Rayquaza is a legendary pokemon that debuted in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire and starred in the prior games successor Pokemon Emerald. As showcased in the latter, Rayquaza serves as the third member and trio master of the Weather Trio and is responsible for putting an end to the battles between the lesser two members of the trio, Kyorge and Groudon. According to the Pokedex, Rayquaza lives in the Ozone Layer where it feeds on meteoroids for substance.[1]
Rayquaza also has a mega evolution and is said to be the first one to have acquired one, how it obtained it varying between sources. It's connection to its mega evolution is unique in that it does not need a mega stone to evolve like other Pokemon and instead only needs to know the move Dragon Ascent to achieve mega evolution.
History[]
Pre-Series[]
According to the Pokedex, Rayquaza has been around for hundreds of millions of years,[1] making it possibly the oldest Pokemon (alongside Groudon and Kyorge) to exist sans the Creation Trio, the Lake Trio, Mew, and Arceus.
According to lorekeeper Zinnia, a member of a tribe of humans known as the Draconids, thousands of years pior to the present, Rayquaza had stopped a cataclysmic battle between Primal Groudon and Kyorge who had been fighting over primal sources of energy that were abundant at the time. It had come down from the heavens after a series of meteors came and crashed down in an area where a tribe of Dragon-type-pokemon users made their home, the meteorites generating a rainbow light that apparently caused Rayqauza's descent. After this, the people of Hoenn came to revere Rayquaza as their savior.[2]
One thousand years later, a meteor had struck the planet, the impact creating a crater that would eventually become Sootopolis City. The impact of the meteor would also crack the lands to the point that a huge upswell of natural energy emerged which would reawaken Primal Groudon and Kyorge, who threatened to cause havoc. In response, the people would pray for Rayquaza's return, the meteorite simultaneously emitting a brilliant light. Rayquaza would answer their prayers, and with the power of the people's prayers and the meteorite's light it achieved mega evolution and quelled Groudon and Kyorge, who returned to their dwelling areas. For further protection, the Draconids built the Sky Pillar to hold the meteorite's power, leave behind their records, and to get closer to Rayquaza's home.[2]
While the next thousand years would be peaceful, the Draconids predicted that another meteor would strike, this one being powerful enough to destroy the entire world, and thus devised a plan where they would call for Rayquaza and ask them to destroy it.[2]
Main Series[]
In Pokemon Emerald, the main protagonist is tasked to find and awaken Rayquaza in order to stop an ongoing battle between the summoned Kyorge and Groudon. If the player manages to awaken Rayquaza in the Sky Pillar, Raqyauza flies from their base to amidst the battle from the sky and lets out a cry to Groudon and Kyorge, causing them to retreat.[3]
Rayquaza shows up once again in Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire’s Delta Episode, where they are summoned by Zinnia, who plans to use Rayquaza's power to stop a life-ending meteoroid from hitting the planet. After the player gives Rayquaza a meteorite in order to fuel its ability to mega-evolve, Rayquaza challenges the player to a battle, which results with the player catching the Pokemon. Rayquaza than flies into outer space with the player on its back and with its power from its mega form, it is able to destroy the meteoroid by charging straight through it. Rayquaza and the player then engage in a battle with the Deoxys that emerges from the destroyed meteoroid.[2]
Appearances[]
Main Series[]
As previously mentioned, Rayquaza first shows up as a catchable pokemon in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire located in the Sky Pillar, bearing no significance to the story.
Rayquaza makes appearances as a catchable pokemon again in Pokemon Emerald, Pokemon Heartgold and Soulsilver, Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Perarl,
In the competitive scene, Rayquaza has always been a considerable threat in their tier despite various setbacks with their large movepool, speed, and ability to be able to rely on both physical and special attacks. In Gen 3 Ubers, Rayqyuaza is a notable anti-meta option that can disable weather effects, which are crucial to the format and defined by his sibling legendaries Groudon and Kyorge, and their large movepool allows them to have multiple builds. In Gen 7, Rayquaza serves a similar role, espcially when taking into consideration the power boost its sibling legendries got in their Omega forms. Mega Rayquaza would famously be banned in the Uber tier, the top tier at the time, on the website Smogon and be responsible for the creation of the Anything Goes tier due to its signature move, ability, and its capability of not having to have a mega stone as a item in order to mega evolve.[4][5]
Anime[]
Rayquaza appears as the antagonist in the movie Destiny Deoxys, where it relentlessly chases a Deoxys after the pokemon entered its territory as a falling meteorite. This pursuit leads into a city where Rayquaza accidentally causes a malfunction that unleashes a frenzy of security block bots into the city. Rayquaza is almost completely overwhelmed by the onslaught, however Deoxys and its friend would end up saving Rayquaza.
