DP173

← DP172 : With the Easiest of Grace!

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

DP174 : Last Call—First Round! →

Dealing With a Fierce Double Ditto Drama!

DP173   EP639 メタモン・へんしんバトル！本物はドッチ～ニョ！？ Metamon - Transformation Battle! Which One is the Real One!?

First broadcast Japan April 22, 2010 United States September 11, 2010

English themes Opening We Will Carry On! Ending

Japanese themes Opening サイコー・エブリディ！ Ending ドッチ～ニョ？

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 米村正二 Shōji Yonemura Storyboard 大庭秀昭 Hideaki Ōba Assistant director 近橋伸隆 Nobutaka Chikahashi Animation director 木下和栄 Kazue Kinoshita No additional credits are available at this time.

Screenshots on Filb.de

Dealing With a Fierce Double Ditto Drama! (Japanese: メタモン・へんしんバトル！本物はドッチ～ニョ！？ Metamon - Transformation Battle! Which One is the Real One!?) is the 173rd episode of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, and the 639th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on April 22, 2010 and in the United States on September 11, 2010.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Blurb

Ash and the gang are practicing in a forest on their way to the Grand Festival. They come across what appears to be another Piplup, and then Pikachu...and then, one by one, all of their other Pokémon seem to appear in pairs! It turns out that a duo of transforming Ditto are mimicking their Pokémon!

The two Ditto are with Trainer Narissa, a feisty girl who is devoted to them. But when Ash challenges her to a battle, Narissa shows her inexperience. Brock explains that she needs to learn the moves of the other Pokémon that her Ditto transform into if she wants to battle successfully. Narissa breaks down and tells them that her feisty nature is really a cover-up: she's usually very nice and gentle.

Brock offers to teach her some of the strategy about different types of Pokémon in battle. Just then, Team Rocket decides to steal Narissa's Ditto duo! An intense battle ensues, and with Brock's help and advice, Narissa gets her Ditto back...and Team Rocket is sent blasting off again!

As our heroes bid farewell to Narissa, it appears that she has feelings for Brock, but he runs off to flirt with yet another girl! Narissa decides being tough is still the way to go, and our heroes resume their journey to Lake Valor and the Grand Festival!

Plot

Ash and his friends are in a clearing near the Valor Lakefront, doing some last minute training (Dawn for the Grand Festival and Ash for his battle against Volkner). Dawn orders Piplup to use Whirlpool while Ash tells Gible to use Draco Meteor. The failed Draco Meteor hits Piplup (again), destroying his Whirlpool and also knocking him out in the process. As a result, Dawn gets angry at Ash and tells him that he should have picked another place to train Gible. Ash apologizes. Meanwhile, Brock places some food on a table to prepare lunch.

Back to the training, Dawn tells the now-recovered Piplup to spin while using Bubble Beam. Dawn compliments Piplup for his beautiful execution but Piplup waves as if saying, "It was nothing". Piplup is sent to rest while Dawn sends out Togekiss. Togekiss is ordered to use Sky Attack while Piplup takes a nap in the shade of a nearby tree. Unbeknownst to him, the bushes beside him rustle and a pair of circular glowing white eyes appears.

Piplup is shown to have fallen asleep. Brock calls everyone to lunch, which gets the attention of the Pokémon hiding in the bushes. Piplup jumps onto the table laden with food and begins to eat all of the Pokémon food. Brock tries to stop Piplup but to no avail. His shouting attracts the attention of Ash and Dawn. Dawn scolds Piplup and demands it to stop, however, Piplup refuses. The commotion awakes Dawn's Piplup sleeping under the tree and he runs to the group, thus confusing everyone. The Piplup on the table then jumps into Dawn's arms, much to the anger of Dawn's Piplup. He knocks the Piplup in Dawn's arms onto the ground and the two begin to fight. To find out which is the real Piplup, Gible unleashes Draco Meteor, which hits the real Piplup, thus telling the two Piplup apart. While Dawn races to pick up her unconscious Piplup, it is revealed that there are now two Togekiss too. Brock suggests that Dawn use her Poké Ball to call her real Togekiss back. Dawn uses the Poké Ball and the Togekiss on the left is called back into the Ball.

