Ditto is one of the most useful Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet because it can breed with most Pokémon in the Dex. However, the sneaky little blob is harder to find in Gen 9 than he has been in previous Pokémon games. We'll go over where to find it, how to catch it, and how to use the Masuda Method with it.
Ditto Locations: Where to find it
Ditto is found in the West Province (Area Two) and West Province (Area Three) at all times of the day and night in both Scarlet and Violet. We've found success in locating it near the tower next to Porto Marinada, so you can start there.
The problem is it won't look like Ditto in the wild. That's because unlike previous Pokémon games, Ditto disguises itself to look like other Pokémon, similar to how Ditto behaves in Pokémon Go. This disguise is perfect and doesn't feature the goofy Ditto face from the anime.
Which Pokémon can be Ditto in Scarlet and Violet?
Here are all of the Pokémon that we know it can disguise itself as. We'll add to this list as we discover more.
- Brambleghast
- Deerling
- Flaaffy
- Grimer
- Meowth
- Murkrow
- Skiddo
- Tandemaus
How to catch Ditto
To find Ditto, you'll need to enter battles with every Pokémon you see in Ditto's habitat and hope the creature turns out to be the purple blob. If it is, it will change to Ditto immediately after a battle starts. The name that appears above its head during battles will always be "Ditto" and not the Pokémon it's impersonating.
Additionally, if you know for a fact that you've already added a certain Pokémon to your Dex, but "???" is appearing above its head in the wild, then you know it's a Ditto. For example, I had already caught a Murkrow, but then I saw one with question marks above its head, which meant it was actually the purple blob in disguise.
Breeding Ditto with the Masuda Method
As mentioned previously, Ditto can breed with most Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet, so you'll want to have it in your party when you go picnicking. To ensure that a specific Pokémon Egg appears, just have Ditto and the Pokémon you want to breed in your party and place the others in boxes for now. Then wait a while and Eggs will start appearing in the picnic basket.
Your odds of breeding Shiny Pokémon in Eggs starts at a base rate of 1/4096, but your chances greatly increase to 1/683.08 if the two Pokémon you're breeding are from different nationalities. This is referred to as the Masuda Method after its creator, Junichi Masuda. For example, if you have a Ditto that was originally caught by someone in France and you're breeding it with a Swablu caught in the US. So it's a good idea to try and trade your Ditto for another Ditto from a different country. Then you'll be all set for increasing your Shiny Egg chances.
Hiding as other Pokémon
Ditto is a sneaky Pokémon since it won't be who it appears to be. You'll need to interact with each Pokémon in Ditto's habitat to see if it changes into its normal self. Then work to get its health down and catch it with a Poké Ball. Good luck hunting this blob down and don't forget to try and trade it with another Ditto from a different country if you can.
