
Is Shellder Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Exists as a setup for Cloyster. Water Stone it and move on. Shellder isn't worth using on its own.
Brock's typing presses Shellder's defenses.
Misty's typing presses Shellder's defenses.
Lt. Surge's team hits Shellder's weaknesses hard.
Erika's team hits Shellder's weaknesses hard.
Shellder trades roughly evenly with 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 has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
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 Blue's team.
Catchable
Catch Shellder in Vermilion City (Super Rod fishing, Lv 10, uncommon).
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
- LV 50IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Koga
- TM36NormalSelf-DestructPower 130Accuracy 100%PP 5Silph Co.
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- 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 50)
- LV 50IceAurora 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 Yellow
The Super Rod is the only way to Shellder, common-to-uncommon across 3 fishing spots. Levels stretch 10 to 40, so what you reel in depends on where you cast.
3 locations to catch Shellder
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Where To Catch Shellder in Y
The line opens with Shellder at Lv. 10-40 via fishing encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 2Evolve into Cloyster
Bring the right balls: check Shellder catch odds in the Yellow 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
AvgBest Pokemon Against Shellder
Magneton Electric | C | |
Jolteon Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Raichu Electric | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Pichu (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Shellder View Vileplume builds →Petal Dance 2x148-174%KO | ||
Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
Ivysaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Cerulean City Gift) | ||
Shellder 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
Y Shellder Best Moveset
Exists to evolve into Cloyster, where the 180 Defense and MoveClamp locking define a real competitive role. 65 Defense at this stage can't support anything. MoveClamp is available early but the stats behind it don't threaten.
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
The shell can withstand any attack. However, when it is open, the tender body is exposed.
Shellder Yellow Guide
In Yellow, 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.