Under The Lights: Earthquake Regirock

Hello again, fellow PvPers! Time for a quick PvP analysis!

Got several articles queued up and waiting to be done, so let’s not beat around the bush! I already examined Regice with Thunder, and I was planning to lump Regirock and Registeel with their new exclusive moves into one article, but there’s SO much to say (about Registeel especially) and Regirock has already arrived! 😬 So going to keep this simple and just look at Regirock today and we’ll save the insanity of Zap Cannon Registeel for a later followup.

Already running late with this after some MAJOR computer issues this afternoon, so on we go!

REGIROCK STATS & MOVES

Regirock Rock

Great League Stats

Attack Defense HP
104 (103 High Stat Product) 180 (184 High Stat Product) 115 (116 High Stat Product)

(Highest Stat Product IVs: 2-15-15, 1498 CP, Level 18)

Ultra League Stats

Attack Defense HP
134 (132 High Stat Product) 237 (237 High Stat Product) 146 (150 High Stat Product)

(Highest Stat Product IVs: 1-14-15, 2500 CP, Level 30.5)

Master League Stats

Attack Defense HP
153 (163 at Level 50) 256 (272 at Level 50) 162 (172 at Level 50)

(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs)

Bulk is the name of the game with the Regis, and ‘Rock is no different. So let’s take a second on the typing.

As with Registeel, Regirock is unfortunately weak to Fighting and Ground damage. But while Registeel resists Grass and Steel damage, Regirock is vulnerable to both, and Water as well. Registeel has only one additional weakness (Fire), which is among Regirock’s much shorter resistance list (Fire, Flying, Normal, Poison). Other than Fire, Registeel resists all of those too… plus Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Ice, Psychic, and Rock. It’s not just that Registeel has higher Defense and HP than Regirock that makes it feel so much tankier… it’s the boatload of resistances it comes with. More on that in a bit, but first let’s bring the moves into the discussion.

Fast Moves

  • Lock-OnNormal type, 1.0 DPT, 5.0 EPT, 0.5 CoolDown
  • Rock ThrowRock type, 4.0 DPT, 2.5 EPT, 1.0 CD
  • Rock SmashFighting type, 3.0 DPT, 2.0 EPT, 1.5 CD

I mean, it’s a Regi. Is there any question? It’s Lock-On, all the way. The charge moves basically necessitate it….

– Exclusive Move

Charge Moves

  • Stone EdgeRock type, 100 damage, 55 energy
  • EarthquakeᴱGround type, 120 damage, 65 energy
  • Focus BlastFighting type, 150 damage, 75 energy
  • Zap CannonElectric type, 150 damage, 80 energy, Decreases Opponent Attack -1 Stage

Alright, now let’s crunch some numbers!

GREAT LEAGUE

No, you unfortunately cannot get a new Regirock with its exclusive move under 1500 CP. The only way to get one for Great League is at Research level (Level 15), and that was available only once, multiple years ago, at a time when all three Regis were the Research Breakthrough reward. (Remember when we actually got Legendaries as rewards? Oh, how little we appreciated it then.) Because all three were in the same pool, it was entirely possible to hit ALL the Breakthroughs you could during that time and STILL not find a Regirock. (I myself found three Registeel, as I recall, and a Regice or two. Grrrrrr.) All that to say: even having a sub-1500 Regirock is rare enough. If you want to go the extra step and get the exclusive move, you have to invest an Elite TM.

So, with all that said, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that you may be able to save your Elite TM, because the bad news is that the exclusive move seems to be an overall downgrade in Great League.

