Beedrill2001 Presents : Let's Talk Pokémon

#132 - Ditto

This pink little blob is one of the most unique pokémon Game Freak has ever created, and could possibly be the first ever gimmick pokémon in the franchise's history.

Personally, I don't have a lot of fondness for Ditto like I do many of the other pokémon I've talked about in this book because its usefulness in game is even more questionable than Shedinja's, but I certainly don't dislike Ditto in the slightest.

Design wise, Ditto is simply a pink (or blue if we're talking about the shiny version) jello blob with a silly face, which I can't help but find just a little bit cute.

In fact, Ditto's face has become so iconic due that one episode from the first season of the anime that it is used on practically every form of Ditto related merchandise you can think of, including cards, plushies, clothing, etc.

When the beta versions of Pokémon Gold and Silver were anonymously posted online back in 2018 after not having much information known about them since they were only shown off at Nintendo Space World in 1997, it was discovered that Ditto had a scrapped evolution called Animon, that would've required using the Metal Coat item to evolve much like Scyther and Onix do.

(There's a lot of interesting things in these demos, so I recommend looking up videos about them on YouTube if you're interested in learning more.)

Going over Ditto's base stats is kind of a moot point because of how this pokémon works, but I'll do so anyways just to emphasize some of the flaws Ditto has.

Having an abysmal base 48 for all of its stats, Ditto at first comes off as one of the worst pokémon ever, but that's where the gimmick I mentioned earlier comes into play.

The only move Ditto can know is Transform, and therein lies the gimmick.

Transform is a move exclusive to Ditto and the mythical pokémon Mew (which leads to a rather interesting theory about these two that I'll dive into later) that allows the user to turn into a copy of the opposing pokémon, giving it the same typing, moves, stats, and catch rate (don't know if that really matters or not, just thought I'd mention it anyway) of that pokémon.

(Basically, Transform copies everything from the opponent other than HP and level.)

A downside to this move is that the PP for all your moves are reduced to 5 rather than whatever the normal base PP for the moves are.

Transform is a really fascinating move in concept, but in practice it falls short because of Ditto's terrible base stats, which allow it to get outsped and more than likely knocked out with one hit before it even gets the chance to use Transform.

(Hmm...if only Ditto got an ability that fixed this problem. Hint. Hint.)

Moving on to abilities, the only one Ditto can naturally have is Limber, giving it immunity to paralysis.

While having an immunity to a certain status condition is something I usually consider amazing, Ditto is perhaps the lone exception to this due to its unique qualities.

Being immune to paralysis means nothing to a pokémon that can't even take a hit, and even if Ditto somehow does manage to use Transform, it gains the ability of whatever the other pokémon has anyway, so Limber is even more pointless for Ditto to have in that regard.

Taking all these factors into consideration, it's easy to brush Ditto off as a weak pokémon with a gimmick that it doesn't even get to use most of the time right?

Well, that would be correct for many years of Ditto's existence, but then Black and White arrived on the scene and introduced hidden abilities to the franchise, and with that, Ditto finally got something it so desperately needed : Imposter.

(Insert unfunny Among Us joke here.)

Imposter is Ditto's hidden abilities that works exactly like Transform, except it activates as soon as it is sent out into battle.

This ability at last allows Ditto to work as it was intended to, making those garbage stats superfluous as it instantly becomes whatever the opponent is.

It's obviously that someone working at Game Freak had a lot of love for Ditto, because Imposter wasn't the first time the shapeshifting blob was given something to make it better, as Ditto was given two exclusive held items that work only for it, one in gen 2 and one in gen 4.

The item from Generation 2 is called the Metal Powder, which originally boosted both defenses by 50% no matter if it has transformed or not, but from Generation 3 and onwards it only raises defense and only if Ditto isn't transformed.

In Generation 4, Ditto got the Quick Powder, which boosts speed if it has not transformed.

Both of these items aren't very useful because they require Ditto to be in its normal form, which kinda goes against its entire premise of becoming a different pokémon, but I suppose it's the thought that counts.

Now, about that fan theory I mentioned earlier.

It's common knowledge to every pokémon fan that Mewtwo was genetically cloned from the DNA of Mew.

Well, who's to say Mewtwo was the only specimen the scientists on Cinnabar Island created?

The theory goes that Ditto are all failed clones of Mew, and admittedly, there are quite a few things that support this notion.

1.) Mew and Ditto are the same color, and even have the exact same shiny.

2.) The only two pokémon to learn Transform....are Mew and Ditto.

3.) In the Kanto games, Ditto is found in Cinnabar Mansion, which is where the experiments to clone Mew took place, and Cerulean Cave, which is where Mewtwo is found.

4.) I haven't mentioned it yet, but Ditto is capable of breeding with every pokémon that isn't a legendary (Manaphy being the exception), and Mew is believed to be the ancestor to all pokémon.

To quote The Incredibles : Coincidence? I think NOT!

Now keep in mind that this is just a theory, and that Game Freak hasn't officially confirmed this connection between Mew and Ditto, but there's enough evidence available that it's clear something is going on with these two pink pokémon.

Like I briefly mentioned a moment ago, Ditto's most common use isn't for battling, but for breeding.

Due to being genderless, Ditto can be a breeding partner for any non-legendary/mythical pokémon, making getting eggs much easier for players by not having to deal with egg groups and gender restrictions.

(Breeding is a very complicated mechanic that I don't fully understand. I'm not a competitive battler, so I don't have much experience with eggs and all that stuff.)

Whether it be the transforming gimmick, the mysterious connection between it and Mew, or breeding purposes, Ditto is definitely an interesting pokémon with several things about it that has left an impact on this beloved franchise of mine.