Is Clamperl Good in Emerald Playthrough?
Underwater encounter. AbilityShell Armor blocks crits. Clamperl evolves into Huntail with a Deep Sea Tooth trade or Gorebyss with a Deep Sea Scale trade. Both require trading. Without the trade, Clamperl is useless in combat.
Clamperl resists most of Roxanne's coverage and hits back hard.
Clamperl has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Clamperl trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Clamperl resists most of Flannery's coverage and hits back hard.
Clamperl trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Clamperl trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Huntail has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Tate & Liza:
Huntail trades roughly evenly with Juan's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Juan:
Huntail trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Sidney:
Huntail has the type edge here and should clean up Phoebe's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Phoebe:
Huntail trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Glacia:
Huntail trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Drake:
Wallace's team hits Huntail's weaknesses hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Wallace:
Catchable
Catch Clamperl on Route 124 (Surf, Lv 20-35, common).
Recommended Moves
- After Brawly
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Mauville Game Corner
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wally's father at Wally's house in Petalburg City after you defeat Norman
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wallace in Sootopolis City
- HM08WaterDivePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Given by Steven Stone in his house in Mossdeep City
- TUTORNormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- After Juan
- TM03WaterWater PulsePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Juan
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15Battle Frontier
Evolve Clamperl to Huntail
Clamperl evolves into Huntail when traded. Most players are ready to trade before reaching Tate & Liza.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 33)
- LV 33WaterWater PulsePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Brawly
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Mauville Game Corner
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wally's father at Wally's house in Petalburg City after you defeat Norman
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wallace in Sootopolis City
- HM08WaterDivePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Given by Steven Stone in his house in Mossdeep City
- TUTORNormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- LV 50WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15Battle Frontier
- TUTORNormalSwiftPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 20Battle Frontier
Evolve Clamperl to Gorebyss
Clamperl evolves into Gorebyss when traded. Most players are ready to trade before reaching Tate & Liza.
Recommended Moves
- After Brawly
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Mauville Game Corner
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wally's father at Wally's house in Petalburg City after you defeat Norman
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- LV 36PsychicPsychicPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wallace in Sootopolis City
- HM08WaterDivePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Given by Steven Stone in his house in Mossdeep City
- TUTORNormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- LV 50WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15Battle Frontier
- TUTORNormalSwiftPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 20Battle Frontier
How to Get Clamperl in Emerald
Clamperl is a common surf catch in the deep water off Routes 124 and 126, the eastern sea near Mossdeep. Which way it evolves hinges on a held item and a trade, so the clam you pull out of that water is the start of a branching decision.
Wild Clamperl may be holding when caught:
Blue Shard (5% chance) A shard from an ancient item. Can be sold cheaply.2 locations to catch Clamperl
Encountered via Surfing
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Clamperl in E
Available in-game· 2 pathsPick one
- HuntailTrade holding Deep Sea ToothGetFound at Slateport City: From Captain Stern in exchange for the Scanner (choice between this or the DeepSeaScale)
- GorebyssTrade holding Deep Sea ScaleGetFound at Slateport City: From Captain Stern in exchange for the Scanner (choice between this or the DeepSeaTooth)
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in Emerald for Clamperl.
How to Get Shiny Clamperl in Emerald
Clamperl clams up in the water off Route 124 and Route 126, a common catch while Surfing; drift across the open sea and reset each encounter until the pearl-guarding bivalve opens on a shiny blue shell. Compare Shiny Clamperl odds across every game
Emerald Shiny Clamperl Calculator
2 MethodsBoth methods here share the same odds, about 1 in 8,192 on each try. Pick whichever fits how you play.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breeding: Hatch eggs of this line; each egg rolls at the base shiny rate (no Masuda before Gen IV).
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 864-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 2,357-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 5,678-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 18,862-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Curious how fast a hunt could go? Work out your Emerald shiny odds for Clamperl.
Clamperl Weakness
Type-wise, Clamperl takes extra damage from Electric and Grass. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Clamperl's physical bulk (base 85 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Clamperl Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Clamperl
 Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
 Sceptile Grass | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Treecko (Route 101 Gift) | ||
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Sunflora Grass | C | |
 Meganium Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (Littleroot Town Gift) | ||
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
 Ampharos Electric | C | |
 Tropius Grass | C | |
 Magneton ElectricSteel | A | |
 Breloom GrassFighting | B | |
 Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
 Manectric Electric | C | |
 Pikachu Electric | C | |
Clamperl Evolutions
Clamperl's evolution chain splits 2 ways into Huntail and Gorebyss. The method you choose determines which form you get. Evolving adds up to 140 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Clamperl easily with 58 breeding partners from the Water 1 egg group. Pass egg moves like Barrier, Body Slam, Confuse Ray and 3 more to offspring.
E Clamperl Best Moveset
Critical hit immunity from AbilityShell Armor is its only defensive trait, but Clamperl's stats are too low for competition. The moveset matters less than choosing the correct evolution item.
Best Build
Clamperl best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Sweeper Moveset
- Surf
- Hidden Power Electric
- Confuse Ray
- Ice Beam
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding's the move. Barrier and Body Slam give Clamperl options it can't learn any other way, and Ice and Normal coverage already covers a decent range on top of Surf and Dive. The egg moves push it further.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 18 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
A CLAMPERL slams its shell closed on prey to prevent escape. The pearl it creates upon evolution is said to be infused with a mysterious energy.
Clamperl Emerald Guide
Clamperl evolves into Huntail via trade. Trade needs a Game Boy Advance link cable and a second GBA running another Gen 3 game (FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald). Trade Clamperl to a friend, then have them trade it back. The 2026 Switch re-release supports the same trade through local wireless on the Pokemon Center 2F Wireless Club, with no cables required. The Deep Sea Tooth must be held during the trade. Bring one over from a sibling Gen 3 game if needed.
Yes. Wild Clamperl in Emerald can hold Blue Shard (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Blue Shard.
In Emerald, Clamperl does the job early-game if you need a Water type on your team. Evolve it into Huntail before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
Game Availability
Clamperl has been available in 13 games since Ruby & Sapphire, though obtaining it requires a trade evolution. This extra step makes it less common than Pokemon found through standard wild encounters.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RSDebut
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Clamperl.
Keep playing · EmeraldEmerald Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Emerald Tier List