Durmite

Durmite
First appearance	Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (2009)
Latest appearance	Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey (2018)

Durmite (named "Pillbo" in the Prima strategy guide enemy list) is a caterpillar-like boss found inside Bowser's body in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and its 3DS remake, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey. Durmite has a Birdo-like face and snout with an angry expression, and wears a hot pink ribbon on her head. Her body resembles that of a real caterpillar as opposed to a Wiggler, with small and stubby legs; her underbelly is pink, with her head and upper horizontal half of her body being teal. Her name is a portmanteau of "dermis" and "termite." It is later revealed that she is actually Wisdurm, one of the three Star Sages.

A stronger version of Durmite called Durmite X is found later on in The Gauntlet.

History

Durmite lives inside the giga-carrot that Bowser eats in order to obtain the Banzai Bill from a Wiggler who runs the Wiggler Family Farm in Dimble Wood. Shortly after leaving the farm, Bowser comes down with a painful stomachache and demands Chippy investigate immediately. Mario and Luigi go to the Nerve Cluster to find the source of the pain, and immediately encounter the Durmite, who breaks through a wall of bone. Starlow initially mistakes Durmite for a friend of Wiggler's as it stomps around the area, causing Bowser more pain. As Starlow wonders how the Durmite got so large, the monster slowly approaches the group, and a trio of white creatures called Biffiduses appear to menace them, only to be eaten by the Durmite in short order and trigger a growth spurt. Mario suggests they have to stop the Durmite in order to relieve Bowser's pain. Starlow reluctantly agrees, but Luigi refuses, and the pair are forced to push him into battle. After the battle, Durmite shrinks down to a minuscule size and runs away.

Later, as the Bros. consult Dr. Toadley in Toad Town and learn of the three Star Cures, Bowser overhears that the first is located in Dimble Wood and immediately heads off. Starlow then asks about the first Star Sage, whom Dr. Toadley reveals to be none other than Durmite. Starlow realizes Durmite is still in Bowser's body, and quickly leaves with the Mario Bros. to re-enter Bowser's body with; as they come out in the Pipe Yard, the Bros. spot Durmite and try to catch her, but fail. The trio follow her into the Energy Hold, where they initially lose her under a barrier.

After getting past the barrier and pursuing Durmite in the Energy Hold enough, she finally loses patience and yells at the Mario Bros. for their persistence. She then reveals her true name to be Wisdurm and challenges them to a battle for ownership of the Star Cure; during the battle, Wisdurm's smaller form is referred to as "Durmite" by the game. Upon defeat, she assumes her true form and keeps her promise, giving the Star Cure before clearing two obstacles blocking the entrance to the Joint Tower and disappearing.

Battle

For the second battle, see Wisdurm.

Durmite can attack by lining up with Mario or Luigi and pulling back like a spring, charging by turning her body red similar to a Wiggler; in the remake, her segments glow a pale yellow instead. Her segments change color at varying speeds; once fully charged, she launches herself straight at the target brother, who must counter the attack using their hammer to smash her when she gets close. Durmite can also spit a sticky string from her snout and sweep it sideways at the Mario Bros., who must dodge by jumping over the string in order each time. The string slowly picks up speed during the attack, and if either of them touch it, Durmite pulls them into her mouth; she then aligns with the uneaten brother and ejects the victim from her back end or mouth towards them, sometimes doing so at an overhead arc as a feint. This part of the attack is also dodged by jumping; stomping on the brother ejected during the second part does not damage them in the original game, but does minimal damage to them in the remake. Being hit by either stage of the attack does high damage and can potentially inflict the SPD-Down or POW-Down status ailments; if Durmite KOs one of the Mario Bros. by catching them with the string, she simply spits them back out without attacking further. Eventually, the string will break, causing Durmite to stop the attack.

Every couple of turns, up to three Biffiduses appear alongside Durmite and attack Mario and Luigi; they each point their spear forward and run at one of the Bros., who can dodge and counter by jumping. If any Biffiduses are present during Durmite's turn, she may eat all of them and shoot their spears from her snout at the Mario Bros., with each spear pointing towards its target; the spears can be avoided by stomping or jumping over them. The Biffiduses move out of the way for all of Durmite's other attacks, going off-screen in the remake, and defeating Durmite with any of them present causes the enemies to point and jab their spears at her during the resulting animation, with the explosion of stars blowing them away.

After taking enough damage, Durmite starts attacking up to twice in a turn; at the end of each one, she may produce a purple proboscis-like straw from her mouth and plant it in the battlefield underneath. On her next turn, she sucks nutrients from Bowser through the straw to regain 40 HP each turn; the straw can be destroyed before she can recover health, and doing so prevents Durmite from healing. Defeating Durmite with the straw out destroys it before her death animation plays.

