Rayquaza is a large, green, serpentine creature with rudder-like wings. Yellow rings 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. Its eyes and markings resemble those of both Groudon and Kyogre.
Gender differences
Rayquaza is genderless.
Special abilities
Rayquaza is capable of using various elemental attacks. It is also unable to be affected by weather conditions. Since Rayquaza is a "true" Template:Type2 Pokémon, it can learn Draco Meteor.
Behavior
Rayquaza constantly flies around the globe in the ozone layer, stopping and descending only to land on the peak of the Sky Pillar to rest. It is extremely territorial.
Rayquaza appears in Destiny Deoxys. It fights against Deoxys because it is seen as invading its territory. After Deoxys finds its friend and helps fight off the malfunctioning security bots, Rayquaza realizes that Deoxys is good and stops attacking. It also has a cameo in the opening to the ninth Pokémon movie and is captured by Team Rocket. Its current status is unknown.
In Malice in Wonderland, a Rayquaza appeared as an illusion created by Mismagius. When Mismagius fuses with Rayquaza, it becomes the same color as the Mismagius.
In the manga
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 Leaders test as the wounded Salamence accidentally let Rayquaza, who was in captivity at that time, free.
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 final boss, living on the Sky Tower. 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.
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Rayquaza is one of the few Pokémon to learn an HM move by level-up in the same Generation that it's an HM, and is the only legendary Pokémon able to do so.
Rayquaza is one of several Pokémon with a base stat total that equals Mewtwo's 680, a number which is only exceeded by Arceus.
Rayquaza is the only legendary Pokémon that can be captured at a higher level than the Elite Four's Pokémon before becoming the champion. This only happens in Pokémon Emerald.
In some depictions, such as in the Generation III GBA games and in one of the sprites for Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, the inside of Rayquaza's mouth has a bluish hue. In other depictions, like the Pokémon anime, Pokémon Trozei!, and in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Versions, however, the mouth has a reddish hue inside, and includes the tongue. The official Ken Sugimori artwork shows the inside of Rayquaza's mouth with a red hue.
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl Rayquaza lacks the red markings around its mouth seen in its handheld game sprites, as these are instead interpreted as its gums.
Origin
It is based on Chinese dragons, or lóng. In terms of relevance to other Pokémon, Rayquaza has similarities to Ziz, the Hebrew lord of the sky, when compared to Groudon's behemoth origins and Kyogre's leviathan origins.
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, from universe.
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.
For other sprites and images, please see Rayquaza images on Bulbagarden Archives.
