The Origins of 18 Turtle Pokemon & the Real Species Behind Them

The shell does most of the work on a turtle Pokemon. Eight of the 18 can have Shell Armor as their ability, a passive effect that protects them against critical hits, the lucky hits that deal extra damage. The designs also keep turning the shell into something else, a tank on Blastoise and a continent on Torterra.

See all 18 turtle Pokemon in one list.

Here's every turtle Pokemon:

All 18 Turtle Pokemon

#007

Squirtle

Squirtle is the Tiny Turtle Pokemon. Its design is based on both its final evolved form and baby turtles, though its anatomy and semi-aquatic lifestyle are much more similar to terrapins, with the proportions of the big-headed turtle. The tail goes back to Japanese legends of the minogame, a turtle which lived for 10,000 years and grew a tail made of seaweed.

When it feels threatened, it draws its limbs inside its shell and sprays water from its mouth. We call hiding and spitting at the same time a Monday. It stands 0.5 m tall.

#008

Wartortle

Wartortle is plainly the Turtle Pokemon, a stylized turtle with a feathery tail that points to the same minogame legend as Squirtle's. The tail also resembles wind waves. Its use of the tail to store oxygen seems to reference turtles that breathe through their cloaca, which sits near the tail. (We will not be searching for pictures of that.)

It cleverly controls its furry ears and tail to maintain its balance while swimming.

#009

Blastoise

Blastoise is a turtle mixed with aspects of a tank, and its category, the Shellfish Pokemon, makes no attempt to explain it. It may also be based on Leonardo da Vinci's design for an armored fighting vehicle, which itself is inspired by a turtle's shell. Its Gigantamax form (a giant form from Pokemon Sword and Shield) has a shell that may be based on a battleship.

The rocket cannons on its shell fire jets of water capable of punching holes through thick steel. We would like one for the parking situation on our street. It stands 1.6 m tall and weighs 85.5 kg.

#076

Golem

Golem is mostly the golem its name points to, the stone-covered, ogre-like creature of role-playing games. The turtle comes from tortoises, which are believed to hold the world on their backs in many myths, and its "shell" may represent the tectonic plates of Earth. It also resembles septarian nodules, rocks known as turtle stones.

Its rocklike shell is shed each year, and the cast-off shell crumbles into soil which can be spread across fields to promote crop growth. We would give a pet that feeds the garden the spare room. It stands 1.4 m tall and weighs 300 kg.

#131

Lapras

Lapras is based on plesiosaurs, the extinct marine reptiles also tied to the Loch Ness Monster. The turtle part is its shell, which, combined with its aquatic nature and history of being hunted to near extinction, may be based on sea turtles. Lapras could also be the turtle ridden by the folklore hero Taro Urashima, which fits its use as transport across water.

Crossing icy seas is no issue for this cold-resistant Pokemon, and its smooth skin is a little cool to the touch. (We would ride it to work, since the ferry is late again.) It stands 2.5 m tall.

#213

Shuckle

Shuckle, the Mold Pokemon, is the strangest shell here. It mostly comes from scale insects and endoliths, organisms that live inside porous rocks or animal shells. The barnacle scale it may be based on is part of the Coccidae family, also known as "tortoise scales", which may explain the turtle look, and it could also draw on snake-necked turtles.

The berries stored in its vaselike shell eventually become a thick, pulpy juice, which ties in with food fermentation and snake wine. We support a turtle running a small home brewery.

#324

Torkoal

Torkoal, the Coal Pokemon, is based on a tortoise, maybe the red-footed tortoise named for its resemblance to a lump of burning coal. Its shell may also be inspired by dome-shaped rustic kilns utilized to produce charcoal, or by the firebox of a steam engine.

Abandoned coal mines are full of them, and they dig tirelessly in search of coal. Somebody should get these tortoises a union, and we will hold the sign. Its Drought ability summons strong sunlight that lasts indefinitely upon entering battle.

#372

Shelgon

Shelgon, the Endurance Pokemon, is the middle stage between Bagon and Salamence. It is based on a dragon or giant tortoise and a pupa, the sealed stage an insect rests in before it changes shape.

Shelgon ignores its hunger entirely, never eating any food, and will evolve once all its energy stores are used up, which fits the pupa idea. (We have seen worse diet plans.) Its Rock Head ability protects it against recoil damage, the harm some moves do to their own user.

#387

Turtwig

Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon, is based on a terrestrial turtle, possibly one of the Asian box turtles. In concept, it may be based on the World Turtle from various mythologies that carries the world upon its back, an idea that grows with its evolutions.

It becomes more energetic the more sunlight there is, and the part resembling a shell is similar to silt and is slightly damp and warm to the touch. We manage warm and damp on a good day, but not the solar power. It stands 0.4 m tall.

#388

Grotle

Grotle, the Grove Pokemon, is based on a snapping turtle, and it shares the armor of the ankylosaurs. It may also come from a World Turtle, most likely Akupara.

It appears where there is clean spring water, and the fruit that grows on the shrubs on its shell is sweet and nutritious. (We cannot keep a basil plant alive, never mind an orchard.) It stands 1.1 m tall and weighs 97 kg.

