Kartana is a small, humanoid Pokémon that resembles origami. It has a mainly white body with a red underside, with its head seemingly folded inside of its body. Its head has a four-sided star in the center that functions like a mouth and two horns or antennas protruding from the top. No discernible eyes or other facial features are present. It has long, thin arms that resemble katanas, which connect to the center of its body through a yellow sheath-like area. It has three yellow protrusions by the sheath, and its legs appear creased. Its body is completely flat, as if it was made entirely out of paper.
Despite its small size compared to the other Ultra Beasts, Kartana is extremely dangerous, as every edge of its body is incredibly sharp. It is able to cut down a gigantic steel tower with one stroke of the blades on its arms, and any opponents that try to attack it will be similarly cut apart. Its light, paper-like body allows it to evade most attacks by simply floating out of the way, but it also makes it highly vulnerable to fire and moisture.
Kartana is the only Pokémon that can learn Cut by leveling up.
Kartana may be based on origami and samurai. In particular, it may be based on noshi, a ceremonial origami attached to gifts for congratulatory occasions as a token of good luck, or shikigami, paper figurines cut into the shape of a person or animal and imbued with spiritual power, often used by priests to ward off negative energy. Its sharp, paper-like qualities may be a reference to paper cuts.
Name origin
Kartana may be a combination of katana and charta (Latin for paper). It may also involve Curtana (British ceremonial sword used at the coronations for kings and queens) and कर्तन kartana (Sanskrit for cutting).
Kamiturugi may be a combination of 紙 kami (paper), 神 kami (deity), and 剣 tsurugi (sword).
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.