choices than Kabutops. Many physical sweepers, such as Gyarados and Terrakion, outclass almost all of Kabutops's sweeping sets with the ability Weak Armor. Kabutops also suffers from four-moveslot syndrome, meaning that it usually has to choose between getting walled by Ferrothorn or Celebi. Heavy team support is also needed to keep Kabutops alive and to keep Rain Dance active. If you strategically use Kabutops while taking advantage of what it has to offer, then Kabutops will not fail in any role it is used to play.</p>

[SET]
name: Offensive Rapid Spin
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Aqua Jet
move 4: Swords Dance / Superpower
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
ability: Swift Swim / Weak Armor
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This variant of Kabutops doesn't have to be limited to rain conditions; it can be used on sun teams as well to check rain teams. Kabutops also goes well with sand teams, as the Special Defense boost from sandstorm aids Kabutops defensively. Rapid Spin is the main move of this set, removing entry hazards from your side of the field. Stone Edge is Kabutops's primary STAB move, boasting both power and coverage, along with checking Dragonite, whom Kabutops OHKOes with Stone Edge if Multiscale is broken. Aqua Jet is its secondary STAB move, making up for the lack of Speed while allowing Kabutops to check the likes of Terrakion, Volcarona, and Mamoswine. The final moveslot is based on preference. Swords Dance is the ideal move for Kabutops, and for good reason. With the Swords Dance boost, Kabutops can OHKO Jellicent with Stone Edge, making Kabutops increasingly difficult to spinblock. It can also OHKO Gengar with Aqua Jet, along with faring quite well against Hippowdon, a bulky Pokemon Kabutops usually cannot scar. However, with Superpower, Kabutops isn't setup fodder against Ferrothorn, a common Pokemon on rain teams.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>One of Kabutops's abilities, Swift Swim, should be used exclusively on non-Drizzle teams. It also works well with Superpower in checking rain teams, especially with Ferrothorn being on many of them. However, Weak Armor allows Kabutops to be used on Drizzle teams, and it can make up for the loss in Speed with Aqua Jet. Kabutops equipped with the Life Orb allows Kabutops to break through walls much quicker. It's a mandatory item for Kabutops if Superpower is chosen over Swords Dance. Lum Berry is a viable option, as it heals Kabutops of any statuses it may catch, specifically from a Will-O-Wisp from Jellicent, a Body Slam from Jirachi, or an untimely Scald burn.</p>

<p>An Adamant nature is used to maximize Kabutops's Attack stat, allowing it to OHKO and 2HKO a vast variety of Pokemon while wallbreaking bulky Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Jellicent, and Gastrodon. For example, thanks to Adamant, Superpower can 2HKO the standard 252 HP / 88+ Def Ferrothorn, accounting for the -1 Attack drop. However, if Speed is more important, Jolly can be used to outspeed Pokemon such as Adamant Landorus-T and offensive Heatran. An Adamant Swords Dance Kabutops can OHKO Jellicent with Stone Edge, making Adamant a great nature to have. There aren't many alternative options pertaining to Kabutops's moveset, though X-Scissor is an option in the final moveslot to lure and defeat Celebi. Waterfall can also be used over Aqua Jet for the additional power.</p>

