Is Ditto a failed Mew clone?
Two pink Pokémon that both copy things. Are they related?
Case status: Open. The games leave it unanswered, so nobody can say for sure.
What the games say
Mew's Pokédex entries say it carries the genes of every Pokémon, which is why it can learn almost any move. Entries in Diamond, Pearl and other games add that many scientists think Mew is the ancestor of all Pokémon. Mewtwo's entries say it was made by recombining Mew's genes.
Ditto's entries describe a different trick. It rearranges its own cells to look like whatever it sees. Red, Blue and LeafGreen say it copies an enemy's genetic code. Sun and Ultra Sun say some Dittos are better at it than others, and Ruby and Sapphire say it gets details wrong when it copies from memory. We read every Ditto entry we have, and none of them mention Mew.
What fans think
The "failed clone" idea is a fan theory. It goes like this: Mew's genes were used to make Mewtwo, so maybe an earlier try went wrong and left a squishy pink blob that can only copy. Fans point at the pink colour, the shared copying theme, and the way Ditto looks like something that never finished becoming a Pokémon.
Other fans say Ditto is simply its own species. Wild Ditto turn up in ordinary places in the games, and no game says they escaped from anywhere. That is a fair point, but the games never say where Ditto come from either.
- Failed clone (fan term): A fan phrase. The games never call Ditto a clone, failed or otherwise.
Our verdict
Case status: Open
Open. No game connects Ditto to Mew, so the fan theory can't be proved or busted. It fits some clues, but it is still a guess.
What we can say for sure: Mew's genes matter a lot in the games, and Mewtwo is the Pokémon the games say was made from them. Ditto is the one nobody has explained.
What do you think?
Is Ditto a failed Mew clone?
- Yes, it looks like it
- No, Ditto is its own Pokémon
- I cannot decide
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