Like most bosses in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, Durmite gains the Fury status upon losing half her HP or more, and begins attacking faster and more often each turn.

Statistics

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story enemy
Durmite
	HP	326 (489)	POW	34 (85)	DEF	38 (57)	SPEED	23 (35)
	Coins	120 (180)	Level	8	Fire	Normal	Burn?	Immune
	Role	Boss	Battled by	Mario and Luigi	Location(s)	Nerve Cluster	Dizzy?	Immune
	Stat down?	Normal	KO?	Immune	Experience	300	Item drop	POW Gloves - 100%
Notice: The second set of numbers next to the enemy's HP, POW, DEF, SPEED and Coins are stat increases from the Challenge Medal accessory; a 50% increase for HP, DEF, SPEED and Coins earned, and a 150% increase for POW.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story enemy
Straw
	HP	16 (24)	POW	30 (75)	DEF	17 (26)	SPEED	25 (38)
	Coins	0 (0)	Level	8	Fire	Normal	Burn?	Immune
	Role	Support	Battled by	Mario and Luigi	Location(s)	Nerve Cluster	Dizzy?	Immune
	Stat down?	Normal	KO?	Immune	Experience	0	Item drop
Notice: The second set of numbers next to the enemy's HP, POW, DEF, SPEED and Coins are stat increases from the Challenge Medal accessory; a 50% increase for HP, DEF, SPEED and Coins earned, and a 150% increase for POW.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story enemy
Durmite (small)
	HP	1,610 (2,415)	POW	48 (120)	DEF	39 (59)	SPEED	52 (78)
	Coins	600 (900)	Level	18	Fire	Normal	Burn?	Immune
	Role	Boss	Battled by	Mario and Luigi	Location(s)	Energy Hold	Dizzy?	Immune
	Stat down?	Normal	KO?	Immune	Experience	2,800	Item drop	Star Candy - 100% Siphon Boots - 40%
Notice: The second set of numbers next to the enemy's HP, POW, DEF, SPEED and Coins are stat increases from the Challenge Medal accessory; a 50% increase for HP, DEF, SPEED and Coins earned, and a 150% increase for POW.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey enemy
Durmite
	HP	298	POW	39	DEF	26	SPEED	25	Experience	300
	Fire	Normal	Jump	Normal	Hammer	Normal	Battled by	Mario & Luigi	Coins	120
	Burn	Immune	Dizzy	Immune	Stat down	1x	Speed down	1x	Item drop	None (0%) Mushroom Gloves - 100%
Level           7	Location(s)	Nerve Cluster

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey enemy
Straw (Durmite)
	HP	18	POW	30	DEF	15	SPEED	25	Experience	0
	Fire	Normal	Jump	Normal	Hammer	Normal	Battled by	Mario & Luigi	Coins	0
	Burn	Immune	Dizzy	Immune	Stat down	1x	Speed down	1x	Item drop	None - 0% None - 0%
Level           7	Location(s)	Nerve Cluster

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey enemy
Durmite (Small)
	HP	1610	POW	48	DEF	50	SPEED	52	Experience	2800
	Fire	Normal	Jump	Normal	Hammer	Normal	Battled by	Mario & Luigi	Coins	600
	Burn	Immune	Dizzy	Immune	Stat down	1x	Speed down	1x	Item drop	None - 0% Siphon Boots - 100%
Level           18	Location(s)	Energy Hold

Names in other languages

Durmite

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	イモーヌ[?] Imōnu	From「イモムシ」(imomushi, "caterpillar") and possibly French female name Jeanne
French (NOA)	Larvelle[?]	From larve ("larva") and belle ("beautiful")
French (NOE)	Jeannille[?]	From common female name Jeanne and chenille ("caterpillar")
German	Raupythia[?]	From Raupe ("caterpillar") and Pythia (a female name give to the high priestress at Delphi who served as an oracle), referencing her status as one of the guardians of the Star Cures
Italian	Bruchilde[?]	From bruco ("caterpillar") and uncommon Italian female name Leonilde
Korean	애번느[?] Aebeonneu	From "애벌레" (aebeolle, "larva") and possibly from the French female name Jeanne
Spanish (NOA)	Larvella[?]	From larva and bella ("beautiful")
Spanish (NOE)	Batoruga[?]	From oruga ("caterpillar") and maybe batido ("smoothie")

Straw

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ストロー[?] Sutorō	Straw
French	Paille[?]	Straw
German	Halm[?]	Straw
Italian	Cannuccia[?]	Straw
Spanish (NOA)	Popote[?]	Straw
Spanish (NOE)	Lenguajita[?]	From lengua ("tongue") and pajita ("straw")

Trivia

• In her second battle, Durmite is not called Wisdurm in her small form, but is called Wisdurm in her magical form.