Shellder Pokemon Guide: Stats, Best Moves, Abilities and More

Pokemon Guide

Shellder Pokemon Guide

Shellder is a Water-type Pokemon known for its hard shell, clamp attacks, Skill Link and evolution into Cloyster. This guide covers Shellder’s stats, best moves, abilities, evolution, shiny form, typing, weaknesses and locations across Pokemon games.

Normal Form

Shellder

Shiny Form

Shiny Shellder

Shellder Description

Shellder is a Water-type bivalve Pokemon protected by a tough shell. It evolves into Cloyster when exposed to a Water Stone.

Shellder Quick Facts

Here are the key facts to know about Shellder, including its type, abilities, height, weight and species information.

Name

Shellder

National Dex

#0090

Type

Water

Species

Bivalve Pokemon

Height

1’00” / 0.3 m

30 cm

Weight

8.8 lbs / 4.0 kg

4.0 kg

Abilities

Shell Armor, Skill Link, Overcoat

Shellder Stats

Shellder has very high Defense for an unevolved Pokemon, but low Special Defense. It can become threatening after setup in some formats.

Shellder Best Moves Across Pokemon Games

Shellder uses Water, Ice, Rock and setup moves across Pokemon games. These are some of Shellder’s most useful and recognizable moves.

Icicle Spear

A multi-hit Ice-type move and one of the line’s most famous attacks.

Ice Beam

Reliable Ice-type special coverage.

Surf

Reliable Water-type damage across many games.

Hydro Pump

A high-power Water-type attack.

Razor Shell

Physical Water-type damage that can lower Defense.

Shell Smash

A powerful setup move that boosts offenses and Speed while lowering defenses.

Rock Blast

Multi-hit Rock-type coverage when available.

Spikes

Entry hazard support in games where it is available.

Shellder All Moves

Shellder can learn a different move pool depending on the Pokemon game. Use the section below to view Shellder’s move list by learn method.

Move data shown from: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Level-Up Moves

Level	Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
1	Tackle	Normal	Physical	40	100
1	Water Gun	Water	Special	40	100
4	Withdraw	Water	Status	–	–
8	Ice Shard	Ice	Physical	40	100
12	Leer	Normal	Status	–	100
16	Whirlpool	Water	Special	35	85
20	Supersonic	Normal	Status	–	55
24	Aurora Beam	Ice	Special	65	100
28	Protect	Normal	Status	–	–
32	Razor Shell	Water	Physical	75	95
36	Iron Defense	Steel	Status	–	–
40	Ice Beam	Ice	Special	90	100
44	Shell Smash	Normal	Status	–	–
48	Hydro Pump	Water	Special	110	80

TM Moves

Method	Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
TM	Avalanche	Ice	Physical	60	100
TM	Blizzard	Ice	Special	110	70
TM	Chilling Water	Water	Special	50	100
TM	Endure	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Facade	Normal	Physical	70	100
TM	Helping Hand	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Hydro Pump	Water	Special	110	80
TM	Ice Beam	Ice	Special	90	100
TM	Ice Spinner	Ice	Physical	80	100
TM	Icicle Spear	Ice	Physical	25	100
TM	Icy Wind	Ice	Special	55	95
TM	Iron Defense	Steel	Status	–	–
TM	Liquidation	Water	Physical	85	100
TM	Mud Shot	Ground	Special	55	95
TM	Protect	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Rain Dance	Water	Status	–	–
TM	Rest	Psychic	Status	–	–
TM	Rock Blast	Rock	Physical	25	90
TM	Sleep Talk	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Snowscape	Ice	Status	0	–
TM	Spikes	Ground	Status	–	–
TM	Substitute	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Surf	Water	Special	90	100
TM	Swift	Normal	Special	60	–
TM	Take Down	Normal	Physical	90	85
TM	Tera Blast	Normal	Special	80	100
TM	Toxic Spikes	Poison	Status	–	–
TM	Water Pulse	Water	Special	60	100
TM	Waterfall	Water	Physical	80	100
TM	Whirlpool	Water	Special	35	85

Egg Moves

Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
Aqua Ring	Water	Status	–	–
Bubble Beam	Water	Special	65	100
Life Dew	Water	Status	–	–
Water Pulse	Water	Special	60	100

Shellder Typing, Weaknesses and Resistances

Shellder is a Water-type Pokemon. This gives it resistances to Fire, Water, Ice and Steel-type moves, but leaves it weak to Electric and Grass-type attacks.

Type

Water

Weaknesses

Electric, Grass

Resistances

Steel, Fire, Water, Ice

Immunity

None

None

Shellder Abilities

Shellder’s abilities prevent critical hits, maximize multi-hit moves or protect from weather and powder moves.