<p>Thanks to Swords Dance, Kabutops can usually hold its own against spinblockers thanks to its offensive presence, and its STAB combo hits almost every Pokemon for neutral damage, so not many partners are needed with it. Pokemon that benefit from having no entry hazards from the opponent, such as Volcarona and Kyurem-B, are good partners to pair with Kabutops, as it can keep entry hazards off the field for them to sweep. If using Kabutops on a Rain Dance team, Damp Rock users are potent partners for it as well, specifically Tornadus, who also deals with Grass-types. Politoed is a good partner if Weak Armor is used, along with Thundurus-T, as Kabutops can make good use of the permanent rain. Kingdra also pairs well with Adamant Kabutops in rain; while Kabutops wallbreaks and weakens the opposing team, Kingdra can clean up what's left due to it being faster than most offensive threats, particularly Choice Scarf Keldeo and Latios.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Low Kick / Aqua Jet
item: Life Orb
ability: Swift Swim / Weak Armor
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>With Kabutops's access to Swords Dance and the ability Swift Swim, it can function as a decently powerful and fast late-game sweeper. This is the set where Kabutops's formidable coverage really shows; it provides a major offensive presence and allows Kabutops to dent many Pokemon in the OU metagame along with checking rain teams quite well. With rain present, Swift Swim turns one of Kabutops's biggest flaws into a dangerous weapon. Waterfall is the primary STAB move, getting a power boost in rain conditions. Stone Edge is Kabutops's secondary STAB move, checking Thundurus-T. Low Kick provides great coverage against Steel-types, specifically Ferrothorn, as Low Kick 2HKOes it. Aqua Jet should only be used if Weak Armor is Kabutops's ability, as its priority plays a big part in its success. Aqua Jet is also useful for allowing Kabutops to defeat Breloom under rain. Aqua Jet also lets it avoid a Bullet Punch from Scizor while being able to KO it in return. Outside of rain, Aqua Jet allows Kabutops to dish out harsh damage to Pokemon that can outspeed it, such as Landorus, Thundurus-T, Garchomp, and Terrakion, especially when it has a Swords Dance boost.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A Jolly nature is used to outspeed Choice Scarf Keldeo, Terrakion, and Latios when Swift Swim is activated. However, Adamant can be used with Aqua Jet for an extra boost in power, but considering the fact that a Choice Scarf Keldeo would then be able to outspeed Kabutops, it might not be worth it in the long run. Life Orb increases Kabutops's overall power. Superpower is an option to use on this set as well, as it can OHKO Keldeo after a Swords Dance. Swift Swim is the ability of choice, allowing Kabutops to check rain teams. However, Weak Armor can be used as an ability if Kabutops is used on a Drizzle-based team, sometimes providing a boost in Speed from physical contact and making Kabutops a great sweeper outside of rain. X-Scissor is an option to lure out and defeat Celebi along with other Grass-types. An all-out attacking set is viable, but the power loss from the lack of Swords Dance makes Kabutops into less of a sweeper and more of a lackluster wallbreaker. Aqua Jet can be used over Waterfall as a STAB move, being heavily recommended when Weak Armor is used, but the power loss is easily noticed.</p>

<p>If Swift Swim is used, Damp Rock users with Rain Dance are the best partners for Kabutops. Tornadus is arguably the best partner; it has priority Rain Dance and can take advantage of rain with Hurricane. Swift Swim should also be used to take advantage of Kabutops's niche of checking opposing rain teams, as they are so common in OU. If Weak Armor is used, Politoed is a great option as a partner. However, Kabutops can be in any weather environment with Weak Armor. Pokemon that can lay entry hazards are also great teammates as well. Ferrothorn and Forretress are both good entry hazard users to pair with Kabutops. When rain is present, their weakness to Fire-types are weakened as well. Celebi can easily counter Kabutops in rain, so having partners that can get rid of it, such as Scizor and Tornadus, are very useful to Kabutops. Weather changers, with the exception of Politoed, annoy Kabutops, especially when Swift Swim is being used. Scizor can easily handle Tyranitar and the rare Abomasnow. Choice Specs Keldeo can handle Hippowdon. While Kabutops has the ability to check Ninetales with Stone Edge, it can still be a nuisance to Kabutops due to the sun weakening its Water-type moves. In such a scenario, Dragon-type Pokemon, such as Salamence and Latios, are good partners to deal with Ninetales.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>In spite of Kabutops's small movepool, it has a variety of other options to choose from. Kabutops can provide its own rain with the move Rain Dance; however, it loses power from the loss of a Life Orb and a valuable moveslot by sacrificing a move for Rain Dance. Kabutops also has potential with a support set, but it doesn't want to give up moveslots for support moves, and there are many other Pokemon better suited for that particular role. Rock Polish is an option when you want that additional Speed if Swift Swim is not used, turning Kabutops into a potent sweeper. Kabutops can also run a Choice Scarf or Choice Band set for an increase in overall Speed or power, respectively. However, Kabutops loses too much momentum to unlock this set's full potential, and it also wastes Rain Dance turns from the constant switches. Rock Slide can replace Stone Edge as a more reliable Rock-type STAB move for Kabutops, but it would rather have the additional power from Stone Edge. Likewise, Hone Claws can help with accuracy issues, specifically with Stone Edge. Foresight paired with Rapid Spin can be useful against spinblockers, but becauseKabutops can defeat nearly every spinblocker in OU with its current Rapid Spin set, Foresight is deemed redundant. In short, Kabutops should stick with its niche of checking rain teams, specifically Ferrothorn, to be successful.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Despite Kabutops's offensive presence, one will find that it's surprisingly easy to counter it. The physically defensive variant of Celebi is one of the best counters to Kabutops, as it can take almost all of Kabutops's attacks while KOing it in retaliation. Gastrodon can absorb Kabutops's Water-type STAB moves and resists its Rock-type STAB attack while aiming for the burn chance in Scald.</p>

