
Is Shellder Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Shellder is a setup for Cloyster. The Water Stone evolution is where the value is. Don't waste time trying to make Shellder work on its own.
Shellder resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Misty's typing presses Shellder's defenses.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Erika's team hits Shellder's weaknesses hard.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Sabrina's typing presses Shellder's defenses.
Cloyster resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Cloyster resists most of Giovanni's coverage and hits back hard.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Cloyster resists most of Bruno's coverage and hits back hard.
Cloyster trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Cloyster has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Catchable
Catch Shellder on Seafoam Islands (walking, Lv 28, rare).
Recommended Moves
- After Misty
- TM11WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Cerulean Gym Leader Misty
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM49NormalTri AttackPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- After Erika
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Koga
- TM36NormalSelf-DestructPower 130Accuracy 100%PP 5Silph Co.
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- LV 50IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Giovanni
- TM47NormalExplosionPower 170Accuracy 100%PP 5Victory Road 3F
Evolve Shellder to Cloyster
Shellder evolves into Cloyster with a Water Stone. You can buy the Water Stone at the Celadon Department Store on the 4th floor (₽2,100).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 43)
- LV 43IceAurora BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Lt. Surge
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 180Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Koga
- TM36NormalSelf-DestructPower 130Accuracy 100%PP 5Silph Co.
- After Giovanni
- TM47NormalExplosionPower 170Accuracy 100%PP 5Victory Road 3F
How to Get Shellder in Red & Blue
Shellder is everywhere in the water, 27 encounters over eight spots from Super Rod fishing to walking the shoreline. Common to rare, it pairs naturally with a Water Stone later.
8 locations to catch Shellder
Encountered via fishing with a Rod, tall grass encounters
Where To Catch Shellder in RB
Shellder is where the line starts, caught through fishing and walking encounters at Lv. 15-33. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
Step 1Shellder ✓Route 11Lv.15Super RodRate 50%Route 6Lv.15Super RodRate 50%Vermilion City - CityLv.15Super RodRate 50%Vermilion City - HarborLv.15Super RodRate 50%Cinnabar IslandLv.15Super RodRate 25%Route 19Lv.15Super RodRate 25%Route 20Lv.15Super RodRate 25%Route 21Lv.15Super RodRate 25%Seafoam Islands - B3FLv.15Super RodRate 25%Seafoam Islands - B4FLv.15Super RodRate 25%Seafoam Islands - B1FLv.30GrassBlueRate 20%Seafoam Islands - 1FLv.28-30GrassRedRate 19%Seafoam Islands - B3FLv.29-31GrassRedRate 15%Seafoam Islands - B2FLv.30GrassBlueRate 10%Seafoam Islands - B2FLv.28GrassRedRate 5%Seafoam Islands - B4FLv.31-33GrassRedRate 30%Seafoam Islands - B1FLv.32GrassRedRate 15%
Step 2Evolve into Cloyster
Bring the right balls: check Shellder catch odds in the Red & Blue Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
Shellder Weakness
Type-wise, Shellder takes extra damage from Electric and Grass. Its Water typing keeps the defensive matchups simple. 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 |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Shellder Weak Against
AvgShellder Evolutions
Shellder starts a line toward Cloyster. Can't breed this Water type (325 stats), so keep the evolution path going. Evolving adds up to 200 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Shellder Best Moveset
65 Defense that jumps to Cloyster's 180 after evolving. MoveClamp locking is available but the pre-evolution stats can't support it. Exists to reach Cloyster.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Clamp
- Surf
- Explosion
- Blizzard
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
TMs define Shellder's movepool. The natural moves cover basics with Surf and Bubble Beam, but the real versatility comes from technical machines giving it Normal and Ice coverage. That's where the options open up.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM 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 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 20 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its hard shell repels any kind of attack. It is vulnerable only when its shell is open.
Shellder Red & Blue Guide
In Red & Blue, 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
Explore
Where to go next after Shellder.