Rayquaza possesses some of the strongest attack power out of any Pokémon; it can easily summon cyclones to overwhelm its opponents. It can soar into the sky and droop out into its foes at high speeds, causing huge damage. Thanks to its weather-manipulation powers, it can eliminate weather effects. Rayquaza was worshiped by the Draconid people along with the people of Hoenn as the savior of the region. Thus, they built the Sky Pillar to honor it. In the manga, the Draconids referred to it as their "Dragon Lord". It is one of the longest-lived Pokémon species. Rayquaza loves Rayquaza Treats made by Snacksworth, who once encountered it in the past. Inside Rayquaza's body lies an organ that contains the same power as a Mega Stone. A Devon Corporation scientist named this organ the mikado organ (Japanese: ミカド器官). By consuming meteoroids as it flies through the stratosphere, the organ will be filled with enough energy to enable Rayquaza's Mega Evolution.
As Mega Rayquaza, its body becomes longer and gains more features. Its head becomes longer with the Δ symbol appearing on its forehead. Rayquaza's eyes now contain yellow pupils with red irises, and black, shichishito-shaped markings trail behind its eyes. Its red lips and teeth become gold, and the gold lines connect to those on its lower horns, which take on a broad, triangular shape. At the outer edges of its lower horns are long, golden, glowing tendrils that each extend to a green, fin-like structure; these tendrils have ring patterns that strongly resemble the yellow markings running along the length of Rayquaza's normal form. While in flight, these tendrils give Mega Rayquaza a Δ-shaped profile. Its two upper horns become longer with a gold line running over them in a V shape, and each upper horn has another glowing tendril that ends in a circular shape with a spike. Along the length of its body are golden, glowing orbs placed where its ring patterns used to be. The chin, part of the neck, and parts of its serpentine body are changed to the color black. The fins running along its body are now marked with gold lines; the fins on its tail become entirely yellow and substantially longer. Particles stream from the long tendrils that extend from its jutting jaw; these particles can control the density and humidity of the air, allowing Mega Rayquaza to manipulate the weather. Its green hide sparkles with an emerald-like quality.[4]
Mega Rayquaza was said to have been born from humanity's wish for salvation, channeled through the Key Stone of a Draconid Lorekeeper. Rayquaza is the first recorded Pokémon to achieve Mega Evolution and is at its full power when in the Mega Evolved state. Thanks to its weather-manipulating powers, it can change the weather to eliminate all of the Flying type's weaknesses. As seen in Mega Evolution Special II, Rayquaza can Mega Evolve even without a Key Stone. Mega Rayquaza has the power to undo the primal forms of Groudon and Kyogre. It is capable of destroying meteors bigger than itself as seen with the Grand Meteor Delta.
Evolution data
Sprites
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation III.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the anime
Main series
Shiny Rayquaza in the anime
Mega Rayquaza in the anime
Shiny Mega Rayquaza in the anime
Major appearances
Rayquaza debuted in Destiny Deoxys. It fought Deoxys, believing it was invading the Sky High Pokémon's territory when Deoxys was in fact looking for its friend, another Deoxys.
In Mega Evolution Special II, a Rayquaza showed up and Mega Evolved. Alain and Steven tried to battle it, but they were quickly defeated by the Sky High Pokémon. In Mega Evolution Special III, it tried to stop the destructive battle between Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre as both were trying to obtain the Giant Rock, and eventually succeeded.
In The Ancient Poké Ball, a Shiny Rayquaza that once belonged to Lucius emerged from Roy's Ancient Poké Ball before flying away. Finding it again provided Roy with inspiration to start traveling with the Rising Volt Tacklers.
Other
In Malice In Wonderland!, Cynthia appeared to own a Rayquaza, but it was only an illusion created by Mismagius. Whenever Mismagius fuses with Rayquaza, it becomes the same color as the Mismagius, making it look like a Shiny Rayquaza.
Rayquaza made its physical main series debut in Where No Togepi Has Gone Before!. It used Hyper Beam on the rocket ship Ash, his friends, and Team Rocket were on, presumably in order to protect its territory from them.
In BWS02, Iris saw a Rayquaza and decided to follow it and see where it would go next.
In Hoopa and the Clash of Ages, a Shiny Rayquaza capable of Mega Evolving was summoned alongside Latios and Latias by Hoopa to protect it from the shadow Hoopa Unbound. The trio protected Hoopa from the shadow Hoopa and its reinforcements, Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and Kyurem, in Dahara City. Eventually, the battle ended after the shadow Hoopa was sealed in a Prison Bottle, and Rayquaza departed for its home.
In Living on the Cutting Edge!, a Rayquaza was battling Deoxys in outer space. The battle accidentally caused one of the meteors to head towards Alola, though it was ultimately cut up by a Kartana, saving the region from harm.