#389

Torterra

Torterra is based on a snapping turtle and an ankylosaur, which is an armored dinosaur. Its large features and spikes may also come from the extinct Meiolania and Proganochelys turtles. In concept it is the World Turtle that carried the world upon its back, and its category, the Continent Pokemon, says so.

It would serve beautifully as borrowed scenery for a garden, its strength is peerless, and it roams the wilderness in search of clean water. (We have been called decorative, though nobody has called us peerless.) It stands 2.2 m tall and weighs 310 kg.

#564

Tirtouga

Tirtouga, the Prototurtle Pokemon, is based on a prehistoric sea turtle, either Protostega or Archelon, the two largest known genera of sea turtles. It also resembles a baby leatherback sea turtle.

It is considered to be the ancestor of many turtle Pokemon, and it was restored to life from a fossil. Brought back from a fossil and told it founded a family, we would ask for a minute. Its Swift Swim ability doubles its Speed during rain.

#565

Carracosta

Carracosta draws on the same prehistoric sea turtles. Fossils of Archelon and Protostega have been found in North America, which serves as part of the inspiration for the Unova region, where Carracosta was first introduced. Its blue skin and dark gray carapace give it the color scheme of the leatherback sea turtle.

It eats steel beams, which draws from the fact that sea turtles can bend metal bars with their jaws, and the front of its shell resembles a bulletproof vest. It emerges from the water in search of prey even though it moves more slowly on land. We have the same arrangement with the kitchen.

#776

Turtonator

Turtonator, the Blast Turtle Pokemon, may be based on the mata mata, a kind of turtle, with elements of a land mine. Its shell resembles a simplified explosion, red and yellow flame at the base and rocky lumps for the debris. Its Dragon type and spiny shell may come from the Tarasque, a mythological dragon-like hybrid, and the dragon turtle, a Chinese creature with the head of a dragon and the body of a turtle.

Eating sulfur in its volcanic habitat is what causes explosive compounds to develop in its shell, and its droppings are also dangerously explosive. We will be wearing boots near this one. Shell Armor is its only ability, and it stands 2 m tall.

#833

Chewtle

Chewtle, the Snapping Pokemon, is based on a common snapping turtle, with a large head much like the big-headed turtle.

It starts off battles by attacking with its rock-hard horn, but as soon as the opponent flinches, it bites down and never lets go. We admire the commitment from a safe distance. Its Strong Jaw ability strengthens biting moves to 1.5× their power. It stands 0.3 m tall.

#834

Drednaw

Drednaw, the Bite Pokemon, is based on the common snapping turtle, with some traits from the alligator snapping turtle. Its horn resembles a cleaver. Its Gigantamax form resembles a dreadnought, and its boat-like underside and armored top make it look like early ironclad warships, wooden hulls plated with thick steel sheets.

It rapidly extends its retractable neck to sink its sharp fangs into distant enemies and take them down. (We would use a retractable neck to reach the remote.)

#842

Appletun

Appletun, the Apple Nectar Pokemon, comes from the image of a worm burrowing into an apple and a pun on the wyrm, a type of dragon, hence its Dragon type. Visually it is similar to tortoises, while its back resembles desserts like the apple pie or the apple turnover. It may also be based on the tale of Bel and the Dragon, about a dragon that bursts open after being fed a cake.

Its body is covered in sweet nectar, the skin on its back is especially yummy, and children used to have it as a snack. We are choosing to ignore the past tense.

#1024

Terapagos

Terapagos, the Tera Pokemon, may be based on the Galapagos green turtle and on the Galapagos tortoise, in particular Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island tortoise. Like George, Terapagos is said to be extinct aside from a lone male survivor. It lived in ancient Paldea until it got caught in seismic shifts and went extinct.

It may also come from the rainbow-shelled turtle that carries the fisherman Urashima Taro to the Dragon Palace beneath the sea. The story ends with him aging into an old man with long white hair, much as Terapagos changes form when it enters battle. Its Stellar Form even floats on a tortoise-shell dome, a nod to "turtles all the way down", which describes our to-do list too. It stands 0.2 m tall.

Five of the 18 Turtle Pokemon Draw on the World Turtle

The oldest turtle idea in the series is the World Turtle, the turtle of myth that carries the world upon its back, and five of the 18 draw on it: Golem, Turtwig, Grotle, Torterra and Terapagos. Torterra's category, the Continent Pokemon, says it outright. Terapagos's Stellar Form is likened to "the world as the ancients saw it".

A single Japanese folktale covers two more. Lapras could be the turtle ridden by Taro Urashima, and Terapagos draws on the turtle that carries him to the Dragon Palace.

Turtle Pokemon FAQ

How many turtle Pokemon are there?

There are 18 turtle Pokemon. Five of them have a turtle word in their category, and the other 13 were designed from real turtles, tortoises and turtle myths.

What is the strongest turtle Pokemon?

Lapras, with a base stat total of 535, ahead of Blastoise at 530.

Is Lapras a turtle?

No. Lapras is based on plesiosaurs, though its shell may be based on sea turtles.

Is there a legendary turtle Pokemon?

Yes. Terapagos, the Tera Pokemon, is the only Legendary on this list.