Evolve Cloyster immediately or wait for Razor Shell?

Question

I wanted to catch Cloyster for my team to get through the early-game easy by evolving it right away, since it gets Skill Link Icicle Spear on catch and would get inflated stats fast through the stone evo. The problem is, Cloyster lacks any good water moves before the Pokemon league; It would be stuck with Water Pulse for 95% of the game.

The next strongest water move it gets would be Razor Shell at level 32 as a Shellder, which means the Akala Island section would be spent unnevolved. Is it be worth waiting out to get a somewhat ok power level for my water move?

Answer 1

For reference, Level 32 will put you somewhere around the start of UIa'ula Island in terms of progression.

It's ok to be unevolved on Akala Island, in no small part thanks to Kiawe's trial. Though neither Shellder nor Cloyster are particularly well-suited to taking on Totem Marowak, the former at least has a resistance to Fire and has a respectable 100 base Defense to withstand a hit or two. You're unlikely to be using either for Totem Lurantis and either will do reasonably well against Totem Wishiwashi and Olivia.

I believe waiting to evolve Shellder until it learns Razor Shell is sensible, as it gives you a stronger STAB option into the rest of the game. This is better than evolving Shellder immediately because you don't gain much from Cloyster on Akala Island that Shellder couldn't provide already. It can make a difference if you're concerned about Lurantis and want extra Defense, though this is a niche use and there are better Pokemon for the task.