Pudge

Pudge is an unknown species of tropical fish who was first seen in the opening of Lilo & Stitch. He also appeared in Lilo & Stitch: The Series in the episode "Sinker", and was mentioned in "Cannonball" and "Ploot". Lilo feeds him a peanut butter sandwich every Thursday because she believes Pudge controls the weather.
==Background==
===Physical appearance===
Pudge is a small, orange (presumably male) tropical fish with blue eyes, blue spots on his back, and four fins with lighter orange tips (though they are not tipped differently in the series). His mouth is big enough to carry a sandwich, though obviously not big enough to fit it all in his body.
===Powers and abilities===
Pudge appears to be just a regular tropical saltwater fish and doesn't have any supernatural abilities. Lilo believes that he has ability to control the weather, but it is never definitively confirmed if he actually does. However, in the original film, the weather was overcast when Lilo emerges from the water, but it begins to clear up as she returns to shore.
In the Chibi Tiny Tales short "All Hail Pudge!", which depicts him as sapient, he is actually shown with weather manipulation powers and makes the skies cloudy when Lilo fails to show up on time for Sandwich Day. When she arrives without a sandwich, she tries to offer him pickles and then a burger, but he refuses both. She then offers him a seafood platter, which insults him to the point that he brews a tropical storm all over Hawaii in response. The winds blow away a nearby tiki hut, revealing Stitch holding the necessary jar of peanut butter inside. After Lilo finally makes a peanut butter sandwich and feeds it to Pudge, who was suddenly on a storm cloud, he happily grins and returns to the sea below, and the storm clears. However, since the short takes place in the Disney Chibiverse, it is not canonical to the universe of the Lilo & Stitch franchise proper.
==Trivia==
*In a non-canon deleted scene from the first film, Stitch inadvertently caused Pudge to be killed by seagulls, and his body was buried by Lilo beside her parents' graves.
*Pudge also appears in Disney Friends. If the DS system clock is set to a Thursday, it would be "Sandwich Day". Lilo will tell the player to give Stitch a peanut butter sandwich to throw. If Pudge catches it, the weather changes and the player is awarded a pin.
*When Lilo's teacher Kumu asks her why it is so important that she bring Pudge the fish a sandwich, she says that he "controls the weather". Given that her parents died in a car crash on a stormy night, she is clearly trying to "appease" what she believes is the spirit that killed her parents so that no more of her family will die.
**It is unknown why Lilo thinks giving Pudge sandwiches will enable him to predict the weather, as fish are not able to do such a thing.
**Also, in real life, it is not wise to feed sandwiches to fish, peanut butter or otherwise.
==Gallery==
===Lilo & Stitch: The Series===
L&S - 1x24 - Sinker - Lilo hands Pudge his sandwich.png
L&S - 1x24 - Sinker - Pudge reaching for his sandwich.png
L&S - 1x24 - Sinker - Pudge bites his sandwich.png
L&S - 1x24 - Sinker - Pudge swimming away.png
===Miscellaneous===
Lilo & Stitch Hawaiian Adventure map.png
DLRP - Lilo Holding Pudge the Fish.jpeg
DCL - Pin Trading Under The Sea - Lilo with Pudge - Pursuit Pin
DSS-Pudge.png|As a crew member in Disney Speedstorm
Stitch - Carefree Surfer lorcana.png
Category:Lilo & Stitch characters
Category:Disney characters
Category:Fish
Category:Males
Category:Adults
Category:Characters
Category:Silent characters
Category:Animated characters
Category:TV Animation characters
Category:Characters in video games
Category:Characters in the Disney animated features canon
Category:Chibi Tiny Tales