Rayquaza is a large, mostly green, serpent-like creature with red-tipped, rudder-like wings on its shoulders and down its body, and similarly-patterned fins on the tip of its tail. Yellow rings-like symbols run across the length of Rayquaza's body and it has an additional yellow ring on top of its head. Rayquaza has two limbs with three-clawed carpals, and two long, flat, horn-like structures on its head, with two smaller horns below them. Rayquaza has a prominent gumline, with only two discernible fangs on the tip of its upper snout; the other teeth seem to be covered completely by gum tissue. It has small, yellow eyes with black pupils, which resemble those of both Kyogre and Groudon.
Gender differences
Rayquaza is a genderless species.
Special abilities
It is notable for its ability to soothe the other members of the Weather trio if they ever fight. Rayquaza is capable of shooting various elemental attacks from its mouth, which are incredibly destructive in power. Rayquaza can also completely negate the effects of the weather. Because of its slim and coiling structure, Rayquaza can also fly at blinding speeds and maneuver with ease despite its large size. It is also noted for its ability to fly so high into the atmosphere that it can become completely invisible from the ground. Also, since Rayquaza is a Template:Type2 Pokémon, it can learn Draco Meteor. It can also learn Hyper Beam naturally, and learn Giga Impact via the TM.
Behavior
Rayquaza constantly flies around the globe in the ozone layer, stopping and descending only on certain locations to rest. It is extremely territorial and will attack any intruders of its home, going to great lengths to destroy them. Due to the fact that it can calm the other members of its trio, it can be seen to be considered a leader.
Rayquaza first appears in Destiny Deoxys. It fights against Deoxys, believing it to be invading the Sky High Pokémon's territory when Deoxys was in fact looking for its friend, another Deoxys.
Other
A real Rayquaza appeared in its anime episode debut in outer space in Where No Togepi Has Gone Before!, where it used Hyper Beam on the rocket ship Ash and his friends and Team Rocket were on, presumably protecting its territory.
Minor appearances
A Rayquaza had a cameo appearance at the beginning introduction of Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, where it ended up captured by Team Rocket operatives.
In Malice In Wonderland!, a Rayquaza appeared under ownership of Cynthia, but as an illusion created by Mismagius. When Mismagius fuses with Rayquaza, it becomes the same color as the Mismagius, making it look like a shiny Rayquaza.
To stop the battle between Kyogre and Groudon, Wally and Norman trained at the Sky Tower and woke up Rayquaza. Five years earlier, Ruby's victory over a Salamence was the reason Norman was banned from the Gym Leader test as the wounded Salamence rampaged in a lab, accidentally letting Rayquaza, who was in captivity at that time, free. Having been ordered to recapture Rayquaza in the five years he was prohibited from attaining a Gym Leader position, Norman attended the Mossdeep Space Center and scrutinized its tracks, finally discovering that it slumbered atop the Sky Pillar when it wasn't scouring beyond Earth's atmosphere. With Wally's help, he was able to awaken and take command of Rayquaza, using it to calm Groudon and Kyogre in conjunction with Ruby's Red and Blue Orbs. When Norman fell under the strain of controlling Rayquaza without a proper medium, it escaped once again, and has not been seen since.
Rayquaza appears in the Subspace Emissary mode as a boss. After Diddy Kong lands on a mysterious island, Rayquaza lunges out of the water and snatches him, furious from being disrupted. Just as it is about to eat him, a ship suddenly crash-lands and smashes onto the beach. Out jumps Fox, who deflects Rayquaza's Dragon Pulse back at it. Rayquaza collapses into the water, but not for long, as it launches back out, engaging in battle against Fox and Diddy. Later, it is fought in the Great Maze level again and can be fought in the Boss Battles after the storyline is beaten.
Trophy Information
A Sky High Pokémon. It normally resides high up in the ozone layer where it flies endlessly, so it is rarely seen. However, when Groudon and Kyogre began to fight, it appeared to calm them down. It has the ability Air Lock, which blocks all weather-condition effects. It has exceedingly strong abilities, and its attack power is especially remarkable.
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire: Rayquaza is the focus of the third and final Bonus Field. It can only be challenged after capturing Groudon or Kyogre and will then join the circuit of bonus fields. Rayquaza will bounce along from left to right, allowing the ball to roll under it if it is up. It will sometimes use Thunder to paralyze the ball if it is not moving fast enough, though it does stay still while it is unleashing the attack. Rayquaza will also sometimes use ExtremeSpeed to create two tornadoes that cause the ball to fly up into the air for several seconds if contact is made. Rayquaza must be hit 15 times in three minutes to win. After beating the round twice, Rayquaza will be captured.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rayquaza acts as the final boss, living on the Sky Tower. After it is defeated, Rayquaza helps save the world from a meteor. After the credits roll, the player can re-battle Rayquaza to recruit it.
Pokémon Ranger: Rayquaza can be captured in a bonus mission after the credits.
Rayquaza lived for hundreds of millions of years in the earth's ozone layer, never descending to the ground. This Pokémon appears to feed on water and particles in the atmosphere.
Rayquaza is said to have lived for hundreds of millions of years in the earth's ozone layer, above the clouds. Its existence had been completely unknown because it lived so high in the sky.
In Pokémon Emerald, Rayquaza appears to use Hyper Voice to calm down Groudon and Kyogre at Sootopolis. Rayquaza couldn't learn it in any Generation III game, but this was rectified in HeartGold and SoulSilver versions.
Rayquaza has the highest Attack of all Dragon-type Pokémon, tied with Zekrom, and the highest Special Attack of all Dragon-type Pokémon, tied with Dialga, Palkia and Reshiram.
This might be because of its length, as like any other snake-shaped Pokémon.
Rayquaza is the only legendary Pokémon that can be caught at a higher level than the Elite Four's Pokémon before defeating the Elite Four. This only happens in Pokémon Emerald.
However, in Pokémon Emerald the player must get Rayquaza to stop the battle of Groudon and Kyogre in Sootopolis manually. This may mean that Rayquaza can only calm the two down but may not know when and where they are fighting.
Out of the weather trio, it is the only one with a secondary type.
Rayquaza is the only Pokémon with a base stat total of 680 that does not share the specific stat numbers with another Pokémon: Mewtwo, Lugia, and Ho-Oh all have a 90-90-106-110-130-154 distribution in different orders, while the creation trio, as well as Reshiram and Zekrom, all have 90-100-100-120-120-150.
Rayquaza is the only Pokémon with a base stat total of 680 that does not have a signature move.
Rayquaza is misspelled as "Rayquayza" in Pokémon Team Turbo in every possible instance.
Origin
Rayquaza is most likely based on the Hebrew legends of Ziz, the unconquerable primal master of the sky. Its counterparts were Behemoth and Leviathan. Rayquaza's appearance also draws inspiration from other creatures of myth such as the Asian dragon and lindworm.
Name origin
Rayquaza's name is likely a combination of ray and quasar. Although Rayquaza's Romanized name suggests its Japanese name is meant to be the same as its English name, it could be a combination of 烈 retsu (violent or furious), 空 kū (sky), and 座 za (seat or location), which as a whole can be taken as "one that sits in the ferocious heavens".
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.