I believe you observed this because Ditto ' s capture rate is on the low end same as the starters ', so you ' d have a harder time catching it by default . <| sep |> GIFV linkI am a bot . bot <| sep |> Sounding similar sounding indistinguishable . ' Could of ' has an extremely short pause or break between ' could ' and ' of , ' whereas ' could ' ve ' has no pause or break . It ' s similar to the difference between saying ' loveless , ' and ' love less . ' I have a loveless life . That ' s a love less than favorable . Additionally There ' s the presence of an O sound before the V sound in ' could of ' that is missing in ' could ' ve . ' The differences are extremely subtle , and I can understand how you might miss them , or perhaps how your particular region ' s accent can mask them , but the differences are still there . Hearing someone say yes , say ' could of ' is excruciating .