#377: Regirock

Regirock's official art. 

Just as we had gotten used to the three oversized elemental birds from Kanto and the three mammalian beasts roaming around Johto, Game Freak decided to drop the success formula altogether in Gen. III and saddled us with a trio of robotic golems. This is what people were talking about when they said a lot of the Hoenn Pokémon didn't feel like Pokémon to them at all. A lot of people could still take them or leave them depending on their usefulness nowadays, while Articuno, Suicune, Entei, etc. quickly grew to be fan favorites based on their designs. Regirock, Regice and Registeel are still pretty much interchangeable, mainly because their blocky and inorganic designs just make them feel like the same Pokémon to many people. It's a miracle to me that so many people found out how to obtain them in the first place, as they're a bitch to catch in Ruby, Sapphire and ORAS due to the many requirements you'll have to fulfill. First off, make sure you have Wailord in the first spot and Relicanth in the last spot of your party (good luck with that, by the way, because both are pretty rare in the first place). Then, use Dive in the one diving spot on Route 134, which you can only reach by going through the maze of sea currents on the routes before that. Make one mistake and you can fly back to Pacifidlog Town to start all over again. Once you've gained access to the Sealed Chamber, you'll have to follow a couple of instructions involving certain moves - here, I believe it's Dig you're required to use in a certain spot. If it works, an earthquake occurs and a text box telling you it sounds like doors opening far away appears, which means you've activated all of the chambers the Regi thingsies hide in. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that they are now easily accessible; for Regirock you'll have to use Rock Smash in a certain spot of the chamber found in the desert on Route 111, for Regice you'll be required to walk counter-clockwise around the edges of the entire chamber found on Route 105, and for Registeel you'll have to use Flash in the direct center of the chamber found on Route 120.

Ain't nobody got time for all of that.

This kind of 3D art makes a Pokémon like Regirock surprisingly realistic. 

While 12-year-old me was also disappointed with this legendary trio, I find them much more interesting now that I am 27. Of the three, Regirock is by far my favorite. It may have the most chunky design of the three Regis, but at the same time it has the most natural look to it due to its imperfectly craggy body. Regirock achieves its craggy look by repairing itself with new rocks after it gets damaged in battle, causing it to be composed of different unearthed minerals from all over the goddamn world. And while it clearly has the conscience to seek out suitable rocks for it to patch itself up, there are no signs of it possessing a brain or heart, which is a mystery even to modern-day scientists.

This aspect of Regirock suggests it is based off of the golems of Jewish folklore, which casts them as servants of higher powers with writings on their heads, very much like the braille script found on Regirock and its cohorts. According to some Hebrew legends, removing the writings would weaken, deactivate or destroy these golems. For example, there is the tale of the Golem of Chełm, which was said to have been in the possession of a Polish rabbi called Eliyahu Ba'al Shem. He created the creature himself, inscribing the word emet (אמת, Hebrew for 'truth') in its forehead and making it carry out difficult tasks for him. When he realized the golem was growing larger and larger, he feared that it would destroy the entire universe and removed the aleph (א, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) from its forehead. The inscription would suddenly say met (מת, meaning 'death') instead and before the golem disintegrated and turned to dust, it left severe scratches on its master's face.

Some more amazing 3D art, goddammit.

There's an interesting lore behind Regirock, and because the golems we've come to be familiar with are usually made of clay or any other earthy matter, Regirock comes closest to being an actual golem. It's one of the reasons why this Pokémon is my favorite of the legendary titans, although its competitive use definitely plays a big role in that as well. I kinda have a thing for high defense stats, and that probably has something to so with my affection for steel types - which would also explain why I love Pokémon like Regirock and Gigalith so much. Regirock is sporting one of the highest defense stats in the game, though, and in that regard it is defeated only by Shuckle, Mega Steelix and Mega Aggron and equalled by regular Steelix. That's a lot to work with, especially when you consider its HP stat is a very decent base 80, backing up that defense stat quite nicely. Because Regirock is naturally bulky - for some reason, it also possesses some moderate special defense - you could run an all-out offensive set supported by an Adamant nature and something like a Life Orb or a Choice Band. It benefits from having a wide physical movepool, with moves like Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Earthquake, Hammer Arm, Superpower, Drain Punch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch and Iron Head. If a base 100 attack stat is a little less to work with for you, you could also run an offensive-supportive moveset consisting of Thunder Wave, Stealth Rock, Earthquake and Stone Edge, backed up by an Impish nature to make maximum use of Regirock's physical bulk and the Leftovers to ensure its endurance in battle. If speed is your problem, Regirock can set up with Rock Polish, effectively doubling its speed when it is used the first time. As far as abilities go, Clear Body is by far the superior one, as it prevents any stat reductions coming from opponents. Sturdy might come in handy on the off chance Regirock is in the proximity of being OHKOed, but it is not recommended.

Well, Rocky... you look kind of awkward just standing there, blankly staring at
nothing. Are you okay?

It probably won't come as a suprise that this will be the longest article about a single legendary titan, mainly because I've spilled everything about their origins already. I most likely would have waited with that had Regirock come last rather than first, but what's done is done and I can't reverse it now, right? (Disclaimer: Well, I probably could have done that when I was still in the process of writing, but you didn't really think I would have thrown all of that hard work away, now did you?) We're nearly at the end of Gen. III and Regirock's rating is by far not the last perfect rating I'm giving this generation. Not just yet.

Rating: 5/5