Currently, Regirock is rather underrated in Great League (probably at least in part because of its rarity). It actually has a record better than that of the more-heralded Registeel. There are more similarities between them than differences, but here are the big things to note about them in the side-by-side:

  • Registeel has several more resistances, with Steel being the best pure defensive typing in the game. Between that and even greater bulk than Regirock (about 10 more Defense and 15 more HP), Registeel can uniquely outlast Azumarill (without Hydro Pump, at least), Scrafty, Walrein, Venusaur, Cresselia, and Lickitung. Those last three especially are primarily due to resisting Grass damage (Frenzy Plant and then Grass Knot/Power Whip from Cress/Licki), whereas Regirock takes super effective damage from Grass.
  • Regirock’s advantage is in its speed. Stone Edge is the fastest charge move that any *of the Regis have in GO right now, being 10 energy cheaper than Regice’s Earthquake, 5 energy cheaper than even its exclusive move Thunder, and at least 15 energy cheaper than anything Registeel has to offer. So while it can’t handle the Grass damage I mentioned with Registeel, and loses to Azumarill no matter what charge moves it’s using due to also being weak to Water, Regirock is uniquely capable of outracing Cofagrigus, Vigoroth, and Shadow Hypno, and the awesome super effectiveness profile of Rock damage allows Regirock to also beat down Galvantula, Alolan Marowak, Drifblim, and Talonflame, none of which Registeel can typically handle. Not bad, right?

Now, all of that is with existing moves. Stone Edge is a must, and the second move alongside it is the same closer Registeel employs today: Focus Blast. Regirock’s Stone Edge damage has good widespread coverage, but it IS resisted by two of its mortal enemies: Steels and Grounds, the latter of which also deals super effective damage to Regirock in return. Focus Blast helps cover Regirock’s back by hitting Grounds for big neutral damage, and Steels for big super effective damage. Between Stone Edge and Focus Blast, Regirock is able to hit eight types for super effective damage, and even better: there is not one single typing in the game that Regirock with SE/FB cannot hit for at least neutral damage.

This is why, even though Zap Cannon looks ready to turn Registeel into an eldritch horror once again soon 😱 (article on that monstrosity another day), it is NOT a preferred move on Regirock despite already being there since day 1. Put simply: it just doesn’t fit on Regirock. It hits Water types nicely, but its actually resisted by troublesome Grasses and DOUBLE resisted by Grounds, leaving Regirock pretty defenseless in many key spots. The dip in performance isn’t awful, since it does pick up some anti-Water wins to compensate (primarily Azumarill), but it loses any ability to meaningfully threaten Umbreon, Obstagoon, Vigoroth, and Ferrothorn that it can beat with Focus Blast.

And now we come to the new, exclusive move: Earthquake. In some ways, the coverage that comes with it looks pretty good, being resisted by Bugs and Flyers (both of which Stone Edge handles easily anyway), and the only blight being that it is resisted by Grasses. And it DOES hit Steels super effectively, and faster than Focus Blast does, so that’s another positive. And yet… it comes out looking no better than Zap Cannon. What’s going on? Well, put simply, a lot of the things that escape with Zap still escape with Quake… namely Dark types Umbreon and Obstagoon, and also Vigoroth and Ferrothorn. Earthquake DOES bring in a key win over Shadow Nidoqueen, which is no small thing these days. But while it has a nice enough coverage profile, it doesn’t actually bring in any notable wins beyond that, and the new losses overshadow that. Even with shields down this remains mostly true, with Focus Blast continuing to beat Obstagoon, Vigoroth, and Ferrothorn, plus now Scrafty and Lickitung, while Earthquake contributes only Nidoqueen, Toxicroak, and Stunfisk. Not bad wins, just not as many as you’d hope for. And yes, the margin is similar in 2v2 shielding in Focus Blast’s advanatage… I did check.

End of the day, Earthquake isn’t a bad move, and if you’re worried about stuff like Nidoqueen, it makes some sense to consider it. But in general, I think you just want Focus Blast more, and more often. The coverage is a bit better, and the impacts are too. I personally would not use an Elite TM on Great League Regirock unless I somehow had multiple good ones under 1500 CP… and there’s no rush to go out and do it even then, IMO.

