Disclaimer: It's Sunday. And I do not own Pokémon. If I owned Pokémon I'd rule the world. If I owned any Pokémon I'd have a strange haircut, speak in Japanese, and be entirely indestructible.

He returned home just in time. The Miltank was beginning to get cold. Checking the soup one last time, he stepped into the kitchen. It wasn't very difficult; in his absence his parents had taken out the damaged wall in its entirety; there wasn't really much point in keeping it, anyway. His mother's Hitmontop had done most of the damage; right now his father's Azumarill was simply clearing away the debris, with the help of his father's Azumarill.

…

It was only on closer inspection that he realized one of the Azumarill had a Pokéball on its tail. Slapping his forehead, (something he was doing incredibly often these days) he picked the Azumarill up. Instantly it de-transformed into Ditto and dropped to the floor.

"The next time your parents need some chores done, Dit… that was tiring…"

Ditto sank into itself so it looked like a pink puddle on the floor.

"It's lucky we don't keep a Houndoom… or it might just lick you off the ground."

Frightened, Ditto transformed into a potato again.

"Ditto… if that's meant to be a defense mechanism it won't really work."

"Ash… stop playing with your Ditto and give us a hand!"

Sighing, he left the potato where it was and walked over to where his parents were unrolling a giant rug. It was as long as the house, and he'd no idea where they dragged it out from. Emblazoned on one side it bright yellow letters was a single word.

Welcome

He sat on his bed, watching as the Ditto watched him. In his hand he held the crushed remains of an Ultra ball. Next to him lay a pile of Pokéballs.

"What now?"

He voiced the question to the empty air around him, to the Ditto looking at him curiously, and the pile of Pokéballs which had all, strangely, failed to capture the Ditto. The PokéNav crackled as its voice came to life again.

To prevent other Trainers from stealing other trainers' Pokémon, all Pokéballs have been installed with safeguards; no Pokémon may be caught by more than a single Pokéball. Ever.

Ditto was still looking at him curiously. By that I don't mean it was curious or anything; it was just that, well, it was curious how Ditto might rearrange its facial features so its eyes were under its mouth. In that way it was curious. Yeah.

Waddling forward, Ditto stared into the glossy surface of the Pokéball, willing itself to enter it... and...

A few minutes later, Ash was ready to go, a bright green Pokéball attached to his belt.

The backpack was really killing him; he didn't know why his parents expected him to bring so many things when he was going to be able to rest at the next Pokémon center anyway. Like many others, he did intend to travel the world with his Pokémon and become a Pokémon master…

Not that there aren't already enough of them. For heaven's sake, one's crowned practically every year

But he was going to try and start small. Thus it was a big relief when someone finally challenged him, and he had a chance to put the heavy pack down.

The tall boy was standing just outside of town, leaning against a tree, as always. He was watching as his Rattata finished off another wild Pidgey. Looking around, he wondered why wild Pokémon always seemed to disappear down a plot-hole every time a battle was concluded. He had hardly taken three steps before the boy had noticed him. Of course, the three steps he'd taken had consisted of him falling down, standing up again, and falling down once more.

The boy's eyes quickly flicked to his belt, where he espied the Pokéball of garish green.

"So… you have Pokémon…"

Instantly he sprang to his feet, his Rattata by his side.

"Let's battle!"

Or that's what it would've sounded like, if he hadn't fallen over as well. After all, he didn't have anything to lean on.

Ash took off his backpack and helped the other boy to his feet. Now they were both standing, the battle could officially begin.

"Err… go, Ditto?"

He threw the green Pokéball, which fell to the ground and landed in a squishy mess.

"Eww… what kind of Pokéball is that…?"

But the green slime soon reformed itself. It was unmistakably a Ditto; albeit a green one.

"Ditto, you're green."

"Eh… oh."

The Ditto shook itself vigorously, and soon it was back to its original colour. If it had been a comic book, both trainers (and the Rattata) would've sweatdropped. (This is a strange thing that Japanese comic book heroes often do, just in case you don't know)

But back to the battle. The tall boy had collected himself. Now he shouted a command.

"Fang! Use tackle!"

Obviously he'd bothered naming his Pokémon. Which I haven't done. How typical. Me. Always the last to…

Ash hadn't even bothered saying anything. The Rattata tackled Ditto, sending it into a shivering fit of disgust as the pink slime left its head feeling cold and wet.

"You might want to rethink that strategy. Ditto, you know what to do…"

Ditto nodded, and, jumping back, began to transform.

"What…? An… a Hitmontop?"

Ash nodded. It was pink and green, but it was definitely a Hitmontop.

The battle wasn't going to last long.

The boy recalled his Rattata, beaten.

"That… that wasn't fair! Your Ditto's meant to only be able to transform into Fang over here!" The boy indicated the purple Ultra ball which contained his Rattata.

Ditto looked up at Ash, puzzled.

"Why?"

Ash shrugged.

Must be a custom I haven't heard of yet.

Grudgingly, the boy counted out a few hundred yen and handed it to Ash. Weighing the money in his hands, he watched the boy trundle back towards the Pokémon laboratory; presumably they'd installed a Pokémon recovery machine there.

So this is how Pokémon trainers survive…

Pocketing the money, he looked to Ditto.

"Return."

It clambered up his pants and onto his belt, then slowly transformed into the same, sickly green Pokéball. Ash tapped it gently.

"You're meant to be purple."

"I know. But we're both different, aren't we?"

He waited a moment, then, realizing it wasn't going to change colours, sighed.

It was his Ditto, after all.

A/N: I was fed up wondering why Ditto could never transform into anything but the Pokémon in front of them. So long as they learn how to utilize their bodies, it shouldn't normally be a problem… hopefully you lot will review… I'll be waiting!