The Pokemon Company finally answers bizarre Ditto mystery after 25 years

For years, the Pokemon community has been locked in a debate over whether Ditto was glitched in the Game Freak RPGs. Decades later, The Pokemon Company finally resolved the long-running mystery about the pink creature’s design.

Making its debut in 1998’s Red & Blue, Ditto wowed players with its ability to clone itself into any other character in the RPG. Eight generations later, the adorable pink amorphous blob is a staple in any Trainer’s roster as it can be used for breeding.

Despite its massive popularity in the franchise, the community has been at odds over a particular element of the character’s design for years. In a March 2021 video, The Pokemon Company finally put the mystery to rest with a fascinating explanation.

Game Freak / The Pokemon Company

A long-running debate about Ditto’s design was finally put to rest.

The Pokemon Company ends Ditto mystery

Since the series made the jump to 3D graphics, fans quickly began to notice that Ditto’s animations looked janky while mirroring another character’s moves. This led players to debate whether it was a glitch or bug for years.

In a March 30th tweet from The Pokemon Company’s Japanese account, the developer revealed that Ditto’s odd attack animations were on purpose to line up with the game’s lore.

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“Even if it looks perfect, some Pokemon’s specialties change the battle animation a little,” a rough translation of the message read. The social media post included a video showcasing how Dragapult’s Dragon Dart move is different for Ditto cloned as the Gen 8 ‘mon.

Serebii’s Joe Merrick pointed out that The Pokemon Company’s official tweet finally put the debate some fans had about Ditto’s animation to rest.

“I know a lot of people have made comments before about how Ditto’s animations are “bugged” because its signature move animations are different. This tweet from TPC show that it is, in fact, intentional that Ditto’s move animations are slightly different,” he wrote.

The popular Pokemon personality also added “it’s actually a whole thing about Ditto not actually being able to make a perfect copy. I love it.” The explanation actually makes sense as Pokemon Yellow’s Pokedex entry for the ‘mon in 1998 states, “when it spots an enemy, its body transforms into an almost perfect copy of its opponent” – “an almost perfect copy” being key.

Fans of the Game Freak RPGs were floored by the revelation, such as one user who wrote, “this is one of the coolest details I’ve seen from these games OMG.” Another player added, “it makes perfect sense that Ditto can’t shoot actual Dreepys because they’re fake, so he just shoots generic dragon energy. So cool.”

While The Pokemon Company’s revelation might not be new for some fans who figured it out years ago, it’s the first time the Japanese developer has publicly commented on it. The video they included also highlights the unique design choice.

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For all the complaints the series sometimes gets for lacking change, the franchise is full of incredible little details such as Ditto’s animations. If nothing else, it just adds more depth to what is already one of the coolest characters.