
Is Shellder Good in Platinum Playthrough?
Super Rod catch on Route 205 after the Hall of Fame. AbilitySkill Link makes multi-hit moves always hit five times. Cloyster at Water Stone is the real prize, with Ice coverage for Bertha's Ground team and Cynthia's Garchomp in the rematches.
Shellder has the type edge here and should clean up Roark's team.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Gardenia's team.
Fantina's team hits Shellder's weaknesses hard.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Crasher Wake's typing presses Shellder's defenses.
Shellder has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Candice's team.
Volkner's team hits Shellder's weaknesses hard.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Aaron's team.
Cloyster resists most of Bertha's coverage and hits back hard.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Flint's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Cloyster resists most of Jupiter's coverage and hits back hard.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Catchable
Catch Shellder in Valley Windworks (Super Rod fishing, Lv 20-50, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- After Fantina
- TM64NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5Won at the Veilstone Game Corner after playing ten bonus rounds in a row on the slots
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Lake Acuity
- After Maylene
- TUTORWaterDivePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 212
- After Crasher Wake
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15From Cynthia's grandmother inside the ruins
- TM03WaterWater PulsePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Ravaged Path
- LV 44WaterBrinePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 49IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Evolve Shellder to Cloyster
Shellder evolves into Cloyster with a Water Stone. You can pick up the Water Stone in Route 213. 2 other locations are also available. Use the Water Stone in the post-game, after you beat Cynthia.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 50)
- LV 50IceAurora BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Fantina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5Lake Acuity
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 216
- TM64NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5Won at the Veilstone Game Corner after playing ten bonus rounds in a row on the slots
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- After Maylene
- TUTORWaterDivePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 212
- After Crasher Wake
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15From Cynthia's grandmother inside the ruins
- Post-Game
- TUTORBugSignal BeamPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Survival Area
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Shellder in Platinum
Shellder is a Super Rod catch, uncommon across three water spots at levels 20 to 50. You will need the strongest rod to hook one, since no walking or surfing turns it up.
Wild Shellder may be holding when caught:
3 locations to catch Shellder
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Where To Catch Shellder in Pt
Shellder is the chain's first catch. You'll find fishing encounters from Lv. 20-50 across 3 total spots in the chain.
Step 2Evolve into CloysterBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Shellder egg.
Bring the right balls: check Shellder catch odds in the Platinum Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Shellder in Platinum
Shellder bites the Super Rod at Fuego Ironworks and Route 205, but breeding one with a foreign Ditto is the faster shiny. Compare Shiny Shellder odds across every game
Platinum 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 Platinum 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
Exeggutor GrassPsychic | C | |
Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Tangrowth Grass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Shellder View Tangrowth builds →Solar Beam 2x373-440%KO Shock Wave 2x126-149%KO | ||
Torterra GrassGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Turtwig (Route 201 Gift) | ||
Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
Abomasnow GrassIce | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Shellder View Abomasnow builds →Wood Hammer 2x124-146%KO | ||
Cherrim Grass | C | |
Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
Carnivine Grass | C | |
Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Oreburgh City Gift) | ||
Magnezone ElectricSteel | A | |
Tropius Grass | C | |
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 4 more to offspring.
Pt Shellder Best Moveset
Physical hits bounce off 100 Defense, but 30 HP undermines the durability and 25 Sp. Def means any special attack ends Shellder instantly. The moveset can't do much before evolving 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
24 of 25 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It swims backward by opening and closing its two shells. Its large tongue is always kept hanging out.
Shellder Platinum Guide
Yes. Wild Shellder in Platinum 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 Platinum, Shellder has 305 BST and evolves into Cloyster. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
Yes. Shellder is not available during the main story. It can only be obtained after entering the Hall of Fame. Shellder becomes available after the main story is complete in Platinum.
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
Explore
Where to go next after Shellder.
