BODY: Ditto has always been the ultimate impersonator, and Pokémon Center's beloved "Transform! Ditto" (へんしん！メタモン) series leans hard into the joke: what if Ditto's copies were just slightly wrong? The line's newest wave, arriving July 11, adds a fresh batch of these charmingly imperfect knockoffs — and fans are already zeroing in on one standout.
The breakout of this release is Spiritomb, the notoriously creepy Ghost/Dark-type made of 108 trapped spirits. In Ditto's hands, its usually menacing swirl of forbidden faces gets softened into a pair of big, round, innocent eyes (つぶらな瞳). It's a delightful tonal whiplash that captures exactly why this series works — the gag lives in the gap between the original and the copy.
Pricing stays consistent with previous waves. The larger plushies (ぬいぐるみ) are priced at ¥2,200 each, while the smaller mascot keychains (マスコット) come in at ¥1,870 each. Both formats will be available at Pokémon Center locations nationwide as well as the online Pokémon Center store.
The "Transform! Ditto" series has become a reliable evergreen for Pokémon Center, rotating in new species regularly and building a collectible ecosystem that rewards fans who chase the full set. Each addition is essentially two products in one — a plush of a Pokémon, filtered through Ditto's slightly-melted aesthetic.
The insider take
Here in Tokyo, the "Henshin! Metamon" line is one of those merch series that quietly moves serious volume. The appeal is deceptively smart: rather than making straight plushies, Pokémon Center turns every release into an in-joke that collectors want to complete. Spiritomb is a canny pick — it's a fan-favorite oddball whose inherent spookiness makes the wide-eyed Ditto treatment funnier than it would be for, say, a Pikachu. Expect the mascot version especially to sell through fast at flagship stores like Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo.
Originally reported by GAME Watch (Japanese).