We’re back for the Normal-type reviews, and today we’re going to focus on Ditto, a Pokémon that can take on multiple forms! If you are ready with this one, please proceed.
Selected Fan Art (Artist: RacieB)
As its name suggests, Ditto’s main ability is to copy others. Not only can it transform to the opposition (Transform is the only move it learns), it can also breed with any breedable Pokémon, including genderless ones. With Impostor, it can transform into another Pokémon in an instant!
Impostor is what makes Ditto worth using in battle, because the ability to transform without using a turn is very efficient and beneficial. There are many ways you can use the opponent against themselves. They might have abilities that are possibly detrimental against themselves like Flash Fire or Intimidate, or they might have boosted too much, which Ditto can take care of since it copies boosts. Even Mega Evolutions are copied wholesale, and with an item, the duplicate could be more useful than the Mega Evolution. Even if the matchup isn’t beneficial, you could still scout the opponent’s moves, taking out the element of surprise if they ever have any. Since Ditto also copied stats besides HP, it will have a Speed tie with the opponent. With Choice Scarf or Quick Claw, you can apply the odds in your favour. Keep in mind that the duplicated Pokémon only have 5 PP on each move, regardless of the maximum each move has.
It should be mentioned that previous attempts at making Ditto viable was not successful. Considering that Ditto had very low stats, Transform will be difficult to execute. Not only that, Mew did Transform a lot better, and even Smeargle too (it has higher HP and Speed). Items such as Quick Powder and Metal Powder theoretically could help, but you still need to use a turn to Transform, which the opponent could easily take advantage of. Those items could be very useful if their effects linger after transformation, making for a Ditto that would be threatening.
Ditto and Mew have quite a few things in common. This includes their original weight, general colouration, and sharing the move Transform. The common traits they share could mean that they are possibly related. One theory states that Ditto is a failed clone of Mew, in which Mewtwo is the success. This is plausible since experiments could fail, and some failures manage to produce unintentional results. Ditto could be the by-product of attempting to reproduce Mew. On another theory, Ditto is said to be Mew taking on a more ignorable form to avoid being chased. It would only be possible if Mew is stuck in that form, since Transform is supposed to be temporary. I’m sure there are other theories about why they have many things in common, but the first theory is the most widely supported.
Ditto’s ability to transform stems from its ability to modify its cellular structure and genetic code to produce a duplicate of its opponent. While the transformation is said to be perfect, it is possible that its transformation can still be noticed. In the anime, the Ditto in “Ditto’s Mysterious Mansion” would have created its image after the opponent, except its face would still be Ditto’s face. It should be noted that this Ditto hasn’t mastered the art of perfect transformation, so it is possible that even in terms of transformation, Ditto needs some practice.
Concentration is surely needed to maintain the transformation. This is evident when Ditto would revert back to its original amorphous form when it is distracted by laughter. Not only that, it will revert back to normal when it relaxes. Interestingly, Ditto would attempt to transform while another Ditto is present, akin to a quick draw. It’s an exercise of futility, of course, since Ditto will become Ditto, and after that, Ditto will not be able to transform since it transformed into the opposing Ditto. Surely that statement is quite confusing to understand.
The size in which Ditto transforms could also be different, based on how its HP didn’t change after transformation. As matter cannot be completely destroyed or created out of thin air, it could be the reason Ditto will have the same size relative to its original size. Although Ditto could become a perfect image of the opponent, it couldn’t match their size.
If Ditto doesn’t have a frame of reference on what to transform, it will need to rely on its memory, but the problem is, it might not necessarily get the details right. Since Ditto would prefer to transform into a stone to prevent suspicion when sleeping, Ditto might need another rock to refer to, which will surely not fool those with an eye for detail. If Ditto could actually transform into another foreign Pokémon in battle, it would be a huge advantage, especially if it could transform into four different forms (one for each known move).
Even though a very few other Pokémon could transform, Ditto does not have any frills in its ability to transform that it is the most well-known as a transformer. It helps that Ditto is able to breed with any Pokémon, because that makes Ditto immensely helpful for any breeder. This makes Ditto very useful, even if it’s not always considered the best battler.
+ Useful breeder
+ Can copy other battlers
+ Flexible transformation is resourceful
± Over-simplistic design
– Effect of exclusive items don’t carry over after transforming
TCG Card
This one is cute. We can see pictures of the prehistoric era, which appears to be inhabited with Pokémon even back then. Ditto, being amazed at what those pictures are, does its best to recreate the scenes back then, which didn’t seem to work, but at least it tried.
Transform
By using Transform, the user could take the form of another Pokémon or thing. Obviously, the ability to take on any form has great utility, so training a Ditto to become anything you want is a nice Swiss-army tool by itself.
In battle, transforming into another Pokémon is a little slow, and one that Ditto cannot afford to do due to its frailty. Mew, on the other hand, might see use with this move because its defences are a lot higher than Ditto’s. As explained in Ditto’s article, transforming into the opponent grants many advantages, such as knowing the opponent’s moves and blocking them with their abilities.
Amusingly, the effects of Transform will translate Eviolite’s effect, so if a Chansey were to use Transform (which it cannot do normally), it will become the opponent, but with more defences than they could dream of having, since it has high HP and boosted defences, allowing Chansey to out-last them, provided it doesn’t lose its PP so easily.
The superpower of shapeshifting is one of great potential, but it’s also a rare ability, which might be a good thing since it might be game-breaking in some cases.
That’s all for today’s article. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it.
Next Article: Doduo & Dodrio
