Is Gastrodon Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Shellos evolves at level 30. Water/Ground with only Grass weakness. AbilitySticky Hold prevents item theft. Handles Jasmine and Pryce. But Quagsire is available from Route 32 without the breeding hassle.
Gastrodon trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Gastrodon has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Gastrodon has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Gastrodon trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Chuck's typing presses Gastrodon's defenses.
Gastrodon resists most of Jasmine's coverage and hits back hard.
Gastrodon has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Gastrodon trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Gastrodon resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Gastrodon trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Gastrodon resists most of Lt. Surge's coverage and hits back hard.
Gastrodon trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Gastrodon has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Gastrodon trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Gastrodon resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Gastrodon trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Gastrodon trades roughly evenly with Will's team.
Gastrodon has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Gastrodon has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Gastrodon has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Gastrodon trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Trade
Gastrodon cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 30.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM28GroundDigPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Kimono Girl in the Ecruteak Dance Theater
- After Pryce
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Item ball on Ice Path 1F
- After Jasmine
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 43
- LV 41WaterMuddy WaterPower 143Accuracy 85%PP 10
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
How to Get Gastrodon in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Gastrodon can't be caught in HeartGold & SoulSilver. Transfer Shellos in from Diamond & Pearl or Platinum, then evolve it into Gastrodon. The step cards below show each evolution.
How to Obtain Gastrodon in HGSS
- Step 1Obtain ShellosCARTRIDGE TRADEfrom Diamond & PearlAvailableCatch in Diamond & Pearl via Walking · Route 213, then trade to the current game via link cable.CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom PlatinumAvailableCatch in Platinum via Walking · Route 205, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire via Walking · Route 103 · DexNav chain. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon via In-game trade · Seafolk Village · Trade for (give Granbull). Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Sword & ShieldNot TradeableAppears in Sword & Shield via Surfing · Dusty Bowl · Intense Sun. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Gastrodon ✓
How to Get Shiny Gastrodon in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Gastrodon evolves from Shellos, so breed that base form Masuda-style and raise it once it shines. Compare Shiny Gastrodon odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Gastrodon Calculator
1 MethodThe only route here is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
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.
For time estimates and charm math, open the HeartGold & SoulSilver shiny odds calculator with Gastrodon already selected.
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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Gastrodon Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Gastrodon
 Sceptile Grass | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Treecko (Silph Co Gift) | ||
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
 Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
 Tangrowth Grass | C | |
 Meganium Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
 Venusaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Gastrodon View Victreebel builds →Leaf Storm 4x198-233%KO | ||
 Carnivine Grass | C | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
 Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
 Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Pewter City Gift) | ||
Gastrodon Evolutions
Gastrodon is the evolved form of Shellos. Breeding produces Shellos eggs, and they take an average time to hatch. 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 Amorphous and Water 1 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Amnesia, Counter, Curse and 9 more.
HGSS Gastrodon Best Moveset
Water/Ground with only Grass (4x) super-effective, and AbilityStorm Drain redirects Water moves for a Sp. Atk boost in doubles. The moveset fires special Water attacks from 92 Sp. Atk behind 111 HP bulk. Electric immunity through typing is the main defensive draw.
Best Build
Gastrodon best EVs are HP and Sp. Def
Wall Moveset
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Earth Power
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The natural movepool does the job, but Amnesia and Counter from the egg pool give Gastrodon something extra. Pair those with Earthquake and Muddy Water for STAB and Normal and Ice coverage and more for reach, and the kit fills out nicely.
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 27 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
When its natural enemy attacks, it oozes purple fluid and escapes.
Gastrodon HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, use Gastrodon as a trick room. Splits damage between physical and special. It's slow, so Trick Room or priority moves are key. Surf is the primary attack.
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, run Careful on Gastrodon. +Sp. Def is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the trick room role.
Game Availability
Gastrodon first appeared in Diamond & Pearl and has been available in 13 games across 6 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 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
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