It changes its cloak based on the location where it last battled. It will be the Plant Cloak if it last battled outside or in tall grass, the Sandy Cloak if it last battled in a cave, on a beach, or faced a Pokémon from a Honey tree, and the Trash Cloak if it last battled in a building. In the wild it is always the Plant Cloak variation. Its cloak only affects what its second type will be if it evolves into Wormadam; it otherwise does not affect gameplay.
Burmy has a black segmented body with a coil-like appendage on the top its head. 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). Burmy's body is normally covered by a coat of leaves, sand, or pink building insulation.
Gender differences
A female Burmy evolves into a Wormadam while a male Burmy evolves into Mothim. There are no visual differences between male and female Burmy.
Special abilities
Even if it is born where there are no cocooning materials, it somehow always ends up with a cloak. If a Burmy is female, when it evolves the materials used to compose its cloak become a permanent fixture on its body, and give it varying types and movesets depending on which material was used.
Behavior
It usually hangs from trees, wearing a cloak made out of leaves and small twigs to protect itself from the cold. It will not hesitate to collect nearby materials to construct a new cloak if the old one breaks or falls off.
Habitat
Like most Bug-types, it is found mostly in forested areas, particularly trees. However, it'll make itself at home in rocky places or even in urban environments if it gets the opportunity.
Burmy also starred in Some Enchanted Sweetening, the episode Cheryl made her debut. She caught a wild Burmy that was lured to the Honey she put on a tree. After battles with Team Rocket, the Burmy evolved into a Mothim.
Burmy will not appear in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time until a rescue mission involving it has been completed, using the following Wonder Mail code:
XR2Y #==@ JYX%
3@2F Q8FQ R@M#
Objective: Prospect with Burmy on floor 13 of Marine Resort.
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Burmy is one of four Pokémon whose evolution is based on gender (the other three being Combee into Vespiquen, Kirlia into Gallade, and Snorunt into Froslass). However, both of its genders have a specific evolution linked to them, unlike the other three.
Burmy's evolutionary family is one of the most complex, with two factors deciding its evolutionary event: its gender and its appearance.
If Wormadam's three forms are considered different Pokémon (internally, by the games, they are considered to be), Burmy is one of three Pokémon able to evolve into more than two species, the others being Eevee and Tyrogue.
IT is unknown how Burmy transforms into its different cloaks, since it is not seen in the anime.
Origin
Burmy is based on a bagworm pupa, which will metamorphose into a moth if male, or remain a pupa-like creature if female.
Name origin
Burmy's name may be a combinaton of "bag" and "wormy". Burmy's Japanese name may be based on 蓑虫 minomushi, the Japanese name for the bagworm.