Rayquaza

The Sky High Pokémon
#384 - Rayquaza
Debut	Pokémon: Ruby/Sapphire Versions
Species Info
Type	+ +
Height	7.0 m (23'00")
Weight	206.5 kg (455.2 lbs.)
Color	Green
Gender Ratio	Genderless
Ability	Air Lock
Hidden Ability
Egg Group	Unbreedable
Icon		Sprite
		File:384sprite.png
Footprint
30px
Base Statistics
Hit Points	105	Speed	95
Attack	150	Sp. Attack	150
Defense	90	Sp. Defense	90
Training Info
Catch Rate	003	Hatch Steps	30,720
Base Exp.	220	Effort Points	Att
Happiness	0		Att
To Lv.100	Slow		SpA

Kanto #	Johto #	Hoenn #	Sinnoh #
< 384 >		< 200 >
Unova #	Johto (IV) #

Rayquaza is a flying serpent-like legendary Pokémon that was introduced in the third generation games and was featured as the mascot for Pokémon: Emerald Version. It completes Hoenn's primary trio of legendary Pokémon with Kyogre and Groudon.

Information

Rayquaza is an ancient Pokémon living in the earth's ozone layer, and apparently is hundreds of millions years old. It could not be seen from the ground, and it only descended to the top of the Sky Pillar to rest, so its existence was unknown to most of the world. Its flying form has been said to resemble a meteor, which is fitting considering what it consumes. Rayquaza seems to find its nourishment from water and particles in the atmosphere, as well as by consuming meteors that enter the atmosphere. Rayquaza's body contains an organ that is similar to a Mega Stone (dubbed the 'mikado organ' by a Devon scientist), and any consumed meteors help to fill Rayquaza's body with the energy needed for Mega Evolution.

Rayquaza had descended from the sky in the past to break up battles between Groudon and Kyogre. In the backstory of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Rayquaza reacted to a rainbow stone that came from a meteoroid and transformed into Mega Rayquaza to break up the second known battle between Groudon and Kyogre. The two of them were in their primal forms, and Mega Rayquaza's power was said to have drained their primal energy. The Sky Pillar was also said to have been built to house that rainbow stone, and Rayquaza was believed to be connected to the origins of the Mega Evolution phenomenon in general.

In Pokémon: Emerald Version, Brendan/May awakened Rayquaza when Groudon and Kyogre begin battling again after being awakened by Maxie and Archie. Rayquaza was able to break up the fight and then returned to the Sky Pillar. In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Rayquaza was featured in the game's post-game storyline, known as the Delta Episode. Zinnia wanted to summon Rayquaza and make it become Mega Rayquaza so that it could destroy a meteoroid that was en route to Hoenn. She gathered several Key Stones and summoned Rayquaza to the Sky Pillar, only to find that it had lost its power to Mega Evolve over time. However, it reacted to the power of a meteorite that Brendan/May had. After being testing the trainer's might and being captured by them, Rayquaza was able to transform into Mega Rayquaza and destroyed the meteoroid with Brandan/May riding on its back.

Appearances

Mainstream Games

Rayquaza could initially only be captured in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. It could be found on the top of the Sky Pillar after becoming the Pokémon League champion. The difficulty in capturing it came primarily from Rayquaza's use of Rest (which will restore its HP and cure any condition changes) and Outrage (which will deplete some of Raquaza's HP at the same time and may cause it to knock itself out). In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, it appeared at the Sky Pillar at the end of the Delta Episode scenario. It had to be captured in order to complete the storyline, and so it could be rechallenged even after being defeated. This version also removed some difficulty from the battle, as it no longer knew Rest or Outrage.

In HeartGold and SoulSilber, Rayquaza could be found within the Embedded Tower on Route 47 where it is summoned if the player has a Green Orb; the player needs to have already caught both Groudon and Kyogre to get the orb from Professor Oak, so trading between games is required to reach Rayquaza. In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, it appeared at the Cliff World of the Ultra Space Wilds if the player had both Groudon and Kyogre in their party.

Other Pokémon Games

Rayquaza appears in Pokémon Trozei!, where it is found in Mr. Who's Den. In Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, Rayquaza is featured on the third bonus field after either Groudon or Kyogre had been caught. In Pokémon Ranger, Rayquaza can only be caught in the third post-credits bonus mission, found atop Fiore Temple. Rayquaza appears as the final boss of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red and Blue Rescue Teams. It appears on the clouds atop the Sky Tower. The Pokémon group travels there to get Rayquaza to help them stop a falling meteor, but Rayquaza is angry at the surface dwellers for breaking the laws of nature and coming up to the sky, which claiming it was his own domain. After being defeated, the Pokémon point out the flying meteor to Rayquaza, whom uses a Hyper Beam to blow it apart after warning the others of its danger. After the ending, Rayquaza could be revisited and recruited into the group.

