Is Cloyster Good in Crystal Playthrough?
Massive Defense with Ice-type attacks makes Cloyster one of the best answers to Clair and Lance in Crystal. Physical bulk absorbs most hits and the Ice coverage targets exactly the Dragons you need to beat. Water Stone timing determines how early this comes online.
Shellder resists most of Falkner's coverage and hits back hard.
Shellder has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Sabrina's typing presses Cloyster's defenses.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Cloyster resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Will's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catch Shellder
Catch Shellder in New Bark Town (Good Rod fishing, Lv 20, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 20)
- LV 20IceAurora BeamPower 65Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Falkner
- TM39NormalSwiftPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 20Union Cave
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner prize (5500 coins)
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Ecruteak City
- TM13NormalSnorePower 40Accuracy 100%PP 15Moomoo Farm
- After Pryce
- TM16IceIcy WindPower 55Accuracy 95%PP 15Prize for defeating Pryce
- After Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
- LV 49IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10
Evolve Shellder to Cloyster
Shellder evolves into Cloyster with a Water Stone. You can receive the Water Stone from an NPC in Route 42.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 25)
- LV 25IceAurora BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner prize (5500 coins)
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Ecruteak City
- After Pryce
- TM16IceIcy WindPower 83Accuracy 95%PP 15Prize for defeating Pryce
- After Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
- After Lt. Surge
- TUTORIceIce BeamPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod City
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Celadon Game Corner prize (7500 coins)
- TM06PoisonToxicPower —Accuracy 85%PP 10Prize for defeating Janine
How to Get Cloyster in Crystal
Wild Cloyster doesn't exist in Crystal. A Water Stone on a Shellder is the route, and since Shellder is a rod-only catch, you're fishing one up before you can evolve it.
Wild Cloyster may be holding when caught:
Pearl (23% chance) A beautiful pearl. Sell low.
Big Pearl (2% chance) A big, beautiful pearl. Sell high.Catch Shellder at any of these 10 spots to eventually evolve into Cloyster.
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
- 1Catch Shellder
- 2Evolve CloysterUse Water Stone
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8How to Obtain Cloyster in C
To get Cloyster, start by catching Shellder through fishing encounters at Lv. 20-40. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
- Step 1Catch ShellderNew Bark TownLv.20Good RodRate 10%Olivine City - HarborLv.20Good RodRate 10%Route 41Lv.20Good RodRate 10%Cinnabar IslandLv.20Good RodRate 10%Pallet TownLv.20Good RodRate 10%Route 20Lv.20Good RodRate 10%Route 21Lv.20Good RodRate 10%Route 26Lv.20Good RodRate 10%Route 27Lv.20Good RodRate 10%Vermilion City - CityLv.20Good RodRate 10%Vermilion City - HarborLv.20Good RodRate 10%New Bark TownLv.40Super RodRate 30%Olivine City - HarborLv.40Super RodRate 30%Route 41Lv.40Super RodRate 30%Cinnabar IslandLv.40Super RodRate 30%Pallet TownLv.40Super RodRate 30%Route 20Lv.40Super RodRate 30%Route 21Lv.40Super RodRate 30%Route 26Lv.40Super RodRate 30%Route 27Lv.40Super RodRate 30%Vermilion City - CityLv.40Super RodRate 30%Vermilion City - HarborLv.40Super RodRate 30%
- Step 2Cloyster ✓BREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Shellder egg.
How to Get Shiny Cloyster in Crystal
Cloyster forms when a Water Stone touches Shellder, so reel in a shiny off the Olivine or Cinnabar coast first and evolve it whenever you like. Compare Shiny Cloyster odds across every game
Crystal Shiny Cloyster Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Breed w/ Shiny Parent, about 1 in 64 on each try.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breed w/ Shiny Parent: Eggs inherit stats from a shiny parent, so about 1 in 64 hatch shiny. A shiny Ditto helps every egg, and any other shiny parent (the red Gyarados works) helps only eggs of the opposite gender.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 7-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 19-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 45-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 147-- | -- |
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.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in Crystal with Cloyster preloaded.
Cloyster Weakness
Cloyster's Water/Ice typing leaves it vulnerable to Electric, Grass, Fighting, and Rock. Cloyster's physical bulk (base 180 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass, Fighting, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Water |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Ice |
- 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
What is Cloyster Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Cloyster
 Celebi PsychicGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodIlex Forest Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Celebi builds →Solar Beam 2x201-237%KO Ancient Power 2x23-27% | ||
 Raikou Electric | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Raikou builds →Thunder 2x227-268%KO Rock Smash 2x7-9% | ||
 Sunflora Grass | C | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
 Jolteon Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Jolteon builds →Thunder 2x218-257%KO Double Kick 2x9-11% | ||
 Tangela Grass | C | |
 Poliwrath WaterFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Poliwhirl (Route 30 Surfing) | ||
 Electabuzz Electric | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Electabuzz builds →Thunderbolt 2x153-180%KO Dynamic Punch 2x32-38% | ||
 Meganium Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (New Bark Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Meganium builds →Solar Beam 2x174-205%KO Rock Smash 2x7-9% | ||
 Hitmonlee Fighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Tyrogue (Mt Mortar Gift) Available Move Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Hitmonlee builds →High Jump Kick 2x55-65% | ||
 Magneton ElectricSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Magneton builds →Thunder 2x236-278%KO Rollout 2x9-11% | ||
 Raichu Electric | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Pichu (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Raichu builds →Thunderbolt 2x148-174%KO Dynamic Punch 2x34-41% Rollout 2x11-14% | ||
 Tyranitar RockDark | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Tyranitar builds →Rock Slide 2x55-65% Dynamic Punch 2x48-57% | ||
Cloyster Evolutions
Getting Cloyster requires an evolution item, not just grinding levels. The chain starts at Shellder. Breed this form to get Shellder eggs (average hatch time). Defense grew the most through evolution (+80 over Shellder), and Cloyster peaks at 525 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Cloyster to get Shellder eggs easily using 13 partners from the Water 3 egg group. Notable egg moves include Barrier, Bubble Beam, Rapid Spin and 2 more.
C Cloyster Best Moveset
Sets MoveSpikes that damage every grounded opponent on every switch, the most format-defining move available. 180 Defense blocks physical attacks while hazards accumulate. MoveExplosion closes with massive damage after the job is done. Held ItemLeftovers sustains the setup phase. Hazard setter and physical tank in one slot.
Best Build
Support Moveset
- Spikes
- Surf
- Explosion
- Toxic
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
You'll want to breed for Barrier and Bubble Beam on Cloyster. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Blizzard and Surf, they expand what Cloyster can actually threaten in practice.
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.
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
15 of 20 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Reminder Moves
Base Stats
Even a missile can’t break the spikes it uses to stab opponents. They’re even harder than its shell.
Cloyster Crystal Guide
In Crystal, use Cloyster as a hazard setter. Special attacks are the main output. Speed is middling, Surf is the primary attack.
Game Availability
One of the original 151, Cloyster has appeared in 20 games: most mainline games. From Red & Blue through the latest titles, it's rarely been left out of a regional Pokedex.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
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 Cloyster.
Keep playing · CrystalCrystal Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Crystal Tier List