WoW’s J’imothy Pet Goes Live: How to Catch the Viral Raccoon in Silvermoon

The internet’s favourite lopsided raccoon has officially crawled into Azeroth. J’imothy, the Battle Pet based on the viral Seattle raccoon Jimothy, is now obtainable in World of Warcraft’s Patch 12.1, though Blizzard buried him behind a secret hunt through Silvermoon City rather than handing him out for free.

Players track down a hidden NPC called the “Ensorcelled Cryptid” hiding in the Blood Elf capital, click on it, and then survive a short minigame before the raccoon becomes theirs.

The reveal split the community between players charmed by the tribute and others grumbling about yet another scavenger hunt for a pet Blizzard had promised weeks earlier:

From Seattle Sidewalk to Silvermoon City

The real Jimothy is a wild raccoon found in Seattle, Washington, that became internet famous over the past month, gathering attention due to his unusual, squashed appearance, attributed to a condition known as short spine syndrome. Despite the look, he has no discernible disabilities and is able to live in the wild without any limitations.

The raccoon’s fame spread fast. According to CGMagazine, the animal attracted dozens of pieces of fan art, memes, videos, his own subreddit, and even a mascot race at a Major League Baseball game. Gamerant traced the origin further, reporting that Jimothy got his name via an Instagram video by Seattle resident Kiara Hill taken on July 14, who caught the raccoon running in the grass before scuttling up some stairs.

Blizzard’s July Tease Turns Into a Real Pet

Blizzard first played along with the meme rather than fought it. The official World of Warcraft account posted a mock-up of the raccoon in-game before confirming, on July 24, that the joke had become real content. GameSpot quoted the studio’s statement directly: “Currently, Jimothy is being tested for visual and functional effects and is targeted to go live when Curse of Ula’tek launches,” Blizzard said, adding, “As always with in-development content, that may shift, but the team is excited to share their own version with the intention of making him an earnable companion pet for the community.”

Blizzard framed the addition as a last-minute favour to the fanbase. Yahoo’s gaming desk reported that the studio had “squeeze in” a functional version of the real-life cryptid as part of the MMO’s upcoming 12.1 Curse of Ula’tek update, with the pet slated to be an earnable companion.

Read also: WoW Patch 12.1: Blizzard Buffs Retribution Paladin and Warlock in Weekly Tuning

A Secret, Not a Simple Drop

Patch 12.1 shipped on August 11, but the raccoon didn’t. Icy Veins reported that Blizzard had contacted the WoW Secret Finding Discord to confirm the pet was currently not available in-game, despite a visible pet journal entry teasing his eventual arrival. Blizzard Watch described the setup as deliberate misdirection, noting that officially appearing in-game as J’imothy, the adorable omnivore’s pet journal entry describes how he encountered trouble while digging through trash in Silvermoon City.

The first real sightings came, fittingly, from the game’s hardest-core players. Icy Veins reported that players learned about J’imothy first becoming available via the Race to World First streams, where a few sightings of an “Ensorcelled Cryptid” were shared.

How to Catch J’imothy

Icy Veins laid out the solve in detail: to obtain J’imothy, all you need to do is a little prancing around Silvermoon, then find the Ensorcelled Cryptid NPC hidden in the city, which can be targeted, and so far there are three known locations. Clicking the Cryptid starts a minigame that requires you to dodge Arcane attacks, with 100 stacks in total required, visible on his buff bar.

Once claimed, J’imothy slots into the game as a B/B Critter Battle Pet, joining the standard companion collection rather than sitting apart as a cosmetic-only trophy. That matters because Patch 12.1 also introduced player housing pet decor, letting owners display collected pets, including presumably the raccoon, inside their virtual homes.

Blizzard hasn’t said how long the hunt will remain active at this difficulty or whether further hints will follow. For now, the three known Silvermoon spawn points are the only confirmed route into Azeroth’s most talked-about new companion.

Reported from

• Wowhead
• Icy Veins
• GameSpot