Why was Dig nerfed after Gen 1?

Once a long time ago, Dig was as powerful as Earthquake, but it took two turns to use, and those using it are now vulnerable to double powered Earthquake. What noticeable reason was there for it to be reduced, as it now appears to be quite useless (note: PERSONAL OPINION)

Pleaselog inorregisterto add a comment.

I’d assumed it’s because Dig can be obtained fairly early in most games, which could allow the player to wreck everything in their path unfairly, especially if they have a Pokemon like Nidoking. While this applies to all the games, it is especially true for Fire Red and Leaf Green as the Rocket Grunt gives you it before Vermillion City, essentially meaning a base power 100 move could eat Surge alive, especially when combined with a STAB bonus from someone like Nidoking or Nidoqueen.

Another possible reason could be that they wanted to make Earthquake a more desirable move, as having Dig have a similar base power would mean the player would value Earthquake less when they finally got it. Think if Thundershock did the same damage as Thunderbolt except it took a second turn to use, I think most people would care a whole lot less about Thunderbolt at that point.