The Myth
For a puddle of pink goo that's often set aside to give room to the more popular Pokémon, Ditto certainly has some interesting, if only implied, lore-based theories attached to it. Some have been around since the beginning, while others are much more new...
| The Failed Mew Experiment Theory | Ditto is from Space? | The Lost Evolutionary Line | White Ditto |
The Failed Mew Experiment Theory
What is probably the oldest and well-known of the Ditto-related theories comes from from Gen 1. I know it's been discussed to death, but I've got some personal thoughts on the matter...
For those unfamiliar with the Gen 1 games (or their numerous readaptions), in the later stages of the game, the player finds themselves locked out of the Cinnabar Island Gym. To get in, they must find a special item in the Pokémon Mansion, a long-abandoned home of a famous Pokémon researcher, impled to be Dr. Fuji (who since moved to Lavender Town). It's been left to rot and is home to several urban explorers, but more importantly it contains several journal entries scattered across its four floors (again, implied to be written by Dr. Fuji). These contain information on the mythical Pokémon Mew and the experiments (Mewtwo's Pokédex entries describe these experiments as "years of horrific gene splicing and DNA engineering experiments") that would eventually result in the birth of Mewtwo (per the February 6th journal entry: "Mew gave birth. We named the newborn Mewtwo."). Interestingly, the detail of Mew birthing Mewtwo would be removed from the English translation for Pokémon: Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee and beyond.
In Mew's own Pokédex entries, it's oft-remarked that "Its DNA is said to contain the genetic codes of all Pokémon, so it can use all kinds of techniques" and " Because it can use all kinds of moves, many scientists believe Mew to be the ancestor of Pokémon," which explains why it would be subjected to these "horrific gene plicing." It's also thanks to this expansive genetic code that Mew is one of two Pokémon naturally able to learn the move Transform. ...Sound familiar?
The similarities don't end there! Mew and Ditto share the same color palette, in both normal and shiny forms. They have the same mass and are close to the same height. They're both said to contain the genetic code for all Pokémon. Both have perfectly rounded stats, with Ditto being a flat 48 and Mew at 100. Of note, this remains the same even today, despite most other Pokémons' stat having changed through the years. Most importantly, Mewtwo is said to be the "first successful cloning", implying failed attempts during the prior years of experimentation.
So could Ditto be the result of those failed experiments?
It's not confirmed, but I think there's credence for this theory. Let's look at this chronologically.
Pokémon Red and Green were released in Japan on February 27, 1996. The revised version Pokémon Blue began mail-order release in December 1996, and was mostly the same with slight graphic and sound revisions with glitch fixes, since the original pair of games are known to be pretty glitchy. Between these releases, Mew would be announced in the May 1996 issue of CoroCoro Comics magazine. So to me this says Mew had been generally planned to allow for Mewtwo as a catchable creature, but it hadn't fully been figured out as a Pokémon. It was finished after the Red and Green's release for use as a special event Pokémon.
At the same time, Ditto could be found in various locations throughout Kanto in Red, Green, and Blue, but this changed with Pokémon Yellow. Yellow was meant to capitalize on the anime's success, with a redo of the story and art. During this time, work on the franchise's first movie was in progress, thus it makes sense that the developing team would give the video game canon a fresh look, with emphasis on the Mew duo to keep a level of consistency. The movie would be released on July 18, 1998, and Yellow would release on September 12, 1998.
So what changes in Pokémon Yellow support this theory?
Well, all the prior Ditto-Mew similarities for one, as well as the aforementioned change in Ditto's location availability. In Red and Green, Ditto was available in Routes 13, 14, 15, and 23, and Cerulean Cave. Blue would add Rock Tunnel to the list. In constrast, Yellow's Ditto locations were changed to two: Pokémon Mansion and Cerulean Cave, the location in which the player meets, battles and (optionally) catches Mewtwo. Reducing a Pokémon's availability is a big change to just be a meaningless whim, in my opinion.
Of course, this is all built on conjecture, and it's only been commented on once by anyone involved in the franchise. In November of 2012, an interview with art director/producer Junichi Masuda and GameInformer was published in which Masuda was asked about the theory:
Interviewer: There is a rumor that in the original Pokémon games, versions Red and Blue, that the Pokémon Ditto was a failed attempt at cloning a Mew. I was wondering if you could speak to this, to whether or not it’s true.
Masuda: That’s the first time I have ever hear that rumor actually.
Interviewer: Is that your only answer?
Masuda: In terms of how Pokémon are designed, they are each their own unique living being. The unique thing about Ditto is that it’s a Pokémon that can change forms, but each Pokémon we create with its own unique element, so we just make sure that they are all individual life forms of their own.