Minor appearances
In the opening sequence of Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, a Rayquaza was captured by Team Rocket operatives and experimented on.
A Rayquaza appeared in the opening sequence of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.
In the opening sequence of The Rise of Darkrai, a Rayquaza fired a Hyper Beam at a Lucario.
A Rayquaza appeared in the opening sequence of Zoroark: Master of Illusions.
In Showering the World with Love!, Ash and his classmates saw a Rayquaza in the sky at Starfall Hill after saying goodbye to Minior.
A Rayquaza appeared in a fantasy in Time After Time!.
A Rayquaza appeared in Getting More Than You Battled For!.
A silhouetted Rayquaza appeared in a fantasy in Healing the Healer!.
A Rayquaza appears in a vision in In the Palms of our Hands!.
Pokédex entries
Episode
|
Pokémon
|
Source
|
Entry
|
HZ006
|
Rayquaza
|
Liko's Rotom Phone
|
Rayquaza, the Sky High Pokémon. A Dragon and Flying type. It has lived for hundreds of millions of years in the ozone layer. When it flies at night, it resembles a shooting star.
|
|
Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Animated Trailer
In the Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Animated Trailer, a Rayquaza descended from the ozone layer and Mega Evolved.
Pokémon Generations
In The Scoop, a Trainer's Mega Rayquaza destroyed the Grand Meteor Delta. It later battled a wild Deoxys that appeared from inside the Meteor, allowing its Trainer to catch it.
GOTCHA!
A Rayquaza briefly appeared as a silhouette in GOTCHA!.
Pokémon Evolutions
Mega Rayquaza in Pokémon Evolutions
A Rayquaza appeared in The Wish. It first appeared in a fantasy told by Zinnia as she recounted the history of the Draconid people to May, and was later summoned by Zinnia to stop a meteorite. Understanding it chose May over her, Zinnia let May battle and catch it, allowing Rayquaza to Mega Evolve under her ownership in her battle against Zinnia.
In the manga
Pokémon Adventures
- Main article: Rayquaza (Adventures)
Rayquaza debuted in Rayquaza Redemption I, where Norman sought it out to stop the battle between Groudon and Kyogre in Sootopolis City, using Wally's help to gain access to its sealed chamber inside Sky Pillar. While Rayquaza's power alone was insufficient to stop the battle, Ruby was able to combine it with the powers of the Red and Blue Orbs, successfully stopping the conflict. Afterwards, Rayquaza broke free of the weakened Norman's control and fled. In the Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire arc, Ruby and Norman once again sought to use Rayquaza to avert a crisis, this time to destroy a giant meteoroid that was threatening the planet. Zinnia also wanted to use Rayquaza for the same purpose, believing herself to be the one who should carry out the task. However, after Rayquaza rejected her, it befell to Ruby and Sapphire to ride Rayquaza to space and Mega Evolve it in order to destroy the meteoroid.
In this canon, Rayquaza was once captured by the Pokémon Association in order to study it and create an artificial Green Orb in order to control it, but the artifact was never fully completed before Rayquaza escaped its imprisonment.
Pokémon Pocket Monsters
A Rayquaza appears in Pokémon Task Force In Action!!, where Red, Clefairy, Pikachu, and Tyrogue try to stop it from destroying a city.
Let's Play the Pokémon Card Game XY!
Manabu was seen with a Rayquaza.
Movie adaptations
- Main article: Rayquaza (M07)
Rayquaza plays a major role in the manga adaptation of Destiny Deoxys.
A Shiny Rayquaza appears in Hoopa and the Clash of Ages.
Pocket Monsters DP
A Rayquaza appeared in PMDP29.
In the TCG
- Main article: Rayquaza (TCG)
Other appearances
Rayquaza in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Rayquaza appears in The Subspace Emissary mode as a boss. After Diddy Kong lands in The Lake, Rayquaza lunges out of the water and grabs him, angry at being disrupted. Before it can further attack, Fox ejects out of his ship, which had crashed and been destroyed by Rayquaza earlier, and rescues Diddy Kong. Enraged, Rayquaza attacks Fox with Dragon Pulse, but Fox reflects its attack back at it, sending it reeling back into the water. Rayquaza soon launches back out and engages in battle against Fox and Diddy Kong.
Like all other Subspace Emissary bosses, Rayquaza is later battled again in The Great Maze, and can be fought in the Boss Battles mode after the latter is unlocked. Its attacks in battle include ExtremeSpeed, Thunder, Dig*, Iron Tail, and Fly.
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.
Rayquaza in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Rayquaza appears as an occasional stage hazard in the Dragonmark Chamber of the Kalos Pokémon League stage. Appearing rarely, it flies across the stage at various angles, dealing damage to fighters. Its path is shown briefly by lightning before it appears, giving players time to avoid it.
