A series of Shadow Pokémon are making their way to Pokémon Go, and Bunnelby is an available choice for you to catch. When you do, you can evolve it into a Shadow Diggersby, and if you plan to use it in battle, you’ll want to teach it the best moveset.
For those who regularly participate in the Great and Ultra Leagues, Diggersby is a relatively common Pokémon that appears pretty often. It’s a solid Normal and Ground-type Pokémon with great stats and attacks it can learn. What makes it an ideal choice is how much bulk it has, but that changes slightly when it becomes a Shadow Pokémon. Do you still want to use it in this form? Here’s what you need to know about the best moveset for Shadow Diggersby in Pokémon Go and if it’s good or not compared to the standard version.
Shadow Diggersby best moveset in Pokémon Go
You can catch Shadow Bunnelby by facing off against Team Rocket grunts in Pokémon Go. After the Fashion Week 2025 event, grunts have a chance to appear with Bunnelby as their first Pokémon, which you can then catch. After you evolve it into a Shadow Diggersby, it becomes a Normal and Ground-type Pokémon, making it weak to Fighting, Grass, Ice, and Water-type moves but resistant to Electric, Ghost, Poison, and Rock-type attacks. The best attacks it can learn are the fast move Quick Attack and the charged moves Scorching Sands and Fire Punch.
| Attack name | Attack type | Damage type | Damage | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Attack | Fast Move | Normal type | 5 | 4 |
| Scorching Sands | Charged Move | Ground type | 80 | 50 |
| Fire Punch | Charged Move | Fire type | 60 | 40 |
When it comes to choosing Shadow Diggersby’s fast move, Quick Attack sits at the top, but it’s not a huge list. The other option is Mud Slap, a Ground-type move. Both attacks get the same type attack bonus, increasing their damage, but Quick Attack is the better choice because of its energy output and speed. When you use Quick Attack, it does five damage, gives you four energy per turn, and takes two turns to use. Alternatively, Mud Slap does 12 damage and provides 3.3 energy per turn, but it takes three turns to use. Overall, Quick Attack is a better option every time.
Next, we have Shadow Diggersby’s charged moves. There are several more options to consider outside of only two, but the ones that sit at the top are Scorching Sands and Fire Punch. Scorching Sands is an attack that requires 50 energy and does 80 damage, while Fire Punch is an attack that needs 40 energy to do 60 damage. Both are relatively low-cost attacks that can knock an opponent down or force them to use a shield.
The other options include Dig, Earthquake, and Hyperbeam. Of these three, Hyperbeam is one you always want to avoid. It’s a powerful attack that does 150 damage, but it costs 80 energy to use, and that’s far too much. You’ll waste a lot of time charging it up before you can use it. The same goes for Earthquake, which does 110 damage and needs 65 energy. Of the three, Dig is the only one that doesn’t have this problem, but it still doesn’t stack up to Fire Punch or Scorching Sands. You can do 70 damage using Dig, but it needs 50 to use it, and you’re better off with the other two options.
Is Shadow Diggersby good in Pokémon Go?
Shadow Diggersby is a good Pokémon to use in Pokémon Go. Diggersby has always been a solid option because of how bulky it is in the Great and Ultra Leagues. However, as a Shadow Pokémon, it does lose some of its bulk. In the Great League, Diggersby typically has 96 attack and 141 defense power. When you use a Shadow Pokémon, their attack increases by 20 percent, but their defense decreases by the same percentage. For Shadow Diggersby, its attack goes up to 115, while its defense goes down to 113.
It’s difficult to know if this attack increase is worth it for the amount of defense Diggersby normally has during a battle. You may want to experiment with a build like this, especially if you already have a reliable normal Diggersby in your Pokémon Go collection. Having one of each is always a good idea, and you can hold onto the Shadow Diggersby to consider using it in the future.
