This is a guide for all those Ditto lovers out there, people who use a Ditto frequently, people who own one, or even people who would like to own one. If you're not interested in finding out about Dittos, leave this guide and look up something else on this site, or just get off this site and do something else with your time.

Locations

Okay, first thing's first, you can't do anything with a Ditto unless you have one, so here's where to find them.

Black and White

Dittos have a 15% chance of being found in the Giant Chasm Crater at levels 53 to 55. If you walk in the double grass, the Dittos encountered will be of levels 63 to 65.

HeartGold and SoulSilver
Locations are the same for both games and as follows:

Route 34[level 10] - 5%
Route 35[level 10] - 4%
Route 47[level 31-40] - 41%
Cerulean Cave 1F[level 39-40] - 11% (morning and day)
Cerulean Cave 1F[level 39] - 10% (night)
Cerulean Cave 2F[level 42] - 10%
Cerulean Cave B1[level 45] - 10%

Ditto can also be found in the wetland area of the Safari Zone during the morning or day at level 17. If the equivalent of 15 water objects have been placed in the wetland area, Dittos will appear at any time of day and will be encountered at level 41. (I have no information about frequencies in the Safari Zone. If you have any information, please post a reply.)

Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum
Ditto can be found in Diamond and Pearl on Route 218 by using the Poke Radar. In Platinum, Ditto is a daily special in the Trophy Garden.

Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald
You can only find Dittos in Emerald, in the Desert underpass by walking, and there is a fifty percent chance of finding one.

Leafgreen and Firered
Locations and frequencies are the same, and are as follows:

Cerulean Cave 1F and 2F- 11%
Cerulean Cave B1 - 25%
Pokemon Mansion B1 - 10%
Routes 13 and 15 - 5%
Route 14 - 15%

Gold, Silver, and Crystal
All can be found at any time of day, on Routes 34 (5% frequency) and 35 (4% frequency)

Red, Yellow, and Blue
Locations and frequencies for Red and Blue are the same.

Cerulean Cave 1F - 6%
Cerulean Cave 2F - 8%
Cerulean Cave 3F - 12%
Route 13 - 5%
Routes 14 and 15 - 20%
Route 23 - 35%

Yellow is a bit different.

Cerulean Cave 1F and 2F - 8%
Cerulean Cave B1 - 12%
Pokemon Mansion B1 - 10%

*note: Unless noted, all encounters are available by walking, at any time or season.*

Held Items
If you have a game from the Game Boy Color Generation or later, your Ditto might have an held item. If you trade a Ditto from Red, Blue, or Yellow to Gold, Silver, or Crystal, it will be holding a Metal Powder, which increases a Ditto's, and only a Ditto's, defense, although wild Dittos do not have any held items in that series. If you have any later version, there is a five percent chance it will have a Metal Powder. There is also a fifty percent chance in any game from Generation IV or beyond, that the Ditto will be holding a Quick Powder. These raise a Ditto's speed, which is useful as it helps Ditto use Transform before a hit is scored on Ditto. It should also be noted that neither item has any effect while Ditto is in a Transformed state.

Evolution
Ditto does not evolve to or from anything, but it really doesn't need to.

Learnset
Dittos know Transform, which copies the stats (except HP and level) of the opponent. Every Ditto knows it, and you'll never be able to teach it anything else. At least, not intentionally. I have been recently informed of the Ditto Rage glitch, a completely harmless glitch that causes your Ditto to randomly acquire the moves Scary Face, Horn Attack, Tail Whip, and Rage. I have heard of only one instance of this, so I don't know if there is anything that causes it.

Abilities
Dittos have the Limber ability, which means that they can't get paralyzed. Useful, I guess, if they're affected by it often otherwise. In the Dream World, Ditto has the Imposter ability. This works like Transform, but is automatic. This is convenient, as you don't have to waste your first turn.

