BODY: There's something irresistibly funny about Ditto pretending to be a menacing ghost—and failing adorably. The "Transform! Ditto" (へんしん！メタモン) line returns July 11 with a fresh batch of goods, and the star of the show is a Spiritomb whose usual sinister glare has been swapped for two tiny, blank, blinking eyes.
Pokémon announced the new merchandise for release at Pokémon Center locations across Japan. Plushies are priced at ¥2,200 each, while the smaller keychain-style mascots come in at ¥1,870 each. The line's whole gimmick is that these aren't the real Pokémon—they're Ditto doing its best (and slightly off-model) impression, complete with the signature vacant expression.
The Spiritomb entry is the clear conversation piece. In-game, Spiritomb is a genuinely unsettling creature—108 souls bound to an Odd Keystone. As a round-eyed Ditto knockoff, it becomes something you'd want to squeeze rather than exorcise. Expect the rest of the assortment to follow the same formula, turning intimidating or elegant Pokémon into charmingly derpy purple blobs.
The "Transform! Ditto" series has quietly become one of Pokémon Center's most reliable evergreen collections, with new characters cycling in throughout the year. Each drop tends to move fast among collectors chasing a complete set.
The insider take
From Tokyo, the "Henshin! Metamon" line is a masterclass in how The Pokémon Company keeps a decades-old franchise feeling fresh: instead of new characters, it reframes familiar ones through a single, endlessly repeatable joke. These launches are timed like clockwork and are a staple of Pokémon Center foot traffic—expect the flagship stores in Ikebukuro and Shibuya to sell through popular entries within days. For overseas fans, the mascots' pocket size and lower price point make them the go-to souvenir, and resale demand on secondary markets typically spikes the moment a genuinely weird pick like sad-eyed Spiritomb appears.
Originally reported by GAME Watch (Japanese).