Shellder (Japanese: シェルダー Shellder) is a Water-type Pokémon introduced in Generation I.
It evolves into Cloyster when exposed to a Water Stone.
Biology
Shellder is a black pearl-like Pokémon encased within a spiky, blue-violet bivalve shell. It has two round white eyes with tiny black pupils. Its enormously long red tongue is used to burrow itself into sand to sleep overnight and also to lure and capture prey. The tongue protrudes even when its shell is closed and tugging it will cause the shell to pop open. Its soft and tender body is well-protected by its extremely durable shell, which is purported to be harder than diamonds and has historically been used by people to make shields. It can make pearls from accumulated sand, though it discards them as they are typically in its way.
Shellder has an unusually strong appetite for the tail of a Slowpoke and can develop a symbiotic relationship with the Dopey Pokémon. After attaching itself to the Slowpoke's tail, the two undergo a metamorphosis and together evolve into Slowbro. Alternatively, if it attaches to the head of a Slowpoke in possession of a King's Rock, the two will instead evolve into Slowking. These relationships allow it to travel onto land and begin a new stage in its life cycle.
Regardless of which form the two Pokémon evolve into, Shellder's shell transforms into a spiny, spiraled cone with several tiers. Sharp teeth develop around the rim of the shell to anchor it securely to the evolved Slowpoke, and its eyes now peek out from the bottom rim of the shell. In its crown form, Shellder will have a red jewel on its underside and a large horn on either side of its shell.
While in its crown form, Shellder will periodically release its venom into Slowking's brain. This is actually beneficial to Slowking, as it causes the Regal Pokémon's intelligence to increase. Higher quantities of venom intensify this effect, and Shellder is easily provoked into releasing more whenever Slowking yawns. However, Shellder's poison makes Slowbro more sluggish as it continues to drain nutrients from its host's body.
Shellder has two former signature moves. It can shoot spears of ice by using Icicle Spear, or clamp tightly to its opponents using Clamp. Despite its hard shell, clamping on to an opponent will reveal its vulnerable parts. Because of this, it will only clamp itself to a foe as a last resort. It swims around its seafloor home by rapidly opening and closing its shell while facing backward. Prehistoric Shellder were apparently preyed upon by Omastar, whose powerful bites were capable of breaking through its shell. Kingler, Rufflet, and Bruxish are modern predators of Shellder.
In the anime
- For a comprehensive list of Shellder's appearances in the anime as part of Slowbro or Slowking, see the anime sections of Slowbro and Slowking.
Spiral Shellder in the anime
Crown Shellder in the anime
Major appearances
A Shellder appeared in The Evolution Solution, where Jessie caught it at Seafoam Island. Later in the episode, it bit on a Slowpoke's tail, making it evolve into a Slowbro. Afterwards, it left Team Rocket.
Multiple Shellder appeared in A Crowning Achievement, where they evolved many Slowpoke into Slowbro, as well as a Slowking under Alice's former ownership.
A Shellder appeared in Battling a Cute Drama!, under the ownership of Marilyn. Despite what other people thought, Marilyn thought Shellder was the cutest and was to battle Brock's Happiny, but the match was interrupted by Team Rocket.
Minor appearances
Shellder debuted as part of a Slowbro in Island of the Giant Pokémon.
The first time an unevolved Shellder was seen was in The Bridge Bike Gang. It was sick and Nurse Joy sent Ash, Misty, and Brock over to Sunnytown (where Shellder was) to deliver some medicine.
Multiple Shellder appeared in The Misty Mermaid, under the ownership of the Sensational Sisters. One of them reappeared in Cerulean Blues and in a fantasy in Alola, Alola!.
A Shellder appeared in Pikachu's Vacation as one of the Pokémon seen at the Pokémon Theme Park.
A sick Shellder appeared in The Joy of Pokémon, where it was treated by the Nurse Joy of an unnamed island.
Multiple Shellder appeared in The Power of One.
A Shellder appeared in Slowking's Day, where it was living in the ocean surrounding Shamouti Island.
A Shellder appeared in a fantasy in The Totodile Duel.
A Shellder appeared in The Heartbreak of Brock as one of the Pokémon living at Temacu's father's lab.
At least three Shellder appeared in Mantine Overboard! as residents of the sea near Ogi City.
A Trainer's Shellder appeared in Octillery The Outcast as one of the Pokémon participating in the Whirl Cup. It went up against Ash's Totodile during a qualifying match and lost.
A Shellder appeared in A Parent Trapped!, where it was seen living underwater.
Multiple Shellder appeared in Nice Pryce Baby, under the ownership of Pryce. They were seen at the Mahogany Gym.
A Shellder appeared in Enlighten Up! as a resident of Lake Slowpoke. It bit a Slowpoke's tail, evolving it in the process.
A Shellder appeared in Gonna Rule The School!, under the ownership of the Pokémon Trainers' School. It was temporarily loaned to one of the school's underage students for use.
A Coordinator's Shellder appeared in Old Rivals, New Tricks!, where it was participating in the Sandalstraw Contest.