When they turned their heads, they now see two Pikachu. Brock is lost as to what to do since Ash's Pikachu doesn't like to be called back into its Ball. Ash tells him not to worry because he, unlike Dawn, can tell which Pikachu is the real one. Ash pats the Pikachu on the left, saying that that's his Pikachu, but the Pikachu on the right shocks him. As a result, he then pats the Pikachu on the right but the other Pikachu once more shocks him. The two Pikachu then have a battle by making various Pokémon imitations. However, each Pikachu is able to keep up with the other's imitations and the two soon give up, tired.

Dawn laughs at Ash's failed attempts at differentiating and two Piplup are heard agreeing with her. The Piplup in her arms jumps down and once more, attacks the Piplup on the ground. Ash considers using Gible's Draco Meteor again but, when he turns around, he finds two Gible fighting with one another.

A girl appears out of the woods and asks if Ash and his friends saw her companions. The two Piplup and Gible stop fighting and one of each pair looks at the girl in fright. After being scolded, the two Pokémon transformed back into Ditto, one of which is a Shiny Pokémon. Dawn scans the Ditto in her Pokédex. The group then expresses their wonder over the color of the Shiny Ditto. The girl explains that the two Ditto are her companions: Ditto One and Ditto Two. However, they are very mischievous and like to play pranks so they often disappear. On cue, the Shiny Ditto transforms into Piplup and the regular Ditto transforms into Pikachu.

The group then introduce themselves. The girl reveals herself as Narissa, Rissa for short. Dawn comments on how cute the nickname sounds and Narissa asks Dawn if she's making fun of her. Narissa explains that her townspeople call her "The Rumbler", only to get more and more angry when Ash reveals his ignorance of the name. Brock asks her if she is traveling by herself and she replies that she is a "wandering Pokémon Trainer", whose dream is to be the top Pokémon Master. Ash is excited that they share a common dream but Narissa only makes fun of Ash, calling him a noob, even though she only started her journey a month ago. Brock asks her if she has any Badges and she proudly replies that she has none. She explains that she was so powerful that all the Gym Trainers ran off scared before she could challenge them to a Gym battle. Dawn thinks she is lying.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket are spying on the group. Jessie fantasizes that she is an actress who can transform into any role as smoothly as Ditto. This causes Meowth to come up with the idea of stealing the two Ditto and giving them to the Boss. Meowth explains that the boss might be hiking in the mountains one day when he chances upon Giratina and Regigigas battling with each other. Of course, the boss would want to try to capture them… only to fail. At this time, the boss could tell the two Ditto to Transform into Giratina and Regigigas respectively. It would feel as if the boss actually caught the two legendary Pokémon, thank the trio, and give them their long sought for promotion. James ruins the celebration by noting that it's only a "quick fix" but the rest of the team hardly cares.

Ash challenges Narissa to a Pokémon battle, but Narissa mistakes his meaning, thinking that he wants a human battle. Narissa proudly exclaims that she is unbeatable. Brock offers to be the referee and asks what Pokémon Narissa has, to which she reveals she only has her two Ditto. Brock decides that the battle will be a two-on-two battle.

The battle starts and Narissa sends out Ditto Two (the Shiny Ditto) while Ash sends out Infernape. Ditto Two then transforms into Infernape. Narissa checks her Pokédex to see what moves Infernape has and finds out that Ash's Infernape knows Flame Wheel and Mach Punch. However, she has no idea what Flame Wheel is. Ash calls for Infernape to use Flame Wheel and Narissa's Ditto uses Flame Wheel too. The two collide and cancel each other out. Dawn explains that Ditto seems to know whatever moves the Pokémon it transformed into. Ash's Infernape uses Mach Punch and Narissa's Ditto uses Mach Punch too. The two hit each other in the face with Mach Punch and, for a brief moment, the two seem to be evenly matched, but then the two break apart and Narissa's Ditto is sent flying back. It's knocked unconscious and returns to its original Shiny Ditto form.

Narissa calls Ditto Two back into its Poké Ball and sends out Ditto One. Ash recalls Infernape and sends out Pikachu. Narissa isn't sure what Pokémon her Ditto One should transform into. She sees Dawn's Piplup and tells Ditto One to transform into Piplup. Dawn expresses her concern since Water types are weak against Electric types. Narissa exclaims that she knows what she's doing. Ash's Pikachu uses Thunderbolt and hits Ditto One straight on. Narissa realizes her mistake and tells Ditto One to transform into Pikachu. After using her Pokédex to determine what moves Ash's Pikachu knows, Narissa tells Ditto One to use Iron Tail, but once more Dawn questions her choice as Steel-type moves aren't effective against Electric types. Ash's Pikachu easily brushes away Ditto's Iron Tail. Ash orders Pikachu to use Quick Attack while Narissa counters with Volt Tackle. Dawn once more tells Narissa that Volt Tackle is a move that will cause recoil damage. The two Pikachu collide and an explosion occurs. Ash's Pikachu lands on its feet with a smooth somersault while Ditto One is thrown back and revealed to be unconscious. As a result, Ash wins the battle two-to-zero.

