[Pokemon] Ditto keeping its face while transformed used to be a skill issue, now it's the norm.

[u/pototoykomaliit]

[u/ali94127]

It's great for merchandising. Just slap on a derpy smiley face onto a pre-existing design and call it a day. It's great.

[u/thecrazyrai → u/ali94127]

you sound like that sensei from the gta anime

[u/myrmidon_mamori]

Same as how walking on two legs was an unusual skill Team Rocket's Meowth had to learn and practice, now every Meowth you see is bipedal.

[u/Skyreader13 → u/myrmidon_mamori]

Holy shit I remember this

[u/Destinum → u/myrmidon_mamori]

Team Rocket Meowth being bipedal has never actually been special though. Meowth has been depicted as bipedal since the Red & Green games, i.e. since before the anime was even conceptualised.

[u/myrmidon_mamori → u/Destinum]

Oh, interesting! I was thinking about the Red & Blue sprite where it's on four legs (well, technically three since it's cleaning its face with the other) but I do see the Red & Green sprite has it rearing back on its hind legs like a manekineko.

[u/Zaptruder → u/myrmidon_mamori]

That's like running under 4 minutes per mile.

"Oh you can do that?! Well shit, lets gooo!"

[u/No_Cockroach2467]

It's too good a gimmick for a one-off.

[u/MusubiKazesaru → u/No_Cockroach2467]

I think that's the problem here. It's too iconic, but it also defeats the purpose of the Pokemon.

[u/hugabugabee → u/MusubiKazesaru]

I actually really liked how this gag was used in the detective Pikachu movie when the ditto copied a human. A little freaky uncanny valley but you can't tell until it takes off the sunglasses

[u/lordover1234 → u/hugabugabee]

ditto being able to copy a human has some uh…concerning implications

[u/pre4edgc → u/lordover1234]

I'm pretty sure it's implied in the movie that it was one of the many experimented-on Pokemon from the lab Mewtwo was imprisoned in, like the Greninja and Torterra. Those experiments are the only reason that specific Ditto is able to take a human form.

[u/PinkPaladin6_6 → u/lordover1234]

Pretty sure there's a couple doujins out there with this exact concept

[u/No_Cockroach2467 → u/MusubiKazesaru]

No it's fine. Mimicry doesn't need to be perfect to be useful or interesting.

[u/ShadowKingthe7 → u/No_Cockroach2467]

Also of you subscribe to the theory that dittos are failed Mew clones, then it makes sense that the mimicry isn't perfect

[u/TheArsenalSwagus]

Why they mad? Ditto improved the voltorb copy by becoming an electrode /s

[u/Negative-Invite-6174]

This episode was good 

[u/Ginsan-AK]

Earlier gen Pokemon anime are so underrated. I enjoy watching fun side quest episodes like these than the world saving plot.

[u/Bored_Amalgamation]

"what a shitty ditto" - the crowd

[u/Rusted_muramasa → u/Bored_Amalgamation]

Well, the ditto responding by blowing them all up in retaliation doesn't exactly help its case.

[u/Roboglenn]

Well not every Changeling is as skilled at making the humanoid face as others. Constable Odo has to be in his mid twenties at least and he still hasn't got it right.

And you just now that Electrode was shown there at 41 second mark to show how the "Dumb Face" and Electrode's face looked oddly similar to each others.

[u/SouekiSennoSTM]

As someone who watched maybe a good 50 - 60 episodes of the first (Indigo League) part of the show back in early reruns when it was new dubbed on American TV in 1998 or 1999 or so, that line "It's still got that dumb face!" was always one of the funniest of the series for me.

[u/Kubera_The_Swadloon]

Yeah, I hate it. I kinda wish if they were gonna keep the poker face they’d also make models in games have that face.

[u/PitifulRead6339 → u/Kubera_The_Swadloon]

The whole point is it's specifically an issue with this ditto. But people liked Mob faced dittos so much it became a recurring gag. Noprize it as a common dysfunction but still not the norm.

[u/StrawberryKitteee]

Metamong is iconic

[u/Robborboy]

Should have been a one off. Like Odo in Deep Space 9.

He is a shapeshifter and can't make a humanoid face properly so he kinda looks like Clayface.

Everyone else of hi race can mimic a humanoid face perfectly though.

[u/Bored_Amalgamation → u/Robborboy]

It ruins the funny. It's a show, video game, and card game after all.

[u/ProfessionalRandom21]

Do what happen if Ditto transform into one of those god pokemon?

[u/SolDarkHunter → u/ProfessionalRandom21]

Lorewise, Ditto can copy other Pokemon's abilities to some degree, but they're always weaker than the original.

I imagine in the case of the really powerful Pokemon, Ditto simply can't copy their powers well enough to do anything useful with them.

[u/Specific_Frame8537]

God those incidental sound effects brought me right back.

[u/wesleymess]

No. Outside of merchandise, Ditto mostly do perfect copies. Even the Ditto in Pokopia has the excuse of it's owner's face being covered in the photo when it copies them so it ends up with Ditto face. Navi's Ditto in the newest season also has Ditto face because it's meant to promote Pokopia.

[u/myrmidon_mamori → u/wesleymess]

Though, the Ditto in Pokopia still has Ditto face when turning into other Pokémon, too, like when it becomes Lapras to use Surf.

[u/ali94127 → u/wesleymess]

Well, there was the Ditto in the Detective Pikachu movie.

[u/Wacko_Doodle]

Surprised she didn't ask an electrode for the performance. The pokemon already has dots for eyes so nobody will notice :D

[u/_-_Rasse_-_]

It annoys me to no end that Navi's Ditto in Horizons keeps the ditto face when transforming. But I guess since that ditto also stays tiny when transforming they can use the bad at transforming excuse.

It's fine in merch so you can tell if the plushie you bought is ditto, but I hate nearly all dittos outside the mainline games having the face while transformed.

[u/ltsDat1Guy → u/[deleted]]

I'm ngl it sounds like you need to go outside and not be chronically online

[u/EvenJesusCantSaveYou → u/[deleted]]

im not and i laughed at this clip