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It evolves into either Wormadam or Mothim starting at level 20 depending on its gender; female Burmy evolve into Wormadam, whereas male Burmy evolve into Mothim.
Burmy changes its cloak based on the location where it last battled. In the case of female Burmy, its form determines the form of Wormadam it evolves into, which is permanent.
It will be in its Plant Cloak if it last battled outside or in tall grass, Jubilife Village, or the Obsidian Fieldlands, and evolve into Plant Cloak Wormadam.
It will be in its Sandy Cloak if it last battled in a cave, on a beach, in a snow storm (Gen IV), the Crimson Mirelands, or Coronet Highlands, and evolve into Sandy Cloak Wormadam.
Burmy is a small, larval Pokémon with a black segmented body and a coiled antenna on top of its head. As seen in the anime, it can uncoil the antenna on its head and wrap it around its opponent. It has a beak-like mouth and yellow eyes. Burmy has six stubby legs: the first two pairs are black, while the back pair is yellow. There are also two white spots on its cheeks. However, Burmy's legs and cheek spots are only visible on a Burmy without a cloak.
Burmy is normally covered by a cloak, with three known variants that consist of either twigs and leaves, sand and mud bound by its own silk, or dust and garbage resembling pink building insulation. It will not hesitate to collect nearby materials to construct a new cloak if the old one breaks or falls off. Even if it is born where there are no cocooning materials, it somehow always ends up with a cloak. The cloak protects it from the cold and will become thinner when the weather is hot. Remoraid is a natural predator of Burmy.
Multiple Burmy appeared in The Rise of Darkrai. One particular Plant Cloak Burmy surprised Ash in the garden in Alamos Town by abruptly dropping in front of his face.
If its cloak is even slightly damaged, Burmy will immediately repair it with whatever is close at hand. The Pokémon within the cloak is scrawny and vulnerable to the cold.
It creates a cloak by weaving together sand, mud, and silk it has spat out. This earthen cloak is ruined by wind and rain, so the Pokémon hides away in caves and other such places.
When confronted by a lack of other materials, Burmy will create its cloak using dust and refuse. The cloak seems to be more comfortable than one would think.
Burmy's cloak does not change if leveled up with an Exp. Share.
Burmy is the only Pokémon with a base stat total of 224.
Although Burmy has been confirmed to have feet, it does not have a footprint.
Except for recurring end segments such as Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Encyclopedia, Burmy has never been seen in the anime wearing either the Sandy or Trash Cloak.
Burmy's Pokédex color has changed between generations:
Prior to Generation VII, all Burmy forms were classified as gray.
In Generation VII and prior to the release of Pokémon HOME, all Burmy forms were classified as green.
After the release of HOME, Plant Cloak Burmy retains its classification as green, while Sandy Cloak and Trash Cloak Burmy are classified as brown and red, respectively.
Before Generation VIII, the Burmy family had only been obtainable with their Hidden Ability in the Pokémon Dream World. Due to the closure of the Pokémon Global Link, the Burmy family could no longer be obtained with their Hidden Ability, except by trading between games and breeding. The Burmy family's Hidden Ability can currently be obtained via the Ability Patch.
Burmy appears to be based on a bagworm, which makes cocoons by sewing together surrounding materials (usually leaves or scraps of wood) with its silk. Its evolutions into Wormadam or Mothim reflect the bagworm's natural life cycle — males will metamorphose into a flying moth, while females undergo little change and remain inside their cocoon lifelong. Its antenna may have been inspired by the gum-leaf skeletoniser.
The Trash Cloak form specifically appears to be made of fiberglass insulation, a wool-like padding that is often dyed pink — this seems to be alluded to in its Pokédex entry in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, where it is described as surprisingly comfortable, due to its spongey texture. The idea of a cloak made from household materials may be inspired by household casebearer moths, whose larvae exhibit the same cloaking behaviour as bagworms, and make cloaks from dust, hair, and dirt they scavenge from homes.
Name origin
Burmy may be a combination of bag or bug and worm, with a diminutive -y.
Minomucchi is likely derived from 蓑虫 minomushi (bagworm).
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.