In Sword & Shield, Shelgon isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Salamence to unlock its full potential. At 420 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.

What is Shelgon weak to?

In Sword & Shield, Shelgon's biggest threats include Lapras (Ice), Kingdra (Dragon), and Clefable (Fairy), all carrying super-effective STAB moves.

How do you evolve Shelgon?

In Sword & Shield, Bagon evolves into Shelgon at level 30. Shelgon evolves into Salamence at level 50. Shelgon is a middle-stage evolution in the Bagon line.

What is the best ability for Shelgon?

Rock Head is the go-to ability for Shelgon. It protects against recoil damage. Its hidden ability Overcoat can work in specific setups.

What role does Shelgon play in battle?

In Sword & Shield, Shelgon fills the balanced role. It's a physical attacker with base 95 Attack. Base 50 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.

Shelgon - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Balanced

DTier

50Speed · Slow

Stats & Training

Shelgon's spread isn't flashy. Defense leads, Sp. Def trails, 2 stats clear the bar. Tough to catch and worth 2 Defense EVs, on a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats

Above

HP65

Attack95

Defense100

Sp. Atk60

Sp. Def50

Speed50

Total420

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging45 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height1.1 m

Weight110.5 kg

Base XP147

Abilities

Rock HeadTop Pick

Protects against recoil damage.

OvercoatHA

Protects against damage from weather.

EV Yield

HPAtkDef+2SpASpDSpe

Defense training target

Pokedex Entries

This Pokémon has covered its body in a hard shell that has the same composition as bone. Shelgon stores energy for evolution.

Shelgon Weakness

Shelgon is weak to Ice, Dragon, and Fairy. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Shelgon's physical bulk (base 100 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

Shelgon Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Ice, Dragon, Fairy
0.5x (Resist)	Fire, Water, Electric, Grass

Type ChartAvg

3Weak

4Resist

0Immune

Score-2

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Ice Dragon Fairy

½xResist

Fire Water Electric Grass

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (1)

Dragon

How to Beat Shelgon in Sword & Shield (Best Counters)

In Sword & Shield, Garchomp's Earthquake hits Shelgon for 49-58%. Weavile's Ice Shard hits Shelgon for 38-45%. Clefable's Moonblast also KOs at 101-119%.

Garchomp DragonGround	A
Recommended Build AbilityRough Skin ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves EarthquakeSTAB Swords Dance Scale Shot Stealth Rock Damage vs Shelgon Earthquake 49-58% View Garchomp builds →
Weavile DarkIce	A
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureJolly Moves Knock Off Ice Shard Triple Axel Swords Dance Damage vs Shelgon Knock Off 31-36% Ice Shard 2x 38-45% View Weavile builds →
Clefable Fairy	A
Recommended Build AbilityMagic Guard ItemLeftovers NatureBold Moves MoonblastSTAB Soft Boiled Calm Mind Knock Off Damage vs Shelgon Moonblast 2x 101-119%KO Knock Off 10-11% View Clefable builds →
Dragonite DragonFlying	B
Recommended Build AbilityMultiscale ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureAdamant Moves Dragon Dance Earthquake RoostRecovery Ice Punch Damage vs Shelgon Earthquake 37-43% View Dragonite builds →
Lapras WaterIce	C
Recommended Build AbilityHydration ItemLeftovers NatureModest Moves SurfSTAB Freeze Dry ProtectPriority Future Sight Damage vs Shelgon Surf 31-37% View Lapras builds →

Sword & Shield Evolution

Shelgon is the middle stage between Bagon and Salamence. It's a three-stage line with one more evolution to go. For breeding, takes forever to hatch with plenty of partners via one egg group. Defense has grown the most so far (+40), but there's still another 180 stats to gain in the final evolution. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

3 Forms

#371Bagon

Level 30

#372Shelgon

Level 50

#373Salamence

Stat Comparison 3 Stages

Bagon

Dragon

Shelgon

Dragon

Salamence

DragonFlying

65+20

95+30

ATK

95+20

135+40

DEF

100+40

80-20

SP.ATK

60+20

110+50

SP.DEF

50+20

80+30

SPE

100+50

BST

300C-Tier

420D-Tier+120

600B-Tier+180

ROLE

Balanced

Sweeper

TYPE

Physical

Breeding

Moderate

Breed with Shelgon to get Bagon eggs using 63 partners from the Dragon egg group.

