Introduced in generation one, with the original Pokemon Red, Blue, and Green games, Dugtrio is a monotype ground Pokemon. It also has a special Alolan form where it is a dual type ground and steel Pokemon. Dugtrio is the final evolution of Diglett and is classified as the “Mole Pokemon”, which implies its proficiency in digging. This guide will showcase Dugtrio’s capabilities in battle, its appearances in the anime, as well as other general facts about Dugtrio.
About Dugtrio
As one of the original 151 Pokemon of generation one, Dugtrio first appeared in the original series with the episode Dig Those Diglett!. From generation seven, Diglett and Dugtrio received a different variant to go along with the other special Alolan forms. Diglett and Alolan Diglett will evolve into Dugtrio/Alolan Dugtrio upon reaching level 26. The Pokedex confirms that Dugtrio are three separate entities that emerged from one body.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Original Series: Dig Those Diglett! |
| First appearance in game | Red/Green (Japan) Red/Blue (International) |
| Region | Kanto |
| Evolution | Evolves from Diglett, not known to evolve into any other Pokemon |
| 1st Evo level | 26 |
| 2nd Evo level | N/A |
| Pokedex Entry | Dugtrio are actually triplets that emerged from one body. As a result, each triplet thinks exactly like the other two triplets. They work cooperatively to burrow endlessly. |
Dugtrio Base Stats
(Regular Dugtrio, Generations 1-6)
| HP | 35 |
| ATTACK | 80 |
| DEFENCE | 50 |
| SP. ATTACK | 50 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 70 |
| SPEED | 120 |
| TOTAL | 405 |
(Regular Dugtrio, Generation 7+)
| HP | 35 |
| ATTACK | 100 |
| DEFENCE | 50 |
| SP. ATTACK | 50 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 70 |
| SPEED | 120 |
| TOTAL | 425 |
(Alolan Dugtrio)
| HP | 35 |
| ATTACK | 100 |
| DEFENCE | 60 |
| SP. ATTACK | 50 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 70 |
| SPEED | 110 |
| TOTAL | 425 |
Appearance
Dugtrio simply appears to be a group of three Digletts cooperating together and the Pokedex reveals that Dugtrio are triplets that emerged from the same body. Dugtrio resembles brown moles with pink noses. Their respective Alolan form has blonde “hair” that has different styles on each head of Dugtrio and this “hair” is likely from Pele’s hair, a form of lava glass fibers.
Behavior
Dugtrio are a trio of Diglett that formed from one body and as such all three heads think identically and they cooperate with each other to constantly dig. Each head will bob up and down at their own separate intervals to loosen the dirt beneath them and dig faster. According to the Pokedex they can burrow up to 60 miles per hour with them capable of digging so fast that it can cause earthquakes.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Surprisingly, Dugtrio’s biggest strength lies in its speed stat. This is atypical of a ground type Pokemon and likely not what people would expect from a trio of moles. Nevertheless, they are quick and have a decent physical attack to back them up. However, their health pool and resistances are very weak at making them susceptible to any form of damage. As a ground type Pokemon, Dugtrio is weak to water, grass, and ice type moves but they’re immune to electric type moves and will resist poison and rock type moves.
Alolan Dugtrio
Alolan Dugtrio is visually identical to regular Dugtrio save for the luxurious blonde hair that follows down each body. In terms of gameplay mechanics, Alolan Dugtrio also gains the steel type in addition to their ground type. This does add the weakness of fire, but includes an immunity to poison while granting a much wider range of resistances. Alolan Dugtrio is resistant to normal, flying, rock, bugg, steel, psychic, dragon, and fairy type moves which makes it far more resilient. Unfortunately, it does become a bit slower in favor of becoming more physically defensive.
Shiny Dugtrio
If you are not paying attention it could be very easy to miss a Shiny Dugtrio as almost the entirety of Shiny Dugtrio’s color palette remains the same except for its nose. A Shiny Dugtrio has a set of blue noses instead of pink noses. If you manage to stay focused, you can easily spot the difference between regular Dugtrio and Shiny Dugtrio. Like all shiny Pokemon, Shiny Dugtrio gains a starry animation upon entering battle.
Best Moveset
While Dugtrio’s statline points to it being an offensive Pokemon, it is best used as a supportive/disabling Pokemon. With the ability Arena Trap, it can prevent any errant swaps from your opponent which ensures that the Pokemon you are facing will have to remain in battle as long as Dugtrio remains. Consider running Stealth Rock, Memento, Earthquake, and Toxic/Stone Edge. Stealth Rock may seem a bit odd in conjunction with Arena Trap, but the idea is to utilize Arena Trap to prevent a key switch out. Stealth Rock can still add up the damage in the meantime. Memento is to disable your opponent’s sweeper after the Arena Trap has done its job. The move Earthquake can help clean up any opposing Pokemon while, Toxic/Stone Edge is for inevitability or type coverage respectively.
| Stealth Rock | Memento |
| Earthquake | Toxic/Stone Edge |
How to Catch Dugtrio in Pokemon Go
If you would like to obtain a Dugtrio in Pokemon Go, the easiest way would be to catch a Diglett and eventually evolve it into Dugtrio. That is because the base evolution is encountered more in the wild as compared to the final. Furthermore, Diglett is a fairly easy Pokemon to encounter in the wild and it should not take much time to locate. As a ground type Pokemon you can find them in parks, parking lots, hiking trails, and other rocky locations. You will need 50 Diglett candies in order to evolve it into Dugtrio. These candies are shared between its regular and Alolan variant so you do not have to worry about keeping separate inventory. Unfortunately, Dugtrio has not appeared as a raid boss in the past and thus you will need to locate a Diglett or Dugtrio in the wild or hatch one from a 2 km egg.
Trivia
- Of all the ground type Pokemon in the franchise, Dugtrio has the highest base speed.
- The inspiration for Dugtrio’s design likely comes from the arcade “Whack-A-Mole” games.
- The name Dugtrio is a portmanteau of the words dug and trio.
Video
FAQ
Why did they give Dugtrio hair?
Alolan Diglett and Dugtrio are special variants of the generation seven games. The “hair” is likely based on Pele’s hair which is a type of volcanic fiberglass that forms from lava. As Diglett and Dugtrio spend much of their time digging, it is likely that the fiberglass clumps together during their dig and forms into their “hair”.
Is Dugtrio fast?
It is exceptionally fast and Dugtrio is the fastest ground type Pokemon in the entire franchise. This is quite impressive especially considering it was one of the original 151 Pokemon and thus you can utilize Dugtrio as an offensive Pokemon or for its Arena Trap ability.
What are Dugtrio’s attacks?
Dugrio learns a slew of ground type moves naturally through leveling. Among them are Mud-Slap, Bulldoze, Dig, Earth Power, Earthquake, and even Fissure. Alolan Dugtrio is also capable of learning two steel type moves, Iron Defense and Iron Head. Along with Dugtrio’s impressive physical attack stat, it can also learn the move Sucker Punch.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this “Mole Pokemon”. For one of the original 151 Pokemon of generation one, Dugtrio has managed to remain relevant throughout the 25 years of the Pokemon franchise. It also has a unique history, an interesting design and backstory that made it memorable throughout Pokemon’s history. Reserve a slot on your team for Dugtrio if you want a fast, physical attacking, disabling Pokemon.
