Pokemon fan demonstrates how Wiglett came to be using biology

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
(Image credit: The Pokemon Company)

Pokemon's weird new creature, Wiglett, has sort of given players a brief biology lesson.

Yesterday on September 28, The Pokemon Company quietly unveiled Wiglett, a new creature that bore distinct similarities to Diglett, for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Now, one Pokemon player has broken down Wiglett's evolutionary pathway through life via the graph just below, comparing it against other 'mons.

Simply put then, Wiglett isn't actually a new regional form of a Diglett, as many fans no doubt first thought it might be. Instead, Diglett and Wiglett evolved from different ancestors, but similar paths of evolution resulted in their similar appearances, which it's what sort of caught players off guard here.

If this was a new regional form of Diglett, it'd look a fair bit different from the creature we're used to. The left half of the graph above shows how Meowth started off life, before becoming warped and shaped by its environments and the people it lived around to become Alolan and Galarian Meowth.

Well, this sure was an unusual biology lesson for Pokemon players. Who ever knew such detailed thought and processes went into the design of the creatures we see out and about in Paldea, Galar, Alola, and other regions? Here's hoping there's a few other abnormal discoveries like Wiglett to be made in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, when the two games debut on Nintendo Switch later this year on November 18.

Check out our full Pokemon Scarlet and Violet PokeDex guide for a complete look over all the other newcomers we've seen for the two new games so far. 

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.