History Main / EarthyTortoise

** [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl The Turtwig line]] already skirted the trope by having [[GreenThumb Grass as the primary Type]] [[{{Planimal}} and being particularly themed around trees]]. Its final stage, Torterra, gains the Ground secondary Type, and carries around a full-grown tree and set of rocky spikes on its back that make it resemble a living hillock.

* '''A "Tortoise" can be''': not just a literal tortoise, it can be applied to any chelonian. "Tortoise" was chosen for the trope name since it refers to strictly terrestrial animals (either any turtle that lives mostly on dry land, or more specifically the family Testudinidae), but it can also apply to turtles or terrapins, which are used mostly to refer to aquatic or semiaquatic species[[note]]The only exception in English is Australian English, as Australia has no extant terrestrial chelonians, and "tortoise" used to be repurposed for sea turtles. Also, other languages don't make the same distinction as English does, like Spanish which just uses "tortuga" all the time[[/note]], as well as any chelonian on the SlidingScaleOfAnthropomorphism, tortoise-like MechanicalAnimals, [[MixAndMatchCritter hybrids]], aliens or [[CartoonCreature undefined creatures]], and to when tortoise symbols or allegories are used to represent the element of the earth

SubTrope of ElementalVariation. Compare TurtleIsland, which describes turtles or other large beings that carry around pieces of landscape on their backs. Overlap can occur in instances where an earth-elemental tortoise is sufficiently large to resemble a mobile hill or mountain or to have vegetation growing on its shell.

* ''WebVideo/TayrunsAdventuresAndBeastChronicling'': The Sniffer is depicted as the Sniffing Terrierrapin, an Endangered Species of Mix And Match Critters which primarily are based on chelonians (giant tortoises in their wrinkled, long-necked appearance, and alligator snapping turtles in the rough, serrated edges of their moss-coated shells). Like the video-game character, the Terrierrapins are known to dig up seeds and bury them in different parts of the earth where they think the plants might grow better, basically making them the Isles' gardeners -- which is why it fills Tayrun with relief to find that there might be some of them still alive today.

SubTrope of ElementalVariation. Compare TurtleIsland.

* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'': The Earth Vellumental is a turtle-like monster, [[YellowEarthGreenEarth with yellow limbs, tail and head and a green shell]], that attacks by sending forth seismic waves.

* ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': The Spirit Tortoise, which goes on a rampage in volume 6 (season 2 of the anime), is an ancient tortoise {{Kaiju}} whose shell is literally a mountain, which became the site of the city of Reiki while it slept through the eons. It's described as a natural defense of the world against the Waves of Catastrophe in the event the Four Cardinal Heroes have difficulty, and [[PoweredByAForsakenChild harvests souls to generate the power needed for this]]. While the Spirit Tortoise's rampage [[spoiler:turns out to have been provoked by the actual ArcVillain Kyo Ethnia]], the fact that it is based on the tortoise god Genbu of TheFourGods clues the GenreSavvy Naofumi into the fact that it's only going to be the first such kaiju to emerge.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': The villain Kyo Ethnina commands the Spirit Tortoise, a gigantic tortoise monster who's one of the Guardian Beasts and has mountains and vegetation growing on its shell.
[[/folder]]

* ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': The Spirit Tortoise, which goes on a rampage in volume 6 (season 2 of the anime), is an ancient tortoise {{Kaiju}} whose shell is literally a mountain, which became the site of the city of Reiki while it slept through the eons. It's described as a natural defense of the world against the Waves of Catastrophe in the event the Four Cardinal Heroes have difficulty, and [[PoweredByAForsakenChild harvests souls to generate the power needed for this]]. It is based on the tortoise god Genbu of TheFourGods, which clues the GenreSavvy Naofumi into the fact that it's only going to be the first such threat to emerge.

* Both "turtle" and "tortoise" come from a Greek word meaning "belonging to Tartarus", the underworld of Greek mythology.

* ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': In this series, the villain Kyo Ethnina commands the Spirit Tortoise, a gigantic tortoise monster who's one of the Guardian Beasts and has mountains and vegetation growing on its shell.

[[folder:Anime]]
* Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero: In this series, the villain Kyo Ethnina commands the Spirit Tortoise, a gigantic tortoise monster who's one of the Guardian Beasts and has mountains and vegetation growing on its shell.

