Ditto For Ditto


Training Pokémon to become skilled at battles is tough work. Certain Pokémon species award your Pokémon with a value called an Effort Value (or EV) that increases a specific stat based on the Pokémon that was fought. With a Pokémon infected with Pokérus that is holding a held item like the Macho Brace or Power Anklet, these stats can grow EXTREMELY well. You mostly want to fight Pokémon that give 3 Effort Values for a stat, but these Pokémon are either incredibly rare in the wild or are owned by certain Trainers in the game.

That's where Ditto comes in.


Using Ditto, it's possible to train your Pokémon without spending hours searching for one that will give you the right stat boosts. This trick works with just about any Pokémon game where Ditto can be found in the wild. (Except for the Original and GS series games due to technical differences in how values are calculated.) But for this guide, I'll use Pokémon Brilliant Diamond Version.

The Technique


Take out the Pokémon you want to train from the PC alongside the Pokémon with the EVs you're looking for. Once you have these two Pokémon with you, you'll then need to search for Ditto. The easiest place to find them would be in either Dazzling Cave or Stargleam Cavern in the Grand Underground.



Set the Pokémon with the EVs you want to obtain at the top of the party roster and run into a Ditto. Let the Pokémon you just sent out use a move that doesn't knock Ditto out. It will use Transform and turn into the Pokémon you're currently using.



On the next turn, switch out the Pokémon Ditto transformed into with the one you want to train. After swapping Pokémon, take out the opposing Pokémon with a move that's super effective to ensure that it's knocked out in a single hit.



There are a lot of good choices for Pokémon you can use to obtain the right Effort Values. But I think these 6 should be the easiest to benefit from.

Pokémon Effort Value Given

Clefable
 HP(3)

Luxray
 Attack(3)

Golem
 Defense(3)

Beautifly
 Special Attack(3)

Bellossom
 Special Defense(3)

Jumpluff
 Speed(3)




It also helps if the Pokémon you want to get EVs from also knows weak attacks or has a geniunely poor moveset. (Which is why I recommend the six listed above.) This makes it easier to prevent Ditto from fainting, but it also turns it into a punching bag since it has no attacks that could do massive damage to the Pokémon you want to train. Keep defeating Ditto until your Pokémon's stats are completely maxed out.



Once you've fully trained one stat, use a different Pokémon who can give 3 EVs to another. Rinse and repeat for whichever Pokémon you want to train next.

Why It Works

When Ditto uses Transform, it copies the moves and stats of the Pokémon that has been targeted. It even copies abilities and weight. What you might not know is that Transform also copies the targeted Pokémon's Effort Values. A Ditto transformed into Pikachu would give the same amount of EVs as any other Pikachu. (Which is two.) This is why this technique is incredibly useful for training Pokémon for battles. (Even those at very low levels.)


Ditto isn't that easy to come by in certain Pokémon games. (Especially in the Scarlet and Violet versions.) But if the game doesn't let you challenge Trainers with the Pokémon you're looking for to a rematch or the Pokémon can't be found in the wild at all, your best chance is to work with Ditto.

Aim for a powerful collection of Pokémon who can take on any challenge!

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