Ditto (Pokémon)

In its natural state, Ditto is a light-purple or pink blob-like Pokémon with vestigial facial features. It is often referred to as amorphous, but has a relatively consistent appearance in official artwork, including two small nubs on its "head", a few soft lumps at its base, and two pseudopod-like protrusions in place of arms. The face consists of beady eyes and a simple mouth; almost always pulled into a smile.

Ditto bears a variety of unusual and often entirely unique traits that set it apart from every other Pokémon. It is capable of transforming into an exact replica of any physical object or living creature, including its form and abilities. Each Ditto has its own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to transforming; being unable to remain transformed while laughing and getting details of its transformation wrong if based on memory being apparently universal. The Pocket Monsters Carddass Trading Cards depict Ditto being able to transform separate sections of its body into parts from multiple Pokémon at once. In the Pokémon the Series episode Ditto's Mysterious Mansion, as well as in the TCG and some spin-off games, it is shown that occasionally Ditto cannot change its face during transformation; a trait that has become synonymous with the species despite being incongruous with their depiction in core series games. While its transformation ability allows it to get along with almost anything, it does not get along with its own kind, which it will quickly (and generally fruitlessly) attempt to transform into. It is shown to be able to transform into humans as well; however, it cannot mimic human speech. It transforms into a rock when sleeping to avoid being attacked. As mentioned in Pokémon Sleep, Ditto is known to sleep while still transformed into either a rock or Pokémon.^[1]On very rare occasions, a sleeping Ditto will transform back to normal when it is relaxed. Ditto is never far from civilization or people, and is the only Pokémon capable of using the Metal Powder and Quick Powder items. It is also the only known Pokémon that can have Imposter as an Ability. In The Indigo Disk, various Ditto Blocks^[2] can be found as objectives in Blueberry Quests throughout the Terarium, where Ditto will seemingly transform into one of the many cubes with rounded edges that make up many of the structures of the Terarium. Despite being milestones for the player to obtain, and not actually obtainable themselves, they can still be Shiny.^[3]

• 

  Duplica's Ditto transformed into a Pikachu

• 

  Ditto transformed into a rock while sleeping to avoid being attacked

• 

  A Ditto in the form of one of the cubes in Blueberry Academy's Terarium

NPC appearances

Ditto in Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs

• Pokémon Pinball: Ditto appears on the Red Table blocking the Evolution cave, once the Evolution arrows are lit, it moves out of the way, allowing the player to evolve one of the Pokémon they have captured.
• Pokémon Trozei!: Ditto serves as a "wild card", meaning it can Trozei with any Pokémon and must be used to get rid of Jammer Balls. One will appear when a Trozei is made with more Pokémon than necessary and multiple appear at the beginning of a new round in Endless and Forever mode to clear out the remaining Pokémon.
• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky: Ditto is the guardian of Limestone Cavern and its Time Gear. It plays a major role in the Special Episode Here Comes Team Charm!.
• Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs: A Ditto under the ownership of Kasa appears as a boss at the Sky Fortress. It will transform into Entei, Raikou and Suicune to attack.

Pokédex entries

Ditto in the Alola Pokédex	Ditto in the Paldea Pokédex

Game locations

In side games

Generation I Snap Cave Pinball Red and Blue Field: Indigo Plateau

Generation II This Pokémon is unavailable in Generation II side games.

Generation III Channel Bus Stop Trozei! Everywhere MD Red MD Blue Frosty Forest (4F-9F), Fiery Field (10F, 20F), Buried Relic (16F-34F), Wish Cave (53F-64F), Joyous Tower (53F-64F), Oddity Cave (B1-B15)

Generation IV MD Time MD Darkness Sky Stairway (1F-49F) MD Sky Sky Stairway (1F-49F) Rumble Silent Forest, Windy Prairie, Rocky Cave, Fiery Furnace, Bright Beach, Eternal Tower (All Normal Mode S) Ranger: GS Sky Fortress, Rand's House

