WEBVTT - The Monstrefact: Ditto, a Pokémon

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind focusing on mythical creatures, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>and monsters in time. My son and I recently watched

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<v Speaker 1>the two thousand nineteen live action film Pokemon Detective Pikachu,

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<v Speaker 1>a surprisingly watchable, big budget special effects feature that takes

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<v Speaker 1>the world of evolving, battling cartoon monsters and blends them

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<v Speaker 1>into a sort of Blade Runner esque future world in

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<v Speaker 1>which exotic, cute, supernatural creatures are just a part of

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<v Speaker 1>everyday life. Plus Bill Nigh is in it, and he's

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<v Speaker 1>always great. This film is, of course, an endless parade

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<v Speaker 1>of Pokemon, some central to the plot, others merely cameos

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<v Speaker 1>in the film. For today's Monster Fact, I'd like to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about the Pokemon Ditto, known in Japan as Metamn.

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<v Speaker 1>I turned to a guest researcher and writer for help

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<v Speaker 1>on this episode, my son Sebastian. Sebastian rites Ditto the

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<v Speaker 1>transformed Pokemon a normal type. It's weak against fighting tips.

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<v Speaker 1>Did can we arrange its DNA to match any other Pokemon?

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<v Speaker 1>When In this form, it can imitate at taps to

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<v Speaker 1>know is it Ditto do yes? Ditto who appears as

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<v Speaker 1>a short pink blob with dots for eyes, is a

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<v Speaker 1>shape shifter. In the movie Pokemon Detective Pikachu, we see

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<v Speaker 1>it transform into various human characters as well as a

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<v Speaker 1>few powerful Pokemon monsters, but especially when in human form,

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<v Speaker 1>the eyes give it away. As we've discussed on the

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast, this is a frequent

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<v Speaker 1>detail in various tales and traditions of shape shifting monsters,

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<v Speaker 1>from dem incubi and succupy to the forest dwelling Leshy.

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<v Speaker 1>There's always a detail that the shape shifter gets wrong.

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<v Speaker 1>It might be uh using duck feed instead of human feed,

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<v Speaker 1>or making the buttons backwards, but there's often something to

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<v Speaker 1>provide the hero of our story with a chance to

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<v Speaker 1>see through the deceptive disguise. The natural world is home

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<v Speaker 1>to mimics and shape shifters as well, but the most

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<v Speaker 1>impressive maybe the mimic octopus them Octopus mimicus. While other

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<v Speaker 1>octopus species use their chromatophores and versatile bodies to resemble

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<v Speaker 1>parts of their environment, the mimic octopus takes on the

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<v Speaker 1>form of other animal species. As Norman at All pointed

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<v Speaker 1>out in Dynamic Mimicry in an Indo Malayan Octopus, the

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<v Speaker 1>mimic octopus takes the form of quote poisonous or distasteful animals,

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<v Speaker 1>and these include the flatfish, the lionfish, the banded sea snake,

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<v Speaker 1>jelly fishes, and possibly see an enemies as well. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know what you think, but that seems like

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<v Speaker 1>quite a diverse selection of creatures, almost as diverse as

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<v Speaker 1>any given page from the Pokemon Bestieri. As the researchers

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<v Speaker 1>point out, human interpretations of potential mimicries in the mimic

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<v Speaker 1>octopus are subjective, so we have to be careful about

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<v Speaker 1>jumping to conclusions about what they are pretending to be.

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<v Speaker 1>But also they continue to be the subject of scientific study.

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<v Speaker 1>But it just goes to show that no matter how

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<v Speaker 1>weird and amazing the monster or Pokemon may seem to be,

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<v Speaker 1>the natural world probably equals or exceeds it somewhere. Tune

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<v Speaker 1>in for additional episodes of The Monster Fact or the

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<v Speaker 1>Artifact each week. As always, you can email us at

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<v Speaker 1>contact at Stuff to Blow Your Mind dot com MHM

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind is a production of I

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio. For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit

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