Spoilers for Splatoon 3’s Main Story Content AheadGrizzco Industries came to theSplatoonseries in the second game and has continued its presence inSplatoon 3. The industry recruitsinklings and octolings to do Salmon Runs, which gathers salmon eggs for a character known as Mr. Grizz. What’s done with the salmon eggs is unknown, but players have had many theories. Most assumed that Mr. Grizz ate the eggs since he is a bear, but there were also theories floating around that he was actually human.Splatoon 3,addressed some of these rumors, but the answers have sprung up even more theories, the biggest one connecting to the possibility of Li’l Judd being the new CEO of Grizzco.
InSplatoon 3,Mr. Grizz and Grizzco Industrieswere involved in the main story, and Mr. Grizz himself makes an appearance as the final boss. It is revealed that Mr. Grizz is indeed a grizzly bear on a mission to turn every living creature inSplatoon 3into a mammal. To see his plan come to fruition, he needed the salmon eggs as the secret ingredient for turning mollusks into mammals, which is what made him create Grizzco Industries in the first place. Being the final boss in story mode, Mr. Grizz is defeated by the user character, ultimately ending up on a rocket in space that explodes. However, Grizzco Industries is still going strong even in Mr. Grizz’s absence. For a variety of reasons, fans are getting suspicious that Li’l Judd may have taken over.
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Evidence That Li’l Judd May Have Taken Over Grizzco
There is some convincing evidence that Grizzco Industries has been taken over by Li’l Judd. The most prominent is that Li’l Judd wears a headset after the player defeats Mr. Grizz. This headset likely connects to the Grizzco radio that recruits and orders players around to get salmon eggs. Additionally, Li’l Judd has aspecial deck in tableturf battles. He uses a Salmon Run themed sleeve and all his cards are salmonid types, except for his own character card.
The evidence has won many players over to the theory that Li’l Judd is basically the new Mr. Grizz. The second most likely possibility is thatMr. Grizz’s radiois all pre-recorded, so it would still run after Mr. Grizz died. However, that does not explain why Li’l Judd uses a salmonid deck and his sudden headset after completing the main story. As for why Li’l Judd would want to take over Grizzco, there are a variety of reasons, all going down to his backstory as a clone.
What Li’l Judd Running Grizzco May Mean
Li’l Judd did not appear untilSplatoon 2, and always represents the"bad guy" team in turf battles. Little is known about him besides what the Sunken Scrolls revealed, but what they shared is fascinating. The Sunken Scrolls share that the original owner of Judd, a human, cryogenically froze Judd and then made a clone of him to keep his owner company in the future. This clone is Li’l Judd.
More about Li’l Judd has been revealed outside the games. Nintendo once tweeted a relationship chart that mentioned that Li’l Judd suffers from an inferiority complex due to being a clone of Judd. The official art book forSplatoon 2also mentions that Li’l Judd hopes to one day betray Judd. EvenSplatoon 3reinforced these facts, with Sunken Scroll 23 describing the preparations Li’l Judd is making to one day assassinate his predecessor.
With this information out there, it seems likely that Li’l Judd could have plans for Grizzco. He may see a way to no longer live inthe shadow of Judd. Grizzco seems to have a ton of resources, and Li’l Judd could use those resources for his own nefarious plans. He may still wish to assassinate Judd, or now that he has Grizzco, may have some other plan cooking. If the theories around Li’l Judd are right, developers may be thinking ahead toSplatoon 4with his character and Grizzco.