Generation V Rumble Blast Cave: World Axle - B2F Rumble U Variety Battle: I Dunno, Audino

Generation VI Battle Trozei Sky-High Ruins: Stage 6 Rumble World Legend Terrain: Meteorite Parkland (All Areas) Picross Area 08: Stage 01

Generation VII Rumble Rush Bulbasaur Sea, Charizard SeaFinal

Generation VIII MD DX Frosty Forest (4F-7F, 12F-13F), Fiery Field (2F-20F), Wish Cave (53F-64F), Unown Relic (1F-10F), Joyous Tower (52F-59F), Purity Forest (1F-99F) Mystery House: Waterfall Pond Strong Foe: Buried Relic (6F-14F, 16F-24F, 26F-34F, 36F-37F, 40F-98F)

Cross-Generation Shuffle Prasino Woods: Stage 574 Event: Ditto Appears Café ReMix Ditto Points Event (Regular and Pretend Eevee) One Minute Cooking with Ditto Event (Pretend Pikachu)

In events

Poké Portal News

Held items

Pokémon caught in Generation I must be traded to a Generation II game in order for a held item to appear.

Games		Held items
Red	Blue	Metal Powder (100%)
Yellow
FireRed	LeafGreen	Metal Powder (5%)
Emerald
Diamond	Pearl	Quick Powder (50%) Metal Powder (5%)
Platinum
HeartGold	SoulSilver
Black	White
Black 2	White 2
X	Y
Omega Ruby	Alpha Sapphire
Sun	Moon
Ultra Sun	Ultra Moon
Sword	Shield
Brilliant Diamond	Shining Pearl

Stats

Base stats

Pokéathlon stats

Type effectiveness

While Ditto is Transformed into other Pokémon, type effectiveness depends on the type(s) of the Pokémon transformed into.

Learnset

By leveling up

By TM

By breeding

TCG-only moves

Side game data

Pokémon Pinball   Acquisition: Catch			Pokémon Trozei! Rarity: Common
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team Body size: 1 Recruit rate: 6.8% Friend Area: Decrepit Lab Phrases 51%-100% HP Who should I copy next? 26%-50% HP I have only half my HP left... 1%-25% HP I'm out of it... I don't have the power to transform... Level up Yes! My level's up!
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness, and Explorers of Sky Body size: 1 Recruit rate: 8.2% IQ group: A
Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon Body size: Standard (1 tile) How to Recruit: Raise the Expedition Rank to Ace Connected to: None Connection Orb Set: None Phrases Normal Excuse me… Can I transform into you? Wait! I just changed my mind. Never mind! Low HP (< 50%) What could I use Transform to become when I'm this exhausted?
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs Group: Normal Poké Assist: (present) Normal Field move: (present) (None ×-) Not available in the past. Browser entry R-291 It transforms into Raikou, Entei, and Suicune to attack.
Pokémon Rumble Attack ● Defense ●● Speed ●●●			Pokémon Rumble Blast Attack ● Defense ●● Speed ●●●
Pokémon Rumble Rush Walking Speed: 2.92 seconds Base HP: 47 Base Attack: 67 Base Defense: 47 Base Speed: 60
Pokémon Battle Trozei Normal Attack Power: ★★★★★ Transform Can be substituted for any other Pokémon in a match.			Pokémon Shuffle Normal Attack Power: 40 - 125 20 #706 Transform Changes up to three Ditto into other Support Pokémon.
Pokémon GO Base HP: 134 Base Attack: 91 Base Defense: 91 Egg Distance: N/A Buddy Distance: 3 km Evolution Requirement: N/A Fast Attacks: Transform Charged Attacks: Struggle Ditto first became available in Pokémon GO on November 23, 2016, disguised as other Pokémon in the wild. Players will only find out whether a Pokémon is a Ditto if successfully captured, upon which a cutscene will show the Pokémon transforming back into Ditto.[4] Ditto can be used in Gym and Raid Battles, in which it will Transform into the first Pokémon it sees; however Ditto cannot be used in Trainer Battles. As of September 1, 2021, wild Ditto may be Shiny, and some Pokémon whose Shiny forms are available may transform into Ditto. If a player encounters a Shiny Pokémon in the wild, it cannot be a disguised Ditto, but non-Shiny Pokémon have a small chance of being a Shiny Ditto.[5] As of December 11, 2023, wild Ditto may be disguised as any of the following species:[6] Oddish Koffing Rhyhorn Goldeen In the past, wild Ditto may have also been disguised as these species:[7][8][9][10] Weedle Pidgey Rattata Ekans Zubat Paras Venonat Diglett Mankey Grimer Gastly Drowzee Voltorb Magikarp Sentret Hoothoot Ledyba Spinarak Natu Hoppip Yanma Snubbull Teddiursa Remoraid Zigzagoon Seedot Surskit Whismur Skitty Gulpin Numel Corphish Starly Bidoof Stunky Finneon Lillipup Roggenrola Tympole Dwebble Foongus Litleo Swirlix
Pokémon Sleep Sleep type: Snoozing Pokémon type: Normal Points to befriend: 16 Specialty: Ingredients Berry: Persim Berry ×1 Primary ingredient: Pure Oil ×2 Possible ingredients: Pure Oil Large Leek Slowpoke Tail Main skill: Charge Strength S Base carry limit: 17 Increases Snorlax's Strength by anywhere from 200 to 800. There have been reports from around the world of Ditto falling asleep while still transformed into another Pokémon. Yet Ditto usually returns to normal when it relaxes, so this is a very rare sight. Rock-Formed Sleep As-Is Sleep Pikachu Sleep Atop-Belly Sleep ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ Bulbasaur Sleep Charmander Sleep Squirtle Sleep Unused ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ Unused Dragonite Sleep Larvitar Sleep Glaceon Sleep ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