Narissa is hardly happy about her loss and swears revenge against Ash. Dawn and Brock criticize her because it's not good sportsmanship. Narissa then reveals that her Ditto once transformed into Zapdos during a battle and scared off her opponent (a Trainer with a Cubone and Marowak), thus making her Ditto the strongest Pokémon ever. Dawn notes that Narissa didn't actually win the battle but Narissa doesn't care. "A win is a win" after all. Brock, as a result, gets angry and tells Narissa that she needs to study more about her Pokémon if she ever hopes to grow as a Trainer. This causes Narissa to fall to her knees and cry as she reveals the truth. She also said that she lied of being "the Rumbler" at home.

Back home, Narissa was as "scared as she could be" and only dressed up as Flint because she had always admired the Elite Four and wanted to look strong. Brock offers to teach her more about Ditto and they start by reviewing her battle with Ash. For example, instead of transforming into Infernape, Ditto Two should have transformed into a Water-type like Piplup. Next up is a lesson on Ash's Pikachu, which knows move types other than its Electric-type to make use of the type-advantage in battles.

Brock and Narissa then have a battle with one another to help Ditto gain more experience. Brock uses his Happiny while both Ditto One and Two transform into Happiny as well. They both use Pound and Brock's Happiny is knocked back. Brock tells Happiny to retaliate with Pound as well and Ditto One and Two are sent flying into the forest. Both Ash and Dawn are surprised at Happiny's strength.

After Ditto One and Two have recovered, the battle resumes, this time with his Sudowoodo against Narissa's two transformed Sudowoodo. The two Ditto use Hammer Arm but Brock's Sudowoodo blocks them and retaliates with its own Hammer Arm. The two Ditto block the attack but are barely hanging in there when a net suddenly falls over them. It's Team Rocket and they have the two Ditto caught in their net. Narissa begs for Team Rocket to return her Ditto but they refused. Ash prepares to attack with Pikachu but before he can make a move, Jessie chooses her Seviper, and tells it to use Haze and escapes. Ash calls out his Staraptor to locate Team Rocket.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket releases the two Ditto from their net and the Ditto immediately transform into Meowth. They could not tell which Meowth is theirs. The real Meowth tells Jessie and James to use their brain to determine which one is the real Meowth. The two Ditto then transform into Wobbuffet. James suggests to ship all three Wobbuffet to the boss but Jessie refuses, revealing that she does care for her Wobbuffet.

Ash and the group catch up to Team Rocket and the two Ditto walked back to Narissa. Ash is about to send out Pikachu but Narissa offers to battle. James sends out Carnivine and Narissa tells her Ditto to transform into Staraptor to use the Flying-type advantage over Carnivine's Grass-type. Carnivine uses Bullet Seed but the two Ditto dodge it and counters with Aerial Ace. The attacks hit their mark and Carnivine is sent flying back.

Jessie then sends out her Seviper and Ash sends out his Gible to use the Ground-type over Poison-type advantage. Ditto Two transforms into Gible and use Dig, while Ditto One, still as a Staraptor, uses Quick Attack. Both Carnivine and Seviper are knocked back into Team Rocket. Ash decides to use Thunderbolt against Team Rocket, and the two Ditto transform into Pikachu. They use a triple Thunderbolt, which causes an explosion to occur and Team Rocket is sent blasting off.

Ash and the group bid farewell to Narissa. Narissa seems to have developed a crush on Brock, and hints to Brock. However, Brock notices another girl passing by the forest and immediately professes his love to her. He is then attacked by three Croagunk: his own Croagunk and two others transformed from Ditto. He is then dragged off by his own Croagunk. Narissa is angry at Brock's "betrayal" and once more, says that Flint is the "only one for her" as she leaves.

The group finally reaches Lake Valor and Dawn prepares herself for the Grand Festival.

Major events

• Ash and his friends arrive at Valor Lakefront for the Sinnoh Grand Festival.

For a list of all major events in the animated series, please see the history page.