<p>Latias is a decent check to the Rapid Spin set, as she can take a Stone Edge and go for the KO against Kabutops. Rotom-W is also a great check to this specific set. Physically defensive Jellicent can also prevent Kabutops from fulfilling its role as a spinner while crippling it with Will-O-Wisp or Toxic.</p>

<p>Weather inducers, bar Politoed, are great counters to the Swords Dance set; without rain, Kabutops can be easily revenge killed by the likes of Keldeo and Terrakion. Rotom-W is a great check to this set as well, as it can absorb an attack thanks to its great Defense and proceed to KO it with Volt Switch. Will-O-Wisp is also a great choice against Kabutops as well, but Rotom-W is better off defeating Kabutops with Volt Switch. Being inflicted with the burn status also reduces the effectiveness of this set, as Kabutops relies on Swords Dance's Attack boost. Sableye is a great Pokemon to spread burn status to Kabutops; it cannot switch into Kabutops, however.</p>

<p>While there are not many hard counters to Kabutops, there are many checks that are effective against it in general. In a nutshell, almost every strong Grass-type Pokemon, such as Breloom, Venusaur, Virizion, and Shaymin, are great checks to Kabutops. Breloom in particular can easily defeat Kabutops with its powerful Mach Punch. Keldeo, Rotom-W, and the physically defensive variant of Jellicent are also great checks to Kabutops. Kabutops with Swift Swim activated makes it difficult to outspeed, even with the Choice Scarf. Even outside of rain, it's not easy to outspeed Kabutops, and even Pokemon that can outspeed it, such as Terrakion and Landorus, dislike taking an Aqua Jet from Kabutops. One of the easier ways to handle Kabutops is to get rid of it before it attempts to set up Swords Dance, as it is much easier to defeat without the Attack boost.</p>

Quick note because I'm currently at a restaurant ATM.

All sets need max Speed since the extra HP EVs provide no particular positive consequence, and Kabutops ideally wants to be useful outside of the rain (therefore tying with fellow base 80 Pokemon). You may also want to slash or at least mention the Jolly nature for this matter.

Ty AG; changed that.

Remove the Choice Band set. The only place I could vaguely see it working is on damp rock rain, but on those teams a Choice Band is a really poor choice, because it completely kills your momentum and wastes precious rain turns as you are forced to switch back out.

Weak Armor needs some consideration, because you can use it with Drizzle. Kabutops will end up something like an SD Feraligatr that can occasionally get Speed boosts to sweep more easily, although it is rather more vulnerable to opposing priority. Rapid Spin is also something worth considering, because it's relatively rare. If you're using Swift Swim, setting up your own rain is always worth considering; you really can't have too many Rain Dancers. That way you could also use Kabutops something like a Kingdra (although kingdra is obviously better), using it against rain teams, and otherwise for a late-game sweep.

Offensive Rapid Spin set is legit imo. It's probably the closest thing to Excadrill as you're gonna get. With LO it can 2HKO / OHKO Jellicent with +0 / +2 Stone Edge. Lum Berry is also nice to remove Wisps from Sableye.

Rapid Spin - Stone Edge - Aqua Jet - Swords Dance / Superpower @ LO / Lum

Not fully done, just pressed for time irl, I'll add Pocket's set after I finish testing something else.

the offensive spinner set is cool.

x-scissor is best as a celebi lure.

there is no reason to use choiced kabutops, ever.

Imo, here is how the offensive set should look like:

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Low Kick / Rapid Spin
item: Life Orb
ability: Swift Swim / Weak Armour
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly should be the main nature to outspeed Scarf Keldeo, Scarf Terrakion, and Scarf Latios and OHKO all of them at +2 (except for Keldeo, which you deal 78.7 - 92.9% to). The power from Adamant is not missed much anyway as the only OHKOes you miss are against Skarmory and SD Toxicroak, and the only one that can really hurt you is Toxicroak, and Skarmory dies after 2 SR switch-ins anyway, so Jolly is more important. The first 3 moves are givens, while the last move depends on whether you want to cover Ferrothorn or turn Kabutops into a potent offensive spinner. I believe that getting past Ferrothorn and thus reliably breaking through rain teams is more important (you are using Swift Swim Kabutops to beat rain teams right?). I think that Weak Armour should be slashed after Swift Swim, as this way Kabutops can be used on rain teams and still have a lot of potential as a spinner and as a sweeper, especially if he gets the Speed boost. Rapid Spin may be preferred over Low Kick on Weak Armour sets that are supposed to be used in rain, because i don't know if the rain team will want to use three water-type Pokemon (Kabu + Toed + Tenta/Starmie) so giving to Kabutops Rapid Spin helps save slots, and Kabutops makes for a really cool spinner as he can OHKO/2HKO every spinnblocker in OU. Adamant fits better with Weak Armour and Rapid Spin, as it allows Kabutops to 2HKO physically defensive Jellicent easier and even without SR most of the time, with SE.

