#486: Regigigas

Either this Regigigas is way too small or these Eevee are
way too big. 

Usually, there are some redeeming qualities to be found in legendary Pokémon that aren't considered to be very good in a competitive setting. I mean, I made Articuno and Virizion work on Pokémon Showdown to some extent, but they're by far not the best Pokémon to use competitively. However, I guess nobody can really save Regigigas from being downright terrible. For Christ's sake, this thing resides in Smogon's lowest tier (PU) despite having approximately the same base stat total as many of the box-art legendaries. Yeah, Regigigas is that bad. Of course, this has everything to do with its ability Slow Start, which halves its actual attack and speed stats during the first five turns in battle, and switching it out for another Pokémon will only reset the counter. You could give it Substitute in order for it to last a couple turns, but a good fighting type will have no trouble knocking it out in two turns at most. Hell, Regigigas is even set-up fodder, which means opponents with moves such as Swords Dance, Calm Mind or Dragon Dance now have an excellent opportunity to raise their stats and sweep your team. And a defensive Regigigas altogether really doesn't make a lick of sense, because it doesn't learn a wide array of good support moves (it cannot even learn Protect) and it will be at full power and speed after five turns, anyway. No no no, this Pokémon is best to be avoided; if you wish to use crazy powerful Pokémon - I'm talking Groudon, Rayquaza, Solgaleo, Dialga, Yveltal, Reshiram and Zekrom and the like - you'd do better to just participate in Smogon's Uber tier.

Lucas and Dawn (the Diamond and Pearl player
characters) encounter a slumbering Regigigas in
the basement of Snowpoint Temple.

Regigigas's redeeming factors lay in its design and origins. It doesn't occur often that a trio of legendaries get a downright follow-up one generation later; I mean, Lugia had Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres to watch over, but I believe this was merely for the sake of the second movie's storyline. However, Regigigas is very much aesthetically related to Regirock, Regice and Registeel, complete with their signature seven-eye pattern. The six spots apart from its eyes appear to be gemstones, with the red gems representing Regirock, the blue gems indicating Regice and the silver/grey gems representing Registeel. It actually created the legendary titans itself from clay, ice and magma, which showcases its excellent craftsmanship and ability to survive in and work under extreme conditions - for example, it had to work with boiling temperatures of magma (1300 to 2400°F) when creating Registeel and with frigid ice (-328°F) when crafting Regice. Regigigas seems to have parallels to the Legendary Golem of Prague, created out of clay from the banks of the Vltava river by the late 16th-century Czech rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel and brought to life through rituals and Hebrew incantations to defend the Prague ghetto from anti-Semitic attacks and pogroms. The latter is a term ascribed most often to the deliberate persecution of an ethnic or religious group, usually Jews. The golem went out of control, however, and was immobilized and sealed away in the attic genizah of the Old New Synagogue, where it could be restored again if needed. Conversely, Regigigas was stored in the basement of Snowpoint Temple and will go on a rampage if awoken from its slumber uncarefully - and a long slumber it must have been, judging from its mossy feet and bushy shoulders.

For some reason, some of Regigigas's Pokédex entries also mention that there is an enduring legend that states this Pokémon towed continents using ropes. I think this random 'fact' doesn't really fit its design and the rest of its origins, if you ask me, but... I guess I'll believe it?

Regigigas isn't exactly Regi Kick-Ass.

Like Heatran, Regigigas is yet another post-game legendary Game Freak added to Diamond and Pearl just because they could, and it won't be the last one we'll encounter this generation. Unfortunately, it cannot live up to Heatran's offensive prowess and Cresselia's notorious tanking abilities due to its terrible ability hindering it tremendously. Regigigas is basically a second Slaking: both are normal types, both have the same base stat total of 670 and base 160 attack stat, and both have abilities that significantly limit their power. Truant is slightly better than Slow Start, because at least it doesn't halve Slaking's attack stat upon entering the battlefield, making Giga Impact a highly viable move that can do some very serious damage. Sure, Slaking can only move every other turn, but at least it's better than doing only minimum damage for the first five turns. Very few Pokémon stay in play for five turns or more, which officially makes Slow Start the worst ability and Regigigas the worst legendary in the entire franchise.

There, I said it.

Rating: 3.5/5