Multiple Shellder appeared in Going for the Gold!, where they were among the Pokémon seen in the Ambrette Aquarium.
Three Shellder appeared in Alola to New Adventure!.
A Shellder appeared in Yo, Ho, Ho! Go, Popplio!, during a fantasy.
A Shellder appeared in The Sun, the Scare, the Secret Lair!, when Sophocles went to explore a Staryu and Shellder for a class assignment.
A Shellder appeared in Rocking Clawmark Hill! on the beach near Professor Kukui's house, after being washed to the shore by the tide.
A Shellder appeared in A Shivering Shovel Search! when Pikachu and Popplio were searching for Palossand lost shovel underwater.
A Shellder appeared in Dewpider Ascending!, where it was half-buried in the sand.
Three Shellder appeared in I Choose Paradise!, where they were among the Pokémon seen at the Pokémon Paradise Resort. Two of them were under the ownership of different Trainers.
A Trainer's Shellder appeared in Exhibition Unmasked!.
Four Shellder appeared in SS002.
Pokédex entries
- For Shellder's Pokédex entries as part of Slowbro or Slowking, see the Pokédex entries sections of Slowbro and Slowking.
In the manga
- For a list of Shellder's appearances in the manga as part of Slowbro or Slowking, see the manga sections of Slowbro and Slowking.
In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga
In Play Misty For Me, Misty threw a Shellder at Ash after she found him constantly staring at her in her swimsuit.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In Karate Machop!, Lorelei owns several Shellder. They were sent to attack Kanto alongside several other Elite Four Pokémon.
A Shellder appeared in The Last Battle XIII as one of the Pokémon sent to participate in the fight in Ilex Forest.
A Shellder was one of the aquarium Pokémon seen in Archie's collection in Stick This in Your Craw, Crawdaunt I.
In the Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All manga
A Shellder appeared in GDZ33.
In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
Clefairy was attacked by a Shellder in The Legendary Pokémon Appears.
Multiple Shellder appeared in Which One is the Real Clefairy!?.
Bruno owns five Shellder, as seen in Clefairy's Under Training!!.
In the TCG
- Main article: Shellder (TCG)
- For Shellder's appearances in the TCG as part of Slowbro or Slowking, see Slowbro (TCG) and Slowking (TCG).
Game data
NPC appearances
- Pokémon Pinball: Three Shellder appear on the Red Table and give the player points when hit. When Catch'em Mode is activated, they also reveal the silhouette of the Pokémon attempting to be captured upon being hit.
Pokédex entries
| Generation I
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Kanto
#090
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| Red(ENG)
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Its hard shell repels any kind of attack. It is vulnerable only when its shell is open.
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| Blue
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| Yellow
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The shell can withstand any attack. However, when it is open, the tender body is exposed.
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| Stadium
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Its shell is harder than diamond. It hides in sand on the sea floor and catches prey with its soft tongue.
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| Generation II
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Johto
#169
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| Gold
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It swims facing backward by opening and closing its two-piece shell. It is surprisingly fast.
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| Silver
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Grains of sand trapped in its shells mix with its body fluids to form beautiful pearls.
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| Crystal
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Clamping on to an opponent reveals its vulnerable parts, so it uses this move only as a last resort.
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| Stadium 2
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It swims facing backward by opening and closing its two-piece shell. It is surprisingly fast.
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| Generation III
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Hoenn
#—
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Kanto
#090
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| Ruby
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At night, this Pokémon uses its broad tongue to burrow a hole in the seafloor sand and then sleep in it. While it is sleeping, Shellder closes its shell, but leaves its tongue hanging out.
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| Sapphire
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| Emerald
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At night, it burrows a hole in the seafloor with its broad tongue to make a place to sleep. While asleep, it closes its shell, but leaves its tongue hanging out.
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| FireRed
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It is encased in a shell that is harder than diamond. Inside, however, it is surprisingly tender.
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| LeafGreen
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Its hard shell repels any kind of attack. It is vulnerable only when its shell is open.
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| Generation IV
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Sinnoh
#—
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Johto
#171
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| Diamond
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It swims backward by opening and closing its two shells. Its large tongue is always kept hanging out.
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| Pearl
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| Platinum
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| HeartGold
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It swims facing backward by opening and closing its two-piece shell. It is surprisingly fast.
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| SoulSilver
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Grains of sand trapped in its shells mix with its body fluids to form beautiful pearls.
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| Generation V
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Unova
#—
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| Black
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It swims backward by opening and closing its two shells. Its large tongue is always kept hanging out.
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| White
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| Black 2
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It swims backward by opening and closing its two shells. Its large tongue is always kept hanging out.
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| White 2
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| Generation VI
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Kalos
Coastal #036
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Hoenn
#—
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| X
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Its hard shell repels any kind of attack. It is vulnerable only when its shell is open.
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| Y
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Clamping on to an opponent reveals its vulnerable parts, so it uses this move only as a last resort.
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| Omega Ruby
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At night, this Pokémon uses its broad tongue to burrow a hole in the seafloor sand and then sleep in it. While it is sleeping, Shellder closes its shell, but leaves its tongue hanging out.