Rayquaza also makes a main appearance as its mega evolution in the Mega Evolution Special II and III. In the former, it is challenged by Pokemon Trainers Alian and Steven but they are quickly outmatched by it. In the latter, it engages in combat with Primal Groudon and Kyorge as they all attempt to claim a magical rock with immense power known as the Megalith with Mega Rayquaza being the victor. Rayquaza however is not able to claim the Megalith as it is taken by Lysandre, the leader of Team Flare with the aid of a submarine that both emitted a light that blinded Rayquaza and successfully took the megalith, Rayquaza then reverting to its normal form and flying off.
Rayquaza shows up as a main character in the Pokemon Generations episode The Scoop, which features an animated version of the player and Mega Rayquaza battling Deoxys in the Delta Episode. Rayquaza also makes a main appearance in the Pokemon Evolutions episode The Wish, which is an animated version of the Delta Episode but this time focuses on the role of Zinnia.
TCG[]
Rayquaza has appeared on dozens of cards in the Pokemon Trading Card Game, with its first being a promotional card.
A couple of Rayquaza cards such as Rayquaza GX from Celestial Storm have seen play in the competitive scene, with the prior mentioned being the centerpiece in three of the top 8 performing decks in the Masters Division from the 2018 Pokémon World Championships.[6]
Spinoffs[]
Rayquaza served as the zone keeper of the Granite and Flower Zone and as the final attraction chief in Pokepark: Pickachu’s Adventure who hosts the game Rayquaza’s Balloon Panic.
Rayquaza is the final boss in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. If the player defeats them, Rayquaza agrees to help the player stop a meteor from hitting the planet.
In Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, Rayquaza in its Mega Form is one of the three pokemon to successfully stop the Tree of Life from being pulled into space by Dark Matter, although as a consequence they are turned to stone by Dark Matter. Once Dark Matter is defeated, Rayquaza reawakens.
Rayquaza is featured as a raid boss in a couple special raids in Pokemon Go, with one of them giving players the opportunity to catch a shiny Rayquaza.
Super Smash Bros[]
Rayquaza appears as a boss in the Subspace Emissary mode in Super Smash Bros Brawl. In the story, it emerges from a lake and grabs Diddy Kong after he had landed in the lake. Before Rayquaza could attack, Fox intervenes and frees Diddy Kong, followed by deflecting Rayquaza's energy blast that knocks Rayquaza back into the lake. Both fighters then engage in a land battle with Rayquaza after it reemerges from the lake with even more of a temper.
Rayquaza would also appear in Super Smash Bros for Wii U and Super Smash Bros Ultimate as a stage hazard in the Dragonmark Chamber in the Kalos Pokemon League stage
Abilities[]
Mega Rayquaza’s signature move is Dragon Ascent, a physical move where Rayquaza charges into the opponent enveloped in emerald energy, dealing massive damage at the cost of lowering Rayquaza’s defense and special defense stats.
In the anime, Rayquaza is often showcased to use the move Hyper Beam, where Rayquaza shoots a highly powerful beam of energy from its mouth capable of evaporating its foes. Rayquaza has been also shown to use Draco Meteor, where it shoots a sphere of energy into the sky that breaks into dozens of smaller ones that rain down on its opponents; Ice Beam, where it shoots a beam of ice; and Dragon Ascent, which it used as its finishing move against Primal Groudon and Kyorge in Mega Evolution Specials III
Both Rayqauza's and Mega Rayquaza's abilities, Air Lock and Delta Stream respectively, clear all occurring weather conditions such as rain, hail, harsh sunlight, or sandstorms. The latter ability also weakens moves that would be super effective against Flying type pokemon.[1]
Trivia[]
- Rayquaza was voted the most popular Gen III Pokemon, the most popular legendary Pokemon, and the 8th most popular Pokemon in the Pokemon of the Year poll held by the Pokemon Company and Google in 2020.
- Raquaza was designed by graphic designer Hironubu Yoshida.[7]
- Rayquaza's design may originate from world mythology, its appearance being reminiscent as of eastern dragons as well as possibly Quetzalcoatl (although the lack of feathers, and overall modernistic design in its base form point to a more nuanced inspiration). Rayquaza in its position in the Weather Trio could also simply represent the divine heavens that manage all earthly matters such as a conflict between the earth and sea, with dragons in world and particularly eastern cultures being a common representation of such forces.[8]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "#384 Rayquaza" SEREBII.NET
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Delta Episode Bulbapedia
- ↑ Pokemon Emerald Version Bulbapedia
- ↑ False Swipe Gaming (March 31, 2019) How GOOD was Rayquaza ACTUALLY? - History of Rayquaza in Competitive Pokemon (Gens 3-7) YouTube
- ↑ Jimothy Cool (May 31, 2024) Gen 3's "Worst" Legendary Pokemon YouTube
- ↑ 2018 Pokemon World Championships - Pokemon TCG Masters Divisons Pokemon
- ↑ 2014 Pokemon World Championships VIPs Pokmeon
- ↑ TBSkyen Shorts (May 8, 2024) Fan theories and credible interpretation | #pokemon YouTube