Fan-made Pokémon are nothing new, but the community seldom rallies around one like they have Regitube (or Regifloat, depending on who you ask). The hypothetical water-type Legendary Giant originated in a TikTok shitpost and has since become a legend within the Pokémon fandom, inspiring fan art, memes, and even modded in-game renders.
For consistency’s sake, we’ll call this legendary king Regitube. The fake Pokémon’s origins started innocently enough. Back in August, The Tube Shack, a Canadian river tubing company, posted a TikTok of one of its employees creating what can perhaps best be described as a big suit of armor out of blue floating tubes. The video is silly and cute, but fans quickly pointed out that if you put the iconic dotted eyes of the Legendary Giants that debuted in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire on it, the cartoonish blue figure looks like it could be one as well. The Tube Shack ran with the joke.
@thetubeshack Replying to @Nik ATL Waddell yes it is a Regi-tube… a Regi-water…. a Regi-Float or a Regi-rubber?? What do you guys think? #lakecowichan #thetubeshack #vancouverisland #pokemon #regipokemon
The video has over 3.6 million views on TikTok, but it’s begun spreading to other platforms as well, where fan artists and modders have taken notice. Now, Pokémon fans are collectively building out this big guy’s lore, typing, moveset, and even its stats.
Here's some lore-accurate stats for Regitube. The tubes would provide terrible physical attack and defense, but excellent special attributes. Meanwhile, the tubes may be fragile, but the sheer amount of them would allow for lots of HP (similar to Wailord and Drftblim). pic.twitter.com/SCZRzXhlr3
— MAGNEDETH (@MAGNEDETH) November 24, 2023
Regitube
Type: Water
Inner Tube PokémonAbility: Overcoat
“Its body is made of a durable yet light material, making it appear as if it is skiing across the water. It’s theorized that it formed after Regigigas went whitewater rafting once & wouldn’t shut up about it.” https://t.co/CGDLAU0Guy
— DaydreamerDan 🔜 PAX EAST (@Daydreamerdan_) November 24, 2023
Welcome to Exp. Share, Kotaku ’s Pokémon column in which we dive deep to explore notable characters, urban legends, communities, and just plain weird quirks from throughout the Pokémon franchise.
With all this attention comes fanart, and the Pokémon community works fast and still manages to come out with some incredible work. There are some realistic, modern-looking pieces, but some of the best art of Regitube is the stuff that harkens back to the series’ roots. The Ruby and Sapphire-style sprite below makes me think back to surfing around the Hoenn region, likely finding this big guy floating on the sea somewhere. I’ve never really had a steady water-type member for my team in Generation III’s games, so I’d catch Regitube and add him to my team, without question.
"Regifloaty isn't real, it can't hurt y-"#Pokemon #Fakemon #Legendary https://t.co/pRK3OnRCDe pic.twitter.com/U45VmDDuT4
— ImazArtz (@ImazArtz) November 22, 2023
And now it even has artwork! https://t.co/UFfgo7lrZR pic.twitter.com/77JLSmf9y5
— Karel – COMMIS' OUVERTES 🇨🇵 | 🇵🇸🇱🇧🇸🇾🇨🇩 (@KarelBSL) November 24, 2023
Regitube と呼ばれる謎の物体を描いてみた#pixelart pic.twitter.com/Qqb6Zwkanl
— 転寝みるく(こもりみるく)🥛-ドット絵とイラスト二足の草鞋の絵描キスト (@komori541milk) November 25, 2023
While Regitube can only exist in our hearts and fan art, the Regis have become so prominent in Pokémon memes, especially on TikTok, that it makes perfect sense for one internet inside joke to spawn another one, complete with stats and lore. And hey, at least no one’s suggested we nerf the floating king by giving him a garbage ability like the one Regigigas is cursed with
