How to Get Dig in Pokémon Emerald: Complete Guide

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Find this must-have move in Pokémon Emerald

Co-authored by Hannah Dillon Reviewed by Ishrak

Last Updated: November 3, 2025 Fact Checked

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Using the TM

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Capturing & Training

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Using a Cheat Cartridge

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Video

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Warnings

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, such as caves and dungeons. In Pokémon Emerald, you can obtain TM28 Dig from the Fossil Maniac's Brother in Fallarbor Town. If you miss getting this TM, however, there are a few other ways you can obtain it. Keep reading to learn more!

Getting Dig in Emerald: Quick Overview

The best way to get Dig in Pokémon Emerald is to get the TM from the Fossil Maniac's brother in Fallarbor Town. However, this TM can only be used once.
If you miss the TM, you must catch a Nincada or Trapinch and level it up until it learns Dig. Don't let the Nincada or Trapinch evolve, or it won't learn the move.
If all else fails, you can use a GameShark or Action Replay code to get Dig.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using the Technical Machine (TM)

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This town is located in the 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 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. 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 Pokémon. 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 Pokémon to Dig

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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 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 Pokémon. To find these Pokémon you'll need to:
- Go to Route 116 to find Nincada. This route is located in western Hoenn, connecting Rustboro City and the 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 is located 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 Pokémon. 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'll have to find a new one to capture.
- Nincada is a small Bug-type Pokémon with 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 Pokéball to capture it. Be sure you have enough of your best Pokéballs (such as Great Balls or Ultra Balls) 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 Pokémon, you might want to use attacks that 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.
. 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 encountered Pokémon, 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 cartridges, but there are many others you might use to get the Dig ability on your game.^{[10]
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- If you're playing Emerald on a Game Boy Advance, you'll need to purchase a physical cheat cartridge. You can likely find them on reselling sites like eBay.
- If you're playing Emerald on an emulator, you can use the built-in cheat code feature to enter GameShark or Action Replay codes.
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Load your game with your cheat cartridge. This will bring up the code handler, where you will have to insert the 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 Pokémon 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.^{[11]
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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:^{[12]
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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 use with specific cheat cartridges. The cheat codes listed above should work for most common cheat cartridges.^{[13]
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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 wouldn't be able to.

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Warnings

Using a cheat cartridge can corrupt your data or damage your game. You should only use a cheat cartridge at your own risk.^{[15]
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