How about moving up in leagues?

ULTRA LEAGUE

Regirock has probably seen more use in Ultra than anywhere else, and once again, it’s better than you might think it is, again standing tall right up there with Registeel (for the time being, at least). And once again, getting rid of Stone Edge would be a poor choice… it needs Edge to be the threat that it is. So out goes Focus Blast, in comes Earthquake… and you can immediately see the falloff in performance. It’s still viable, but now loses to Obstagoon, Snorlax, Greedent, Abomasnow, and Empoleon. (It does at least still beat Umbreon without Focus Blast, though it’s much closer, so… there’s that?)

Now things ARE much closer with shields down, as Earthquake leads to solid wins over regular and Shadow Nidoqueen and XL Galarian Stunfisk. But Focus Blast is still needed for Obstagoon, Empoleon, regular and Shadow Snorlax, and potentially Umbreon as well… Earthquake can beat Umbry, but Regirock escapes with less than 5 HP, which is WAY too close for comfort, as opposed to strolling away with 70+ HP when using Focus Blast.

Once again, while Earthquake could perhaps be called a viable sidegrade to existing moves, it clearly doesn’t leave Focus Blast behind by any means. I would say it’s still advantage Blast overall in Ultra League. But since you don’t have to burn Elite TMs to get an UL specimen with Earthquake, sure, look for a good one. You can get one with raid level IVs that works without having to trade too.

MASTER LEAGUE

I’ll keep this one quick. Master League Regirock is viable but on the fringe, and to my eyes, Earthquake looks even a tad worse, losing Snorlax, Mamoswine, and perhaps most damningly, the super popular Excadrill, with no notable gains (other than, uh, turning the already-there win over Heatran into a blowout… soooo… yay?). Regirock isn’t for everyone in Master League, requiring a pretty special build to work out, but IF you use it, it’s unlikely you’ll want Earthquake rather than Focus Blast. Not in today’s meta, at least. Should you happen to find a hundo, hold onto it, but I don’t know that I’d dump resources into building it, personally. If you REALLY want a Regi in Master, I think that the underrated Regice is the way to go… but also without its exclusive move.

TL;DR:

So, let’s sum up!

  • In all leagues, Earthquake is, at best, a sidegrade option to Regirock’s Focus Blast, alongside the must-have Stone Edge that makes Regirock a threat in the first place. It beats stuff like Nidoqueen and, situationally, Stunfisks and the odd Poison type here and there (usually with shields down). But overall, Focus Blast reigns supreme with a larger number of Dark, Normal, and even Steel wins to its credit.
  • I wouldn’t bother Elite TMing Earthquake onto Regirock in Great League… because an Elite TM is the only way to get it at all under 1500 CP. It just doesn’t fit the current meta nearly as well as the potential of Focus Blast.
  • You can make an argument for Earthquake in Ultra League, but it really only shines with shields removed. Otherwise, its contributions just don’t usually justify using it over Focus Blast and its larger number of special wins. But IF I were to grind for an Earthquake Regirock at all, THIS would be the league to do it in.
  • Regirock in Master League? Maybe… some players have been able to make it work. But I think Earthquake is more of a downgrade.

Alright, that’s it for now! Gonna be a busy week, with Love Cup, Registeel, and Jumpluff Community Day all in progress already, PLUS a bonus Master League spotlight article. You’ll be seeing a fair bit of me this week, I’m afraid! 😜 But until next time, for more PvP tidbits, you can always find me on Twitter for regular PvP analysis nuggets, or Patreon. And please, as always, feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I’ll try to get back to you!

Stay safe out there, Pokéfriends, and happy raiding. Catch you next time!

Author & tags

JRE47
JRE47
PoGO/PvP Investigative Journalist, GO Hub and Silph Arena/Road Contributor, amateur cook, author of 'Nifty Or Thrifty' and 'Under The Lights' article series and #PvPfacts!

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