
Is Shellder Good in FireRed & LeafGreen Playthrough?
Critical hits never land against Shellder. AbilityShell Armor blocks them entirely. Cloyster at Water Stone has the highest Defense in FRLG's story roster. Water coverage handles Blaine and Giovanni. The Ice typing after evolving gives Dragon coverage for Lance.
Shellder resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Misty's typing presses Shellder's defenses.
Lt. Surge's team hits Shellder's weaknesses hard.
Erika's team hits Shellder's weaknesses hard.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up 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 resists most of Giovanni's coverage and hits back hard.
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 Terry's team.
Catch Shellder on Pallet Town (Super Rod fishing, Lv 15-25, common).
- After Misty
- TM03WaterWater Pulse90100%20
- After Erika
- TM14IceBlizzard11070%5
- TM43NormalSecret Power70100%20
- After Koga
- HM03WaterSurf135100%15
- After Blaine
- TUTORNormalExplosion250100%5
- LV 50IceIce Beam90100%10
- After Giovanni
- TUTORNormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacade70100%20
You can buy the Water Stone at the Celadon Department Store on the 4th floor (₽2,100). 1 other location is also available.
- STARTING (Lv 29)
- LV 29IceAurora Beam98100%20
- After Misty
- TM03WaterWater Pulse90100%20
- After Erika
- TM14IceBlizzard16570%5
- TM13IceIce Beam135100%10
- TM15NormalHyper Beam15090%5
- After Koga
- HM03WaterSurf135100%15
- After Blaine
- TUTORNormalExplosion250100%5
- After Giovanni
- TUTORNormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacade70100%20
How to Get Shellder in FireRed & LeafGreen
FireRed exclusive, Super Rod only. Shellder has seven fishing encounters at common rates spread across six water spots on the map.
Wild Shellder may be holding when caught:
6 locations to catch Shellder
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Where To Catch Shellder in FRLG
Shellder is your first catch on the way to Shellder. You'll find fishing encounters from Lv. 15-25 across 7 total spots in the chain.
Step 2Evolve into CloysterBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Four Island Pokemon Day Care to receive a Cloyster egg. Requires the Rainbow Pass to access Four Island.
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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Shellder Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Shellder
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
Breeding
Breed Shellder easily with 19 breeding partners from the Water3 egg group. Pass egg moves like Barrier, Bubble Beam, Icicle Spear and 3 more to offspring.
FRLG Shellder Best Moveset
100 Defense impressive but 30 HP negates it. AbilityShell Armor blocks critical hits. Cloyster's dominant MoveSpikes and MoveExplosion role is one evolution away.
Best Build
Shellder best EVs are HP and Defense
Bulky Support Moveset
- Explosion
- Surf
- Rapid Spin
- Icy Wind
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The egg pool carries weight here. Barrier and Bubble Beam aren't available any other way for Shellder, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Surf and Dive 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
Base Stats
It is encased in a shell that is harder than diamond. Inside, however, it is surprisingly tender.
Its hard shell repels any kind of attack. It is vulnerable only when its shell is open.
Shellder FireRed & LeafGreen Guide
- How do I evolve Shellder into Cloyster in FireRed & LeafGreen?
- Is Shellder exclusive to FireRed or LeafGreen?
Shellder is exclusive to Pokemon FireRed. LeafGreen players have to trade for one.

See the Locations section above for where to find Shellder in FireRed.
How to trade in FireRed and LeafGreen
GBA cartridges: You need a Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable and both players' FireRed/LeafGreen cartridges. Trade at the Cable Club on the 2nd floor of any Pokemon Center, which opens up shortly after Oak gives you the Pokedex.Nintendo Switch (2026 release): Trading uses local wireless only. There is no online play, and no Nintendo Switch Online subscription is required. Both players head to the Pokemon Wireless Club on the 2nd floor of any Pokemon Center, then step into a Union Room. Up to four other players can join. Available once you have the Pokedex from Professor Oak.
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