Is Ditto a Mew clone? Exploring popular Pokemon fan theory

The world of Pokemon can be a very mysterious and dark place. Even in the early lore of the franchise, there was an advanced criminal organization taking over the region, vandalizing cemeteries and killing creatures, and that just scratches the surface. One particularly interesting theory about the world of the franchise points out some uncanny parallels between Ditto and the Mythical Mew.

Mew is an often-regarded subject in the lore around Kanto despite it not making a legitimate appearance in Red and Blue outside of glitches and giveaways. Most notably, Mew has deep ties to Mewtwo as they were attempting to clone the creature for several years leading up to the events of those games. So what exactly does this lore have to do with Ditto?

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Is Ditto a failed clone of Mew? A critical look at the Pokemon fan theory

Mew as seen in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

One of the biggest pieces of evidence that points to Mew and Ditto being connected is where Ditto can be found. Although Ditto could spawn in a variety of routes in Red and Blue, for whatever reason, Game Freak decided to switch this up in Pokemon Yellow, where Ditto could only be found in the Cinnabar Mansion and Cerulean Cave.

What makes these two locations special is that these are the locations tied to Team Rocket's cloning experiments utilizing Mew's DNA. The Cinnabar Mansion's basement is where the scientists experimented and eventually created Mewtwo, while Cerulean Cave is where Mewtwo resides during the events of the game.

In these first generation games, both Mew and Ditto were the only Pokemon capable of using the move Transform. This move grants Ditto its trademark ability to shapeshift, but this ability is rarely seen with Mew, only really appearing in PokePark, where Mewtwo serves as the final boss for Pikachu to battle, transforming between several different creatures.

Looking at Ditto's Pokedex entries, Game Freak seems to be very careful with how they describe the species, never really stating whether or not Ditto is natural or artificial, only focusing on its ability to change forms. Ditto's entries also never really confirm its "natural" habitat, but it can almost always be found near people.

While most theories have subjects from the game, manga, or anime to debunk them, this particular theory has never been addressed in any Pokemon media. This has only fueled the speculation that there is more to Ditto than meets the eye. There is no confirmation that Ditto and Mew are related, but the context clues are definitely present in the early days of the franchise.

Overall, the idea that Mew and Ditto are related is definitely interesting. The pieces are there to confirm the theory in-game, but Game Freak has been very quiet about the connection (if any). Considering how long it has been since Mew and Mewtwo held any lore significance in the series, it is likely that we will never get a definitive answer.