Egg Groups

Dragon

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

40 cycles·10,280 steps

Slow~10 min with Flame Body

Breed With (best first)

Sword & Shield Shelgon Best Moveset

Bulk and offense in one package. Shelgon runs Rocky Helmet for chip damage on every physical hit received with a Adamant nature, so it survives long enough to threaten with Double-Edge. Max HP and Attack EVs and Dark and Normal coverage make it hard to safely switch into.

Best Build

Experimental

Physical Tank

Ability

Rock Head

Item

Rocky HelmetPUNISH

Best Nature for Shelgon

Adamant+ATK

Shelgon best EVs are HP and Attack

EVs

Atk

SpD

Physical Tank Moveset

Double Edge
CrunchCoverage
ThrashCoverage
Brick Break

Recommended Teammates

GibleExcellent

GastlyExcellent

CorphishExcellent

Moves

TMs define Shelgon's movepool. The natural moves cover basics with Outrage and Dragon Pulse, but the real versatility comes from technical machines giving it coverage across 8 types. That's where the options open up.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Bite

D6010025Dark

Lv 1

Dragon Breath

—6010020Dragon

Lv 1

Ember

D4010025Fire

Lv 1

Leer

D—10030Normal

Lv 1

Protect+4

C——10Normal

Lv 15

Headbutt

C7010015Normal

Lv 20

Scary Face

——10010Normal

Lv 25

Crunch

S8010015Dark

Lv 33

Dragon Claw

C8010015Dragon

Lv 39

Zen Headbutt

C809015Psychic

Lv 46

Focus Energy

C——30Normal

Lv 53

Flamethrower

D9010015Fire

Lv 60

Outrage

B12010010Dragon

Lv 67

Double-Edge

S12010015Normal

TM Moves

TM31

Attract

C—10015Normal

TR01

Body Slam

C8510015Normal

TM43

Brick Break

S7510015Fighting

TR32

Crunch

S8010015Dark

TR47

Dragon Claw

C8010015Dragon

TR51

Dragon Dance

S——20Dragon

TR62

Dragon Pulse

C8510010Dragon

TR26

Endure+4

C——10Normal

TM39

Facade

C7010020Normal

TR15

Fire Blast

D110855Fire

TM68

Fire Fang

D659515Fire

TR02

Flamethrower

D9010015Fire

TR13

Focus Energy

C——30Normal

TR03

Hydro Pump

D110805Water

TR42

Hyper Voice

D9010010Normal

TR46

Iron Defense

C——15Steel

TR24

Outrage

B12010010Dragon

TM25

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM33

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM21

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM22

Rock Slide

C759010Rock

TM48

Rock Tomb

D609515Rock

TM76

Round

D6010015Normal

TM26

Scary Face

——10010Normal

TM65

Shadow Claw

C7010015Ghost

TR27

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM24

Snore

—5010015Normal

TR20

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM34

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TR69

Zen Headbutt

C809015Psychic

Egg Moves

Shelgon doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Shelgon can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Shelgon in Sword & Shield

Shelgon doesn't appear wild. Catch Bagon instead, it shows up at moderate rates. Evolve it at level 30 to get Shelgon. The 2-stage line is mapped in the step cards below.

How to Obtain Shelgon in Sword & Shield

Step 1Catch Bagon
Tunnel to the Top
Overworld Lv.60-65 Cave
10%Post
All Weather
Train until Level 30
Step 2Shelgon ✓

Shelgon Guide

In Sword & Shield, Shelgon isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Salamence to unlock its full potential. At 420 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.
In Sword & Shield, Shelgon's biggest threats include Lapras (Ice), Kingdra (Dragon), and Clefable (Fairy), all carrying super-effective STAB moves.
In Sword & Shield, Bagon evolves into Shelgon at level 30. Shelgon evolves into Salamence at level 50. Shelgon is a middle-stage evolution in the Bagon line.
Rock Head is the go-to ability for Shelgon. It protects against recoil damage. Its hidden ability Overcoat can work in specific setups.
In Sword & Shield, Shelgon fills the balanced role. It's a physical attacker with base 95 Attack. Base 50 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.

Game Availability

Shelgon first appeared in Ruby & Sapphire and has been available in 16 games across 8 generations. Obtainable through catching or hatching as a base form in most titles where it appears.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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