[OVERVIEW]
Regigigas sets itself apart from other Poison Heal users with its mono-Normal typing that grants it an immunity to Spectral Thief and, combined with its solid bulk, provides it with ample opportunities to set up against various foes and take advantage of passive Pokemon in the metagame. Facade threatens all offensive teams after a single boost and generates additional setup opportunities against them. While Normal does not provide good coverage offensively, Regigigas can simply overpower foes that resist Facade by putting them to sleep and setting up multiple boosts. This leaves Regigigas as a notable threat for defensive teams as well, as Unaware users that can take on a boosted Regigigas risk being put to sleep and left vulnerable, while very few foes that run Magic Bounce can take Regigigas's boosted Facade. On top of this, Regigigas is able to easily defeat Imposter users by removing their Eviolite with Knock Off and taking advantage of its status-boosted Facade and pseudo-immunity to sleep-inducing moves that its Imposters are vulnerable to. All of these factors combine to make Regigigas a threat that has very narrow and specific defensive counterplay options that force opponents to react defensively to it, generating predictable moves from foes for Regigigas's teammates to capitalize on. However, Regigigas fails to provide much defensive utility to the team due to its lack of resistances and immunities apart from an immunity to Ghost-type attacks. Also, the prevalence of Core Enforcer and Entrainment means Regigigas's setup opportunities are somewhat limited. Due to the fact that Regigigas is one-dimensional as an offensive threat and requires a dedicated Pokemon to check it, most competitive teams have adapted to its presence and commonly employ checks like Giratina, Fur Coat users, and Steel-types with Magic Bounce, all of which Regigigas struggles to break past.
[SET]
name: Poison Heal
move 1: Shift Gear
move 2: Facade
move 3: Spore / Lovely Kiss
move 4: Knock Off / Avalanche
item: Toxic Orb
ability: Poison Heal
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Shift Gear fixes Regigigas's average Speed by increasing it to the point where it outpaces the entire unboosted metagame and increases its Attack stat, letting it OHKO most neutral offensive foes with Facade after Stealth Rock damage. Facade is Regigigas's primary STAB move that becomes immensely powerful after Regigigas has successfully activated its Toxic Orb. It also notably leaves Imposter users with only a 70-Base Power STAB attack due to them not being able to independently poison themselves. The third moveslot is filled with a sleep-inducing move, as it helps Regigigas bypass Focus Sash holders with some chance, defeat Imposter users, eliminate defensive foes that can handle Facade, and provide an extra turn of passive recovery. Spore is a reliable option because it cannot miss, and it synergizes well with Knock Off, as the attack can remove Safety Goggles. Lovely Kiss is an alternative option to be used when Regigigas does not opt for Knock Off that enables Regigigas to put Grass-type foes to sleep, prevents Kartana from easily revenge killing it, and reduces Ferrothorn's efficiency as a check. Knock Off rounds off Regigigas's coverage by allowing it to hit Ghost-types like Giratina and Aegislash super effectively while also being useful in removing items like Safety Goggles and Eviolite and in scouting for potential Z-Crystals. The removal of Safety Goggles is especially appreciated, as this lets Regigigas use Spore more freely. Spectral Thief, on the other hand, consistently hits Ghost-types hard and lets Regigigas shut down a boosted foe if it can survive a hit and hit back, and it is best used with Lovely Kiss or teammates with Knock Off so that Regigigas can set up on foes with Safety Goggles. It also notably improves Regigigas's matchup against other setup sweepers like Poison Heal variants of Primal Kyogre and Mega Tyranitar. On the other hand, Avalanche can be used to prevent Core Enforcer from suppressing Poison Heal, hit Giratina and Zygarde-C super effectively, and OHKO Mega Rayquaza.
Set Details
========
Toxic Orb poisons Regigigas at the end of the turn, letting it utilize Poison Heal to gain passive recovery each turn, gain a pseudo-immunity to malicious status ailments, and use an empowered Facade to defeat Imposter users. A Jolly nature allows Regigigas to outspeed as many foes as possible, including base 90 Speed Pokemon like Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, and Dialga. An Adamant nature is an alternative option to improve Regigigas's damage output.
Usage Tips
========
Although Regigigas is able to switch into weak attacks from passive walls such as Registeel and Mega Audino, it should enter the field with caution before it has successfully activated Toxic Orb, as being afflicted by other status or getting hit by Knock Off significantly hampers its usefulness. Moves that Regigigas can switch into include predicted uses of recovery moves, weak attacks, and Spectral Thief. In this regard, it should only be switched in by slow pivoting moves or when the opponent is sure to switch their Pokemon out. However, Regigigas can be used more liberally to absorb status once it has been poisoned. Do not underestimate Regigigas's bulk; while it lacks resistances, it only has a sole weakness to Fighting-type attacks. Regigigas may sustain damage while setting up, but it will regain its health with Poison Heal recovery, which comes into play often with Regigigas's ability to induce sleep and force switches. This means foes such as Mega Mewtwo Y after using Psycho Boost and other offensive foes that cannot inflict serious damage to Regigigas are setup fodder. Once Regigigas has safely activated Toxic Orb, it can proceed to set up Shift Gear to threaten the opposing team or hinder walls with Knock Off should a foe with Safety Goggles switch in. Should Regigigas be facing more defensive teams, it is more beneficial to analyze how an opponent reacts to Regigigas. In this regard, using Knock Off early-game to remove items is a sensible strategy, as this will aid Regigigas's attempts to break past or take away momentum from Fur Coat users or most non-Magic Bounce foes later on. When setting up with Regigigas, scout for possible Core Enforcer and Entrainment users, as they can suppress Poison Heal and thus easily force out Regigigas. When Regigigas finds itself unable to set up against well-prepared teams, it can still support its team by putting foes to sleep or by double switching out to a teammate after luring in Magic Bounce users. When Regigigas is low on health, slow pivoting provides it with passive recovery, so take advantage of this when one is able to secure momentum. A few turns of Poison Heal recovery will bring Regigigas back to a healthy enough state so that it can take on defensive foes again. Once its checks and counters have been sufficiently weakened or eliminated, Regigigas can liberally switch into a passive foe, set up and proceed to overpower the opposing team with its overwhelmingly powerful Facade. Avalanche should be used against potential Core Enforcer users like Giratina to prevent the move from suppressing Poison Heal. Lastly, in an instance where Regigigas opted for Spectral Thief, it can offensively check setup sweepers that fail to OHKO Regigigas by stealing their boosts.
