So I've been wondering lately ... who are all the Yordles?

This list, I think, is clear ...
- Amumu
- Corki
- Heimerdinger
- Lulu
- Poppy
- Rumble
- Teemo
- Tristana
- Veigar
- Ziggs
- Kennen is a tad bit unclear. He appears to be one, and his lore says he was born in Bandle City. However, it's not explicitly mentioned anywhere that he is a yordle. I just always assumed that he is one.

Although, some may have made the assertion before, these are definitely NOT Yordles ...
- Annie
- Fizz
- Nunu

Additional yordle-related question ... what is the yordle's natural appearance?

Unless someone has a more definitive response, I think I have a possible suggestion.

Yordles seem to be highly adaptable in their appearance, changing quickly the greater their disassociation with Bandle City. The females tend to have smoother skin characterized by a bluish hue. Of the three girls, (Lulu, Tristana, and Poppy) Lulu is the one most disassociated with Bandle City and therefore has lost much of her blue color. Remnants of it still remain.

Additionally, male yordles seem to have an almost rodent-like appearance. However, those who have separated themselves from Bandle City (Heimerdinger and Corki) have lost much of this appearance, becoming significantly more human-looking. Likewise, Kennen, who has spent considerable time separated from the City as well, training and working with the Kinkou (ninjas), also seems to have lost some of his rodent-like appearance as well.

This theory could also explain why Veigar would have taken on such a dramatically different appearance from the others as well. If it's true (as I believe has been suggested) that the yordles are actually an alien race, it might make sense that they have some kind of instinctual shapeshifting ability.

Anyways ... it's just a thought. I haven't dug too deep into the discussions here to see if any significant discussion about this has already taken place. Just thought I'd share what I'd been thinking. I welcome anyone's thoughts. =0D

I've thought about the yordle's different appearances as well, as obviously they are not quite all the same. However the conclusion that I came to was that there are probably many tribes of yordles, growing genetically apart from one another. This can be seen in other lore as well.

Examples:
Elves, Half-elves, Drow of D&D
High elves, Night Elves, Blood Elves of Warcraft lore

Also, the yordles could be druidic in a sense. They seem to take on the attributes of rodents or other creatures as you pointed out.

Veigar, I believe, still looks like a normal yordle, he just uses dark magic to hide his face, probably so people take him more seriously. It could also be what happens when yordles are separated from people and driven mad.

Males are furry, females aren't. Other than that, they're gnomes with cat-like ears, I think.

I like the different racial trait explanation, much like there is a skin color difference between Caucasian, African and Asian humans for example, But in Yordles case its a difference between Furry (Teemo, Keneen and Rumble), Half-Furry (Lulu* and maybe Heimer) and Humanoid (Poppy, Corki and Tristana)

*Unlike Tristana and Poppy that have humanoid ears Lulu have cat/fox like ears.

It has been officially explained by Riot that Yordles have what is dubbed the "Peacock complex". The male yordle is responsible for attracting the female, and so there is a great variety in colour and appearance of male yordles. The females do not have to work for their mate, and so can take on more generic appearances. This explains why Poppy, Lulu and Tristana can look so similar, yet Teemo and Ziggs are different.

Veigar is believed to be a normal yordle, similar to Teemo (they have identical noses), he just never takes his hat off or his shroud of darkness, so we may never know for sure what he looks like. Heimerdinger and Corki are older yordles, and seem to have lost some of their fur, although Heimer underwent a mutation that puts the normality of his appearance into question. Fizz isn't a yordle, but his race is said to be related or similar in some way. Kennen is also a Yordle, I remember a Red saying he was a yordle.

In any case, yordles are meant to look different, you're not going to get two yordle males that look the same, I Garentee it. You want to know the reason Teemo has so many different skins? It's to attract more females, it's been admitted. So yeah, nothing too special about it.

And differences in ears are a different matter, creatures that have been changed or ascended by magic usually end up with these physical differences. Janna, Lulu, Morgana and other champions have elf ears, and there are other changes aside from that. The ears thing is likely just magic, not to do with yordle physiology.

I like that explanation Fenix (not like I have a choice, if it's official from Riot). And it also seems to fit in with my idea of having a high adaptation.

Veigar is stated in his Lore to be a yordle. Whether his appearance is part of a disguise, or some corruption of some sort is up in the air, but largely irrelevant.

After looking at Kennen's multiple skins, it's quite clear that he is a yordle in the vein of Rumble, Ziggs, and Teemo.

So with this in mind, I'd probably revise my theory to suggest two things:

1) Male yordles in general take on a wide variety of appearances, each rather unique to himself. As they grow older, and therefore reach a point of maturation beyond mating that no longer has a need for such ornamentation, they can lose much of this appearance. It could still be suggested, however, that the form taken in these later years might share characteristics with their surroundings at that time, possibly implying that Heimer and Corki's more human-esque appearance has become more important for them in Piltover than the biological need to attract a yordle woman.

2) The various shades of skin hue present in yordle females is simply a point of genetic variation among females. Lulu is of a lighter shade that Poppy and Tristana simply by genetics and possibly adaptability of habitat (like the suggestion that darker skins tones tend to develop closer to the equator kind of idea), and not significant as to the relationship and association with their homeland.

3) The difference in ears also appears to be a simple genetic variation, adding to the diversity of the race.

I'd be interested to see where it's been suggested that Fizz's race is related to yordles though. That seems strange to me.

Also ... does anyone know if there's any truth to the idea that yordles are aliens in this world?

What if yordles lay eggs?