Many Pokémon fans were confused by Diglett's model for years. The Kanto Ground-Type's true design was revealed when the series finally moved to 3D.

Decades after its first appearance in the Pokémon franchise, Diglett's move to a 3D model in 2013's Pokémon X and Y left some fans surprised by its true design. Originally launching in 1996, the popular Nintendo series made its worldwide debut two years later with the release of the Gen 1 Pokémon Red and Blue RPGs. The groundbreaking game featured over a hundred unique Pokémon, including Ground-type Diglett. However, many fans were confused by the mole Pokémon's design for years.

In Pokémon Red and Blue, players are tasked with catching all 151 Pokémon to complete the Kanto Pokédex. Although the original character designs were created by iconic Game Freak artist Ken Sugimori, a handful of Pokémon models were held back by the Game Boy console's 8-bit graphical limiations. As a result, players went years confused by Pokémon's biology, only to be blown away when the series eventually moved to 3D graphics.

One of Gen 1's biggest design debates, is whether Diglett has a pink nose or not. However, all of that changed for some fans with the arrival of the Gen 5 Pokémon X and Y Kalos generation. Although the answer to the debate was technically settled with the Japanese release of Pokémon Stadium on the Nintendo 64 in 1998, as well as the long-running Pokémon Anime, fans who only played the mainline series went years confused by the mole Pokémon.

Pokémon Fans Surprised By Diglett's 3D Model

When Pokémon X and Y first debuted in 2013, some players were taken aback when they noticed that Diglett's pink mouth was actually a nose. In the Kanto Pokémon's 3D model, the Gen 1 Ground-type clearly has a pointy nose that sticks out of its body. However, for many children growing up in the 90s, Diglett's 2D sprite made the facial feature look more like a gaping mouth instead. While spinoff games such as Nintendo 64's Pokémon Snap showed side profile shots of Diglett, not every fan played the popular photography title. Even though the anime was also popular, many players only stuck to the games.

Decades later, there are still fans of the Game Freak series who mistakenly label Diglett's nose as a mouth. Because the original Pokémon games are classics, a lot of players have only been exposed to the retro sprite graphics of the older generations. Even when the series made the jump to the 3DS, the system's muddy graphics made the 3D model difficult to see, especially when compared to modern titles such as 2018's Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee. With Gen 9 Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's release date set for November 2022, the game's HD graphics will likely reveal Diglett's often-missed nose to a new wave of players jumping into the Pokémon franchise for the first time in years.