How to Get Dig in Pokémon Emerald

Last Updated: November 12, 2022 References

In the Pokémon role playing video games, your character must capture and train creatures called Pokémon in order to advance through the game. Pokémon Emerald is one of the titles in this series of games and Dig is an ability you can teach your Pokémon in it. Dig, also known as TM28, is a ground-type ability that can also be used to bypass certain obstacles and escape back to the entrance of dangerous areas, like caves and dungeons. In each game, this ability is obtained differently.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using the Technical Machine (TM)

1
Travel to Fallarbor Town. This town can be found in northwest part of Hoenn. It’s a small farming community with a Contest Hall. To the west of this town, you'll find Route 114.Go there and find the Fossil Maniac's house, which will be located on that route.^{[1]
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Talk to the Fossil Manic’s brother. Inside the Fossil Maniac's house you'll find a character awaiting you. This is the Fossil Maniac's brother, and simply by talking to him you will receive TM28 (Dig).
- Be sure you get this item as soon as it is available to you. You can miss out on it, in which case you'll have to find and raise a Pokémon that naturally learns Dig if you want to get the ability.^{[2]
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Use TM28 (Dig) on a Pokémon of your choice. You might want to choose one of your commonly used Pokémon to have this ability. This way, when you're training or traveling through dangerous areas, like caves, tall grass, and dungeons, you can escape to the entrance of the area with Dig if necessary. You might also give this ability to a Pokémon you don't plan on using much so you don't have to sacrifice valuable ability slots, as each Pokémon can only have a maximum of five abilities at any time.
- TM's are one-time use items. This means if you trade the Pokémon you teach TM28 to, you won't be able to teach the ability to another Pokemon. In this situation, you'll have to raise a Pokémon that learns Dig naturally.^{[3]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Capturing and Training a Pokemon to Dig

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Identify Pokémon in the game that learn Dig. If you have missed out on the TM, you're going to have to find, capture, and train a Pokémon that naturally learns the ability Dig in order to get it. In Pokémon Emerald, there are only two naturally appearing Pokémon in the game that learn Dig: Nincada and Trapinch.^{[4]
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Find the best areas to hunt these Pokemon. Some Pokémon can be found through the in-game world, others are only located in certain areas. Both Nincada and Trapinch, however, can be found in the region of Hoenn. To find these Pokémon you'll need to:
- Go to Route 116 to find Nincada. This route is in western Hoenn; it connects to Rustboro City and Rusturf Tunnel. Walk in this area until you randomly encounter Nincada.^{[6]
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- Travel to Route 111 or Mirage Tower to find Trapinch. Route 111 can be found in the main region of Hoenn. It connects Mauville City to Route 112. The Mirage Tower will appear at random in the desert along Route 111. Walk in this area until you randomly encounter Trapinch.^{[7]
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Capture the Pokemon. Pokémon have certain weaknesses and strengths. You might use these to your advantage when capturing Nincada and Trapinch. However, you should be careful not to do too much damage; doing so will result in the Pokémon fainting and you having to find a new one to capture.
- Nincada is a small bug-type Pokémon with a decent defense power. It is weak against flying, fire, water, and ice type attacks. It is strong against fighting, poison, and ground type attacks.
- Trapinch is also a ground-type Pokémon with decent attack power. It is weak against water, grass, and ice type attacks. It is strong against poison and rock attacks.^{[8]
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- Once Nincada or Trapinch is weakened by your attacks and has low HP, you'll have to throw a Pokeball to capture it. Be sure you have enough of your best Pokeballs in your inventory before leaving to capture one.
- If you find that your Pokémon are too strong and do too much damage to either of these wild Pokemon, you might want to use attacks Trapinch and Nincada are strong against. This will do reduced damage. This way, you can do small amounts of damage until the Pokémon is weakened enough for you to catch it.
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Train your Pokemon. You'll have to train Nincada to level 45 before it will learn the ability Dig, and Trapinch doesn't learn the skill until level 41. This means you'll have to fight other non-player trainers, fight randomly encounter Pokemon, use items (like Rare Candy) to raise its level, or take your Pokémon to the Daycare Center where it'll be trained for you.^{[9]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using a Cheat Cartridge to Get Dig

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Purchase a cheat cartridge. GameShark is one of the most popular brands of cheat cartridge, but there are many others you might use to get the Dig ability on your game.^{[10]
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- Cheat cartridges can be bought at most video game stores and electronics retailers. There are cheat cartridges available through online sellers and digital cheat programs that you can use for computer emulated games.
- If you intend on using a GameShark cheat cartridge, be certain you purchase version 2.1 or higher. Lower versions of GameShark will not work on color games.^{[11]
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Load your game with your cheat cartridge. This will bring up the code handler, where you will have to insert a code. You can find lists of codes for your cheat cartridge online. These codes need to be input into your code handler to give you items (like TM28, which teaches Dig), or can be used to add Pokemon that naturally learn the Dig ability to your team.
- Some cheat cartridges are buggy or are poorly adapted to certain games. In cases like these, you might have to plug your game into the cheat cartridge several times before it works correctly.^{[12]
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Insert the appropriate code. The code you use will depend on the way you intend on learning the Dig ability, either by TM or a Pokémon that learns the ability. You should be careful when inputting your code, as a single missed or incorrect character can result in a failed attempt or deleted/corrupted data. Some codes you might use include:^{[13]
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- The TM28 code: 82005274 013C
- The Nincada code: DA8A6B45 37694831
- The Tripinch code: E3F01278 4A26A70E
- Some codes are only intended for certain cheat cartridges. The cheat codes listed above should work for most common cheat cartridges.^{[14]
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Access your game data. You may have to restart your game and unplug it from the cheat cartridge, or you may be able to access your game data even with your cheat cartridge connected. This will depend on what kind of cartridge you use, but once you open your game data, you should find TM28 in your inventory, a new Pokémon friend on your team, or a modification to the random encounters of your map that allows you to find and catch your target Pokémon in an area you usually woulnd't be able to.

Warnings

Using a cheat cartridge can corrupt your data or damage your game. You should only use a cheat cartridge at your own risk.^{[16]
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