Aqua Jet, X-Scissor, and an all-out attacking set (with 4 attacks or 3 attacks + Rapid Spin) seem fine in AC for now. I know that some people might want Aqua Jet in the main set, but i think that Feraligatr does the whole SD + Aqua Jet sweeper role much better and so it would be generally better if Kabutops takes advantage of the tools that Feraligatr doesn't have (ability to have better coverage and Speed, making for a better sweeper under certain circumstances, as well as Rapid Spin). But i could be wrong, so anyone that thinks so could convince me otherwise :D

CB in OO.

I'm not wholly sure if squashing everything Kabutops can do in one set is a good idea, because I can see three superficially similar-looking Kabutops sets that belong on completely different teams and operate rather differently too.

First, you have an out-and-out swift swim sweeper for damp rock rain teams. SD/Waterfall/Stone Edge/Low Kick. Pretty obvious how this works. These teams have trouble with ferrothorn so low kick is almost a necessity.

Then, we have a weak armor sweeper for Drizzle teams, but here you want to base your sweep on Aqua Jet rather than relying on boosted Speed. Something like a Feraligatr. SD/Aqua Jet/Waterfall/Stone Edge, probably.

Then, you have the offensive spinner, which is likely not to be used on any sort of rain team, but instead to check them through swift swim.

Now, I don't know if all of these are good enough to deserve their own sets, but I think cramming them all into one set would lead to a rather confusing analysis.

JC makes a great point but here's an idea:

Why not fuse the first two sets and basically make them slashed? I know that encourages a little bit of slashitis and you'd kind of need to explain the differences in playstyle a good bit, but at the same time it feels weird to give 3 analyses to Kabutops.

That solution does have problems,so IDK. Jc, you think it's a good idea?

jc104 said:

I'm not wholly sure if squashing everything Kabutops can do in one set is a good idea, because I can see three superficially similar-looking Kabutops sets that belong on completely different teams and operate rather differently too.

First, you have an out-and-out swift swim sweeper for damp rock rain teams. SD/Waterfall/Stone Edge/Low Kick. Pretty obvious how this works. These teams have trouble with ferrothorn so low kick is almost a necessity.

Then, we have a weak armor sweeper for Drizzle teams, but here you want to base your sweep on Aqua Jet rather than relying on boosted Speed. Something like a Feraligatr. SD/Aqua Jet/Waterfall/Stone Edge, probably.

Then, you have the offensive spinner, which is likely not to be used on any sort of rain team, but instead to check them through swift swim.

Now, I don't know if all of these are good enough to deserve their own sets, but I think cramming them all into one set would lead to a rather confusing analysis.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that is true. Cramming all three would make the process of explaining it all much harder. I'd still need to test the Weak Armor set, but I can say with experience that the Offensive Spinner and Swift Swimmer set works pretty well. Should those be seperated, then?

Mmk, I've decided to split the set in two, since Rapid Spin doesn't necessarily need to be on a swift swim team to be truly effective, therefore Weak Armor is viable with it. I also find that combining two different sets together may cause tumoil to the analysis reader (noted by jc104) and the Weak Armor set is already outclassed by Feraligatr in almost all aspects, so it will go in AC. (Anyone objecting with the two sets?) This will be in proper skeleton form by the end of this weekend.

EDIT: This analysis is going to require more of my time, so expect Accelgor up / written before this is ready, probably.

I don't know why you think it's so obvious that Feraligatr is so much better than Kabutops. Kabutops is more powerful, and has the potential to become fast, which is quite important (after all, waterfall is still more powerful than torrent aqua jet). I suppose it would have trouble with Scarf Keldeo that feraligatr wouldn't (+2 Aqua Jet only does about half). Actually, bearing in mind that Feraligatr is normally used with a bulky spread, I should perhaps not have made the comparison at all. They appear to be quite different.

Even so, the swift swim set belongs on an entire teamstyle that is questionable. It might seem like it's performing well, but the fact is that you're giving it a massive amount of support that is quite possibly not worth it. It's been a while since I've used damp rock rain though, so I could be wrong.

jc104 said:

I don't know why you think it's so obvious that Feraligatr is so much better than Kabutops. Kabutops is more powerful, and has the potential to become fast, which is quite important (after all, waterfall is still more powerful than torrent aqua jet). I suppose it would have trouble with Scarf Keldeo that feraligatr wouldn't (+2 Aqua Jet only does about half). Actually, bearing in mind that Feraligatr is normally used with a bulky spread, I should perhaps not have made the comparison at all. They appear to be quite different.

