Dig Those Diglett! – Pokémon Season 1, Episode 31

Plot episodeArbok & Weezing evolve

Dig Those Diglett! is the 31st episode of Pokémon: Indigo League, the first season of the Pokémon anime, and the 31st episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 31, Bulbapedia code EP031). It first aired in Japan on 28 October 1997 and in the United States on 19 October 1998. It falls within the season’s Fuchsia, the Safari Zone & the Pokémon Shock stretch (EP28–EP38).

Synopsis · Major Events · Trivia · Dub Changes · All episodes

Synopsis

It’s now been months since Ash began his journey from Pallet, and the gang decide to head for the Fuschia Gym next, but not being surrounded by mountains not knowing entirely where they’re going they get lost and start walking anyway. They hear an explosion in the distance and they run over to it to investigate. Team Rocket’s dinner was also interrupted by the blast so they head over to investigate too. Ash and friends find a massive convoy of construction vehicles, but they’re all piling up and getting destroyed.

As Ash and his friends watch on, a Diglett emerges and communicates with Pikachu while Meowth watches on. The construction sites foreman, clearly stressed out reveals that the Diglett are stopping him from getting the Damm built, by disrupting his supply convoys. The foreman then says they are recruiting Pokemon trainers to help fight off the Diglett, as Gary arrives with a whole lot of other Pokemon trainers who quickly starts insulting Ash. Brock takes a liking to Gary’s fanclub. Gary vows to the site foreman to get rid of the Diglett and sets off. Jessie and James hear about the luxury holiday they could win for fighting off the Diglett and decide to go for it themselves.

The site foreman addresses the big group of Pokemon trainers, thanking them for coming to help him fight off the Diglett. Ash meanwhile is wallowing in self pity following Gary’s abuse earlier on. Team Rocket are watching them all from afar and scheming, suddenly the Diglett attack the trainers, Gary throws a Pokéball to sort it out but the Pokémon fails to come out, Gary tries his next Pokémon which also doesn’t come out, he and the other trainers all start throwing Pokéballs, no Pokemon is willing to fight the Diglett. The Diglett all return the Pokéballs to their trainers.

It turns out that the Pokémon didn’t want to fight the Diglett, Pikachu, who spoke to one of them earlier confirms this theory. Gary fires off one final round of digs and insults to Ash before he and his fan club depart, along with the other trainers. Ash, Misty and Brock take advantage of a hotspring, still troubled by the fact that the Pokemon wouldn’t fight them. Team Rocket’s Ekans and Koffing evolve into Arbok and Weezing respectively. Some Diglett visit the hotspring, Pikachu and the gang follow them and realise that this place is the home of the Diglett and Dugtrio, Ash and his friends realise that the construction work is disrupting and destroying their homes. The construction sites foreman overhears and realises the damage it would cause to their environment if the Damm was built, he decides not to build the Damm.

Team Rocket appear in a Tree above them and attack with their newly evolved Pokemon, Arbok uses a dig attack to go underground and Weezing follows, they both get beaten up by the Diglett who then blast Team Rocket off and destroying the damm in the process. With the Digletts home now safe, the damm construction cancelled and Fuschia Gym not far away our heroes continue onto their next adventure.

Major Events

• — Jessie’s Ekans → Arbok and James’s Koffing → Weezing (first simultaneous evolutions)
• Gaiva Dam cancelled
• Next Gym Fuchsia
• Nathan Price’s last Meowth. Debuts: Arbok, Weezing, Diglett, Dugtrio.

Pokémon making their anime debut

• Arbok#0024 · EP031
• Diglett#0050 · EP031
• Dugtrio#0051 · EP031
• Weezing#0110 · EP031

Captures and evolutions

• Ekans → Arbok#0024 · Jessie
• Koffing → Weezing#0110 · James

Trivia

• The English title plays on "dig" in the sense of "like".
• The screenplay is by Takeshi Shudō.
• This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto storyline.

Changes in the English Dub

• Hot-spring flyer blanked, bus sign and calculator symbols erased, Trainer Party sign
• Impact star replaced
• Curry and ochazuke become Chinese food and crumpets
• The Gaiva Dam is named only in the dub (“give a damn”)
• Misty’s first meeting with Gary rewritten because EP018 had not aired
• Brock’s age-of-consent line rewritten
• Dub ending: the Kanto Pokérap (Monday segment)

Part of our Pokémon: Indigo League guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.