One of the more interesting and prominently-featured new Pokémon in Generation VIII is Drednaw, the Water/Rock-type snapping turtle Pokémon. This tough, heavy Pokémon evolves from Chewtle, which is available pretty early in Sword & Shield, meaning many people have encountered them and even caught one for their team at some point.
Drednaw is also one of the lucky few Pokémon to receive a Gigantamax Form, increasing its already impressive-size and making it bipedal. If you’re looking to add this powerful attacker to your team, here are all the places where you can find it (or a Chewtle to evolve) and a few other things you might not have known about it.
10 Where to Find
It’s definitely not difficult to find Drednaw or Chewtle around Galar. The first place Drednaw can be found in a playthrough is the Wild Area. Here, look to Bridge Field, Dusty Bowl, Giant’s Cap, Giant’s Mirror, Lake of Outrage, or West Lake Axewell. Drednaw’s appearance depends on the weather in some places, but appears in all weather in a few of these areas.
You can also find them by fishing on Route 6, or by looking for them as a wandering spawn in Galar Mine No. 2 or Route 2’s lake section. Those with the Isle of Armor expansion can also find Drednaw in the Fields of Honor, Soothing Wetlands, Challenge Beach, Courageous Cavern, and Loop Lagoon.
9 How to Evolve
If you don’t feel like looking for a Drednaw, you can easily find a Chewtle to evolve. Chewtle appears very early in the game on Route 2, Route 4, and Route 5. They’ll also be found in Galar Mine No. 2, fishing in Hulbury, fishing in Motostoke, or as a random encounter in the Motostoke Outskirts.
If you’re heading to the Wild Area, look for Chewtle in the Motostoke Riverbank or Giant’s Mirror while it’s raining, or in the Giant’s Cap area. For the Isle of Armor, Chewtle can be found in the Soothing Wetlands swamps or in the Courageous Cavern. Once you’ve found a Chewtle, they can be easily evolved by leveling them up to level 22.
8 Inspiration
Many Pokémon are based directly on real-life animals or things, and Drednaw is no exception to this. Anyone who has spent any time in the wilderness of North America might have had a run-in with the terrifying snapping turtles. These small reptiles are known for their ability to bite you very hard, very fast.
Drednaw and its pre-evolution, Chewtle, are directly based on these terrifying turtles. Drednaw are said to have extremely-strong jaws and are even called the “Bite Pokémon.”
7 Signature Moves
Going perfectly with its snapping turtle-inspiration and biting theme, Drednaw and Chewtle have a very fitting signature move. Jaw Lock inflicts damage with a power of 80 and an accuracy rating of 100 percent. It also stops the target from fleeing from the battle or being switched out by its trainer.
Amazingly, this move is neither Water-type nor Rock-type, Drednaw and Chewtle’s types. It’s a Dark-type move, meaning they don’t get the Same-Type Attack Bonus from their own signature move. Gigantamax Drednaw also has a signature move. G-Max Stonesurge is a move that replaces Drednaw’s Water-type attacks. Its power depends on the attack it is replacing, and it creates the Stealth Rock hazard on the target’s side of the field.
6 Strength
As if it wasn’t already clear that Drednaw likes to bite things and inflict damage as a result, the Pokédex makes it very clear just how strong its jaw and biting abilities are.
Its Pokédex entry in Sword explains that Drednaw is capable of shearing through steel rods with its teeth. It allegedly uses this strength to clamp down on its prey. Apparently, they are very hard to tame, so many trainers end up releasing them back into the wild after not being able to control their aggression. Yikes.
5 Ties to Nessa
Someone who doesn’t seem to have an issue calming or taming these aggressive beasts is Nessa, the Gym Leader for the Hullbury Stadium. Nessa features prominently with a Drednaw by her side in many of her appearances. A Drednaw is her ace in battle in Sword & Shield, and she’s been shown to be very loyal to them in the Twilight Wings series.
Nessa has also been shown to have a Gigantamax Drednaw in the Pokémon Adventures manga. Many gym leaders are closely associated with a certain Pokémon, and Nessa is no exception to this.
4 Retractable Neck
If you weren’t already afraid of Drednaw’s powerful jaw and ability to clamp down on their prey with steel-shearing force, you’ll definitely be afraid when you find out that they can grab distant prey.
Drednaw’s neck is retractable and can extend pretty far, meaning they can grab you from a distance you might not expect. The Pokédex even states that it’s able to extend its neck in this manner “rapidly.” This thing is much more dangerous than your average snapping turtle.
3 Galar Tale
As if it weren’t terrifying enough already, Drednaw is capable of growing to to a whopping 78'09" (24 meters) when it Gigantamaxes. At this height, it’s unclear what, exactly, would be able to stand in its path.
Mountains are apparently no obstacle, as it’s said in the Pokédex that an old Galar tale states that Drednaw Gigantamaxed and then chewed up a mountain. Sure, it used the rubble to stop a flood, but the fact that it can just take a snack out of a mountain is horrifying.
2 Chasing You
“Sure, it’s terrifying, but it’s clearly heavy and slow like a turtle, right?” one might ask. That person would be wrong, though. Despite its heavy shell and slow appearance, apparently Drednaw can move very fast.
Team Rocket’s Rotom Phone in the manga even states that they’re inescapable. “Once it starts to chase you, you’re toast,” is the exact phrase given by the Rotom Phone.
1 Gigantamax Pikachu
It’s no surprise that Ash’s Pikachu would one day be revealed to have the Gigantamax gene, since the Pokémon would understandably want to advertise the new game mechanic. However, it’s actually a Drednaw that helped Pikachu realize it was capable of Gigantamaxing.
In the anime episode Satoshi VS Dande! The Road to the Strongest!! a rampaging Drednaw is attacking Wyndon Stadium. Pikachu and Goh attempt to battle it until Pikachu learns it can Gigantamax, much to the surprise of its owner.
NEXT: Pokémon: The 10 Cutest Pokémon Ash Ketchum Has Ever Caught, Ranked
