Is Cloyster Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Physical Defense through the roof, and the Ice typing gives Cloyster dangerous coverage against Lance. Folds to anything on the special side though. Dominant in its lane, helpless outside it. Bring it for the matchups it wins and don't leave it in for the ones it loses.
Brock's typing presses Shellder's defenses.
Misty's typing presses Shellder's defenses.
Lt. Surge's team hits Shellder's weaknesses hard.
Erika's team hits Shellder's weaknesses hard.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
Lorelei's typing presses Cloyster's defenses.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catch Shellder
Catch Shellder in Vermilion City (Super Rod fishing, Lv 10, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- After Misty
- TM11WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Cerulean Gym Leader Misty
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM49NormalTri AttackPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- After Erika
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- LV 50IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Koga
- TM36NormalSelf-DestructPower 130Accuracy 100%PP 5Silph Co.
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Giovanni
- TM47NormalExplosionPower 170Accuracy 100%PP 5Victory Road 3F
Evolve Shellder to Cloyster
Shellder evolves into Cloyster with a Water Stone. You can buy the Water Stone at the Celadon Department Store on the 4th floor (₽2,100).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 50)
- LV 50IceAurora BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Lt. Surge
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 180Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Koga
- TM36NormalSelf-DestructPower 130Accuracy 100%PP 5Silph Co.
- After Giovanni
- TM47NormalExplosionPower 170Accuracy 100%PP 5Victory Road 3F
How to Get Cloyster in Yellow
Cloyster comes from a Water Stone on Shellder, never the wild. Two Pokemon in this range want that same stone, so think before you spend it.
Catch Shellder at any of these 3 spots to eventually evolve into Cloyster.
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
- 1Catch Shellder
- 2Evolve CloysterUse Water Stone
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4How to Obtain Cloyster in Y
Shellder is your first catch on the way to Cloyster. You'll find fishing encounters from Lv. 10-40 across 3 total spots in the chain.
- Step 2Cloyster ✓
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 |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Cloyster Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Cloyster
 Venusaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Cerulean City Gift) | ||
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | S | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Tangela Grass | C | |
 Jolteon Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Jolteon builds →Thunderbolt 2x107-126%KO Double Kick 2x9-11% | ||
 Zapdos Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
 Magneton Electric | C | |
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
 Raichu Electric | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Pichu (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Raichu builds →Thunderbolt 2x91-107%KO Submission 2x27-33% | ||
 Electrode Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
 Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Cinnabar Island Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Kabutops builds →Submission 2x33-40% Absorb 2x11-13% | ||
 Hitmonlee Fighting | B | |
Obtain MethodSaffron City Gift Available Move Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Hitmonlee builds →High Jump Kick 2x55-65% | ||
 Primeape Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cloyster View Primeape builds →Submission 2x46-54% Rock Slide 2x30-35% Thunderbolt 2x44-53% | ||
Cloyster Evolutions
The Water/Ice-type Cloyster caps Shellder's chain at 565 stats. No daycare options for this one. Defense grew the most through evolution (+80 over Shellder), and Cloyster peaks at 565 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Y Cloyster Best Moveset
MoveClamp locking holds the target for 2-5 turns unable to act or switch, and 180 Defense blocks any physical attacker trying to break free. Water/Ice TermStab from decent Special hits without being resisted across the format. MoveExplosion ends games with raw physical damage when the locking is done. Traps, walls, detonates.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Explosion
- Clamp
- Blizzard
- Rest
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Level-up moves are just the starting point for Cloyster. TMs unlock Normal coverage and turn a straightforward STAB kit around Blizzard and Ice Beam into something with actual range.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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 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 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 21 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
For protection, it uses its harder-than-diamonds shell. It also shoots spikes from the shell.
Cloyster Yellow Guide
In Yellow, use Cloyster as a balanced. Special attacks are the main output. Speed is middling, Clamp 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 · YellowYellow Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Yellow Tier List