[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]

[[folder:Web Video]]
* ''WebVideo/TayrunsAdventuresAndBeastChronicling'': The Sniffer is depicted as the Sniffing Terrierrapin, an Endangered Species of Mix And Match Critters which primarily are based on chelonians (giant tortoises in their wrinkled, long-necked appearance, and alligator snapping turtles in the rough, serrated edges of their moss-coated shells). Like the video-game character, the Terrierrapins are known to dig up seeds and bury them in different parts of the earth where they think the plants might grow better, basically making them the Isles' gardeners- which is why it fills Tayrun with relief to find that there might be some of them still alive today.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': The BatmanColdOpen in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E13BetweenDarkAndDawn "Between Dark And Dawn"]] pits the Mane Six against one of these, a giant but sluggish tortoise with a chunk of forest growing on its back. The creature is a NonMaliciousMonster, but still needs to be stopped for its voracious habits, chomping up Applejack's orchards (and very nearly Spike) with little care in the world until Fluttershy pacifies it.

* '''A "Tortoise" can be''': not just a literal tortoise, it can be applied to any chelonian. "Tortoise" was chosen for the title since it refers to strictly terrestrial animals (either any turtle that lives mostly on dry land, or more specifically the family Testudinidae), but it can also apply to turtles or terrapins, which are used mostly to refer to aquatic or semiaquatic species[[note]]The only exception in English is Australian English, as Australia has no extant terrestrial chelonians, and "tortoise" used to be repurposed for sea turtles. Also, other languages don't make the same distinction as English does, like Spanish which just uses "tortuga" all the time[[/note]], as well as any chelonian on the SlidingScaleOfAnthropomorphism, tortoise-like MechanicalAnimals, [[MixAndMatchCritter hybrids]], aliens or [[CartoonCreature undefined creatures]], and to when tortoise symbols or allegories are used to represent the element of the earth

* ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'':
** [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Golem]] is a Rock/Ground turtle-like monster. Its [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Alolan]] regional [[UndergroundMonkey variant]] is made out of [[MagnetismManipulation magnetic rocks]], and uses the large magnets on its back as a sort of built-in railgun.

This trope might exist as both the earth and [[SturdyAndSteadyTurtles tortoises]] [[MightyGlacier are slow but]] [[StoneWall extremely durable]]. Or, more simply, a tortoise' shell just looks [[AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance awfully a lot like rocks]].

* '''A "Tortoise" can be''': not just a literal tortoise, it can be applied to any chelonian. "Tortoise" was chosen for the title since it refers to strictly terrestrial animals (either any turtle that lives mostly on dry land, or more specifically the family Testudinidae), but it can also apply to turtles or terrapins, which are used mostly to refer to aquatic or semiaquatic species[[note]]The only exception in English is Australian English, as Australia has no extant terrestrial chelonians, and "tortoise" used to be repurposed for sea turtles. Also, other languages don't have make the same distinction as English do, like Spanish which just uses "tortuga" all the time[[/note]], as well as to any chelonian on the SlidingScaleOfAnthropomorphism, tortoise-like MechanicalAnimals, [[MixAndMatchCritter hybrids]], aliens or [[CartoonCreature undefined creatures]], and to when tortoise symbols or allegories are used to represent the element of the earth
* '''"Earthy" can be''': either an actual control of the lithosphere, or simply being compared or otherwise connected to the earth. Or, at the other extreme, [[RockMonster being made]] [[SiliconBasedLife out of]] [[ElementalEmbodiment rock]]. Some other ElementalPowers that are often included within "Earth" can also substitute it, such as GemstoneAssault, GreenThumb, ExtraOreDinary and occasionally PlayingWithFire, when it's focused more on [[MagmaMan volcanism]].

* ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'': {{Invoked|Trope}}. Desperate to find the new Avatar among the [[ElementalNation Earth Kingdom]], Kuruk's former companions attempt to use the Air Nomad method of presenting a series of toys to children among the kingdom and seeing if their past lives tell them which toys belonged to previous Avatars; the sole toy that [[AngelUnaware Kyoshi]] takes is a clay turtle that fit this criteria