Evolution data

Unevolved Ditto  Normal

Sprites

Generation I Red Green Red Blue Yellow Front Back Front Back Front Back

Generation II Gold Silver Crystal Front Back Front Back Front Back

Generation III Ruby Sapphire Emerald FireRed LeafGreen Front Back Front Back Front Back

Generation IV Diamond Pearl Platinum HeartGold SoulSilver Front Back Front Back Front Back

Generation V Black White Black 2 White 2 Front Back Front Back

Generation VI X Y Omega Ruby Alpha Sapphire Front Back Front Back

Generation VII Sun Moon Ultra Sun Ultra Moon Front Back Front Back Let's Go, Pikachu! Let's Go, Eevee!

Generation VIII Sword Shield

Cross-Generation HOME

For other sprites and images, please see Ditto images on the Bulbagarden Archives.

Other sprites

Crystal credits' sprite

Shiny and normal-colored Ditto in Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

Major appearances

Duplica's Ditto

Duplica has a Ditto that debuted in Ditto's Mysterious Mansion, where they used to perform for people, only to lack an audience since people saw that Ditto could not change its face. Ditto fixed that problem near the end of the episode, when it was captured by Team Rocket.

Other

In Hello Pummelo, Drake used a Ditto in a Full Battle against Ash at the Pummelo Stadium. It faced Ash's Pikachu, but ended up losing after Pikachu used Agility and then slammed its tail down on Ditto.

Sometime before Imitation Confrontation, Duplica found another Ditto, which she nicknamed Mini-Dit. This second Ditto could transform into an exact mirror image of anything, but it could not change its size.

In Unfair Weather Friends, a Ditto was Brodie's partner-in-crime. It reappeared in the same role in The Ribbon Cup Caper.

A Ditto appeared in PK15.

In Dealing With A Fierce Double Ditto Drama!, Narissa used two Ditto nicknamed Ditto 1 and Ditto 2. Ditto 2 is Shiny.

In Deceiving Appearances!, five Ditto were getting vaccinated at Aether Paradise. One of them escaped but was soon rescued. One of them reappeared in a flashback in A Masked Warning!. All of them reappeared in Don't Ignore the Small Stufful!.

