Overview
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- Is an excellent sweeper on Rain hyper offense
- Can 2HKO some of the best physical walls in OU after a Swords Dance boost
- Has a good STAB combination between Water and Rock
- Ferrothorn, the most relevant defensive Pokemon to resist both STABs, loses to Low Kick
- Destroys defensive teams with Swords Dance
- Poor SpDef
- Weak to common Fighting-type attacks
Physical Attacker
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name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Waterfall
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Swords Dance / Rapid Spin
move 4: Low Kick / Aqua Jet
ability: Swift Swim
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Moves
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- Swords Dance is the best reason to use Kabutops, as it can boost and
- Waterfall is the strongest STAB under rain, capable of OHKOing Pokemon like Landorus-T after a boost, factoring Intimidate
- Stone Edge is your secondary STAB with good coverage, Hitting most Water resists
- Low Kick is good for Pokemon that resist his dual STAB like Ferrothorn
- Aqua Jet is a strong priority move that beats frailer revenge killers like Talonflame (as if anyone would leave this in)
- Rapid Spin provides utility at the cost of coverage, removing hazards from your side of field
Set Details
=======
- Swift Swim doubles his speed under rain, beating slower Choice Scarfers and faster opposing Pokemon while powering up Waterfall
- Life Orb provides a significant power boost while allowing it to switch moves
- Adamant nature provides power, and you still outspeed everything important in rain, bar extremely fast Scarfers, which can take an Aqua Jet
Usage Tips
========
- Kabutops is free to sweep whenever its checks are weakened or removed, or even earlier to break down walls for Kingdra/Ludicolo/whatever
- Keep your Politoed alive at all costs. If you need to sacrifice it, make sure you can send Kabutops in right after
- Rain lasts just long enough for Kabutops to sweep, but only if brought in right away, which requires Kabutops to be played carefully, as the risk of the opponent double switching exists
- Keep Kabutops alive even if it means losing the last few turns of Rain. If a Breloom comes in and you suspect it can live a Waterfall, switch out because you can easily die to it
Team Options
========
- POLITOED
- Ways to beat bulky grass types like Gourgeist or Ferrothorn (if not using Low Kick)
- Fire types beat most of his checks, but are weakened by rain, so more unconventional methods may work
- SR setters are appreciated.
- Mega Scizor appreciates Fire attacks being weakened
- Kingdra breaks many walls Kabutops has trouble with, forming an excellent rain offense core, Low Kick allows Kabutops to weaken Ferrothorn for Kingdra
- Landorus-T provides Intimidate, Stealth Rock, and U-turn, allowing Kabutops to come in much easier, and Stealth Rock allows it to break through certain defensive Pokemon like Kabutops
- Rotom-W is immune to Earthquake and provides a slower Volt Switch
- Latios beats many Pokemon that give rain offense trouble
Other Options
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- note: add arikados set
- SR
- Hone Claws
- Knock Off
- Lum Berry
Checks & Counters
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- Weather being changed
- Mega Venusaur
- Keldeo
- Chesnaught
- Gourgeist
- Thundurus
- Rotom-W
- Sableye
- Gastrodon
- Breloom
- Scarf Terrakion (no Aqua Jet)
########
- Is an excellent sweeper on Rain hyper offense
- Can 2HKO some of the best physical walls in OU after a Swords Dance boost
- Has a good STAB combination between Water and Rock
- Ferrothorn, the most relevant defensive Pokemon to resist both STABs, loses to Low Kick
- Destroys defensive teams with Swords Dance
- Poor SpDef
- Weak to common Fighting-type attacks
Physical Attacker
########
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Waterfall
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Swords Dance / Rapid Spin
move 4: Low Kick / Aqua Jet
ability: Swift Swim
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Moves
========
- Swords Dance is the best reason to use Kabutops, as it can boost and
- Waterfall is the strongest STAB under rain, capable of OHKOing Pokemon like Landorus-T after a boost, factoring Intimidate
- Stone Edge is your secondary STAB with good coverage, Hitting most Water resists
- Low Kick is good for Pokemon that resist his dual STAB like Ferrothorn
- Aqua Jet is a strong priority move that beats frailer revenge killers like Talonflame (as if anyone would leave this in)
- Rapid Spin provides utility at the cost of coverage, removing hazards from your side of field
Set Details
=======
- Swift Swim doubles his speed under rain, beating slower Choice Scarfers and faster opposing Pokemon while powering up Waterfall
- Life Orb provides a significant power boost while allowing it to switch moves
- Adamant nature provides power, and you still outspeed everything important in rain, bar extremely fast Scarfers, which can take an Aqua Jet
Usage Tips
========
- Kabutops is free to sweep whenever its checks are weakened or removed, or even earlier to break down walls for Kingdra/Ludicolo/whatever
- Keep your Politoed alive at all costs. If you need to sacrifice it, make sure you can send Kabutops in right after
- Rain lasts just long enough for Kabutops to sweep, but only if brought in right away, which requires Kabutops to be played carefully, as the risk of the opponent double switching exists
- Keep Kabutops alive even if it means losing the last few turns of Rain. If a Breloom comes in and you suspect it can live a Waterfall, switch out because you can easily die to it
Team Options
========
- POLITOED
- Ways to beat bulky grass types like Gourgeist or Ferrothorn (if not using Low Kick)
- Fire types beat most of his checks, but are weakened by rain, so more unconventional methods may work
- SR setters are appreciated.
- Mega Scizor appreciates Fire attacks being weakened
- Kingdra breaks many walls Kabutops has trouble with, forming an excellent rain offense core, Low Kick allows Kabutops to weaken Ferrothorn for Kingdra
- Landorus-T provides Intimidate, Stealth Rock, and U-turn, allowing Kabutops to come in much easier, and Stealth Rock allows it to break through certain defensive Pokemon like Kabutops
- Rotom-W is immune to Earthquake and provides a slower Volt Switch
- Latios beats many Pokemon that give rain offense trouble
Other Options
########
- note: add arikados set
- SR
- Hone Claws
- Knock Off
- Lum Berry
Checks & Counters
########
- Weather being changed
- Mega Venusaur
- Keldeo
- Chesnaught
- Gourgeist
- Thundurus
- Rotom-W
- Sableye
- Gastrodon
- Breloom
- Scarf Terrakion (no Aqua Jet)
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