Shellder Evolution

Shellder evolves into Cloyster with a Water Stone. The full Shellder evolution line is Shellder and Cloyster.

Stage 1

Shellder

Starting form

Stage 2

Cloyster

Evolves from Shellder with a Water Stone

Where to Find Shellder in Pokemon Games

Shellder’s availability changes by game. It is commonly found by fishing, surfing or exploring seas, bays and cold coastal water areas.

Generation 1: Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow

Game	Where to Find Shellder
Pokemon Red	Seafoam Islands and Vermilion City by fishing.
Pokemon Blue	Seafoam Islands and Vermilion City by fishing.
Pokemon Yellow	Seafoam Islands and Vermilion City by fishing.

Generation 2: Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal

Game	Where to Find Shellder
Pokemon Gold	Routes 20, 21, 26, 27 and 41, New Bark Town, Pallet Town, Vermilion City and Cinnabar Island.
Pokemon Silver	Routes 20, 21, 26, 27 and 41, New Bark Town, Pallet Town, Vermilion City and Cinnabar Island.
Pokemon Crystal	Routes 20, 21, 26, 27 and 41, New Bark Town, Pallet Town, Vermilion City and Cinnabar Island.

Generation 3: Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed and LeafGreen

Game	Where to Find Shellder
Pokemon Ruby	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Sapphire	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Emerald	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon FireRed	Pallet Town, Vermilion City, Cinnabar Island, One Island, Five Island and Icefall Cave.
Pokemon LeafGreen	Pallet Town, Vermilion City, Cinnabar Island, One Island, Five Island and Icefall Cave.

Generation 4: Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver

Game	Where to Find Shellder
Pokemon Diamond	Fuego Ironworks and Valley Windworks.
Pokemon Pearl	Fuego Ironworks and Valley Windworks.
Pokemon Platinum	Fuego Ironworks and Valley Windworks.
Pokemon HeartGold	Routes 20, 21, 26, 27 and 41, New Bark Town, Pallet Town, Vermilion City and Cinnabar Island.
Pokemon SoulSilver	Routes 20, 21, 26, 27 and 41, New Bark Town, Pallet Town, Vermilion City and Cinnabar Island.

Generation 5: Black, White, Black 2 and White 2

Game	Where to Find Shellder
Pokemon Black	Route 13, Undella Bay and Undella Town.
Pokemon White	Route 13, Undella Bay and Undella Town.
Pokemon Black 2	Route 13, Undella Town, Humilau City and Seaside Cave.
Pokemon White 2	Route 13, Undella Town, Humilau City and Seaside Cave.

Generation 6: X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

Game	Where to Find Shellder
Pokemon X	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Y	Route 8.
Pokemon Omega Ruby	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Alpha Sapphire	Trade or migrate from another game.

Generation 7: Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon and Let’s Go

Game	Where to Find Shellder
Pokemon Sun	Kala’e Bay.
Pokemon Moon	Kala’e Bay.
Pokemon Ultra Sun	Kala’e Bay.
Pokemon Ultra Moon	Kala’e Bay.
Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu	Seafoam Islands.
Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee	Seafoam Islands.

Generation 8: Sword, Shield, Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl and Legends: Arceus

Game	Where to Find Shellder
Pokemon Sword	East Lake Axewell, West Lake Axewell, Watchtower Ruins, Giant’s Seat, Courageous Cavern, Loop Lagoon and other water areas.
Pokemon Shield	East Lake Axewell, West Lake Axewell, Watchtower Ruins, Giant’s Seat, Courageous Cavern, Loop Lagoon and other water areas.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond	Fuego Ironworks, Valley Windworks and several Grand Underground water caves.
Pokemon Shining Pearl	Fuego Ironworks, Valley Windworks and several Grand Underground water caves.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus	Not available in this game.

Generation 9: Scarlet, Violet and Legends Z-A

Game	Where to Find Shellder
Pokemon Scarlet	Casseroya Lake, North Province areas, East Province areas, South Province areas, West Province areas and Paldean seas.
Pokemon Violet	Casseroya Lake, North Province areas, East Province areas, South Province areas, West Province areas and Paldean seas.
Pokemon Legends Z-A	Location data not yet available.

Generation 10: Pokemon Winds and Waves

Game	Where to Find Shellder
Pokemon Winds and Waves	Coming soon once official location, encounter or transfer information is confirmed.

Related Shellder and Pokemon Guides

Shellder is part of The Game Haus Pokemon coverage, including Pokemon guides, Pokemon Champions coverage and future Pokemon game updates.

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