Is Razor Shell good in Pokémon Go?

A new move is coming to Pokémon Go on September 19 called Razor Shell. It’s being added during Oshawott’s Community Day, and it’s going into Oshawott’s evolved form, Samurott’s, moveset. With a brand new move coming to the Pokémon’s pool, is it a worthwhile addition? Let’s break it down and take a look.

Razor shell will be a charged move. It will be a Water-type attack that does 35 damage and requires 35 energy for you to use it. It has a 50% chance of lowering the opponent’s defenses down by one rank when it hits. Given the amount of energy this attack requires, it’s a good move that you can spam against an opponent, depending on the fast move a Pokémon has at the time. However, the low value damage of razor shell turns it into more of a baiting attack, making it a better option for an opponent to waste a shield before using a more substantial move. It’s a technical choice that is a situation choice and not a perfect all-around option.

Razor shell will turn into a situational charged move that you want to place on a Pokémon with a powerful alternative charged move. At the time of this writing, the only Pokémon that can learn razor shell is Samurott. Based on Samurott’s stats and the other charged moves it can learn, unfortunately, razor shell does not make the cut as the best option. Samurott is better off learning hydro cannon and megahorn, far more powerful moves that require only a little bit more energy to use.

Razor shell will likely be added to other Pokémon in the Pokémon Go in the future. These Pokémon will likely include Cloyster, Kingler, Crawdaunt, Barbaracle, Slowbro, Slowking, and Escavalier. Of the choices, it has the most potential for Slowbro and Slowking, but we’ll need to review the other options when those are announced in the future.

For the time being, razor shell doesn’t quite hit the mark to make it a notable charged move in Pokémon Go. For Samurott, you’re better off sticking with hydro cannon and megahorn. However, we highly recommend you consider returning to review razor shell when it arrives to other Pokémon.