[OVERVIEW]
- Kabutops's access to Swift Swim, a high Attack stat, and a great STAB combination make it a very potent sweeper on rain teams, with Swords Dance allowing Kabutops to pose an even greater threat to teams by further bolstering its good offensive presence.
- Kabutops manages to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame under rain as well as Choice Scarf users like Primeape and Togedemaru, and it can even threaten the few Pokemon that do still outpace it as well as certain priority users like Hitmonchan and Absol with Aqua Jet.
- Kabutops's decent natural Speed tier coupled with good utility options in Rapid Spin and Knock Off being at its disposal enable it to serve as a decent Choice Scarf user that can keep massive threats like Pyroar and Jynx in check.
- However, Kabutops has poor defensive presence as a result of its defensive typing burdening it with a number of weaknesses and its below average bulk limiting setup opportunities.
- Though Kabutops does possess a few key resistances to Fire, Flying, and Normal, it can't take full advantage of them due to its vulnerability to common coverage moves carried by Pokemon of these types.
- Outside of rain, Kabutops is prone to being revenge killed by a number of offensive Pokemon like Lilligant, Primeape, Swanna, and Rotom-F. Priority users like Gurdurr, Hitmonchan, and Skuntank can also potentially revenge kill Kabutops because of its previously mentioned poor defensive presence.
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Liquidation
move 4: Superpower / Aqua Jet
item: Rockium Z / Life Orb
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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- Swords Dance increases Kabutops's Attack by two stages, which enables it to more easily break through defensive Pokemon like Weezing and Lurantis.
- Stone Edge is Kabutops's most powerful STAB move, dealing good damage to Water-resistant Pokemon like Qwilfish, Silvally-Dragon, and Altaria.
- Liquidation pairs well with Stone Edge, allowing Kabutops to deal sizeable damage to Ground-, Steel-, and Fighting-types, such as Mudsdale, Aggron, and Primeape.
- Superpower gives Kabutops neutral coverage for Poliwrath, which would otherwise completely wall it. Superpower also lets Kabutops more reliably deal with Cradily, which is immune to Liquidation due to Storm Drain.
- Alternatively, Aqua Jet can be used to pick off Pokemon that outspeed Kabutops outside of rain such as Pyroar and Froslass as well hit opposing, slower priority users like Hitmonchan and Absol first.
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- swift swim
- evs
- rockium z
- life orb
- lum berry
- fightinium z
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- kabu fits best on rain teams bc
- as kabu is a rain sweeper, it appreciates being paired with rain setters like mesprit, liepard, and volbeat. (go into what each rain setter can do for kabu)
- ludicolo and omastar
- pairing qwilfish with kabu can create a powerful SD spam core, which is especially threaten given that the two share checks and can overload them for the other to have an easier time sweeping
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Liquidation
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Liquidation is Kabutops's main and most reliable STAB move, boasting a fairly high Base Power and allowing Kabutops to deal massive damage to Pokemon like Pyroar and Mudsdale.
- Stone Edge is Kabutops's secondary and most powerful STAB move, threatening to hit Water-resistant or -immune Pokemon like Altaria, Lanturn, Kingler, Lilligant, and Jynx hard. Its shaky accuracy limits its reliability, however.
- Knock Off enables Kabutops to cripple switch-ins that are reliant on their item for bulk, such as Gurdurr and Tangela, or recovery, such as Poliwrath, Weezing, and Qwilfish.
- Rapid Spin allows Kabutops to serve as an emergency hazard remover, with its heightened Speed and positive matchup against common setters and certain spinblockers giving it an easier time clearing its side of the field.
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- evs
- swift swim
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Other Options
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- Kabutops can be used a lead for hyper offensive teams, though it faces tight competition from other leads like Omastar, Aurorus, and Crustle
- weak armor
- toxic
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**Faster Pokemon**:
**Fighting-types**: Poliwrath is one of the best switch-ins to Kabutops, as it's immune to Liquidation, resists Stone Edge, and threatens to OHKO Kabutops with Focus Blast, only fearing a boosted Superpower. Gurdurr has the bulk to take a +2 Liquidation from non-Life Orb Kabutops in the rain and threatens to KO it with Drain Punch. Both of these Pokemon can also pick Kabutops off with Vacuum Wave and Mach Punch, respectively.
**Opposing Weather**: Describe why the Pokemon is a threat.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Describe why the Pokemon is a threat.
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