# Wooloo Wooloo is a Normal-type Sheep Pokémon revealed in the June 5, 2019 Nintendo Direct for Pokémon Sword and Shield, and fans fell for its round, fluffy design within minutes. The character sparked a flood of fan art and in-jokes the same day it debuted, then triggered a second viral wave days later when PETA tried to use it in an anti-wool ad, kicking off one of the most quoted fandom pile-ons of 2019. ## Origin Wooloo was unveiled on June 5, 2019 during the Pokémon Direct presentation that introduced creatures from the Galar region in Pokémon Sword and Shield[1]. The Pokémon Company's official site classifies Wooloo as the Sheep Pokémon and describes it as a "friendly Pokémon that craves stability" whose fleece grows back fully in three months even after a complete shearing[6]. Dexerto's reveal-day coverage called Wooloo an instant breakout from the generation-eight roster, pointing to its round shape and conflict-averse personality as the obvious hooks[7]. Game Freak and The Pokémon Company created the character; the meme itself has no single author. The earliest viral fan posts went up within hours of the Direct, including Twitter art from @pankendev that pulled over 1,100 likes the same day[8] and a Drake-and-Josh format gag from @CuzcuzND[9]. KYM's entry treats the June 5 Direct as the origin point and tracks the fan-art surge that followed[5]. - **Platform:** Nintendo Direct (reveal) / Twitter (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2019 ## Overview Wooloo memes break roughly into two waves. The first is pure affection, round-animal fan art, cute crossovers with other Galar Pokémon like Eldegoss, and gag edits riffing on how Wooloo supposedly rolls away from any fight instead of battling[1]. Early jokes also leaned on the name itself, including a widely shared uwu pun by Twitter artist @VoidSlice that landed on the day of the reveal[2]. The second wave is the PETA exploitable. On June 7, 2019, PETA posted an image of Wooloo standing next to a protest sign reading "I am not your Wooloo sweater!" to criticize the wool industry[3]. Fans immediately treated the sign as a template, swapping the slogan for jokes, insults, and self-owns while leaving Wooloo's face unchanged[4]. The format worked because the sheep's expression stays dead neutral no matter what the sign says, which is exactly the energy of a classic captioned-sign exploitable. Across both waves the tone is protective, almost possessive. The in-fandom shorthand that emerged ("MUST PROTECT WOOLOO") treats the character less like a game asset and more like a mascot the internet has adopted collectively[5]. ## How It Spread The initial surge happened in a single afternoon. Within hours of the June 5 Direct, Twitter artists were posting dedicated Wooloo art, with @LucDrawsThings pulling over 90 retweets and 240 likes on an early piece[10] and @pankendev clearing a thousand likes with a cuter take[8]. Meme formats arrived just as fast, including @CuzcuzND's Drake and Josh edit and @VoidSlice's uwu pun, the latter crossing 3,800 retweets[9][2]. Polygon ran a same-day explainer titled "the perfect new Pokémon" that pinned the appeal on Wooloo's round shape and anti-conflict Pokédex flavor[1], while Dexerto rounded up the fan reaction and name-checked cosplayer Jessica Nigri joining the pile[7]. The PETA incident on June 7 kicked off the second viral beat. The animal rights group posted a mocked-up Wooloo holding a sign reading "I am not your Wooloo sweater!" to argue against the wool industry[3]. Pokémon fans hit back fast, both by debunking PETA's framing (Dexerto and Comicbook.com noted the counter-argument that unshorn sheep risk heat stroke) and by turning the image into an exploitable[4]. @Beethoven2__'s edit layered a Silence, Brand quote onto the sign and cleared 8,200 likes[11]. Comicbook.com's June 9 write-up treated the backlash as a full-blown fandom-versus-PETA cycle rather than a one-off dunk[4]. Coverage stayed concentrated in gaming and anime press, Junkee