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness, it was the boss of the Sky Stairway, which can only be reached by entering a Wonder Mail code. Rayquaza also appeared in PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure where he was the Zone Keeper protecting the Flower and Granite Zones. In Pokémon Rumble Blast, it could could appear as a random legendary encounter at any tower. In Pokémon Rumble U, it acted as the boss of the Conductor Room, and it could also appear as an enemy during the Challenge Battle known as the Final Battle Royale. In Pokémon Conquest. it could appear at an Infinity Tower in Dragnor after forming links with all other legendary Pokémon and while playing as Rank II Nobunaga in the Two Heroes of Ransei story. In Pokémon Battle Trozei, Rayquaza appeared at Stage 4 of the Sky-High Ruins.

In Pokémon Shuffle, Rayquaza could be found at Stage 290 of the Roseus Center, and a Shiny one could be found at Stage 685 of the Marron Trail. It was also featured in events such as Rayquaza's Ascension, Hoenn Legends Stage 3 and the fourteenth release of Pokémon Safari (which was another Shiny one). In Pokémon Rumble World, Rayquaza appeared as a special boss at the Sky Crest Range area of Legend Terrain. In Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, Rayquaza and Deoxys were both turned to stone after trying to repel Dark Matter's attack. After being freed, it could be faced at the Dragon Gate to gain the Wind Looplet. In Pokémon Picross, it was featured in Stage 4 of Area 30. Rayquaza also appeared in Pokémon Masters, where it became Zinnia's sync pair partner during the Legendary Event "The Dragon That Rules the Sky".

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In the Super Smash Bros. series, Rayquaza initially appeared as a boss in "The Subspace Emissary", the Adventure mode of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Instead of its natural habitat in the ozone layer, it was found at the bottom of a lake. Rayquaza emerged from the lake in a rage shortly after Fox McCloud's Arwing crashed nearby. It proceeded to fire a Hyper Beam that blew the Arwing apart and grabbed Diddy Kong. Fox surfaced from the wreckage and rescued Diddy Kong, then used a Reflector to deflect Rayquaza's Hyper Beam. Fox and Diddy then took on and defeated it in a boss battle. Rayquaza could later be battled again in the game's Boss Battles mode.
  • In later games, Rayquaza appeared as part of the Kalos Pokémon League stage that was seen in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It sometimes appeared when the stage was in the form of the Dragonmark Chamber and flew across the screen, causing damage to anyone who touched it.
  • Rayquaza has also been represented by a trophy (gained by using a Trophy Stand to defeat it in a boss fight) and sticker in Brawl, a trophy in the Wii U game and an Ace-rank Primary Spirit (which also raised jumping ability) in Ultimate. When fought against in a Spirit battle, Rayquaza's Spirit would possess Ridley in a battle at the Dragonmark Chamber, and the battle would be subjected to heavy winds.

In Other Media

• In the Pokémon anime, Rayquaza was featured in the seventh movie, where it attacked Deoxys after it landed in the Arctic for invading on its domain in the sky and eventually vaporized Deoxys with a Hyper Beam. Deoxys survived, and Rayquaza continued pursuing and battling with it for most of the movie. Rayquaza has made several smaller appearances in other movies and episodes. This included one episode of the Sinnoh series where Raquaza rammed into a rocket that Ash's group was aboard and sent it off course, and another episode where Hoopa summoned a Shiny Rayquaza that could Mega Evolve in order to aid it in a battle between Legendary Pokémon.
• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Rayqauaza was featured in the climax of the Ruby/Sapphire arc, where Norman brought Wally to the Sky Pillar and trained him to master Rayquaza. It was show in flashback that Rayquaza had been held captive until Ruby accidentally freed it in a battle with a Salamence, which wound up costing Norman his reputation. Norman and Wally were able to awaken Rayquaza in the present day, and Norman controlled it to stop the battle between Groudon and Kyogre. However, Norman controlled Rayquaza without a proper medium, which caused his death until Celebi reversed it. Rayquaza then retreated.
• One episode of the Pokémon Generations anime showed the ending of the Delta Episode, which Rayquaza becoming Mega Rayquaza and destroying the meteoroid. Mega Rayquaza is also shown battling Deoxys.

Trivia

• Its name seems to be a combination of "ray" and "quasar". It may also be derived from Raqiya, the Hebrew word for 'firmament', and its name also contains similarities to Japanese words for "violent or furious", "sky" and "seat or location". As for 'mikado', the name used for its special organ, it is a word that has been used to refer to emperors of Japan and can mean "heavenly sovereign" or "king of the heaven/sky".
• It is the only Pokémon that is capable of Mega Evolving without a separate Mega Stone. Rayquaza only needs to know the move Dragon Ascent in order to Mega Evolve. In-universe, as stated above, it is said that this is because Rayuaza's body contains an organ similar to a Mega Stone known as a mikado organ.
• After it became Mega Rayquaza and drained Groudon and Kyogre's primal energy, it was dubbed the 'Delta' by a man implied to have been AZ. It is thus the titular Delta of the Delta Episode, which also complements the titles of the remake games associating Kyogre with Alpha and Groudon with Omega.