Introduced in generation seven, with the Pokemon Sun and Moon games, Kartana is a dual type grass and steel Pokemon. It is one of the Ultra Beasts, a legendary Pokemon that can appear from Ultra Wormholes in the Alola region. Kartana is classified by the Pokedex as the “Drawn Sword Pokemon” which indicates its status as the “UB-04 Blade” Ultra Beast. This guide will showcase Karttana’s capabilities in battle, its appearances in the anime, as well as other general facts about Kartana.
About Kartana
As a generation seven Pokemon, Kartana first appeared in the Sun and Moon season of the anime in the episode Living on the Cutting Edge!. It appeared through an Ultra Wormhole as an example of the new mechanics available in generation seven. Kartana is one of the Ultra Beasts and does not evolve from or into any other Pokemon. The Pokedex states that despite being paper thin, Kartana’s body is razor sharp and could cut a steel tower with one slash.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Series: Sun and Moon Living on the Cutting Edge! |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Sun and Moon |
| Region | Alola |
| Evolution | Not known to evolve from or into any other Pokemon |
| 1st Evo level | N/A |
| 2nd Evo level | N/A |
| Pokedex Entry | This Ultra Beast came from the Ultra Wormhole. It seems not to attack enemies on its own, but its sharp body is a dangerous weapon in itself. |
Kartana Base Stats
| HP | 59 |
| ATTACK | 181 |
| DEFENCE | 131 |
| SP. ATTACK | 59 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 31 |
| SPEED | 109 |
| TOTAL | 570 |
Appearance
Kartana is a humanoid Pokemon that seems to be made out of origami paper. It has two folded and creased legs but its two arms are straight and pointed. While most of its body is white, there are yellow trims around its arms and a crest pointing outwards. The inside of Kartana’s paper seems to be orange and as an origami Pokemon, it lacks any distinct features. But it’s sharp and angled design lends to its Pokedex description although its entire body is sharp and can cut a tall steel tower with one stroke of its blade. Kartana is a small Pokemon at only 1 foot, or 0.3 meters, tall.
Behavior
Kartana’s one appearance in the anime was bizarre. It appeared in Alola through an Ultra Wormhole and began wreaking havoc, cutting up various objects on Melemele Island. The protagonist’s attempts to capture Kartana were in vain, but when a meteor threatened to destroy the school, Kartana sliced the meteor into harmless pieces. Kartana then sliced open a new Ultra Wormhole and returned to where it came from. Not much is known about this Pokemon other than its razor sharp capabilities.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Kartana is a menace as an offensive Pokemon as it has one of the highest physical attack values in the game and along with its ability Beast Boost, it can snowball out of control. Its health and special defense base stats are awful, but its speed and physical defense can make it difficult to handle. As a dual type steel and grass Pokemon, Kartana takes 2x damage from fighting type moves and 4x damage from fire type moves. It is immune to poison and resistant against normal, rock, steel, water, grass, electric, psychic, dragon, and fairy type moves.
Best Moveset
Since Kartana’s introduction into the game, it has managed to be a top tier Pokemon in competitive brackets. Its offensive capabilities are incredible and it is capable of sweeping an enemy team without much support. The moveset for Kartana is relatively straightforward as you will want offensive moves that can cover different types of Pokemon. Consider running Swords Dance, Leaf Blade, Sacred Sword, and Giga Impact. Swords Dance will take advantage of Kartana’s absurd physical attack stat, Leaf Blade benefits from STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) and also has a high chance of critical striking, Sacred Sword can help Kartana get through set up Pokemon, and Giga Impact can deal regular damage to many different types of Pokemon.
| Swords Dance | Leaf Blade |
| Sacred Sword | Giga Impact |
How to Catch Kartana in Pokemon Go
Unfortunately, Kartana is not currently available in Pokemon Go. While generation seven Pokemon are set to be added to the game soon, it is likely that Kartana will have to come later due to its status as an Ultra Beast. The developers will likely want to release these Ultra Beast Pokemon together or individually with their own special events. Since Ultra Beasts have their own unique condition for encountering, it is likely that Pokemon Go will introduce a similar unique condition to obtain Kartana. Until this time, we will not know how to obtain this legendary Pokemon. Since Kartana has no evolutions, you can use any candies you collect obtaining Kartana into powering up your Kartana instead of using the candy foolution.
Trivia
- Of all the grass and steel type Pokemon in the franchise, Kartana has the highest base physical attack.
- The inspiration for Kartana’s design is likely based on a combination of origami and samurai.
- The name Kartana is a combination of the words katana, card, or the the word charta (Latin for paper)
Explainer Video
FAQ
Is Kartana a Legendary Pokemon?
Kartana is classified as a legendary Pokemon. Specifically, it is known as one of the Ultra Beasts of the Sun and Moon generation. It fulfills the conditions for legendary Pokemon by not having any evolutions, only being encounterable once per save file, and the fact that it cannot be bred at a Pokemon Daycare.
Does Ash catch Kartana?
Despite Ash’s best efforts, he could not capture Kartana. He attempted in order to prevent Kartana from rampaging across Melemele Island, but Kartana avoided capture. Interestingly enough, instead of continuing its destruction across the island, Kartana saved the island from being hit with a meteor and then promptly returned to its own dimension.
Is Kartana a good Pokemon?
Kartana is one of the strongest Pokemon that have been released recently. Its physical attack along with its ability Beast Boost makes it very difficult to handle in competitive play. While Kartana is a fragile Pokemon, it can quickly sweep a team if there is no fast answer to it.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this “Drawn Sword Pokemon”. Kartana has made a large impact on competitive play thanks to its inflated stat pool as well as its incredible ability. It is rare that a newer Pokemon would be this powerful on its own and even its typing makes it fairly resilient to many different strategies. Reserve a slot on your team for Kartana if you want an offensive Pokemon that can cut through many different teams.
