Kowtow Cleave is Kingambit’s signature move: a Dark-type physical attack with 85 base power that never misses. No accuracy check, no ways to avoid it through evasion — if Kingambit uses Kowtow Cleave, it hits.
Why it matters
Most high-power physical moves in Pokémon have accuracy drawbacks: Stone Edge is 80%, Focus Blast is 70%. Kowtow Cleave doesn’t — it’s 100% reliable every turn.
For a setup sweeper like Kingambit, reliability is everything. After spending a turn on Swords DanceSwords DancemoveA Normal-type move that sharply raises Attack by two stages — doubling it in one turn.Click to read more → and building Supreme OverlordSupreme OverlordabilityKingambit's ability: Attack increases by 10% for each fainted ally, up to +50% at 5 fainted — it gets stronger as teammates fall.Click to read more → stacks, the last thing you want is to miss. Kowtow Cleave removes that variance completely.
The Kingambit sweep package
Kingambit’s main offensive moves:
- Kowtow Cleave (Dark) — reliable, STABSTABmechanicSame-Type Attack Bonus: a move deals ×1.5 damage when its type matches one of the user's types.Click to read more →, never misses
- Iron Head (Steel) — STAB, 30% flinch chance
The combination means Kingambit hits every turn without fail and has a flinch chance on top. Under +2 Swords Dance with Supreme Overlord stacked, almost nothing in the tier survives a Kowtow Cleave, and whatever does live might flinch to Iron Head.
Type coverage
Dark-type is an interesting coverage choice. It hits Ghost-types and Psychic-types — including opposing Trick RoomTrick RoomstrategyFor 5 turns, slower Pokémon move first. Reverses the entire speed game — a strategy that builds teams around very slow attackers.Click to read more → setters like HattereneHatterenepokemonMagic Bounce setter and Trick Room anchor. Reflects status, sets terrain, and powers slow attackers under reversed Speed.Click to read more → and Indeedee — super effectively. Kingambit’s Steel/Dark dual STAB covers a wide portion of the meta.
The weakness: Fairy-types resist both Dark and are generally immune to nothing Kingambit threatens. Hatterene (Psychic/Fairy) is notably dangerous because it resists Kowtow Cleave through Fairy typing.