Is Shellder Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Olivine City and coastal fishing spots. Water-type with AbilitySkill Link making multi-hit moves always land five times. Cloyster at Water Stone has enormous Defense and Ice coverage for Clair's Dragon gym. Available during the story.
Shellder has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Shellder has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Chuck's team hits Cloyster's weaknesses hard.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Pryce's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Cloyster resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Shellder in New Bark Town (Good Rod fishing, Lv 20, rare).
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM66DarkPaybackPower 50Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 35
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Kimono Girl in the Ecruteak Dance Theater
- LV 32IceAurora BeamPower 65Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Jasmine
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Lake of Rage
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Lake of Rage
- LV 44WaterBrinePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 49IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10
Evolve Shellder to Cloyster
Shellder evolves into Cloyster with a Water Stone. You can receive the Water Stone from an NPC in Route 42. 2 other locations are also available.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 25)
- LV 25IceAurora BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- 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
- TM72IceAvalanchePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Ice Path
- After Jasmine
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Lake of Rage
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Lake of Rage
How to Get Shellder in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Shellder is a rod catch across ten coastal spots, common to rare on the better rods between levels 20 and 40. The clam bites readily once you have a Good Rod, an easy haul along the southern shores.
Wild Shellder may be holding when caught:
Pearl (50% chance) A somewhat-small pearl that sparkles in a pretty silver color. It can be sold cheaply to shops.
Big Pearl (5% chance) A quite-large pearl that sparkles in a pretty silver color. It can be sold at a high price to shops.10 locations to catch Shellder
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Badge 1
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Badge 8Where To Catch Shellder in HGSS
The line opens with Shellder at Lv. 20-40 via fishing encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 1Shellder ✓New Bark TownLv.20Good RodRate 10%Route 41Lv.20Good RodRate 10%Route 47Lv.20Good RodRate 10%Cinnabar IslandLv.20Good RodRate 10%Pallet TownLv.20Good RodRate 10%Route 20Lv.20Good RodRate 10%Route 21Lv.20Good RodRate 10%Route 26Lv.20Good RodRate 10%Route 27Lv.20Good RodRate 10%Vermilion City - CityLv.20Good RodRate 10%New Bark TownLv.40Super RodRate 30%Route 41Lv.40Super RodRate 30%Route 47Lv.40Super RodRate 30%Cinnabar IslandLv.40Super RodRate 30%Pallet TownLv.40Super RodRate 30%Route 20Lv.40Super RodRate 30%Route 21Lv.40Super RodRate 30%Route 26Lv.40Super RodRate 30%Route 27Lv.40Super RodRate 30%Vermilion City - CityLv.40Super RodRate 30%
- Step 2Evolve into Cloyster
Bring the right balls: check Shellder catch odds in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Shellder in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Shellder hides in the shallows off Cinnabar Island and Pallet Town, though a shiny hatches faster from Masuda breeding. Compare Shiny Shellder odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Shellder 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 Shellder in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Shellder Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Shellder
 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 | |
 Ampharos Electric | C | |
 Jolteon Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
 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 | ||
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 21 breeding partners from the Water 3 egg group. Pass egg moves like Barrier, Bubble Beam, Icicle Spear and 5 more to offspring.
HGSS Shellder Best Moveset
Extreme physical Defense at 100 for a first-stage, but 25 Sp. Def creates a glaring weakness to special attacks. AbilitySkill Link guarantees multi-hit moves connect all five times. The moveset blocks physical damage. Evolve to Cloyster.
Best Build
Shellder best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Revenge Killer Moveset
- Rock Blast
- Explosion
- Icicle Spear
- Rapid Spin
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
All 18 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It swims facing backward by opening and closing its two-piece shell. It is surprisingly fast.
Grains of sand trapped in its shells mix with its body fluids to form beautiful pearls.
Shellder HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
Yes. Wild Shellder in HeartGold & SoulSilver can hold Pearl (50%) or Big Pearl (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Pearl.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, 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 9 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 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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