It turns out there are two species to see at the awesome Pokémon event.
For the third August in a row, the city of Yokohama, located on the coast 30 minutes south of Tokyo, is being graced by packs of Pocket Monsters in the annual Pikachu Outbreak event. That means if you’re walking around the Minato Mirai harbor district, you’re likely to see dozens of Pikachus parading, dancing, or otherwise gallivanting about. Look carefully, though, and you might find one more variety of Pokémon, like Japanese Twitter user @hinopika did.
While the above photo might look like a Pikachu squinting from the glare of all the camera flashes as the adoring public snaps pictures, fans of the Pokémon franchise will recognize that it’s actually Ditto, a shapeless creature that takes on the form of other Pokémon with uncanny ability…except in the facial features department, since no matter what creature he’s copying, Ditto always retains his customary beady eyes and perpetual grin.
Still, from behind, this transformed Ditto was a dead-ringer for the most famous Pokémon, so much so that @hinopika initially thought it was the real deal and called out “Pikachu!” It was only when the Pocket Monster turned around that @hinopika was tipped off to its true identity, prompting @hinopika to exclaim, “Oh, wait, it’s Ditto!”
But the determined Ditto wasn’t having it. Even after being called by its actual name, it shook its head side to side in denial. Figuring they were at an impasse, @hinopika decided to give in and call it Pikachu once again, which elicited wiggles of joy from the imposter, proving that just like dogs, every Ditto has its day.
Source: Twitter/@hinopika
Insert image: Pokémon official website
Follow Casey on Twitter, where he (probably) hasn’t been replaced by a typing Ditto.