Masuda didn't exactly deny the theory, but he does far from confirming it... And it must be remembered that while he has been part of the Pokémon team since the beginning, it was originally for music composition and sound design (not the devalue all he did, of course -- He is listed as a programmer in game credits, and he developed the Sound Driver that Game Freak would go on to use for all of its games). It wouldn't be until the development of Pokémon Gold and Silver that he would become sub-director, so it can't be confirmed if he had any involvement with lore development for Yellow or if he'd would have any information on the topic.
Personally, I think it's odd to have so many similarities without any planning; with Pokémon Yellow's changes, it feels intentional. I do think that the Ditto-Mew connection wasn't carried outside of Pokémon Yellow (and its later adaptions), though. Given the game was specifically based on incorporating anime lore, it is set apart from the lore presented in other generations (e.g. in Pokémon Emerald, Ditto can be found in the previously inaccessible Desert Underpass, which couldn't work with a more recently-made Pokémon). Thus I think this theory holds a lot of merit, just only within the confines of Pokémon Yellow canon. Of course, it's impossible to confirm with full certainty, but knowing that it will never be confirmed or denied does lend the entire thing an extra level of excitement, doesn't it?
As an aside, to put on a tin-foil hat, in the April 1996 Japan-only book Pocket Monsters Pokédex sidebar, Shigeki Morimoto comments that he's been raising Dittos. He would then be the designer and lead creator of Mew... Coincidence...? I think not!!!
[6/17/2024] An lenticular card was released in 1998, which chooses to put Ditto and Mew together with a (possibly) laboratory-esque background (front, back). Interesting!!!
Ditto is from Space?
This theory, originally formulated by Kiskeym2 on r/pokemonconspiracies, is based on a couple of things:
Starting with its introduction in Gen 2, the item Metal Powder is sometimes carried by wild Ditto (starting in Gen 4, Quick Powder would also be found). This item is Ditto-specific and provides no stats change to any other Pokémon! This potentially hints at the Pokémon having a metallic nature, which isn't an out-of-nowhere notion, considering the original evolutionary plan meant for Gen 2...
Ditto can also be found specifically in locations that are both 1) locations of meteorite strikes, and 2) difficult for humans and Pokémon to otherwise get to. These locations are Unova's Giant Chasm ("A long, long time ago, the Giant Chasm was created when a big meteorite fell from the sky. A really scary Pokémon was hidden inside that meteorite…") and Alola's Mount Hokulani.
For the Giant Chasm, many relics of it can still be found (in the form of Moon Stones, Star Dust, and so on), and the crater is home to several extraterrestial-related Pokémon: Clefairy (whose many Pokédex entries reference it from originating off-planet); Lunatone (This Pokémon was first discovered 40 years ago at the site of a meteor strike. ); Solrock (Solrock is a new species of Pokémon that is said to have fallen from space.); and Beldum (included in Pokémon Go's space-centered "Enigma Week" event). Coincidentally, this location is also the only place to find and catch Ditto in the region. Odd!
Meanwhile Mount Hokulani is well-known for its meteor strikes, and is home to more extraterrestrial-based Pokémon: Cleffa (Said to have ridden here on a shooting star, Cleffa seem to appear in places where meteorites have struck in the past.); Minior (based off meteors with a Pokédex entry of Places where Minior fall from the night sky are few and far between, with Alola being one of the precious few.); and Beldum. Once again, it is the only place to find Ditto (in Sun/Moon; Ultra Sun/Moon adds a secondary location) in Alola. Hmm...
Might Ditto have come to Earth from a place beyond the stars? Since Gods exist in the Pokémon world, might Ditto have been an extraterrestrial planet's Mew, from which all other Pokémon were made? Hard to say, but it's a fun theory to contemplate!
The Lost Evolutionary Line
In the August 1996 issue of CoroCoro Comic, Pokémon 2 was announced as the upcoming sequel game with an image of Ho-oh, with hints of branched evolution. A probable release date of Spring 1997 was given in the November 1996 issue, and the name Pokémon 2: Gold and Silver was revealed in May 1997. Of course, Gen 2 wouldn't be released until November 21, 1999 (Japan). In the intermediate years, there was a lot of planning, development, and cut material...
In November 1997, a demo would be showcased at Spaceman '97. According to people there, a promotional video was shown for the demo in which a Pokémon named "Animon" was shown, an evolution for Ditto (some remembered it as "Netamon," but this is likely just a wrong recollection). It wouldn't be until The Cutting Room Floor got a copy of that demo that further information would be found.
Animon, named as an acronym of "animal" and "monster," would have evolved from Ditto while holding the "metal coat" item. Metal coat was kept in the final version of the game and used to evolve Onix to Steelix and Scyther to Scizor (both Steel-type Pokémon), as well as increase the power of Steel-type moves. This implies that Animon would be a Normal/Steel type, which is supported by the lil guy's very starp thumb-tack looking head. In the demo, it was listed as a Normal-type, but lots of Pokémon in the demo had incomplete or incorrect typings. So maybe it was meant to be less pink goo and more liquid metal?
