What does Shellder evolve into?

Shellder evolves into Cloyster using a Water Stone. One evolution, no branching. Solid jump from 305 BST.

Should I use Shellder?

In Crystal, Shellder does the job early-game if you need a Water type on your team. Evolve it into Cloyster before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.

Where can you catch Shellder?

Shellder is catchable in Crystal. Check the Locations section above for specific routes, encounter rates, and methods. It also appears in 19 other games across the series.

What games is Shellder in?

Shellder is available in Crystal. Across the full series, it appears in 20 games total.

Shellder - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Special

Balanced

DTier

40Speed · Very Slow

Stats & Training

Shellder's spread isn't flashy. Defense leads, Sp. Def trails, 1 stats clear the bar. Common in the wild and worth 1 Defense stat exp, on a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats

Avg

HP30

Attack65

Defense100

Sp. Atk45

Sp. Def25

Speed40

Total305

Details

Catch Rate

Easy190 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height0.3 m

Weight4.0 kg

Base XP61

Abilities

Abilities were introduced in Generation III. Shown below for reference.

Shell Armor

Protects against critical hits.

Skill Link

Extends two-to-five-hit moves and triple kick to their full length every time.

OvercoatHA

Protects against damage from weather.

EV Yield

HPAtkDef+1SpASpDSpe

Defense training source

Pokedex Entries

Clamping on to an opponent reveals its vulnerable parts, so it uses this move only as a last resort.

Crystal

Shellder Weakness

Type-wise, Shellder takes extra damage from Electric and Grass. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Shellder's physical bulk (base 100 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

Shellder Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Electric, Grass
0.5x (Resist)	Fire, Water, Ice, Steel

Type ChartGood

2Weak

4Resist

0Immune

Score0

Gen II Type Chart

Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Electric Grass

½xResist

Fire Water Ice Steel

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (3)

Fire Ground Rock

How to Beat Shellder in Crystal (Best Counters)

Tangela Grass	C
Available Moves Moves Vine WhipLv. 19 Mega DrainLv. 31 AbsorbLv. 10 Damage vs Shellder Vine Whip 2x 121-144%KO Mega Drain 2x 111-131%KO Absorb 2x 56-68% View Tangela builds →
Weepinbell GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves Vine WhipLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Vine Whip 2x 107-127%KO View Weepinbell builds →
Oddish GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Absorb 2x 46-55% View Oddish builds →
Chikorita Grass	D
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift Available Move Moves Razor LeafLv. 8 Damage vs Shellder Razor Leaf 2x 89-106%KO View Chikorita builds →
Hoppip GrassFlying	D
Available Move Moves Mega DrainLv. 30 Damage vs Shellder Mega Drain 2x 54-63% View Hoppip builds →

Crystal Evolution

Evolving Shellder into Cloyster takes an evolution item. It's not a simple level-up, so check the chain details below. Evolving adds up to 220 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#090Shellder

Water Stone

#091Cloyster

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Shellder

Water

Cloyster

WaterIce

50+20

ATK

95+30

DEF

100

180+80

SP.ATK

85+40

SP.DEF

45+20

SPE

70+30

BST

305B-Tier

525B-Tier+220

ROLE

Balanced

TYPE

Physical

Mixed

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed Shellder easily with 13 breeding partners from the Water3 egg group. Pass egg moves like Barrier, Bubble Beam, Rapid Spin and 2 more to offspring.

Egg Groups

Water3

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

20 cycles·5,140 steps

Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

5moves

Breed With (best first)

Crystal Shellder Best Moveset

Best Build

Gen 2 build content has limited support (no abilities).

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

Moves

The egg pool carries weight here. Barrier and Bubble Beam aren't available any other way for Shellder, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Surf and Bubble Beam for solid options.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Tackle

D3510035Normal

Lv 1

Withdraw

———40Water

Lv 9

Supersonic

——5520Normal

Lv 17

Aurora Beam

—6510020Ice

Lv 25

Protect+4

C——10Normal

Lv 33

Leer

——10030Normal

Lv 41

Clamp

—358510Water

Lv 49

Ice Beam

D9510010Ice

TM Moves

TM45

Attract

D—10015Normal

TM14

Blizzard

D120705Ice

TM03

Curse

C——10Ghost

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM20

Endure+4

D——10Normal

TM21

Frustration

D—10020Normal

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM16

Icy Wind

D559515Ice

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM18

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM35

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM13

Snore

—4010015Normal

HM03

Surf

C9510015Water

TM34

Swagger

C—8515Normal

TM39

Swift

D60—20Normal

TM06

Toxic

C—8510Poison

HM06

Whirlpool

D358515Water

Egg Moves

Egg

Barrier

D——30Psychic

Egg

Bubble Beam

—6510020Water

Egg

Rapid Spin

D5010040Normal

Egg

Screech

D—8540Normal

Egg

Take Down

D908520Normal

Tutor Moves

Tut

Tutor

Ice Beam

D9510010Ice

Crystal Shellder Locations

high spawn rates in mid-game fishing spots across 14 locations. Shellder's one of the easier catches on the list. Knock it out fast and save your time for harder targets.

