Judd

"Judd the cat will tell you who won at the end of each match. No kitten!"

- Splatoon official website

Judd is a cat in Splatoon and Splatoon 2 that plays the role of judge in multiplayer matches. Unlike other characters, he seems to play a larger role in the games' story that remains a mystery.

Appearance
Judd is a white cat with black accents. There is a mole to the left of his mouth, a small black patch just above the mole, and a larger one near his left eye, over his left ear. His forepaws and hindlegs are black, while the arrow-shaped tail is black and white-tipped. The black fur on his body may look like a snazzy tuxedo, but it is said that the pattern is naturally-occurring. This could be a possible play on "Tuxedo Cat".

As depicted in the Sunken Scrolls, Judd's appearance has changed over time. Judd seems to resemble more of what he currently looks like in the present according to Sunken Scroll 25, but looks much younger and smaller in appearance. In Sunken Scrolls 4 and 15, Judd appears to be much smaller and thinner than his current form. Sunken Scroll 14, which was documented at the end of the Great Turf War, shows that between the time of scrolls 15 and 14, he has recaptured his much "heftier" appearance.

Personality and traits
Judd was born with the incredible ability to judge turf area at a glance to separate the winners from the losers. He is also a bit lazy, just like most cats, but is much more active during the night. This is shown in Splatfests, where he could be found dancing and saying "Meow!"

Before Splatoon
According to the Sunken Scrolls, Judd is more than 10,000 years old, as his original human owner is implied to have built a capsule designed to keep Judd cryogenically sealed for 10,000 years. Because of this, Judd was the only land life form that was not buried beneath the rising sea levels during the mass extinction at the beginning of the Mollusc Era. Judd's description in The Art of Splatoon 2 reveals that he was injected with an immortality drug by his owner.

Judd may have been released from cryogenic stasis at around 2,000 years before the events of, as Sunken Scrolls depict Judd judging ancient Turf Wars and the Great Turf War.

Splatoon
When he is not judging, he can be found sleeping on a blue crate on the Inkopolis Plaza, although he is said to live in Flounder Heights. The player can talk to Judd and he gives advice as well as a Cash bonus depending on the player's online battle Vibe, which increases and decreases with wins and losses. He only gives one cash bonus per vibe per stage rotation.

Visiting Judd every five levels starting at Level 25 will reward the player with a new item:

After the final Splatfest, Callie vs. Marie, Judd began to give out one Super Sea Snail per thirty completed online matches. Note that these matches can be either Turf Wars or Ranked Battles.

Splatoon 2
Judd returns in Splatoon 2 and once again plays the role of the referee, now joined by Li'l Judd. Judd represents the player's team, called "Good Guys", and Li'l Judd represents the enemy team, called "Bad Guys". When the Good Guys win, Judd brandishes a flag in their ink color and Li'l Judd falls in defeat; the opposite happens when the Bad Guys win. He once again takes naps when not judging battles, and can be seen sleeping in Inkopolis Square with Li'l Judd sitting on top of him. Judd and Li'l Judd switch between giving advice, where the player can earn a Super Sea Snail from Judd each time they level up past Level 30. In Sunken Scroll 27, it is implied that Li'l Judd is a clone of Judd, created upon reactivating the device that brought him to the future.

Advice

 * Judd/Quotes

Audio

 * [[Media:Judd sounds.ogg|Judd's voice clips in Splatoon]], either of which are used for the "Meow!" at the beginning of a piece of advice.

In the manga series
Judd, like in the game, judges Turf War rounds. His appearance is the same.

Trivia

 * Judd's name is derived from the word "judge," as he is the referee for all the battles in Splatoon.
 * In Judd's pieces of advice in the North American versions, he includes a large number of puns about cats.
 * Along with a handful of birds and insects, Judd is one of the few non-aquatic creatures in the game. As stated in a developers' interview, this is because the main characters of Splatoon were originally going to be rabbits; Judd is a leftover from that stage of the game's development.
 * Also explained in the interview is the source of Judd's name; apparently, the pattern of his fur came first, and it caused some developers to nickname him ジャッジ, or "Judge", which is his final name in the Japanese version of Splatoon.
 * A cat resembling Judd was depicted in an ancient scroll from around 2,000 years ago. Cats generally have a lifespan of fifteen years. It is unknown if this cat is the same as Judd after awakening from cryostasis, or if it is related to the machine Judd laid dormant in, which also has the capability of creating a clone of Judd as revealed in Splatoon 2.
 * It is disclosed in The Art of Splatoon 2 that the professor injected Judd with an immortality drug before he was sealed away, which possibly explains why Judd is seen depicted in the ancient scroll.
 * The Art of Splatoon 2 also shows that Judd transmits the Lobby's rules into the minds of Inklings using thought waves.
 * This could explain how the player is able to understand the dialogue shown in parenthesis when talking to Judd, who verbally is only shown to say "Meow".
 * The second artbook further mentions how Judd has many connections and holds an influential position with leaders across various nations.

Splatoon

 * There was a glitch in which the player could get their money back after purchasing a slot, reroll, or ordered gear from Spyke by talking with Judd after the purchase. It was fixed with Version.
 * During Splatfests, Judd could be seen dancing around happily on his pillow in Inkopolis Plaza. Instead of the usual "Zzz," he said "Meow!"
 * According to Callie and Marie, Judd lives in Flounder Heights and can be seen commuting to and from Inkopolis.
 * Cash could not be given by Judd during a Splatfest, as there was no Vibe, being replaced by Splatfest Power.
 * Judd had a noticeably different animation while declaring results in the E3 2014 Splatoon demo. In that version, he twisted his entire body towards the winning team before the final results were shown, while in the final version, he simply tucks his hands behind his back before showing the results.

Splatoon 2

 * Li'l Judd appears to be noticeably larger while judging matches in comparison to Judd than while he is sitting on Judd in Inkopolis Square.
 * It is said by Marina that Judd poses for an online art class at Inkblot Art Academy. Japanese dialogue adds that he does this because fluffy creatures like him are so rare.
 * Also at Inkblot Art Academy, Marina implies that Judd and Li'l Judd's eyes glow in the dark.