Or perhaps Animon was meant to have much higher defensive stats? This would be an aspect covered by the Pokémon ability "Imposter," introduced in Gen V, in which Ditto transforms before the battle officially begins and copys its opponent's stats as well.
In other ways, however, Animon wouldn't be much of a change from Ditto. It's only move would be Transform. Its stats are unknown. Still, it's perpetual fanged scream sure is a look, isn't it?
And to add on a theory to a theory, some fans believe the concept of Animon would eventually be reused for Meltan. After all, it's not uncommon for old concepts to be given new life in later generations.
Of course, in the end, Ditto remains a solo Pokémon, with no pre-evolutions or evolutions. I'm all right with this, though. As much as I genuinely love Animon's look, it would be much harder on me to have to also keep track of its cards and merch too!
White Ditto
On October 14, 2011, Youtuber BlameTruth began uploading the first (titled My Scary Pokemon Blue Story... (Part 1)) in a series of videos about a odd previously-undiscovered glitch in an old Pokémon Blue cartridge given to him by a cousin.
The glitch in question was spurred by coming across a lvl 15 Ditto while leveling up his team, but there was something off about it... It's sprite lacked the light grey base color and was instead fully white. This should not be the case, since shiny variations were not added to the franchise until Gen 2. Odder still, after catching it and looking at its stats page, there was an empty space where the Trainer's name should be (e.g. "OT/" instead of the expected "OT/Anthony").
Later on, he noticed the Ditto's name had changes from the expected "Ditto" to "whitehand," which would be referenced to by an NPC in Lavendar Town. This NPC would ask the player "Do you believe in ghosts?" If given a "No" in response, the NPC continues: "Haha, I guess not. That white hand on your shoulder, it's not real."
It is here that the glitching grows. From hereon, the Lavender Town theme played regardless of the player's in-game location, and the game would begin crashing at random intervals. In-game text would grow ominous, with one example being Professor Oak's generic dialogue being replaced with "D.E.A.D W.H.?.?.?.?"
Oddities would begin to filter into the real world, with numerous technological issues including BSOD, software malfunctions, and video/sound corruption. Worst still, reports began from other people that attempting to interact with Blametruth's various social media pages resulted in them encountering; viewers on youtube also reported odd things in the audio and background. A consistent happening was text appearing that spelled out such ominious things as "I A M D E A D" and patterns of 5 and the color blue.
This series would go on to create 61 total videos, most 5 minutes long or shorter.
The creator has since edited the desciptions to read "This is an ARG/interactive story and the events are fictional," officially confirming the series' true nature. It remains memorialized on UrbanDictionary as well, thanks to an entry created by Ton Ereh Saw Nannerb Ton on November 20, 2011. This entry reads as follows:
White Ditto: 1.) An eerie phenomenon in which devices such as gaming consoles, computers, and other electronic devices glitch and/or stop working briefly, periodically, or permanently due to no obvious causes, such as a virus. Patterns may emerge from these happenings as well as unexplained events that happen outside of the device or devices. 2.) A term used to describe sudden, out of the ordinary events that happens mostly with electronic devices such as computers and video game consoles. Such events may even happen to other objects such as brooms, bowls, etc. These events range from getting moved, knocked over, or glitched (Electronic coded devices). Patterns often emerge from such events.
Example:
Dylan: My computer opened Word with random text typed into 7 paragraphs about some flu outbreak.
Brennan: Dude, the first letter of the first word in each paragraph spells out I A M D E A D.
Dylan: I blame the White Ditto.
As both creepypasta and ARGs go, I think this one is a bit silly, though it does utilize several real in-game Pokémon properties (e.g. Lavender Town's inherent creepiness, the NPC's white hand dialogue (which was included in the Pokémon Origins miniseries!), etc). While I'd never heard of this creepypasta ARG before, I'm not surprised given 2011 was in the height of the Marble Hornets webseries. I would love to know if there was a satisfying ditto-centric ending, but I'm not really committed enough to follow through the entire series.
Of interest, this creepypasta seems to be related to a couple prior Pokémon creepypasta: "White Hand" and "Buried Alive," both of which involve players finding hidden data in Red/Blue of a final boss that must be defeated on the top floor of Lavendar Town's Pokémon Tower. Tentative searching implies that this creepypasta might have come before those two? Deeper diving would need to be done to confirm this... All of these, I bet, were inspired by the NPC's white hand dialogue.
That said, I'm really happy that Ditto got to be the main character in a creepypasta!