Shellder · Expedition Base Set, what to know.
About the Shellder card
Shellder is card 129 of 165 in Expedition Base Set, released in September 2002, a Common. It is a Basic Water-type with 50 HP.
As a Basic Pokémon, Shellder needs no prior evolution to put into play, which made it a practical card in the era's decks.
Illustrated by Sumiyoshi Kizuki.
About Shellder in the Pokémon world
A bivalve Pokémon. Famously bites Slowpoke tails to trigger evolution. Jungle Common with thin demand.
What is Shellder worth?
Shellder is a Common, so raw copies trade for very little and most of the print run survives. The only real value is in pristine, high-grade copies, where even a Common can reach low triple digits in 1st Edition PSA 10. See the live price above for the current figure by grade.
Print variants and how to spot them
Confirm the print and finish on Shellder before pricing it, since variant and rarity set the market more than the card name alone.
Grading and condition
Shellder is the most forgiving tier to grade in the set. Centering on the framed border is the usual cap, and the soft Wizards-era cardstock picks up edge whitening easily, but high print runs keep clean copies affordable.
If you are collecting Shellder
Raw copies of Shellder are inexpensive enough that grading rarely pays unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completion, a clean sleeved Shellder is the practical move.
