Im Dying Squirtle

2013four-panel comicclassic

Published August 31, 2026

Im Dying Squirtle is a four-panel Pokemon comic that started on 4chan's /v/ board, built around a burning Pokemon quoting pun-heavy song lyrics while Squirtle refuses to put out the flames. The gag pays off when the on-fire Pokemon drops the bit and delivers the flat line 'im dying squirtle,' turning a dumb visual joke into a template artists rebuilt with dozens of Pokemon and songs.

pokemon4chan memesexploitable templatesmulti panel memestonal whiplash memes

Overview

Every Im Dying Squirtle strip follows the same four-beat rhythm. Panel one shows a Pokemon engulfed in flames delivering the opening line of a song, usually rewritten as a pun about being on fire3. Panel two brings in Squirtle, the water-type who could obviously help, singing the next line instead of dousing the fire3. Panel three is often a silent beat, then panel four breaks the whole bit: the burning Pokemon looks at Squirtle deadpan and says 'im dying squirtle' with no music, no pun, just plain text.

The original and most-shared version pairs Bidoof, a Pokemon known for looking dopey and blissfully unbothered, with lyrics from Bloodhound Gang's 'Fire Water Burn'13. Bidoof's flat, dumb face makes the last-panel switch to sincerity land harder, because the joke is really about a character too calm to react to their own death. Later strips swap in different Pokemon paired with different songs, but the deadpan final line is fixed3.

Origin & Background

Platform
4chan /v/ (viral spread on Reddit and Tumblr)
Date
2013

The comic first appeared on 4chan's /v/ (video games) board2, the same corner of the site where anonymous artists have been posting Pokemon 4komas for years. As with most /v/ output, the original poster is not attributed. The earliest widely reshared version used Bidoof singing rewritten lyrics from Bloodhound Gang's 'Fire Water Burn'1, a song title that already reads like a joke about a fire Pokemon standing next to a water Pokemon.

How It Spread

From /v/, the strip escaped into general Pokemon fan spaces, where readers started building their own versions using different Pokemon and different songs while keeping the four-panel scaffold and the title line intact3. The template survives because it forces almost no drawing skill: the punchline is a text switch, not a visual gag, so anyone can bang out a version in MS Paint.

Squirtle's role stayed locked in across every remake. He is never the hero who saves the fire Pokemon; he is the co-star singing the next verse, complicit in the bit3. That reading of Squirtle as an unhelpful bystander is most of why the fourth panel works, because the burning Pokemon is really addressing the one character in the frame who could have helped and chose not to.

The meme kept low-key traction inside Pokemon fandom rather than crossing over to mainstream reaction-image use, and new song-swap variants still surface whenever a fitting track lines up with a fire-type3.

How to Use This Meme

To make one, pick any Pokemon that can plausibly be on fire and any song with lyrics you can bend into a pun about burning, water, or dying. Panel one: your Pokemon in flames, singing line one. Panel two: Squirtle refusing to help, singing line two. Panel three: a beat, often wordless. Panel four: the burning Pokemon, no music, saying 'im dying squirtle' in plain text3. The deadpan switch is the whole joke, so keep panel four sincere.

Frequently Asked Questions

Im Dying Squirtle

2013four-panel comicclassic

Published August 31, 2026

Im Dying Squirtle is a four-panel Pokemon comic that started on 4chan's /v/ board, built around a burning Pokemon quoting pun-heavy song lyrics while Squirtle refuses to put out the flames. The gag pays off when the on-fire Pokemon drops the bit and delivers the flat line 'im dying squirtle,' turning a dumb visual joke into a template artists rebuilt with dozens of Pokemon and songs.

pokemon 4chan memes exploitable templates multi panel memes tonal whiplash memes

Overview

Every Im Dying Squirtle strip follows the same four-beat rhythm. Panel one shows a Pokemon engulfed in flames delivering the opening line of a song, usually rewritten as a pun about being on fire3. Panel two brings in Squirtle, the water-type who could obviously help, singing the next line instead of dousing the fire3. Panel three is often a silent beat, then panel four breaks the whole bit: the burning Pokemon looks at Squirtle deadpan and says 'im dying squirtle' with no music, no pun, just plain text.

The original and most-shared version pairs Bidoof, a Pokemon known for looking dopey and blissfully unbothered, with lyrics from Bloodhound Gang's 'Fire Water Burn'13. Bidoof's flat, dumb face makes the last-panel switch to sincerity land harder, because the joke is really about a character too calm to react to their own death. Later strips swap in different Pokemon paired with different songs, but the deadpan final line is fixed3.

Origin & Background

Platform
4chan /v/ (viral spread on Reddit and Tumblr)
Date
2013

The comic first appeared on 4chan's /v/ (video games) board2, the same corner of the site where anonymous artists have been posting Pokemon 4komas for years. As with most /v/ output, the original poster is not attributed. The earliest widely reshared version used Bidoof singing rewritten lyrics from Bloodhound Gang's 'Fire Water Burn'1, a song title that already reads like a joke about a fire Pokemon standing next to a water Pokemon.

How It Spread

From /v/, the strip escaped into general Pokemon fan spaces, where readers started building their own versions using different Pokemon and different songs while keeping the four-panel scaffold and the title line intact3. The template survives because it forces almost no drawing skill: the punchline is a text switch, not a visual gag, so anyone can bang out a version in MS Paint.

Squirtle's role stayed locked in across every remake. He is never the hero who saves the fire Pokemon; he is the co-star singing the next verse, complicit in the bit3. That reading of Squirtle as an unhelpful bystander is most of why the fourth panel works, because the burning Pokemon is really addressing the one character in the frame who could have helped and chose not to.

The meme kept low-key traction inside Pokemon fandom rather than crossing over to mainstream reaction-image use, and new song-swap variants still surface whenever a fitting track lines up with a fire-type3.

How to Use This Meme

To make one, pick any Pokemon that can plausibly be on fire and any song with lyrics you can bend into a pun about burning, water, or dying. Panel one: your Pokemon in flames, singing line one. Panel two: Squirtle refusing to help, singing line two. Panel three: a beat, often wordless. Panel four: the burning Pokemon, no music, saying 'im dying squirtle' in plain text3. The deadpan switch is the whole joke, so keep panel four sincere.

Frequently Asked Questions