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| Alpha Sapphire
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| Generation VII
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Alola
SM: #115
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Alola
USUM: #138
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Kanto
#090
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| Sun
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The hardness of its shell surpasses the hardness of a diamond. In days gone by, people used the shells to make shields.
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| Moon
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This Pokémon's tongue is always hanging out. It uses its tongue with great dexterity to dig up sand from the seabed in its search for food.
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| Ultra Sun
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The sand that accumulates inside its shell eventually becomes a pearl. But the pearl gets in the way, so it spits it out and discards it.
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| Ultra Moon
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Even when its shell is closed, its tongue still hangs out. If you give its tongue a good yank, the shock will cause Shellder to open its shell.
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| Let's Go Pikachu
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The shell can withstand any attack. However, when it is open, the tender body is exposed.
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| Let's Go Eevee
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| Generation VIII
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Galar
#150
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| Sword
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It swims facing backward by opening and closing its two-piece shell. It is surprisingly fast.
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| Shield
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Its hard shell repels any kind of attack. It is vulnerable only when its shell is open.
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Game locations
In side games
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| Generation II
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| This Pokémon is unavailable in Generation II side games.
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In events
Held items
Stats
Base stats
| Stat
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Range
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| At Lv. 50
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At Lv. 100
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30
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90 - 137
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170 - 264
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65
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63 - 128
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121 - 251
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100
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94 - 167
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184 - 328
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45
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45 - 106
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85 - 207
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25
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27 - 84
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49 - 163
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40
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40 - 101
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76 - 196
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Total: 305
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Other Pokémon with this total
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- Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and (if applicable) a hindering nature.
- Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and (if applicable) a helpful nature.
- This Pokémon's Special base stat in Generation I was 45.
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Pokéathlon stats
Type effectiveness
| Under normal battle conditions in Generation IX, this Pokémon is:
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Learnset
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Shellder
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Shellder
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see level-up moves from other generations
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Shellder
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Shellder
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see TM moves from other generations
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- Moves marked with an asterisk (*) must be chain bred onto Shellder in Generation VIII
- Moves marked with a double dagger (‡) can only be bred from a Pokémon who learned the move in an earlier generation.
- Moves marked with a superscript game abbreviation can only be bred onto Shellder in that game.
- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Shellder
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Shellder
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Egg moves from other generations
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Shellder
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Shellder
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Move Tutor moves from other generations
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TCG-only moves
Side game data
Evolution
Sprites
Shellder forms
- For the remainder of Shellder's sprites as part of Slowbro or Slowking, see the sprite sections of Slowbro and Slowking.
 
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| Slowbro form
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Slowking form
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Slowbro back sprites
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Slowking back sprites
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Trivia
- In the anime, Shellder is required to evolve Slowpoke into Slowbro or Slowking. Shellder clamps onto a Slowpoke's tail to evolve into Slowbro, or onto its head while wearing the King's Rock to evolve into a Slowking. Even though Shellder changes form drastically when it bonds with Slowpoke to evolve (see above), it is not considered an evolution in and of itself.
- In The Evolution Solution, it is revealed that Shellder is still capable of speech as the shell of a Slowbro.
- Shellder were shown to be capable of floating through the air in Pokémon Snap, a trait that has been seen in no other media.
- Shellder and Cloyster share their category name with Clamperl. They are all known as the Bivalve Pokémon.
- Shellder can be seen as a counterpart to Staryu. Both are Water-types in the Water 3 Egg Group, both evolve with a Water Stone, and both gain a second type upon evolution. Cloyster is seen as a slow defensive Pokémon, while Starmie is seen as a fast attacking Pokémon; and Shellder is exclusive to Fire Red and Y, while Staryu is exclusive to Leaf Green and X.
Origin
Shellder is similar to a clam, with its tongue representing a clam's "foot". Its ability to move by flapping its shell is likely inspired by scallops. Scallops are also related to the thorny oysters that resemble its evolved form. The fact that it latches onto Slowpoke and produces a beneficial toxin may be inspired by leeches.
Name origin
Shellder is derived from shell and possibly shelter, referring to the fact that it lives in a shell.
In other languages
| Language
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Title
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Meaning
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 Japanese
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シェルダー Shellder
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From shell
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 French
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Kokiyas
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From coquille
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 Spanish
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Shellder
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Same as English/Japanese name
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 German
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Muschas
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From Muschel
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 Italian
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Shellder
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Same as English/Japanese name
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 Korean
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셀러 Sellor
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Corrupted transliteration of English/Japanese name
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 Mandarin Chinese
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大舌貝 / 大舌贝 Dàshébèi
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Literally "Big-tongued shell"
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 Cantonese Chinese
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貝殼怪 Buihokgwaai
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Means "Shell freak"
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| More languages
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 Hindi
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शेलदर Shellder
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Transcription of English/Japanese name
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 Russian
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Шеллдер Shellder
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Transcription of English/Japanese name
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External links
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This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.
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Pearl (23%)
Big Pearl (2%)
For other sprites and images, please see Shellder images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