called Wooloo "everyone's new favorite Pokémon," while Polygon and Dexerto filed reaction pieces inside 24 hours[12][1][7]. The character later carried into Sword and Shield's post-launch merchandise ecosystem (Urban Dictionary entries from the period reference 5-foot Wooloo plushes), but as a meme the active period was the June 2019 window around the reveal and the PETA fight[13]. ## How to Use The dominant Wooloo meme format is the PETA sign exploitable. Users take the original PETA image, erase the "I am not your Wooloo sweater!" text, and paste in any other slogan while Wooloo keeps its blank, placid expression. The joke typically works best when the new text is absurdly off-brand for an animal rights ad, such as self-deprecating confessions, in-jokes about other Pokémon, or quotes from unrelated memes like Silence, Brand[4]. Beyond that template, generic Wooloo content tends to lean on wholesome fan art or on the "rolls away from danger" gag drawn from its Pokédex entry[6]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Wooloo? Wooloo is a Normal-type Sheep Pokémon introduced in Pokémon Sword and Shield, known as a round, extremely fluffy creature that rolls away from fights instead of battling[6]. ### Where did Wooloo come from? Wooloo was revealed on June 5, 2019 during the Pokémon Direct presentation that introduced the Galar region[1]. ### What does Wooloo mean? Wooloo is the English name of the Sheep Pokémon from Galar; as a meme shorthand, fans use it in protective in-jokes like "MUST PROTECT WOOLOO"[13]. ### How do you use the Wooloo meme? The main template is the PETA exploitable, which swaps the "I am not your Wooloo sweater!" sign for any other slogan while keeping Wooloo's blank expression[4]. ### Is Wooloo still popular? The peak meme activity was the June 2019 window around the Sword and Shield reveal and the PETA backlash; Wooloo is still a recognized fandom favorite but no longer a trending format[5]. ### Why did PETA tweet about Wooloo? PETA used a mocked-up Wooloo holding a protest sign on June 7, 2019 to campaign against the wool industry, framing it as a message to Pokémon trainers[3]. ### Why did fans get angry at PETA over Wooloo? Fans accused PETA of co-opting a fictional sheep for a gimmick and pointed out that real sheep often need shearing to avoid heat stroke, then turned the image into an exploitable[4]. ### What are the most-shared Wooloo fan posts? Early viral examples include @pankendev's reveal-day fan art[8], @VoidSlice's uwu pun that cleared 3,800 retweets[2], and @Beethoven2__'s Silence, Brand edit of the PETA image at over 8,200 likes[11]. ### What game is Wooloo from? Wooloo is from Pokémon Sword and Shield, the generation-eight games set in the Galar region[7]. ### Is Wooloo related to Mareep? They are different Pokémon (Mareep is the Wool Pokémon, Wooloo is the Sheep Pokémon), but fan artists quickly paired them up as friends after the Wooloo reveal[1]. ## References 1. [https://www.polygon.com/pokemon/2019/6/5/18653793/wooloo-pokemon-sword-shield-reaction]() 2. [https://twitter.com/VoidSlice/status/1136273507875266561]() 3. [https://twitter.com/peta/status/1136357961675280384]() 4. [https://comicbook.com/anime/2019/06/09/pokemon-sword-shield-peta-wooloo-reaction-roast/]() 5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/wooloo]() 6. [https://swordshield.pokemon.com/en-us/pokemon-galar-region/wooloo/]() 7. [https://www.dexerto.com/pokemon/pokemon-fans-obsessed-new-sword-and-shield-addition-690150]() 8. [https://twitter.com/pankendev/status/1136260820139216896]() 9. [https://twitter.com/CuzcuzND/status/1136281747845464065]() 10. [https://twitter.com/LucDrawsThings/status/1136272071166705664]() 11. [https://twitter.com/Beethoven2__/status/1136804300779376640]() 12. [https://junkee.com/wooloo-pokemon-sword-shield/208775]() 13. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Wooloo]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/wooloo Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library