Prior to the start ofPokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, Kiawe first met Turtonator while he was delivering milk supplies. He saw it battling aCrawdaunt at a pond nearWela Volcano in order to defend a group of residentwild Pokémon, but it was defeated. During his future deliveries, Kiawe witnessed Turtonator losing to Crawdaunt multiple times, until he finally decided to help it get stronger so that it could defeat theRogue Pokémon. During atraining session withKiawe's Charizard, Turtonator ended up learningShell Trap, which allowed it to defeat Crawdaunt. After congratulating Turtonator on its victory, Kiawe tried to leave, only for Turtonator to ask to come with him, which he accepted.
Turtonator debuted inAlola to New Adventure!, being Kiawe's choice to battleTupp,Zipp, andRapp, a trio ofTeam Skull Grunts. He was joined byAsh and hisPikachu. Turtonator was shown to be a capable fighter, starting the battle by easily taking hits fromZubat'sLeech Life andYungoos'sBite attacks before countering them with Shell Trap. After Ash and Pikachu gained the upper hand, Kiawe had Ash stand back to allow Turtonator to finish the fight. Calling out to Turtonator, theFirium Z on Kiawe's Z-Ring glowed, and after a series of synchronized poses, Turtonator unleashed hisZ-Move,Inferno Overdrive, wiping out Team Skull's Pokémon, forcing the Grunts to retreat.
InA Crowning Moment of Truth!, Kiawe used Turtonator to battle anAlolanMarowak that had stolen the treasured "Wela Crown", an item said to boost the power of the Pokémon wearing it, from Wela Volcano Park. During the battle, Turtonator was shown being able to useDragon Tail. However, Turtonator ended up getting defeated by the Bone Keeper Pokémon, with even his Z-Move failing to hit his target. Later, after receiving some encouraging words from Ash, Kiawe agreed to have a practice battle between Pikachu and Turtonator in order to be ready for a rematch with Marowak. During the battle, Turtonator ended up learning a newmove, which boosted Kiawe's confidence even further. The next day, Kiawe challenged Marowak again. With his new move,Shell Smash, Turtonator was able to gain enoughSpeed to keep up with Marowak, allowing him to defeat his opponent this time around and retrieve the stolen crown. After the battle,Marowak chose to join Kiawe'steam.
Turtonator battling Steelix
InWhen Regions Collide!, Turtonator battledBrock's Steelix. Turtonator started the battle withFlamethrower which Steelix deflected withGyro Ball to reduce the damage. Turtonator was then squeezed by Steelix'sBind, but freed himself using Shell Trap. Recovering from the attack, Turtonator tried to use Dragon Tail. Before he could hit though, Steelix burrowed underground withDig and struck Turtonator with the supereffective move. When Kiawe decided to use his Z-Move,Brock revealed hisKey Stone andMega Evolved Steelix into Mega Steelix. Kiawe then had Turtonator attack with Inferno Overdrive, scoring a direct hit. Steelix, however, was able to endure the Z-Move and retaliated withStone Edge. Turtonator attempted to tear through the move with Dragon Tail, but was overpowered, knocking him out, making Steelix the winner.
InRescuing the Unwilling!, Turtonator and Marowak were used to fightLusamine'sSalazzle, which was underNihilego's control, to allow Ash to save Lusamine. Salazzle was hit simultaneously with Marowak'sBonemerang and Kiawe and Turtonator's Inferno Overdrive. However,the next episode revealed that despite the critical damage dealt to it, Salazzle was forced to continue fighting by Nihilego. The battle ended when Ash and Pikachu performed10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt to defeat Nihilego.
InBattle Royal 151!, Turtonator was used in theBattle Royal preliminary round of theManalo Conference. With help fromLillie andSnowy, he was able to defeat aSalamence, and later defeated anAlolanSandslash. Eventually, he came acrossMad Magmar andMr. Electric, and with a combination of Shell Smash and Dragon Tail, he was able to knock out theirMagmortar and Electivire, respectively. Turtonator was also the one to finish the Battle Royal, using Inferno Overdrive to defeat aMetagross and allowing Kiawe to progress to the next round.
InThe Final Four!, Kiawe chose Turtonator as his second and final Pokémon during his semifinals battle withGladion, sending him out to faceLycanroc. Despite taking multiple hits, Turtonator managed to endure Lycanroc's attacks and learnFocus Blast, which he used to defeat his opponent. Afterwards, Gladion sent outSilvally, which Turtonator began battling in thefollowing episode. After Silvally got its foot stuck in the ground, Kiawe attempted to finish the battle with an Inferno Overdrive, but Gladion used theFire Memory tochange Silvally's type just before the move hit, allowing it to endure the Z-Move and finish Turtonator off withCrush Claw, eliminating Kiawe from the tournament.
InZ-Move Showdown!, after a trio ofGuzzlord invaded the Manalo Conference, Kiawe and Turtonator combined their Z-Move with those of the other Trainers, knocking the secondShinyGuzzlord back into Ultra Space.
Harper and Sarah after touching Turtonator's spikes
Turtonator is a very powerful and defensivePokémon, being able to take multiple hits fromTeam Skull's Pokémon without showing any signs of damage. He has a trusting relationship with hisTrainer, as Kiawe confidently sends him into battle with hisCharizard on the line. He is also a friendly Pokémon, as first shown inGetting to Know You!, where he got along with the other Pokémon and even allowedAsh andhis classmates's Pokémon to play on his back. His friendly nature was shown again inA Glaring Rivalry!, when he joined the other Pokémon in taking part in aCharjabug train. InThe Ol' Raise and Switch!, however, he felt uncomfortable when the energeticHarper and Sarah were jumping on his back. Turtonator also likes having his back brushed.
Turtonator is very kind and helpful when it comes to helping other Pokémon. For example, inRocking Clawmark Hill!, he helpedRockruff dodge moves; and inA Shivering Shovel Search!, he helpedLitten to masterFire Fang. He also shows affection towards someone by biting onto the person's head, as seen inThe Island Whisperer! when he bitOlivia's head. In spite of Turtonator being a very stoic Pokémon, he is able to get agitated, as shown inA Crowning Moment of Truth! andCurrying Favor and Flavor!, where he got annoyed withKiawe's Marowak for trying to attack him and then proceeding to get its head stuck inside the hole in Turtonator's chest. Turtonator's rivalry with Marowak even extends to him glaring at Marowak while eating his food. Just like his Trainer, Turtonator is protective ofMimo, as seen inThe Young Flame Strikes Back! when he stepped in to protect her fromElectivire'sThunder without Kiawe's command. InEvolving Research!, much like the rest of Kiawe's Pokémon, he greatly enjoys the taste ofPoni Island radishes. InKeeping Your Eyes on the Ball!, Turtonator was shown to be a voice of reason when he tried to calm down his eccentric Trainer.
A Japanese event distributed an in-game representation of Kiawe's Turtonator, along withMallow's Steenee andLillie's Alolan Vulpix via serial code and local wireless. The serial codes were available atÆon stores in Japan from June 26 to July 4, 2017, and could be used until July 14, 2017. The local wireless were available atPokémon Center stores andPokémon Stores in Japan from July 22 to August 13, 2017.
The same Turtonatorwasdistributed to players who inserted a serial code that was given away at variousHomeplus andToys "R" Us stores inSouth Korea on August 5, 6, 12 and 26, 2017. The serial code was distributed to those who completed all seven trials of the Alola Challenge (Korean: 알로라 챌린지Alola Challenge). The serial codes could be used to obtain Turtonator from August 12 to September 30, 2017.
