Turtonator #776: the volcano turtle whose shell is a landmine

Two meters of turtle sitting on a volcano, its shell packed with explosives. Turtonator (Boumata in French) lies in wait for prey among Alola's scorching rocks: bump into its spiky back, and everything goes up in a blast.

Contents

• Who is Turtonator?
• Fire and Dragon type: very rare armor plating
• Shell Armor, its only Ability
• Shell Trap, the shell that explodes on a delay
• No evolution, no Mega: the loner of the volcanoes
• Turtonator Fact Sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Turtonator?

Listed as #776 in the National Pokédex, Turtonator is the "Blast Turtle Pokémon" of the seventh generation, the one introduced in Pokémon Sun and Moon. It stands 2 meters tall, weighs 212 kilos and holds #224 in the Alola Pokédex.

Poképédia describes it as a biped with skin that is grayish-green, visible only on its arms, tail, head and neck. Its yellow snout forms a tube pierced by a single large nostril.

The back of its shell bears four huge spikes arranged in a star, separated by four smaller points. Underneath, the red underside opens onto a star-shaped hole : the outlet for its explosions, and its Achilles' heel.

Its French name blends the French onomatopoeia "boum" and the matamata, a South American turtle; Poképédia also sees nods to the tarasque and the Chinese dragon turtle. As a Shiny, its red parts turn brown and its gray parts turn sky blue, just like on this collectible figure.

Fire and Dragon type: very rare armor plating

Turtonator's typing is Fire and Dragon, one of the rarest pairings in the Pokédex: setting special forms aside, only Reshiram and Gouging Fire share it, joined by Mega Charizard X.

The combination is excellent on defense. It has only three weaknesses — Ground, Rock and Dragon — and no type hits it for quadruple damage. No immunities either, and ten types deal normal damage to it.

Conversely, five types see their damage reduced: Electric, Bug and Steel drop to half, while Fire and Grass drop to a quarter. Three weaknesses against five resistances: the math works in its favor.

Its base stats confirm the picture: 60 HP, 78 Attack, 135 Defense, 91 Special Attack, 85 Special Defense and only 36 Speed, for a total of 485.

Shell Armor, its only Ability

On this point, the file is short: Turtonator has justa single ability, Shell Armor, and it has no hidden ability. Every Turtonator hatches from its Egg with the same one.

The effect is right there in the official description: the Pokémon's shell protects it from critical hits. Nothing more — no damage reflected, no trade-off — just straightforward protection, which pairs nicely with its 135 Defense.

Don't get the wrong idea: Shell Armor isn't a signature Ability. Twenty-five species have it, from Shellder to Klawf, and Battle Armor has exactly the same effect. Its only limit: a move that's supposed to always land a critical hit deals normal damage instead.

Shell Trap, the shell that explodes on a delay

Turtonator's real exclusive is its signature move Shell Trap : it's the only Pokémon in the series that can learn it. It picks it up at level 45 in Sun and Moon, and at level 40 in Sword and Shield.

It's a Fire-type special move with 150 power and 100 accuracy, with 5 PP, and it targets all adjacent opponents. Its real quirk lies elsewhere: a priority of -3, which means it almost always goes last.

And that's by design. Shell Trap doesn't launch the shell: it sets it like booby-trapped bait at the start of the turn. If an opponent then hits Turtonator with a physical move, the trap explodes; otherwise, the move fails.

A few subtleties are worth knowing: Turtonator can use Shell Trap even while asleep or frozen, but the trap stays inert if an ally is the one hitting it, or if Turtonator is made to flinch before the explosion.

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No evolution, no Mega: the loner of the volcanoes

The question is quickly settled: Turtonator doesn't evolve, and it isn't the evolution of any Pokémon. Poképédia spells it out in black and white: no pre-evolution, no later stage, no stone, no trade.

It likewise has no Mega Evolution, regional form or Gigantamax form. Yet the seventh generation does have five Megas, belonging to Crabominable, Golisopod, Drampa, Magearna and Zeraora: Turtonator isn't among them.

The Pokédex shows it settled on volcanoes, where it feeds on sulfur and minerals : it's this diet that makes its shell explosive. Pokémon Sun warns that it is highly unstable and that a single impact is enough to set it off.

The rest is more comical. Pokémon Moon credits it with flames and toxic gas blasted from its nostrils, and with droppings that are actual explosives. Its weak spot? Humidity: on rainy days, it hides deep in its cave.

In the games, you'll only come across it on Blush Mountain in Sun and Ultra Sun, then at the Lake of Outrage in Sword: it's version-exclusive, with Drampa filling the same slot in Moon, Ultra Moon and Shield.

In the anime, Turtonator belongs to Kiawe from episode SM001 onward, and its spiky silhouette makes it a plush you'd recognize anywhere.

Turtonator Fact Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does Turtonator evolve?
  No. Turtonator doesn't evolve and isn't the evolution of any Pokémon. Its evolution chain contains only itself: there's no pre-evolution and no later stage, and no stone, held item or trade triggers anything.
• What is Turtonator's Ability, and does it have a hidden Ability?
  Turtonator has just one Ability, Shell Armor, which protects it from critical hits thanks to its shell. It has no second standard Ability and no hidden Ability. Contrary to popular belief, Shell Armor isn't a signature Ability: twenty-five species have it, and another Ability, Battle Armor, has exactly the same effect.
• What exactly does Shell Trap, Turtonator's signature move, do?
  Shell Trap is a Fire-type special move with 150 power, 100 accuracy and 5 PP, learned at level 45 in Sun and Moon and at level 40 in Sword and Shield. It has a priority of -3: Turtonator sets its shell like booby-trapped bait at the start of the turn, and the trap only explodes if an opponent then hits it with a physical move. Otherwise, the move fails. The trap also won't trigger if an ally is the one hitting Turtonator, or if Turtonator flinches. Turtonator is the only Pokémon that can learn Shell Trap.
• What are Turtonator's weaknesses?
  As a Fire and Dragon type, it only takes double damage from Ground, Rock and Dragon, just three weaknesses in all, and no type deals it four times the damage. On the other hand, it holds up much better against five types: Electric, Bug and Steel only deal it half damage, and Fire and Grass just a quarter. It has no immunities.
• Does Turtonator have a Mega Evolution or a Gigantamax form?
  No. No Mega Evolution, no regional form, no Gigantamax form: Turtonator has only one look. The seventh generation's five Mega Evolutions belong to Crabominable, Golisopod, Drampa, Magearna and Zeraora. Don't confuse it with Scolipede, which does have a Mega Evolution but belongs to the fifth generation, not to Alola.
• Where can you find Turtonator in the games?
  In Alola, on Blush Mountain, and only in Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Ultra Sun: it's exclusive to those versions, with Drampa taking its place in Moon and Ultra Moon. It later returns in Galar, at the Lake of Outrage and in several Max Raid dens, but again only in Pokémon Sword, never in Shield.

In short

A magma turtle, a walking land mine and the only Pokémon that can use Shell Trap, Turtonator needs neither an evolution nor a Mega. All it needs is for you to hit it first.