Best Locations to Catch Shellder in Crystal

Catching Shellder here means fishing. All 14 encounters require Good Rod and Super Rod at Lv. 20-40, and there aren't any overworld spawns in this game.

New Bark Town

Good Rod Lv.20 City

10%Mid

Olivine City - Harbor

Good Rod Lv.20 City

10%Mid

Pallet Town

Good Rod Lv.20 City

10%Mid

Route 26

Good Rod Lv.20 Route

10%Mid

Route 27

Good Rod Lv.20 Route

10%Mid

Vermilion City - City

Good Rod Lv.20 City

10%Mid

Vermilion City - Harbor

Good Rod Lv.20 City

10%Mid

New Bark Town

Super Rod Lv.40 City

30%Late

Olivine City - Harbor

Super Rod Lv.40 City

30%Late

Pallet Town

Super Rod Lv.40 City

30%Late

Route 26

Super Rod Lv.40 Route

30%Late

Route 27

Super Rod Lv.40 Route

30%Late

Vermilion City - City

Super Rod Lv.40 City

30%Late

Vermilion City - Harbor

Super Rod Lv.40 City

30%Late

Shellder Guide

Shellder evolves into Cloyster using a Water Stone. One evolution, no branching. Solid jump from 305 BST.
In Crystal, Shellder does the job early-game if you need a Water type on your team. Evolve it into Cloyster before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
Shellder is catchable in Crystal. Check the Locations section above for specific routes, encounter rates, and methods. It also appears in 19 other games across the series.
Shellder is available in Crystal. Across the full series, it appears in 20 games total.

Game Availability

Shellder has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 20 titles across all 10 generations. As a Gen 1 original, it's one of the most consistently available Pokemon in the franchise.

Click a game to view version-specific details

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Want to tell us more?

What was most useful?

About:

What could be improved?

About:

Thanks for your feedback

Bellsprout GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves Vine WhipLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Vine Whip 2x 95-114%KO View Bellsprout builds →
Chikorita Grass	D
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift Upcoming Move Moves Razor LeafLv. 8 Learns Razor Leaf at Level 8 View Chikorita builds →
Hoppip GrassFlying	D
Upcoming Move Moves Mega DrainLv. 30 Learns Mega Drain at Level 30 View Hoppip builds →

Oddish GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Absorb 2x 50-60% View Oddish builds →
Chikorita Grass	D
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift Available Move Moves Razor LeafLv. 8 Damage vs Shellder Razor Leaf 2x 88-105%KO View Chikorita builds →
Bellsprout GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves Vine WhipLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Vine Whip 2x 95-113%KO View Bellsprout builds →
Elekid Electric	D
Obtain MethodRoute 34 Gift Available Move Moves Thunder PunchLv. 9 Damage vs Shellder Thunder Punch 2x 145-173%KO View Elekid builds →
Pichu Electric	D
Obtain MethodRoute 34 Gift Available Move Moves Thunder ShockLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Thunder Shock 2x 55-68% View Pichu builds →

Oddish GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Absorb 2x 46-56% View Oddish builds →
Chikorita Grass	D
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift Available Move Moves Razor LeafLv. 8 Damage vs Shellder Razor Leaf 2x 90-106%KO View Chikorita builds →
Bellsprout GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves Vine WhipLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Vine Whip 2x 94-113%KO View Bellsprout builds →
Elekid Electric	D
Obtain MethodRoute 34 Gift Available Moves Moves ThunderTM25 Thunder PunchTM41 Damage vs Shellder Thunder 2x 213-250%KO Thunder Punch 2x 148-175%KO View Elekid builds →
Pichu Electric	D
Obtain MethodRoute 34 Gift Available Moves Moves ThunderTM25 Thunder ShockLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Thunder 2x 148-175%KO Thunder Shock 2x 58-69% View Pichu builds →

Oddish GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Absorb 2x 49-58% View Oddish builds →
Chikorita Grass	D
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift Available Move Moves Razor LeafLv. 8 Damage vs Shellder Razor Leaf 2x 93-111%KO View Chikorita builds →
Bellsprout GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves Vine WhipLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Vine Whip 2x 98-116%KO View Bellsprout builds →
Sunkern Grass	D
Available Moves Moves Mega DrainLv. 10 AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Mega Drain 2x 53-63% Absorb 2x 30-37% View Sunkern builds →
Elekid Electric	D
Obtain MethodRoute 34 Gift Available Moves Moves ThunderTM25 Thunder PunchTM41 Damage vs Shellder Thunder 2x 218-258%KO Thunder Punch 2x 151-179%KO View Elekid builds →

Oddish GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Absorb 2x 48-57% View Oddish builds →
Chikorita Grass	D
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift Available Move Moves Razor LeafLv. 8 Damage vs Shellder Razor Leaf 2x 88-104%KO View Chikorita builds →
Bellsprout GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves Vine WhipLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Vine Whip 2x 96-113%KO View Bellsprout builds →
Hoppip GrassFlying	D
Available Move Moves Mega DrainLv. 30 Damage vs Shellder Mega Drain 2x 55-65% View Hoppip builds →
Sunkern Grass	D
Available Moves Moves Mega DrainLv. 10 AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Shellder Mega Drain 2x 51-61% Absorb 2x 29-35% View Sunkern builds →