Wurmple

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About

Wurmple is a caterpillar-like bug Pokémon introduced in the Generation III video games Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire. The Pokémon had seen a small fandom online until it appeared in New Pokémon Snap, when a picture of it lying on its back inspired memes about its ostensibly sad vibe.

Origin

Wurmple debuted in the Generation III Pokémon games, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, which released on November, 21st, 2002.^[1] It can evolve into Cascoon or Silcoon and then either Dustox or Beautifly, depending on its nature. The Pokémon was also available in-game in Generations IV and VI.

Spread

Online, Wurmple inspired some memes and fan art through the 2000s and 2010s, though it was not a particularly popular Pokémon. Memes that did feature Wurmple generally poked fun at how it is generally weak. For example, a March 24th, 2020 picture submitted to /r/okbuddyretard^[2] by user PoisonousPanacea showed a person about to step on a Wurmple, gaining over 2,700 points (shown below, left). A Reddit post by Fudgeshroom1357 in /r/ShitpostCrusaders^[3] showing a Shiny Wurmple gained over 16,000 points (shown below, right).

New Pokémon Snap Memes

In the first level of New Pokémon Snap, if a player hits a Wurmple on a tree with a fluffruit, it causes the Pokémon to fall and lie on its back. On May 1st, 2021, the Twitter account @OoCPokémon^[4] tweeted images of Wurmple on its back, gaining over 32,000 retweets and 180,000 likes (shown below).

The images inspired a bevy of fan art and memes about the Wurmple, with users amplifying the sadness of the image. For example, user @profchestnut^[5] tweeted the image with the caption "Every day, I wake up," gaining over 14,000 retweets and 64,000 likes (shown below, left). User @Zebraprawnart^[6] tweeted a War Flashback Parody about the image, gaining over 40 retweets and 190 likes (shown below, right). These jokes were covered by Polygon.^[7]