Is Shellder Good in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Playthrough?
Breed-only in Hoenn. Cloyster with AbilitySkill Link turns multi-hit moves into consistent damage, but getting Shellder here takes a trade. The payoff is strong if you commit.
Shellder resists most of Roxanne's coverage and hits back hard.
Shellder has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Shellder has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Tate & Liza's team.
Wallace's typing presses Shellder's defenses.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Phoebe's team hits Shellder's weaknesses hard.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.
Shellder 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.
How to Get Shellder in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
No wild encounters for Shellder in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. Bring Shellder over from Red & Blue, Yellow, or Gold & Silver, then level through the stages. Each step in the chain is laid out below.
How to Obtain Shellder in ORAS
Step 1Shellder ✓LATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Super rod · Route 11. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom YellowNot TradeableAppears in Yellow via Super rod · Route 18. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Gold & SilverNot TradeableAppears in Gold & Silver via Super rod · Olivine City. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
Step 2Evolve into Cloyster
Shellder Weakness
Type-wise, Shellder takes extra damage from Electric and Grass. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Shellder's physical bulk (base 100 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
What is Shellder Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Shellder
 Maractus Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Shellder View Maractus builds →Petal Dance 2x373-439%KO | ||
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
 Cacturne GrassDark | C | |
 Lilligant Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Shellder View Lilligant builds →Petal Dance 2x384-452%KO | ||
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, Rotom can KO Shellder with Volt Switch (251-296%).
 Rotom ElectricGhost | C | |
Recommended Build AbilityLevitate ItemLeftovers NatureCalm Moves
Damage vs Shellder View Rotom builds →Volt Switch 2x251-296%KO Shadow Ball143-168%KO | ||
Shellder Evolutions
Evolving Shellder into Cloyster takes an evolution item. It's not a simple level-up, so check the chain details below. Evolving adds up to 220 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
ORAS Shellder Best Moveset
Water at 65 Attack and 100 Defense. AbilitySkill Link as a hidden ability hits multi-strike moves the maximum number of times. The moveset previews Cloyster's Shell Smash identity. One evolution away from A-tier.
Best Build
Shellder best EVs are Attack and Defense
Physical Tank Moveset
- Hydro Pump
- Icicle Spear
- Shell Smash
- Rock Blast
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The egg pool carries weight here. Aqua Ring and Avalanche aren't available any other way for Shellder, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Hydro Pump and Surf for solid options.
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
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
At night, this Pokémon uses its broad tongue to burrow a hole in the seafloor sand and then sleep in it. While it is sleeping, Shellder closes its shell, but leaves its tongue hanging out.
Shellder Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Guide
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, Shellder does the job early-game if you need a Water type on your team. Evolve it into Cloyster before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
Game Availability
Shellder has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 20 titles across all 10 generations. As a Gen 1 original, it's one of the most consistently available Pokemon in the franchise.
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 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