Trophy information
This Dragon- and Flying-type Pokemon usually dwells high in the ozone layer, so it can't be seen from the ground. In the Kalos Pokemon League stage, it occasionally flies at great speed through the Elite Four's Dragon-type chamber, where any fighters in its path will be damaged and launched with great force.
Rayquaza appears as a Spirit, as well as retaining its rare appearance in the Dragonmark Chamber on the Kalos Pokémon League stage.
Music
This is a list of music associated with Rayquaza in the Pokémon games.
Trivia
- Mega Rayquaza has the highest base Attack and Special Attack stats and the highest base stat total of all Dragon-type and Flying-type Pokémon.
- Mega Rayquaza is the tallest Mega Evolved Pokémon.
- Rayquaza's catch rate was raised from its original value of 3 to 45 in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. This is likely due to it being a required capture during the Delta Episode storyline of that game. Its catch rate was later reverted from 45 back to 3 in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
- Rayquaza was the most voted Pokémon of all pre-Generation V Pokémon in the Korean Pokémon Global Link promotion poll.
- Rayquaza is misspelled as "Rayquayza" at the player select screen of Pokémon Team Turbo.
- Rayquaza is the only Pokémon capable of Mega Evolving that does not require a Mega Stone to do so in the games.
- It is, therefore, the only Pokémon that can have a different held item (apart from Z-Crystals) while Mega Evolved, since Mega Stones cannot be taken off their proper holder during battle.
- It is also the only Pokémon not to have the message "(The opposing) <Pokémon>'s <Mega Stone> is reacting to its Key Stone!" when it Mega Evolves. Instead, it has the message "<player>'s fervent wish has reached Rayquaza!".
- Mega Rayquaza is tied with Mewtwo's Mega Evolutions for the highest base stat total of all Pokémon, with 780, excluding non-playable Eternamax Eternatus.
- This makes it the only Pokémon with a base stat total above 720 that doesn't require a specific held item.
- Rayquaza was designed by Hironobu Yoshida.[7]
- In the Pokémon of the Year poll held by The Pokémon Company in 2020, Rayquaza was voted the most popular Generation III Pokémon, receiving 60,939 votes. It was also the eighth-most popular Pokémon overall.
- It was also voted as the most popular Legendary Pokémon, as well as being the only Legendary to make the top ten results.
Origin
Rayquaza's design is probably based on the Chinese dragon and the Lindworm. Its role is similar to that of Ziz in Hebrew legends. It matches the description of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, who was depicted as a flying serpent and created the boundary between the earth (including the oceans) and the sky. The markings on its body may be inspired from The Nazca Lines. Its trait of being capable of inhabiting the skies, and living there while subsisting on nothing but dew and particles for centuries, also bears aspects of the legendary Chinese xian hermit sages and East Asian dragons, specifically Japanese dragons, who are commonly depicted with three claws, as opposed to four in Chinese dragons.
Rayquaza being a dragon coming from the cosmic space on earth might take inspiration from meteorites, the Draconids meteor shower named after Draco constellation, or the comet that gave the name Pendragon to the legendary King of the Britons. The yellow marking on Mega Rayquaza's head appear similar to the greek letter delta what might allude to the Delta Episode from Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
Name origin
Rayquaza may be derived from 裂空 rekkū (sky-rending), a word appearing in various media and merchandise that featured Rayquaza. The latter half may be derived from 座 za (seat), relating to compounds such as 星座 seiza (constellation) and 王座 ōza (throne). It may also involve רָקִיעַ rāqī́aʿ (Hebrew for firmament), ray, and quasar.
Rayquaza's mikado organ refers to 帝 mikado (emperor), another name for the Emperor of Japan.
In other languages
Language
|
Title
|
Meaning
|
Japanese
|
レックウザ Rayquaza
|
From 裂空 rekkū, 座 za, and possibly רָקִיעַ rāqī́aʿ, ray, and quasar
|
French
|
Rayquaza
|
Same as English/Japanese name
|
Spanish
|
Rayquaza
|
Same as English/Japanese name
|
German
|
Rayquaza
|
Same as English/Japanese name
|
Italian
|
Rayquaza
|
Same as English/Japanese name
|
Korean
|
레쿠쟈 Rayquaza
|
Transcription of Japanese name
|
Mandarin Chinese
|
烈空坐 Lièkōngzuò
|
Transliteration of Japanese name
|
Cantonese Chinese
|
烈空坐 Lihthūngjoh
|
Transliteration of Japanese name
|
|
|
More languages
|
Hindi
|
रेक्वेज़ा Rayquaza
|
Transcription of English/Japanese name
|
Russian
|
Райкваза Raikvaza
|
Transcription of English name
|
Thai
|
เร็คควอซา Rekkhwosa
|
Transcription of Japanese name
|
|
|
Related articles
References
External links
|
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.
|