%%correct, and Buster I needs his

* '''A "Tortoise" can be''': not just a literal tortoise, it can be applied to any chelonian. "Tortoise" was chosen for the title since it refers to strictly terrestrial animals (either any turtle that lives mostly on dry land, or more specifically the family Testudinidae), but it can also apply to turtles or terrapins, which are used mostly to refer to aquatic or semiaquatic species[[note]]The only exception in English is Australian English, as Australia has no extant terrestrial chelonians, and "tortoise" used to be repurposed for sea turtles. Also, other languages don't have make the same distinction as English do, like Spanish which just uses "tortuga" all the time[[/note]].
** The Tortoise or Turtle in question doesn't even have to be real: this trope can apply to any tortoise on the SlidingScaleOfAnthropomorphism, tortoise-like MechanicalAnimals, [[MixAndMatchCritter hybrids]], aliens or [[CartoonCreature undefined creatures]], or when tortoise symbols or allegories are used to represent the element of the earth
* '''"Earthy" can be''': either an actual control of the lithosphere, or simply being compared or otherwise connected to the earth. Or, at the other extreme, [[RockMonster being made]] [[SiliconBasedLife out of]] [[ElementalEmbodiment rock]].
** Some other ElementalPowers that are often included within "Earth" can also substitute it, such as GemstoneAssault, GreenThumb, ExtraOreDinary and occasionally PlayingWithFire, when it's focused more on [[MagmaMan volcanism]].

* In ''Pokemon Eventide'' (a ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'' fan-game concept created by the Platform/YouTube artist Pragmagik set in the Cornera region, a FantasyCounterpartCulture of the American Four Corners states), the Tortouse/Tortress line, a Ground-type (later Ground/Water-type) 'mon. Tortouse is based on the ornate box turtle, but instead of a shell on its back, it has a mud-made adobe house, which it uses to shelter small Pokemon who need a rest from travelling. Once it evolves into Tortress, the clay house turns into a full-on clay castle, big enough to carry human passengers who have lost their way in the desert.

* ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'': [[InvokedTrope Invoked]]. Desperate to find the new Avatar among the [[ElementalNation Earth Kingdom]], Kuruk's former companions attempt to use the Air Nomad method of presenting a series of toys to children among the kingdom and seeing if their past lives tell them which toys belonged to previous Avatars; the sole toy that [[AngelUnaware Kyoshi]] takes is a clay turtle that fit this criteria

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': "Hexbane Tortoise" is a Green colour turtle with large crystal- or rock-like stalagmites protruding from its shell.

* ''{{VideoGame/Palworld}}'': The Digtoise is a tortoise-shaped [[{{Mon}} Pal]] that belongs to the Ground-element.

** [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl The Turtwig line]] already skirted the trope by having [[GreenThumb Grass as the primary Type]] [[{{Planimal}} and being particularly themed around trees]]. Its final stage, Torterra, gains the Ground secondary Type, and carries around a full-grown tree and set of rocky spikes on its back that make it resemble a living hillrock.
%%Is "hillock" a real word?

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfLink'': In this free-to-play game, one of its creatures is the Earth Tortoise, a chelonian with brown coloration and a rock-like carapace.
%%I doubt being free-to-play is
%%relevant to this trope...
* ''{{VideoGame/Temtem}}'': The Crystle line are Crystal-type tortoises [[CrystallineCreature made of gemstones]]. They live in underground caves and, according to the Tempedia, get nutrients from [[EatDirtCheap volcanic ash and metamorphic rocks]].

** [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl The Turtwig line]] already skirted the trope by having [[GreenThumb Grass as the primary Type]] [[Planimal and being particularly themed around trees]]. Its final stage, Torterra, gains the Ground secondary Type, and carries around a full-grown tree and set of rocky spikes on its back that make it resemble a living hillrock.

* In ''Pokemon Eventide'' (a {{Franchise/Pokemon}} fan-game concept created by the Platform/YouTube artist Pragmagik set in the Cornera region, a FantasyCounterpartCulture of the American Four Corners states), the Tortouse/Tortress line, a Ground-type (later Ground/Water-type) 'mon. Tortouse is based on the ornate box turtle, but instead of a shell on its back, it has a mud-made adobe house, which it uses to shelter small Pokemon who need a rest from travelling. Once it evolves into Tortress, the clay house turns into a full-on clay castle, big enough to carry human passengers who have lost their way in the desert.

** "Gem-Turtle" is a Rock-type monster from the EARTH-attribute. It looks like a land turtle with a [[CrystallineCreatures gem-like shell]].

%%Planimal

** "Gem-Turtle" is a Rock-type monster from the EARTH-attribute. It looks like a land turtle with a gem-like shell.

** [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl The Turtwig line]] already skirted the trope by having [[GreenThumb Grass as the primary Type and being particularly themed around trees]]. Its final stage, Torterra, gains the Ground secondary Type, and carries around a full-grown tree and set of rocky spikes on its back that make it resemble a living hillrock.

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TheGroundBeneathOurFeet\\
IndexInAHalfShell\\
ReptileAndAmphibianTropes\\
ShellTropes%%????

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