Breeding Info
Ditto is genderless. It can also breed with any Pokemon that does not belong to the "No Eggs" egg group, male, female, or genderless. The result will always be the pokemon other than the Ditto. My friend has a Ditto he doesn't even work on. He just keeps it in the Day Care for breeding purposes. This is useful because it is the only pokemon that can breed with pokemon from the "Gender Unknown" egg group, like Voltorb, and the only way to receive eggs of pokemon that are only male, like Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee. Manaphy is part of the "Gender Unknown" egg group, so it can breed with Ditto, too, but it will result in a Phione, which can also breed with Ditto, making another Phione. To get a Manaphy, you need to get the egg in "Pokemon Ranger" and trade the egg to Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum. Then, pick up the egg at a PokeMart, and hatch it. A Ditto's parental versatility is invaluable, because, if you have a Ditto with a beneficial nature and high IVs, virtually any Pokemon can benefit from having that Ditto as a parent. Ditto cannot breed with other Dittos, which makes you wonder, how do they survive as a species?

Stats
Now, here's how to train your Ditto's stats.

Level
This is important, because it's free stat gains, and stat enhancing items are expensive. Also, the damage of some attacks, like seismic toss and night shade, depend solely on the user's level.

Hit Points
This is the most important stat, since it doesn't change when you transform. Luckily, Dittos have pretty good HP, but you can always give it some HP Up if you want to.

Attack
This is mostly useless. The only time you need it is if you forgot to replenish your PP and have to use Struggle. You can train it some if you want to, but don't waste all your proteins on it.

Defense
This is important if your Ditto gets hit before it transforms. Not entirely important, but you may want to give it a couple of Irons. Also, your Ditto may benefit from a Metal Powder, explained in the Held Items section.

Speed
This is a very important stat, since it determines if your opponent hits you before you can use Transform. You can defeat pokemon much higher-leveled than your Ditto if it gets the first attack. Also, your Ditto may benefit from a Quick Powder, explained in the Held Items section.


Special
This is sort of a grey area. If your version only has Special, you might want to give your Ditto Calcium to increase it, because it affects its defense against special attacks. If your version has Special Attack and Special Defense, here is what you should do. If you want to help your Ditto's Special Defense along a little, give it a few Zincs. As for it's Special Attack, don't. It's a waste of Calciums that you have on hand, or money you use to buy one. You will never need it. End of story.

Battle Information
These are a few tips to pick good battles for your Ditto, and what to do after that. When training your Ditto, you should find a pokemon that knows a move that is good against itself. Since this is rare, you should go to the place in the game that shells out the most experience out of the places you can go. Bring a pokemon that can easily whoop the pokemon there without taking much damage. Put your Ditto in front, give it an EXP. Share if you have one, and as your first move, switch out to the other pokemon. You should also find pokemon that are slower than your Ditto. I beat a level 50 Rhyhorn with my level 28 Ditto because my Ditto went first and the Rhyhorn knew Horn Drill. This site says Horn Drill will not work on pokemon that are faster or higher-leveled, but this obviously does not apply to Dittos, at least in Yellow Version. Curiously enough, the Rhyhorn couldn't affect my Ditto when it used Horn Drill. Go figure. When using a Ditto, even when not training, make sure to use moves that can do some damage against your opponent, or it just gets long and annoying. Oh, one more thing. Be sure to use your moves wisely, because you only get five PP each, and then you have to use Struggle.

If you're battling Dittos yourself, keep a few things in mind. If your Pokemon knows a move that is super effective against itself, you can deal a lot of damage to a Transformed Ditto, and vice versa. In the later games, at least Generation III, dittos will give you more experience if they're transformed already. This doesn't apply in the Colors Generation, and I have no idea about Generation II. I also have no idea what EVs a Ditto provides if defeated while Transformed, so information would be appreciated. A good strategy, if your Pokemon does know a move that's super effective against itself and is slower than the Ditto, is to use that move, since it will hit after Ditto uses Transform. If your Pokemon is faster, procrastinate for the first turn, use that move the second, and hope for the best. You won't know for sure if a Ditto is slower or faster than your Pokemon, but you should have a general idea. Guessing is hard in the later games, though, since half of the Dittos in the wild have Quick Powders.