Team Options
========
Regigigas is hopelessly shut down by Giratina, so its best partners are Pixilate and Refrigerate users. Mega Diancie, Kyurem-B, and Kyurem-W can fit alongside
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Regigigas can various moves to bypass some of its checks. Thousand Arrows lets Regigigas hit Steel-types and Mega Diancie super effectively and notably gives it a chance to defeat Poison Heal variants of Mega Tyranitar. Taunt prevents Entrainment and recovery from problematic defensive roadblocks such as Giratina, but this involves prediction and forces Regigigas to forgo a sleep-inducing move, worsening its overall ability to take advantage of passive threats. Taunt also makes Regigigas's matchup against Imposter users somewhat risky and dependent on a Speed tie. Sunsteel Strike hits Mega Tyranitar, OHKOes Mega Diancie, and KOes Sturdy Shedinja but has no other viable use. Dragon Tail is another option to deal with Dragon-types with Core Enforcer, but the move is weak even with boosts from Shift Gear and leaves Regigigas hopelessly walled by Aegislash if it forgoes Knock Off. Regigigas can afford to utilize Mold Breaker to revenge kill faster Dazzling and Queenly Majesty users with STAB Fake Out and Extreme Speed in a similar vein as -ate users, but this set is very matchup reliant, fails to do any meaningful damage to Ghost-types, and is vulnerable to Imposter. Using Belly Drum in tandem with Unburden and Sitrus Berry can function as a decent late-game cleaner because Regigigas's STAB Extreme Speed does sizable damage to many foes and is faster than Prankster moves. However, this set has rather inadequate coverage options to hit common defensive walls in the metagame and is vulnerable to -ate users, meaning other threats like Kartana outclass Regigigas in this role.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Giratina and Mega Sableye**: Giratina is by far the strongest counter to Regigigas available thanks to its Ghost typing that grants it immunity to Facade, colossal defensive stats, and ability to viably equip Griseous Orb or a Z-Crystal, which allows it to take minimal damage from Knock Off and use Core Enforcer to end Regigigas's sweep. However, if Giratina has not opted for Magic Bounce, Comatose, or Fur Coat, it might find itself getting overwhelmed by a boosted Spectral Thief during multiple turns of sleep. Poison Heal variants are harder to pressure due to their passive recovery and pseudo-immunity to sleep-inducing moves. Mega Sableye may be less bulkier than Giratina, but it can easily take on Regigigas due to its neutrality to Knock Off and can improve the matchup with Poison Heal.
**Magic Bounce Steel-types**: Regigigas's tendency to rely on sleep-inducing moves to bypass foes that resist Facade leaves the likes of Magic Bounce Registeel, Celesteela, and Mega Steelix as good checks, as they often have a dedicated way to shut down Regigigas, such as through Core Enforcer and Topsy-Turvy.
**Fur Coat Users**: The aforementioned Steel-types can take on boosted Regigigas easily with Fur Coat, even when accounting for sleep turns. Other Fur Coat users like Zygarde-C can take multiple boosted Facades and retaliate with Core Enforcer. However, these foes tend to yield momentum to Regigigas due to their vulnerability to sleep.
**Sturdy Shedinja**: Due to the fact that Regigigas cannot viably opt for an attack or coverage move to defeat Sturdy Shedinja, it finds itself walled and forced out due to the threat of Endeavor. However, Shedinja does not like being put to sleep or losing important items like Protective Pads and Safety Goggles to Knock Off when switching in.
**Rock-types**: Mega Tyranitar, especially if it is the Poison Heal variant, can go toe to toe with Regigigas by using Shift Gear itself and can gain the upper hand in one on one scenarios due to a potential Defense boost from Diamond Storm. Mega Diancie, while it is going to be heavily impaired in the process, can survive a boosted Facade and revenge kill a weakened Regigigas with a Pixilate-boosted Boomburst followed by Extreme Speed.
**Core Enforcer and Entrainment**: As Regigigas is reliant on Poison Heal's passive recovery to function, practically any foe is capable of blanket checking Regigigas with Core Enforcer and Entrainment, as long as they aren't too pressured by Facade or sleep-inducing moves.
**Faster Foes**: Due to Regigigas's lack of resistances, it may be overwhelmed by extremely powerful attacks from faster threats such as Choice Specs variants of Mega Rayquaza, Mega Mewtwo Y, and any Mega Mewtwo X variant, all of which can OHKO Regigigas with the right movesets. However, none of them can take on a boosted Regigigas due to +1 Facade at worst having a chance to OHKO all of them after Stealth Rock damage.
**Misty Surge**: Misty Surge prevents Regigigas from turning foes into setup fodder with its sleep-inducing moves, making it far easier to check with Pokemon that previously could not reliably check it.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[DMDW, 434601]]
- Quality checked by: [[MAMP, 225453], [Funbot28, 255984], [ScarfWynaut, 221682]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Electrolyte, 148071], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
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