Diglett's Cave


 * Not to be confused with Diglett's Tunnel.

Diglett's Cave (Japanese: ディグダのあな 's Hole) is a long tunnel dug by wild and  in Kanto. The northern entrance is on, south of Pewter City, and the southern entrance is on , near the eastern edge of Vermilion City (although in Generation II it was located within Vermilion City). The passage is famous for connecting these two routes. Regardless of what Generation a Trainer encounters Diglett's Cave in, the Trainer must pass through the cave at one point or another, either to continue the storyline or to access the western Kanto cities of Pewter and Viridian, as well as Pallet Town.

Route description
As a whole, the cave runs from the northwest to the southeast, passing under Celadon City,, and as it progresses toward Vermilion from Pewter. There are no points of interest along the cave; however, the cave is the only location where wild and the rare  are found in Kanto.

The usefulness of the cave as a connector route between Routes 2 and 11 has allowed Diglett's Cave to become one of the most important non-numbered routes in the Pokémon world. In fact, after the player enters Cerulean City, the only way to return to Pewter City and Viridian City without using or  is to travel through Diglett's Cave.

In, Brock will come to the northern entrance and give passers-by his Pokégear phone number. Once defeated in a rematch he appears on late Saturday afternoon to offer a trade to the player.

Differences between generations
In Generation II the cave was slightly shorter than in Generation I, and the southern entrance was also in Vermilion City, instead of like every other generation.

In Generation III the cave was much longer than in any other generation.

In Generation IV the cave is the same length as it was in Generation II. This makes it one of very few Kanto areas to retain its length from Generation II. The only change is the addition of walls, that allow access to a higher level of the cave.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Diglett's Cave appeared in Make Way For Magmar!, where emerged from the cave's  entrance near Pewter City along with, whom he had met off-panel and tried to find fossils with.

In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
Diglett's Cave appeared in Great Success in the Mountains or the Seas!?.

Trivia

 * In Generation II only, the encounter rate of wild Pokémon in Diglett's Cave varies with the time of day: in the morning, it is twice as high as during daytime, and at nighttime, it is four times as high. It is the only location with varying encounter rates.