Kiawe's Turtonator is Kiawe's main Pokémon and partner. It was sent out to battle Skull Gang after they tried to take Kiawe's Charizard from him. Kiawe pointed out to Ash Ketchum that is has two types: Fire and Dragon and that the spikes on Bakugames' shell explode when stimulated. It quickly took out all of Skull Gang's Pokémon with its Dynamic Full Flame Z-Move.

A Marowak stole the Wela Crown that is said that when it is placed on a Pokémon's head, it can become valiant and strong like Wela Volcano itself. Kiawe and Turtonator took up the task of retrieving the crown. Kiawe's Turtonator was instrumental in battling Marowak but it lost the first match against because they were in a rush to get the crown back and Kiawe wasn't paying proper attention to their opponent. He didn't read Marowak's actions and he just thought they could win as long as they unleashed a Z-Move but battling is all about watching their opponent closely and understanding them. After a training session with Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, they challenged Marowak and were prepared this time. Shell Smash was a risky move to use in the battle but was used as a setup move in combination with Inferno Overdrive to knock out Marowak and win the rematch battle. They were able to return the Wela Crown after Marowak gave it up.

During the battle at the Hanada Gym against Kiawe's Turtonator, Brock revealed that he was wearing a Steelixite Mega Stone necklace which he triggered so that Steelix could be fully powered to fight off the fully powered Z-Moves he heard about. Mega Steelix endured the attack but it had quite the effect on it, just as Brock expected it to but it wasn't enough to knock it out. Mega Steelix quickly attacked with a Stone Edge to knock out Kiawe's Turtonator and win the battle.

Kiawe first met Turtonator when he was coming back from a delivery. He saw it fight with a Crawdaunt and came to assist it after it lost the battle but he was shrugged away by Turtonator. Crawdaunt was trying to claim the whole lake for itself, while Turtonator just wanted to share it with the other Pokémon. Turtonator wouldn’t give in and it would challenge Crawdaunt time after time. It learned Shell Trap and defeated Crawdaunt after some help and training from Kiawe. Just has he was leaving, it grabbed Charizard and said it wanted to go with Kiawe and become his partner.

In Alola Pokémon League semifinals first match, Kiawe's Turtonator battled against Gladion's Type: Null / Silvally as the last matchup as Turtonator defeated Gladion's Lycanroc (Midnight Form) leaving Kiawe and Gladion have one Pokémon remaining. Turtonator learned the move Focus Blast during the match and it was super effective against Gladion's Lycanroc. Turtonator used Shell Smash in its battle with Silvally which allowed it to increase both its speed and attack power. To withstand the Inferno Overdrive Z-Move, Gladion changed Silvally into a Fire type and that was the turning point in the match. With Turtonator tired from its battle with Lycanroc and using an all out Z-Move, Silvally outlasted it and finished the match with a Crush Claw to defeat Turtonator and advance Gladion to the finals.