Meta Potential of Turtonator and Drampa

Trainers!

We now have info on the moveset of various Gen 7 Pokémon!

While we all seem to be talking about how Golisopod turned out to be a dud, the Ultra Beasts OP, Dhelmise a pleasant surprise, Mimikyu and Toxapex being possibly amazing… there’s not too much talk about the two dragons in the mix: Turtonator and Drampa

And it’s understandable… these Dragon types probably don’t have anything to shake the meta but their typing, moveset and resistances can potentially have interesting play in the Ultra League.

Honestly, Turtonator and Drampa are both exceptionally designed and unconventional dragons with type combinations that we do not find too often.

  • Turtonator’s Fire/Dragon typing is shared only by the legendary Reshiram and Mega Charizard X.
  • Drampa is the only Pokémon with Normal/Dragon typing. 

So let’s find out if these two peculiar dragons have anything special to offer. 

Turtonator

Turtonator

Stats and Max CP

Turtonator FireDragon
Max CP at Level 40 2148 | Max CP at Level 50 2428
ATK 167 DEF 176 HP 172
Weak to Strong Against
Dragon Rock Ground Dragon Bug Grass Ice Steel

 

Resists: Fire, Grass, Bug, Electric and Steel

Movepool

Fast Moves Charge Moves
  • Fire Spin Fire
  • Ember Fire
  • Flamethrower Fire
  • Overheat Fire
  • Dragon Pulse Dragon

In PvE

Turtonator lacks the attacking prowess to impact the Fire or Dragon type meta. It has a good Fire moveset, no doubt about that, but it simply doesn’t make the cut. 

In PvP

Great League

In the (1-1) GL meta, Turtonator is useable but limited in its potential. As a Fire type, it gains obvious wins against the likes of Skarm, Registeel, Galvantula, and surprisingly even against Lapras and Stunfisk (barely). But that’s about it. 

Turtonator is impressive in the (0-0) GL scenario. It can stack up wins against half the meta, including Sableye, Cofagrigus, Umbreon, Araquanind, Alolan Marowak and Wiggly.

Ultra League

In the Open Ultra (1-1) situation, Turto gains obvious wins against Escavalier, Venusaur, Registeel and Alolan Muk. More interestingly, it beats Fairy types like Togekiss, Clefable and Sylveon. It also gets wins against Charizard, Cofagrigus, Obstagoon.

With shields down, Turtonator becomes more dangerous. New wins include Machamp, Trevenant, Toxicroak, Greedent, Granbull and Galarian Stunfisk.

To sum up

Turtonator holds no potential in PvE but is an interesting mon to use in the GL and UL meta, where it does pick up niche wins against some heavyweights.

Drampa

Drampa

Stats and Max CP

Drampa NormalDragon
Max CP at Level 40 2914 | Max CP at Level 50 3294
ATK 231 DEF 164 HP 186
Weak to Strong Against
Dragon Ice Fairy Fighting Dragon

 

Resists: Ghost, Electric, Fire, Grass and Water

Movepool

Fast Moves Charge Moves
  • Dragon Breath Dragon
  • Extrasensory Psychic
  • Outrage Dragon
  • Dragon Pulse Dragon
  • Fly Flying

In PvE

With 231 ATK, and the moveset of Dragon Breath and Outrage, Drampa is a decent Dragon type attacker. Its DPS is close to the level of Tyrantrum, and it still beats pseudo legendaries like Hydreigon, Kommo-o and Goodra in PvE. However, its TDO is lower. So overall, Drampa isn’t really bad in PvE, but there are so, so many better dragons that put it back in the line.

In PvP

Great League

In the (1-1) GL meta, Drampa isn’t impressive but its high resistance to Ghost types such as Jellicent, Alolan Marowak, Trevenant etc, can help it put some weight in this format. Honestly, that’s the only saving grace here in the (1-1)

However, its performance shoots up in (0-0) as it is able to stand tall against Sableye, Venusaur, Shadow Nidoqueen, Swampert, Lickitung and Galvantula.

Ultra League

In the Open Ultra (1-1) situation, Drampa is surprisingly useable. It gains notable wins against Dragonite, Shadow Dragonite, Alolan Muk, Politoed, Drapion, Charizard, Cofagrigus, Snorlax, Talonflame, Venusaur, Trevenant, Empoleon and Giratina (Origin).

In the (0-0), Drampa is not as good as it was in (1-1) but this difference is only marginal. Some notable wins include Giratina (Altered) and Swampert. It now loses to Giratina (Origin).

To sum up

Drampa won’t shake the meta by any means but it is definitely a welcome addition. It is one of those average additions to PvE where it can be used in lobbies having 12+ trainers. In PvP, it does quite well (overall better than Turtonator), fulfilling the anti-ghost niche quite well. 


Parting words

Dragons are quite crowded in the meta, and with few exceptions like Haxoros and Altaria, the Dragon type dominance is held solely by legendaries and pseudo legendaries. Turtonator and Drampa have excellent designs and lore and aren’t exactly bad in their respective meta… they are just severely outclassed. Turtonator has a good Fire moveset but lacks the stats to make it count in the long run. But at the end of the day, these two are good spice picks in PvP and Drampa is okayish in PvE.

Overall, their flavours are still better than recent disappointments like Alolan Exeggutor with Draco Meteor and Tyrantrum. The game seriously needs to make improvements with regards to Dragon types. It may be introducing new moves like Scale Shot, Dual Chop and Dragon Rush, buffing moves like Dragon Pulse and Twister, and most importantly, giving good, workable moves to the Pokémon per se. 

Till then, all we can do is have fun with and make the best use of wonderful Dragon Pokémon like Turtonator and Drampa. Hoping for better things to come for these draconic beasts in the near future.

Dracarys!

Author & tags

MeteorAsh15
MeteorAsh15
My name is Niladri Sarkar. A Team Valor Trainer, I'm a Pokémon Battle Mechanics Specialist & a Dragon Master on Smogon's Pokémon Showdown where I particularly excel with Dragon types and Weather teams in Ubers / OU. I love to apply my vast knowledge and experience to the ever changing meta of Pokémon Go, specialising in DPS/TDO math, movesets, the Master League and Dragon types. Garchomp is my best Pokémon pal through and through.

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