In The Power of Us, Margo befriended a Ditto. It and a Teddiursa were targeted by Pokémon hunters looking for Zeraora, but they were saved by Zeraora, Ash, and his friends.

In A Talent for Imitation!, a Ditto works as a film actor because Transform is unusually efficient for impersonations. Its latest role was in a movie directed by Kublock, about Gardevoir twins, but it ran away due to Kublock's overly strict attitude and its increasing inability to use Transform as effectively. Ditto eventually ran into and befriended Team Rocket, who taught it how to overcome its nerves and regain its confidence. As a result, it returned to the set and production resumed without any further problems.

Minor appearances

In Flower Power, a Ditto was part of Florando's annual Pokémon Exhibition.

In a flashback in Ignorance is Blissey, a Ditto was at the Pokémon Nurse School.

In Gonna Rule The School!, the Pokémon Trainers' School lent a Ditto to the school's underage students for use in lessons.

A Ditto appeared in the opening sequence of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.

A Ditto appeared in Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!.

A Trainer's Ditto appeared in The First Day of the Rest of Your Life!.

A Trainer's Ditto appeared in I Choose You!.

In The Battlefield of Truth and Love!, a Trainer's Ditto watched the battles of the Manalo Conference. It reappeared in Battling on the Wing!.

In Enter Pikachu!, Mew transformed into a Ditto during a fantasy while Professor Oak was teaching Goh and Chloe.

In A Pinch of This, a Pinch of That!, two Ditto were in the Wild Area.

A Trainer's Ditto appeared in Whittle While You Work!.

A Ditto appeared in This Could be the Start of Something Big!.

Pokédex entries

POKÉTOON

Multiple Ditto appeared in Wait for Me, Magikarp!.

Ditto in The Electric Tale of Pikachu

The Electric Tale of Pikachu

Main article: Duplica's Ditto

Duplica and her Ditto appeared in Pikachu's Excellent Adventure. Finding Ditto appealing, Misty decided to capture one of her own, but the plan was called off when Pikachu went missing.

Ditto was also featured in a minicomic, in which it transformed into Ash, harassed Misty, and thereby got Ash into a lot of pain.

Ditto was the first Pokémon Drake used against Ash in The Orange Crew Supreme Gym Leader.

Magical Pokémon Journey

Main article: Master Ditto

In Magical Pokémon Journey, there is a ninja master named Master Ditto who appears several times in the manga. His first appearance is in The Wal Comes Tumbling Down.

Additionally, a group of Ditto appears in Excitement at the Hot Springs?!. The Ditto use Transform to mimic Pikachu and cause mischief.

Pocket Monsters HGSS

Red accidentally caught a Ditto with a Heavy Ball that was originally meant for the legendary beasts in PMHGSS04.

A Trainer's Ditto appeared in PMHGSS11.

Pokémon Adventures

Ditto in Pokémon Adventures

Red, Green & Blue arc

Main article: Ditty

In Tauros the Tyrant, Ditto is one of the members on Green's team. As a master of transformation, Green uses Ditto extensively in her schemes, such as morphing over her face to disguise her appearance (like when she infiltrated the Silph Co. building disguised as Sabrina), camouflaging into its background for subterfuge, as well as forming a protective shield with Green's umbrella.

Gold, Silver & Crystal arc

A Trainer's Ditto appeared in Gligar Glide, where it was seen in the Goldenrod Game Corner.

Ditto is seen later used by Team Rocket in Miltank Melee, to lure Crystal and Eusine away from Suicune and smother them when discovered. It was, however, defeated by Crystal's Hitmonchan, Monlee.

HeartGold & SoulSilver arc

A Ditto appeared in Out-Odding Oddish, under the ownership of a Pokéathlon participant.

X & Y arc

A Ditto appeared in Chesnaught Protects and Charizard Transforms as a resident of the Pokémon Village.

Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys

In Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys, Whitney owns a Ditto.

Pokémon: Yeah! I Got Pokémon!

