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For this Ditto thread, I have several fun facts. In gen 1, due to a programming oversight only Ditto is intended to know Transform. Thus, if any other Pokemon is caught after having used Transform, it will be caught as a Ditto instead. Additionally, when a Ditto transforms into a target, it copies their base stats. Together, this means that if a Pokemon that knows Transform transforms and then somehow uses Transform again and is then caught, the stats it copied will be permanent when caught as a Ditto.
In gen 2, shininess is determined by Determinate Values. Only a select spread of DVs can enable shininess, and DVs are retained when a Pokemon is traded to gen 1, even if it can't appear shiny there. Hence, if you trade the Red Gyarados to gen 1, teach it Mimic, encounter a wild Ditto, mimic Transform, then let Ditto transform into Gyarados and use Transform again, then catch it, the resulting caught Ditto will have Gyarados' DV spread. This means when you trade it back to gen 2, it will be shiny. Very handy for both shiny breeding and just to have an additional free shiny.
