Is Gastrodon Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
Water/Ground with AbilityStorm Drain absorbing Water moves for a Sp. Atk boost. One weakness (Grass, 4x) and excellent bulk. Handles Roark, Volkner, Flint, and Byron. Cynthia uses one too. Reusable TMs give it Ice Beam for Dragon coverage. One of the most reliable Pokemon from mid-game through the Champion fight. Never leaves the team once it joins.
Shellos resists most of Roark's coverage and hits back hard.
Gardenia's team hits Shellos's weaknesses hard.
Shellos trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Crasher Wake's typing presses Shellos's defenses.
Gastrodon trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Gastrodon has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Gastrodon trades roughly evenly with Candice's team.
Gastrodon has the type edge here and should clean up Volkner's team.
Gastrodon has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Gastrodon has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Gastrodon has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Gastrodon trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Gastrodon trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Catch Shellos on Route 205 (walking, Lv 11, uncommon).
Your Shellos should hit Level 30 before you reach Fantina, at typical leveling pace.
How to Get Gastrodon in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
Gastrodon's scattered across 18 spots in mid-game routes with high spawn rates. Check the list below for the closest location to wherever you are in the game. This one's quick.
Where To Catch Gastrodon in BDSP
Shellos is your first catch on the way to Gastrodon. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 7-53 across 38 total spots in the chain.
Step 1Catch ShellosRoute 205 - SouthLv.8-10GrassRate 45%Valley WindworksLv.7-9FloorRate 30%Route 205 - NorthLv.11GrassRate 10%Route 213Lv.20-22GrassRate 50%NightRoute 213Lv.20-22GrassRate 40%Morning/dayFuego IronworksLv.28FloorRate 20%Route 218Lv.28GrassRate 20%Fountainspring CaveLv.16-20CaveRoute 221Lv.28GrassRate 10%Route 224Lv.23GrassRate 1%
Step 2Gastrodon ✓Route 221Lv.28-30GrassShining PearlRate 30%Route 218Lv.28-30GrassRate 20%Fuego IronworksLv.29-30FloorRate 15%Fountainspring CaveLv.16-20CaveRoute 221Lv.29-30GrassBrilliant DiamondRate 10%Route 222Lv.40-42GrassBrilliant DiamondRate 40%NightRoute 222Lv.40-42GrassBrilliant DiamondRate 30%Morning/dayRoute 222Lv.40-42GrassShining PearlRate 20%NightRoute 222Lv.41-42GrassShining PearlRate 10%Morning/dayRoute 224Lv.52-53GrassRate 30%NightRoute 224Lv.53GrassRate 20%Morning/dayRoute 230Lv.51GrassRate 5%or evolve from Shellos (Step 1)
Gastrodon Weakness
Gastrodon's Water/Ground typing leaves it vulnerable to Grass. Grass hits land at 4x, so they're the biggest threat. It shrugs off Electric-type attacks completely. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Storm Drain grants an additional Water immunity, reshaping the matchup chart. With 111 HP and balanced defenses, Gastrodon can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Poison, Rock, Steel |
| 0x (Immune) | Electric |
What is Gastrodon Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Gastrodon
 Budew GrassPoison | D | |
Budew GrassPoison | D | |
Budew GrassPoison | D | |
Budew GrassPoison | D | |
Budew GrassPoison | D | |
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Gastrodon View Roserade builds →Petal Dance 4x203-239%KO | ||
 Abomasnow GrassIce | C | |
Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Gastrodon View Roserade builds →Petal Dance 4x203-239%KO | ||
Abomasnow GrassIce | C | |
Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Gastrodon View Roserade builds →Petal Dance 4x206-243%KO | ||
Abomasnow GrassIce | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Gastrodon View Abomasnow builds →Wood Hammer 4x183-216%KO | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | C | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Gastrodon View Vileplume builds →Petal Dance 4x183-216%KO | ||
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
S | ||
Recommended Build AbilityFlashfire ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves View Heatran builds →
| ||
A | ||
Recommended Build AbilityStatic ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureBold Moves
Damage vs Gastrodon View Zapdos builds →Hurricane19-22% Heat Wave8-9% | ||
B | ||
Recommended Build AbilitySheerforce ItemLife Orb NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Gastrodon View Nidoking builds →Ice Beam19-22% Flamethrower9-11% | ||
B | ||
Recommended Build AbilityRegenerator ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureRelaxed Moves
Damage vs Gastrodon View Slowbro builds →Scald11-13% | ||
C | ||
Recommended Build AbilityDrizzle ItemDamprock NatureRelaxed Moves
Damage vs Gastrodon View Pelipper builds →U Turn9-11% Hurricane15-17% | ||
Gastrodon Evolutions
Gastrodon is the evolved form of Shellos. Breeding produces Shellos eggs, and they're average hatch time. Evolving from Shellos gave Gastrodon the biggest boost in HP (+35), bringing the total to 475 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Gastrodon to get Shellos eggs easily using 31 partners from the Indeterminate and Water1 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Acid Armor, Amnesia, Clear Smog and 11 more.
BDSP Gastrodon Best Moveset
Held C-tier with AbilityStorm Drain absorbing all Water moves for Sp. Atk boosts, removing one of Ground typing's few weaknesses. 111 HP with Water/Ground TermStab at 92 Sp. Atk gives the moveset bulk and special offense. Only Grass exploits the typing. Consistent defensive presence that's been C-tier through the original and the remake.
Best Build
Gastrodon best EVs are HP and Sp. Def
Wall Moveset
- Recover
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Toxic
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The natural movepool does the job, but Acid Armor and Amnesia from the egg pool give Gastrodon something extra.
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
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It has a pliable body without any bones. If any part of its body is torn off, it grows right back.
It apparently had a huge shell for protection in ancient times. It lives in shallow tidal pools.
Gastrodon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Don't let Gastrodon's 475 base stat total fool you. Storm Drain is what makes it tick. It punches way above its weight class. We rate it C-Tier as a trick room. Recover with Leftovers is the standard set.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, watch for Roserade (Grass) when using Gastrodon. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Roserade is the most dangerous since Grass moves deal 4x damage. Only 1 weakness means fewer dedicated counters to worry about. At base 39 Speed, Gastrodon won't outrun any of these threats so switching to a resist is usually the safer play.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Run Storm Drain on Gastrodon. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Gastrodon also gets Sticky Hold and Sand Force, but they don't compare.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Gastrodon fills the trick room role. It's a mixed attacker with base 83 Attack and 92 Sp. Atk. Base 39 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, run Recover, Scald, Earthpower, and Toxic on Gastrodon. Recover is the most common pick at 0% usage. Scald provides reliable STAB damage.
Game Availability
Gastrodon first appeared in Diamond & Pearl and has been available in 13 games across 7 generations. Obtainable through wild encounters in most titles where it appears.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DPDebut
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 7LGPE
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