Even so, the swift swim set belongs on an entire teamstyle that is questionable. It might seem like it's performing well, but the fact is that you're giving it a massive amount of support that is quite possibly not worth it. It's been a while since I've used damp rock rain though, so I could be wrong.

Click to expand...

I didn't mean to make it like it was so obvious @ Kabutops and Feraligatr. :< It was just that having 3 sets for Kabutops would've been weird, considering that it was RU, but I admit that the Weak Armor set isn't that bad; I'll re-add it to the set list, then.

Also, yes, Kabutops requires a TON of support to work with Swift Swim. It's bulk (defensive wise, anyways) isn't all that bad, despite the amount of Bullet Punches running around in OU (CB Scizor only manages to 2HKO Kabutops with Bullet Punch, despite the fact that Kabutops even fails to 1HKO Scizor.. -.-;;) I'll keep working with it to see how it fares, may ask some people about the set who have used it, and see where it goes from there.

EDIT: But then again, with Drizzle on a majority of the teams, Damp Rock may not be used as often, but the 8 turn limit really limits Kabutops, as the opponent usually trys to stall it out (usually).

You don't need to make separate set for Weak Armor - slash it after Swift Swim. Kabutops with Swift Swim does not necessarily need to be used in a Damp Rock Rain team - it can be used on any team without Politoed. A Sun team, for instance, can utilize Swift Swim Kabutops to check Rain and to use Rapid Spin.

In a similar vein, if I want a physical Rain Sweeper or an offensive Rapid Spinner that can check threats like SubSalac Terrakion and Volarona or not be Pursuit-bait, then I can simply use Weak Armor Kabutops. Make these distinctions clear under your set comments / AC.

Ok; thank you Pocket. Now that the sets are confirmed, I'll finish the skeleton of it this weekend.

Sorry for double posting, but as I said I would, Kabutops is now in its Skeleton form, ready for the QC team.

qc approved 1/3

Thank you, BKC. Implemented check.

If you're using weak armor you definitely need Aqua Jet. I gave it a quick test; kabutops was OK but the priority really was a big part of it. Weak Armor boosts were rare. So either deslash weak armor or slash aqua jet behind low kick please.

Will do, jc103. Slashing it now.

EDIT: Slashed it.

Offensive Rapid Spin wants Adamant Nature for a virtually guaranteed OHKO on Jellicent after Swords Dance, imo. Without Swords Dance an unboosted LO Stone Edge coming from Kabutops have ~39% chance to 2HKO (25% if we account for accuracy), while Jolly Kabutops has no chance without SR. +2 Aqua Jet is also virtually a guaranteed OHKO on min Gengar. With Adamant Nature, Superpower also 2HKOs the standard 252 HP / 88+ Def Ferrothorn (this is accounting the -1 Atk drop of course). I'd say select Adamant as the main nature and drop Jolly to AC.

~ I'd specify that LO is mandatory if Kabutops gives up Swords Dance for Superpower.

Waterfall > Aqua Jet for additional power, if preferred.

Click to expand...

Note readers that Aqua Jet is preferred for Gengar and Prankster Sabeleye, not to mention it allows Kabutops to check the likes of Terrakion, Volcarona, and Mamoswine. The only time I would consider Waterfall would be if Kabutops is used on a Sun team to check Rain teams with Swift Swim ability.

Thanks to Swords Dance / Superpower, Kabutops can usually hold its own against spinblockers, and its STAB combo hits almost every Pokemon for nutruel damage, so not many partners are needed with it.

Click to expand...

Ghosts are immune to Superpower...

~ AC Adamant Nature under Swords Dance. If you already have mons like Kingdra to be faster than Scarf Keldeo or Scarf Latios under Rain, then Kabutops does not necessarily need to be faster than these revenge killers. Instead, it may want to focus on wallbreaking mons like Ferrothorn, Jellicent, Gastrodon, etc so Kingdra would have an easier time cleaning up. Of course, if we're simply using Kabutops as a stand-alone Swords Dance sweeper, then yes, Jolly is the way to go.

Thank you, Pocket. Made all the necessary changes to the set, and switched Jolly for Adamant.

qc approved 2/3, nice job

Thank you Lavos; I'll have this written up as soon as I can.