Introduced in generation five, with the Pokemon Black and White games, Tirtouga is a dual type water and rock Pokemon. It is the base evolution of its two stage evolution line and evolves into Carracosta once it reaches the level threshold but Tirtouga, itself, is resurrected from the Cover Fossil. Tirtouga is classified by the Pokedex as the “Prototurtle Pokemon” which is likely a reference to its general design. This guide will showcase Tirtouga’s capabilities in battle, its appearances in the anime, as well as other general facts about Tirtouga.
About Tirtouga
As a generation five Pokemon, Tirtouga first appeared in the Black and White season of the anime in the episode A Restoration Confrontation! Part 1. In this episode, multiple Tirtouga were featured protecting a young Tirtouga from a flock of Archen. The Pokedex mentions that Tirtouga was considered a land-based predator in its prime.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Series: Black and White A Restoration Confrontation! Part 1 |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Black and White |
| Region | Unova |
| Evolution | Evolves into Carracosta, not known to evolve from another Pokemon |
| 1st Evo level | 37 |
| 2nd Evo level | N/A |
| Pokedex Entry | About 100 million years ago, these Pokémon swam in oceans. It is thought they also went on land to attack prey. |
Tirtouga Base Stats
| HP | 54 |
| ATTACK | 78 |
| DEFENCE | 103 |
| SP. ATTACK | 53 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 45 |
| SPEED | 22 |
| TOTAL | 355 |
Appearance
Tirtouga is a large blue and purple Pokemon that resembles an armored turtle. Most of its body is blue, but its armored shell and the area around its face is purple. Its face seems to be covered by a mask, and it walks on two legs and two fins. Not only that, it has fins at the end of both of its arms. There is a thick tail at Tirtouga’s base and there are small craters found within its shell. Tirtouga is a small Pokemon at only 2 feet and 4 inches, or 0.7 meters, tall.
Behavior
In the wild, Tirtouga is common to find around oceans. They can be menacing to encounter in the water, and they are capable of reaching over half a mile in depth.. Tirtouga are known to prey on Omanyte and Omastar. Since they are all fossil Pokemon that were resurrected, it is possible these Pokemon lived together before going extinct. The Pokedex mentions that Tirtouga lived in warm seas over hundred million years ago.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Tirtouga is a physical oriented Pokemon as its physical attack and defense are powerful, but it has a low speed and health stat. Because its statline is a mix of offensive and defensive, it can be difficult to find a role for Tirtouga. It is much weaker versus special attacking Pokemon than physical attacking Pokemon. As a dual type water and rock Pokemon, Tirtouga takes 2x damage from fighting, ground, and electric type moves. It also takes 4x damage from grass type moves. It is immune to no types but will resist normal, flying, poison, fire, and ice type moves.
Best Moveset
In competitive play, Tirtouga is typically reserved for the LC (Little Cup) bracket. It can function as a scaling offensive Pokemon. Its entire strategy focuses around Shell Smash and using it to quickly scale Tirtouga’s stats. With the Solid Rock ability, it can survive even with sacrificing some of its defensive stats. Consider running Shell Smash, Waterfall, Stone Edge/Zen Headbutt, and Aqua Jet/Earthquake.. This set is aimed at making Tirtouga as aggressive as possible. Scale Tirtouga’s stats with Shell Smash and use its higher stats to sweep your opponent’s Pokemon. The rest of its moveset is aimed to give you type coverage against your opponent’s team. Use Stone Edge if your team is weak against Pokemon that are weak against rock type moves. Use Aqua Jet to give Tirtouga priority, or Earthquake to give it raw damage.
| Shell Smash | Waterfall |
| Stone Edge/Zen Headbutt | Aqua Jet/Earthquake |
How to Catch Tirtouga in Pokemon Go?
If you would like to obtain a Tirtouga in Pokemon Go, there are a few different ways of doing so.. Like most base evolution Pokemon, the base evolution spawns more commonly in the wild, which makes it easier to encounter. You can find Tirtouga spawning in the wild, at a boosted rate, near oceans, rivers, lakes, harbors, docks, canals, and other watery areas. Tirtouga can also be hatched from 5 and 7 km eggs but unfortunately, neither Tirtouga or Carracosta have appeared as raid bosses at Pokemon Gyms. To evolve a Tirtouga into a Tirtouga, you will need 50 candies.
Trivia
- Tirtouga and Carracosta are the only Fossil Pokemon to have Rock type as their secondary type.
- The inspiration for Tirtouga’s design is likely based on a baby sea turtle.
- The name Tirtouga is a corruption of the word tortuga (Spanish for turtle).
FAQ
Is Tirtouga a fossil?
Tirtouga is a Pokemon that is resurrected from a fossil. Tirtouga can be resurrected from a Cover Fossil at the game’s respective research institute. Once the Cover Fossil is turned into a Tirtouga, it will evolve into Tirtouga once it reaches level 37. It also bears a connection to other fossil Pokemon like Omanyte and Omastar.
What number is Tirtouga?
Tirtouga is the 564th Pokemon in the Pokedex. The Pokedex will label every Pokemon with a number typically sequentially with its evolutions. However, Pokemon that were released in a prior generation will gain priority over sequential order with evolutions. Therefore, you can use this number to remind yourself which generation a Pokemon was released in.
How do you use Tirtouga?
Tirtouga is a bulky physical Pokemon. It does best against other physical attacking Pokemon. A common strategy with Tirtouga is to utilize Shell Smash to scale its stats at an accelerated rate. The Solid Rock ability can also keep Tirtouga alive in bad matchups. Most of the success with Tirtouga will come from Shell Smash.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this “Prototurtle Pokemon”. While Tirtouga has not made a large impact on competitive play, it can still be a powerful Pokemon. If a player does not have too many aggressive Pokemon, they may not be prepared to deal with Tirtouga. It is capable of dealing considerable damage if it is left to scale its stats. Reserve a slot on your team for Tirtouga if you want an aggressive water and rock type Pokemon.
