DP173

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！？  - Transformation Battle! Which One is the Real One!?) is the 173rd episode of the, 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.

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 Marina, a feisty girl who is devoted to them. But when Ash challenges her to a battle, Marina 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. Marina 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 Marina's Ditto duo! An intense battle ensues, and with Brock's help and advice, Marina gets her Ditto back...and Team Rocket is sent blasting off again!

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

Plot
and are in a clearing near the Valor Lakefront, doing some last minute training ( for the Grand Festival and Ash for his battle against Volkner). Dawn orders to use  while Ash tells  to use. 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, places some food on a table to prepare lunch.

Back to the training, Dawn tells the now-recovered Piplup to spin while using. 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 is ordered to use 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. 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 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. 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, 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, are spying on the group. Jessie fantasizes that she is an actress who can transform into any role as smoothly as Ditto. This causes to come up with the idea of stealing the two Ditto and giving them to. explains that the boss might be hiking in the mountains one day when he chances upon and  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 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. Ditto Two then transforms into. Narissa checks her Pokédex to see what moves Infernape has and finds out that Ash's Infernape knows and. 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 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, but once more Dawn questions her choice as moves aren't effective against Electric types. Ash's Pikachu easily brushes away Ditto's Iron Tail. Ash orders Pikachu to use while Narissa counters with. 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 during a battle and scared off her opponent (a Trainer with a  and ), 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 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 while both Ditto One and Two transform into  as well. They both use 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 against Narissa's two transformed. The two Ditto use 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, and tells it to use and escapes. Ash calls out his 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.

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 and Narissa tells her Ditto to transform into  to use the  advantage over 's. Carnivine uses but the two Ditto dodge it and counters with. 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 over  advantage. Ditto Two transforms into Gible and use, 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 by three : his own  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

 * and arrive at Valor Lakefront for the Sinnoh Grand Festival.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * Narissa
 * s (fantasy; ×6)
 * Trainer (flashback)
 * Unnamed girl
 * s (fantasy; ×6)
 * Trainer (flashback)
 * Unnamed girl

Pokémon

 * (Narissa's; Ditto 1)
 * (Narissa's; ; Ditto 2)
 * (Trainer's; flashback)
 * (Trainer's; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (Narissa's; Ditto 1)
 * (Narissa's; ; Ditto 2)
 * (Trainer's; flashback)
 * (Trainer's; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (Narissa's; ; Ditto 2)
 * (Trainer's; flashback)
 * (Trainer's; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Examination:
 * 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 intentionally fires  on.
 * A 's and  running in fear is somewhat ironic since they are Ground types and thus immune to 's Electric moves.

Errors

 * 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 imitation, the Pikachu at the left has its left ear all black.
 * In the third and 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 while practicing for the Grand Festival, the bubbles disappear.
 * When the Ditto are transformed into, 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.

Dub edits

 * In the original Japanese, the two Ditto speak human language when they've transformed into Meowth. This was changed in the dub, where Meowth still speaks human but the Ditto say "Meowth".

In other languages
Das doppelte Ditto! EP642 DP173 DP173 DP編第173話 精灵宝可梦 钻石＆珍珠 第171集