Ditto
In Pokémon Go, Ditto disguises itself as other Pokémon. You might be trying to catch a Pidgey or a Rattata, but it might actually be a Ditto. Once caught, it will reveal its true form.
Since Ditto disguises itself, the best strategy to find it is to catch all the Pokémon that Ditto is known to transform into. Every one of those Pokémon you encounter could potentially be a Ditto.
Here are all the Pokémon Ditto disguises itself as currently in Pokémon GO:
Remember that in Pokémon GO, Ditto cannot be directly seen in the overworld map, but it is still obtainable by catching. Due to its unique ability, it was not released in the game until November of 2016.
Shiny Ditto
Shiny Ditto is available in Pokémon GO, but in order to get one, you will need to encounter a lot of regular Ditto. There are some specific rules when encountering Ditto’s disguise Pokémon and how that affects your chance to get a shiny Ditto:
- If you encounter a shiny of any of Ditto’s current potential disguises, it cannot transform into Ditto.
- If you encounter, for example, a Shiny Diglett it will NOT turn in to a Ditto. However if you encounter a normal Grimer, it has a chance of being a Ditto AND being shiny.
- If you encounter any of these Pokémon in their non-shiny form, it can potentially transform into Ditto.
- If you encounter any of these Pokémon in their non-shiny form, it can potentially transform into a shiny Ditto.
You do not have to worry that you are going to finally get that shiny Diglett you have been hunting for, only for it to turn into a shiny Ditto. Wild shiny Pokémon cannot transform into Ditto.
Catching Ditto
There is no real way to know if a Pokémon from the list above is Ditto or not, but there are some subtle hints you can follow. Ditto is much harder to catch than most of its disguises, so if that Digglet you are catching broke out of five Pokéballs already, you might have a Ditto on your hands!
Ditto’s encounter CP will change when it is caught, as the CP of the disguised Ditto reflects the stats of the species it is mimicking. Ditto’s level will not change once it is caught, although the CP now reflects Ditto’s own stats. Being Normal-type, it receives a weather boost in Partly Cloudy weather.
Once the Ditto disguised as one of these Pokémon is caught, an “Oh?” will appear above the Pokéball (where “Gotcha!” normally would), followed by a short animation of Ditto revealing itself. Ditto can be caught with a Go Plus, and if the disguise Pokémon is shiny on the encounter screen (only Shiny Magikarp from the above list is currently available), Ditto, unfortunately, will not be shiny.
Additionally, Ditto is not individual as shinies are — a Pokémon will be Ditto for anyone who catches it.
Battling with Ditto
- Ditto is not a recommended choice for any matchup. Although it can transform into powerful Pokémon, its low HP stat which remains constant makes it a glass cannon in any role. If absolutely necessary, a defending Ditto is best countered with Chansey; it will transform into a Pokémon with poor attack and defense stats, and although Chansey has an overwhelming amount of HP, Ditto cannot mimic it.
- All Ditto will have the quick move Transform and the charge move Struggle. As soon as the battle begins, the attacking Ditto will transform into its first opponent (and retain this form throughout the battle) regardless of whether or not the player is tapping to activate the quick move.
- Once Ditto transforms, it takes on the Attack and Defense stats of the opposing Pokémon, as well as its moves and typing. Its Individual Values (IV’s), HP stat, and level will remain the same. Because of this, a Ditto’s CP often increases drastically when battling powerful opponents such as Dragonite.