WTF! Your a ditto maniac. i'm a ditto fan myself

O Rly?

Route 118.

(Or whatever the route near Canalave is called.)

Thanks, metagross4, I am a big Ditto fan. And ShinyHunter07, thanks for the info. I only have yellow, I got that information from the Psydex. I'll post the change, and you might want to make a post in the Eterna Forest about that.

Why would I do that? You just have to click "Radar" and it comes up.

And it could, and probably will be, in Platinum. I don't see why it wouldn't be.

Wow. :O That's a lot on dittos. Nice job.^^

Ohhh... I didn't see the Radar option. I have problems picking out details, well thanks for your correction, and thanks, Jeneus, for your compliment. Actually, thanks to you all!

Okay, My Guide has been rejected for admission to Victory Road for not being original or useful, so if you have any suggestions for my guide, please post them. Help me help you, because if this is good enough to make it, not only will it be in Victory Road, it will be worthy of being in Victory Road, and all Ditto lovers will prosper from its enhanced goodness!!!

um can you breed a legendery..........

Actually ditto is a daily special in the trophy garden in Platinum, So yes, the amorphous blob IS available in plat!

No, you can't breed legendaries, with the exception of Manaphy, as explained in my guide. And thanks for the info, lordtomato. This pleases me, as I'm planning on getting Platinum. I'll make the change immediately

thats awesome mate. YAY for ditto!!

Ditto might actually be one of the most PERFECT pokemon. It can turn into ANYTHING. Probably even Tony the Tiger! THERRRRRRRR GREAT! (Ditto i mean, not the Frosted Flakes :])

Is it true that when you defeat a transformed ditto, your pokemon gain the EVs of the pokemon it transformed into?

Example: Encounter wild ditto. i send out swampert. ditto uses transform. swampert KOs the transformed ditto. does my swampert gain 3 Atk. EVs or 1 HP EV?

You should also point out, that Ditto is extremely useful with breeding purposes. A set of dittos wiith good natures (Adamant, Timid, Modest, Bold etc.) is priceless when you're trying to breed for competitive purposes. Good IVs are ofcourse great too.

As Koipen said, Dittos are priceless for breeding purposes.
As they are the only pokémon that can breed with genderless pokémon like Magneton,Metagross and such.

I have Two RNG abuse Dittos from the trophy garden,One adamant and one Careful,They have perfect 31 iv stats in all areas.and Are amazing when you are breeding...

I am the true ditto fan
:b

My brother has a ditto with Scary Face, Horn Attack, Tail Whip, and Rage on his SoulSilver. 0_o
It just gained the moves suddenly when he was in the lighthouse fighting a Growlithe.

No AR's or hacks or anything. We don't own those. We found it out today. It's is an epic Ditto. :D

It's the Ditto Rage glitch, not removed from the games. Harmless, but now you'll need another ditto if you want to transform. viewtopic.php?f=51&t=26121

umm... what happens when you put two dittos in the day-care? I'd assume you get a ditto egg but that just sounds... ....weird. Also what color is a shiny Ditto?

Shiny Ditto is blue scrironex. oh! that gives me another question, does shiny ditto transform into a shyny pokemon, and can dito transform into a shiny pokemon?

Nice guide but one question. Can you include the locations of Ditto in Pokemon Heart Gold and Pokemon Soul Silver?

Hi!

First of all in answer to a question Ditto can be found Route 34 (below Goldenrod), 35 (above Goldenrod), 47 (in between Cianwood and the new Safari Zone), in the Safari Zone and Cerulean Cave . I would recommend Route 47 on HGSS, but if possible the best place is on Emerald in the Desert Underpass - only Dittos appear!

Secondly, BREED BREED BREED !!!

Shiny Ditto:

i would absolutly love if you posted the location of a ditto in Black and White, so please do so