A Ditto appeared in The Challenge at Celadon University!.

Shu caught a Ditto in The Trial for Moltres.

A Ditto appeared in GDZ23.

A Ditto appeared in GDZ50, under the ownership of a collector.

Pokémon Pocket Monsters

Green's Ditto debuted in The Big Battle In The Viridian Forest!!.

Giovanni was revealed to have a Ditto in Which One is the Real Clefairy!?. It transformed into a Clefairy so Giovanni could get revenge on Red.

A Ditto appeared in Part-Time Job At The Swimming Pool!!.

A Ditto appeared in Pikachu's Birthday Party.

Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire

Professor Oak owns a Ditto, as seen in Annual Big Cleaning Operation!!.

Pokémon Zensho

A Ditto first appeared in PZ06, under the ownership of Satoshi.

Main article: Ditto (TCG)

Super Smash Bros. Melee

A screenshot of Ditto in Melee

Ditto was originally intended to be one of the Pokémon randomly released from a Poké Ball. It would have transformed into a copy of the user's character and aided them in battle. However, it was removed for unknown reasons before the game's release. Ditto can still be unlocked through the debug menu (which is only accessible through the use of Action Replay), though it does not do anything other than deal 7-8% damage to those who touch it.

As for its official status, Ditto only appears as a random trophy and as a cameo in the Tournament Mode menu. In Winner Out or Loser Out tournaments, holding down L and R and pressing A will give the player a random character and color for each match. The usual character image will instead be a picture of Ditto.

Trophy information

Every Ditto has the ability to copy a Pokémon's entire cell structure in an instant and become its exact replica. They're terrible at remembering techniques, but when they use Transform, they temporarily learn all of their foe's moves. If a Ditto starts to laugh, it weakens and can't hold its transformation.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Ditto in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Ditto appears as a Pokémon summoned from the Poké Ball, where it uses Transform to duplicate the shape of the summoning character while still maintaining its own color. It then attacks opposing fighters. Ditto also appears as a Spirit.

• 

  Ditto transformed into an Inkling

• 

  Ditto attacking in disguise

POKÉMON Detective Pikachu

Ditto in POKÉMON Detective Pikachu

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

A Ditto appeared in POKÉMON Detective Pikachu, under the ownership of Howard Clifford. For the majority of the movie, it assumed a human disguise known as Ms. Norman, but this was eventually uncovered during the final battle at Ryme City.

	Spoilers end here.

