Li'l Judd
Assistant Turf War referee
- Species
- Cat
- First seen
- Splatoon 2 (2017)
- Affiliation
- Inkopolis, Splatsville
Meow.Turf War result screen, delivered with a look
Judd's tiny, adorable assistant, who judges alongside him and is implied by the Sunken Scrolls to be a clone with ambitions of his own.
Li'l Judd arrived in Splatoon 2 as a kitten-sized second referee, raising a little flag next to Judd's big one and stealing every scene with sheer cuteness. Players adored him immediately. The Sunken Scrolls suggest they should also keep an eye on him.
Origins
According to scroll evidence, Li'l Judd is not a kitten at all but a clone of Judd, created as a backup in case anything happened to the original. The idea is that Judd's owner, or whoever maintained the capsule, wanted to make sure the cat's line survived. Where Judd is placid, Li'l Judd is animated: he bounces, he wiggles, and in the occasional idle animation he glares at his larger counterpart with what looks a lot like scheming.
The joke
The series never states it outright, but the running gag is that Li'l Judd intends to take over. Splatoon 3's animations and a few background details lean into the idea, with the little cat occasionally holding a knife-like object or muttering to himself. Judd, for his part, appears entirely unaware or entirely unconcerned. Whether it is a real plot thread or an in-joke that the developers enjoy feeding, fans treat it as canon.
Character
Li'l Judd is a mascot with a subplot. He judges with obvious enthusiasm, celebrates winners, and sulks with losers. He is the only character who has been given a hidden motive without a single line of dialogue, and the fandom's fondness for him only grows with every suspicious glance.