Much like in the core games, Ditto is very rare in Pokemon GO, disguising itself as a select few Pokemon each month and only revealing its true identity after being caught. Whenever a Pokemon GO player finds their first Ditto, it’s an exciting occasion that helps complete a difficult part of the Kanto Pokedex. From then on, there’s not much reason to collect Dittos. Ditto is pretty weak as far as Pokemon GO combat is concerned, and its low value in Pokemon GO is a stark contrast to its extremely high value as a breeding tool in other Pokemon games. Niantic should tweak Ditto’s role in Pokemon GO to reflect its true versatility.
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Ditto’s Place in Pokemon GO
As it stands, Ditto’s only reliable function is helping complete the Pokedex. Ditto’s iconic move Transform may have some niche utility, but since Transform doesn’t change Ditto’s low HP it’s a weaker move than it appears. Since Ditto isn’t much help in Raids or Gyms, it’s mostly just there to be collected. It’s a shame that Ditto does so little in Pokemon GO considering how useful it is in other games. In any game where players can breed Pokemon, Ditto is a huge help since it can breed with the overwhelming majority of Pokemon.
If Niantic wants to make Ditto more useful in Pokemon GO, integrating it into a new breeding mechanic seems like the way to go. Eggs already exist in Pokemon GO, but at the moment players can only get random monsters out of them. It would be great if players could hand off two compatible Pokemon to Professor Willow for a while, and then receive a special Egg that’ll hatch another version of the female Pokemon in the pair like in base games. Building this mechanic into Pokemon GO would simultaneously add a new dimension to Eggs and make Ditto far more valuable.
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Pokemon GO’s Endless Expansion
Even if Niantic doesn’t want to add Egg Groups and new Candy-colored Egg sprites to the game, it could find a new way to integrate Ditto into Eggs. Maybe Niantic could add a new option in which players spend Ditto Candy to have a Ditto incubate an Egg for them, rather than using one of the traditional Incubators. Since Ditto Candy is rare, it’d be a good limiting factor to keep players from dispensing with Incubators altogether. A mechanic like this would be a solid compromise between Ditto’s traditional usage and Pokemon GO’s habit of streamlining well-known facets of Pokemon.
Adding new breeding or incubating mechanics to Pokemon GO would be about more than just giving Ditto something new to do. It’s also about keeping Pokemon GO fresh with every update. Niantic only has a limited number of Pokemon left to add to Pokemon GO, so it would be wise to explore options for new content that doesn’t involve adding new monsters to the game. Breeding with Ditto is such a famous part of Pokemon that it seems like a perfect way to push Pokemon GO’s boundaries.
Pokemon GO is available now for Android and iOS devices.
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