Sprite of Animon from the 1997 demo

• Ditto has a scrapped Evolution in the 1997 Nintendo Space World demo of Pokémon Gold and Silver named アニモン Animon, which evolves from Ditto using a Metal Coat.
• Ditto is the only Pokémon to date with a catch rate of 35. However, in Generations III and IV, if Ditto transforms into another Pokémon, its catch rate will become that of the new Pokémon. In Generation IX, its catch rate will become 0 by mistake if the Pokémon is not the primary form, gender (for Pokémon with differing stats or movesets), or regional form.
• Ditto and Manaphy are the only Pokémon that are both able to breed yet unobtainable through breeding.
• In Pokémon Snap, Ditto takes the form of Bulbasaur in the Cave stage. The player can cause them to return to their Ditto form by hitting them with an object. When the player takes their picture, Ditto has the same eyes when it is transformed as when it is not. This trait is shared by Duplica's Ditto in the Pokémon the Series episode Ditto's Mysterious Mansion, although it was understood that this was not natural. Ditto cards from the EX Delta Species TCG expansion, the Clefairy Ditto that may appear in the Veilstone Game Corner's slot machines, and Howard Clifford's Ditto in POKÉMON Detective Pikachu also have this trait.
• Ditto is one of two Pokémon to have two different species-specific Stat-enhancing items associated with it, the other being Clamperl. Ditto's two associated items, the Metal Powder and Quick Powder, seem to be the same colors as Ditto's normal and Shiny forms, respectively.
• In Pokémon Rumble, since Transform was not programmed into the game, Ditto can only know Struggle. Since PP does not exist in Rumble, this makes Ditto the only Pokémon in Rumble that can use Struggle. However, Transform does exist in Pokémon Rumble Blast, so Ditto has a move from that game onward.
• Ditto is the most common Pokémon in Pokémon Trozei!, appearing in every area. This is due to its ability to transform, enabling the player a way to advance further if no links are available before Ditto appears.
• Prior to Generation VI, Ditto and Poliwag had the same cry.
• Since Transform copies its target's stats (except HP), Ditto cannot utilize its Special Attack stat before Transforming, though it can use its Attack stat for Struggle and confusion damage.
• Since Ditto's only move, Transform, cannot copy moves in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series and has only one PP, its only move after transforming is Struggle.
  • However, in Red/Blue Rescue Team and in Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky, a player-controlled Ditto can learn the TM moves Vacuum-Cut and Wide Slash.
  • Since Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, Ditto is able to get the moveset of the target Pokémon when it transforms.
• In Generation VI, Ditto is only given one move animation (despite the two animations minimum most Pokémon have for contact and non-contact moves).
• On October 4, 2017, The Pokémon Company posted a Ditto-themed music video onto their YouTube channel titled Dit-to Ditto.
• In Pokémon GO, Ditto appears in the wild disguised as other Pokémon. After being caught, it will reveal its true form. At one point, a large amount of Ditto were seen disguised as the then-unrevealed Mythical Pokémon, Meltan.
• In Pokémon GO, Ditto and Shedinja are the only Pokémon that cannot be used in Trainer Battles, unless the battle is against Team GO Rocket.
• Ditto is the only non-playable Pokémon that can be defeated in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
• In Pokémon Shuffle, Ditto was originally coded as a wildcard prior to its official release, allowing it to match with any other Pokémon icon - its effect from Pokémon Battle Trozei. This was not a skill effect (as its skill was Swarm), but rather a quality specific to Ditto itself. Some players obtained Ditto illegitimately during this time, and used its effect to gain high scores in competitive stages from September 2015 until Ditto's official release in 2017, when the skill was changed to Shuffle's version of Transform.^[11].
• Ditto is the only Generation I Pokémon that does not have evolutionary relatives (or have a regional variant that does), alternate form (such as Gigantamax or Mega Evolution) or be strongly associated with another that it does not share an evolutionary line with (Mew duo and legendary birds).
• Ditto has the most Sleep styles of any Pokémon, with a total of 10.

Glitches

Index 000 post-capture

In Generation I, if the player manages to capture an 'M (00), it will still be in battle with the player, and the battle will not end. Catching 'M (00) again results in the second one becoming a Ditto of the same level.

Transform glitches

Main article: List of Transform glitches

Origin

Bulbanews has an article related to this subject:

Unused Pokémon design revealed in magazine interview

In the sixth issue of Best Buy's @Gamer magazine, Game Freak developers Junichi Masuda and Ken Sugimori revealed that Ditto was originally based on the iconic smiley face. Its eyes and mouth are exactly like ":)", which is an emoticon representing the smiley.

Additionally, Ditto strongly resembles an amoeba, a single-celled organism with no definite shape. This may emphasize its ability to alter its cellular composition. This could also explain why Ditto is unavailable through breeding, since single-celled organisms reproduce differently from multi-cellular plants and animals. It also could partially be based on an undifferentiated cell, a cell in the body that can change into any other cell by sampling it. In addition, it could have been based on a blob or modeling clay.

Ditto's ability to change into other beings is reminiscent of a variety of mythical creatures like changelings, doppelgängers, or skin-walkers.

Name origin

Ditto is literally ditto (that which was stated before; copy of a document; imitation).

Metamon may be a combination of metamorphose (to undergo a physical transformation) or meta- (prefix meaning "encompassing" or "transcending", which may refer to Transform allowing Ditto to take on the shape of every other Pokémon) and monster.

• Duplica's Ditto
• Ditty
• Master Ditto
• Ditto (Pokémon Newspaper Strip)