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Dawn
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Giovanni (fantasy)
• Flint (fantasy)
• Narissa
• Team Rocket Grunts (fantasy; ×6)
• Trainer (flashback)
• Unnamed girl

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Piplup (Dawn's)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Staraptor (Ash's)
• Infernape (Ash's)
• Gible (Ash's)
• Togekiss (Dawn's)
• Sudowoodo (Brock's)
• Croagunk (Brock's)
• Happiny (Brock's)
• Seviper (Jessie's)
• Carnivine (James's)
• Ditto (Narissa's; Ditto 1)
• Ditto (Narissa's; Shiny; Ditto 2)
• Marowak (Trainer's; flashback)
• Cubone (Trainer's; flashback)
• Zapdos (flashback)
• Giratina (fantasy)
• Regigigas (fantasy)

Trivia

• Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Examination: Wobbuffet
  • The lecture marks the first animated appearance of a female Wobbuffet, which displays the lipstick that is present on female Wobbuffet in the games.
• This is the first episode where Gible intentionally fires Draco Meteor on Piplup.

Errors

• When first speaking with Narissa, a small piece of Dawn's face, next to her right eyebrow, is colored green instead of skin color.
• During the battle between Ash and Narissa, Ditto would revert to its natural form before Transforming into another Pokémon; later in the episode, however, when changing from Staraptor and Gible to Pikachu, both Ditto made a direct transformation instead.
• There were several errors in the scene where Ditto and Pikachu are imitating other Pokémon, such as:
  • In the Budew imitation, the Pikachu at the left has its left ear all black.
  • In the third and Loudred imitation, the Pikachu at the left has its right cheek missing.
  • During their Seviper and Budew imitation, both Pikachu have their nose missing.
• After Piplup uses Bubble Beam while practicing for the Grand Festival, the bubbles disappear.
• When the Ditto are transformed into Wobbuffet, Jessie's Wobbuffet is in the middle, but soon after, when they Transform back into Ditto, Wobbuffet is on the right.
• When Team Rocket throws the net on Ditto 1 and 2, they are still transformed into Sudowoodo, but in the next scene, they are Ditto, despite not shown transforming.
• When Brock flirts with a girl, his eyebrows are missing.
• When Jessie's Seviper and James's Carnivine are sent flying into Team Rocket, Seviper's lower jaw is colored black instead of yellow.

• 

  The missing cheek

• 

  All-black ear

• 

  Green on Dawn's face

Dub edits

• In the original Japanese version, the two Ditto speak human language when they have transformed into Meowth. This was changed in the dub, where Meowth still speaks human but the Ditto say "Meowth".
• In the English dub, Ash says he could have Gible use Draco Meteor again as a way of telling the two Piplup apart. In the original Japanese version, he says he shouldn't use it again.
• In the original Japanese version, Narissa uses a pun of the word "yankee" to describe herself. Yankee can mean American, or it can also mean hooligan or punk. Ash thinks she is saying Mankey instead. In the English dub, she says she is a rumbler, and there is no confusion on Ash's part.
• In the English dub, Team Rocket uses a different motto. In the original Japanese version, they recite their normal motto.
• In the English dub, while the trio is blasting off, Meowth says being hit by three Thunderbolts is over-the-top, and he fears the thought of dealing with three times the amount of twerps. In the original Japanese version, Meowth does a play on words with Thunderbolt's Japanese name, saying they were hit with an attack three times as powerful; he calls it "300,000 volts".

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		百變怪・變身對戰！本尊是哪邊咧！？
Czech		Drama s dvěma Ditty
Danish		Et voldsomt dobbelt-Ditto drama!
Dutch		Een Dubbel Ditto Drama!
Finnish		Ditto-Duon tuomaa draamaa!
European French		Le drame du féroce double Métamorph
German		Das Doppelte Ditto!
Indonesian		Pertarungan Transformasi Ditto! Yang Asli yang Mana!?
Italian		I due Ditto!
Korean		메타몽 변신 과연 진짜는 누구?!
Norwegian		Hanskes med et heftig dobbelt Ditto drama!
Polish		Podwójny Ditto dramat!
Portuguese	Brazil	Lidando com uma Fera em Dose Dupla!!
	Portugal	Ditto a Dobrar, Azar a Dobrar
European Spanish		Enfrentamiento con el fiero equipo Ditto
Swedish		Hamna mitt i ett vilt dubbel-Ditto drama!

← DP172 : With the Easiest of Grace!

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

DP174 : Last Call—First Round! →

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.