Is Seel Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Whirl Islands encounter after getting Whirlpool. Water-type with AbilityThick Fat halving Fire and Ice damage. Dewgong at level 34 adds Ice for Clair's Dragon gym. Available late in Johto but in time for the final stretch.
Seel has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Seel has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Seel trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Seel trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Chuck's typing presses Seel's defenses.
Seel trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Seel trades roughly evenly with Pryce's team.
Clair's typing presses Seel's defenses.
Dewgong has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Dewgong trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Dewgong trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Dewgong has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Dewgong has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Dewgong has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Dewgong has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Dewgong has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Dewgong has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Dewgong has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Dewgong has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Dewgong has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Dewgong has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Seel on Whirl Islands (walking, Lv 22-24, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Kimono Girl in the Ecruteak Dance Theater
- LV 33WaterBrinePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Pryce
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Item ball on Ice Path 1F
- LV 37NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- LV 41WaterDivePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 43WaterAqua TailPower 135Accuracy 90%PP 10
- LV 47IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10
Evolve Seel to Dewgong
Seel evolves into Dewgong at Level 34. Your Seel should hit Level 34 before you reach Brock, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 34)
- LV 34IceAurora BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- 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
- LV 41WaterDivePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 43WaterAqua TailPower 135Accuracy 90%PP 10
- LV 47IceIce BeamPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 10
How to Get Seel in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Seel paddles around three spots by surf and walking, common to uncommon in the 10 to 40 range. The sea lion sticks to the colder northern water, so the icy routes and caves are where you go looking for one.
3 locations to catch Seel
Encountered via Surfing, tall grass encounters
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Seel in HGSS
Seel is the chain's first catch. You'll find walking and surfing encounters from Lv. 10-40 across 24 total spots in the chain.
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into Dewgongor evolve from Seel (Step 1)
Bring the right balls: check Seel catch odds in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Seel in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Seel bobs around the Seafoam and Whirl Islands, though a shiny hatches faster from Masuda breeding. Compare Shiny Seel odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Seel Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route 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.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
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.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Seel in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
Seel Weakness
Type-wise, Seel takes extra damage from Electric and Grass. The Water typing picks up 4 resistances to work with. Thick Fat reduces Fire/Ice damage, further improving the defensive spread.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Seel Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Seel
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Meganium Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
 Carnivine Grass | C | |
 Magnezone ElectricSteel | A | |
 Jolteon Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
 Ampharos Electric | C | |
 Jumpluff Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodSafari Zone Surfing | ||
 Luxray Electric | C | |
 Plusle Electric | B | |
 Budew GrassPoison | C | |
 Electrode Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodTeam Rocket Hq Interact Encounter | ||
Seel Evolutions
Seel is the base form in a two-stage line leading to Dewgong. Check the evolution method below. A massive partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs take an average time to hatch. Evolving adds up to 150 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Seel easily with 131 breeding partners from the Field and Water 1 egg groups. Pass egg moves like Disable, Encore, Fake Out and 9 more to offspring.
HGSS Seel Best Moveset
AbilityThick Fat halves Fire and Ice damage for reduced coverage vulnerability. Balanced bulk at 65 HP and 70 Sp. Def but no offensive identity at 45 Attack and 45 Sp. Atk. Dewgong inherits the same ability at competitive levels.
Best Build
Seel best EVs are HP and Defense
Wall Moveset
- Rest
- Surf
- Rain Dance
- Stockpile
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding's the move. Disable and Encore give Seel options it can't learn any other way, and Normal and Ice coverage and more already covers a decent range on top of Aqua Tail and Surf. 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 19 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Although it can’t walk well on land, it is a graceful swimmer. It especially loves being in frigid seas.
In daytime, it is often found asleep on the seabed in shallow waters. Its nostrils close while it swims.
Seel HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, for a casual playthrough, Seel works as a placeholder. Water coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Dewgong. That's where the stats start mattering.
Game Availability
Present since Red & Blue, Seel appears in 19 games spanning 9 generations. Gen 1 originals like Seel have the longest track record of availability in the series.
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
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