Rayquaza

Rayquaza

National Pokédex Groudon - Rayquaza (#384) - Jirachi
Series	Pokémon series
First game	Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Designed by	Ken Sugimori
Voiced by	Katsuyuki Konishi

Rayquaza, known in Japan as Rekkūza (レックウザ^?), is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Rayquaza first appeared in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated, printed, and film adaptations of the franchise. Rayquaza also appears on the cover of Pokémon Emerald. Rayquaza was created by Ken Sugimori, with the help of a development team.

The Sky Dragon Pokémon, Rayquaza spends the majority of its time above the clouds, and appears as a meteor to those on the ground. As such, few have witnessed the legendary Pokémon. Rayquaza has the ability to negate all weather effects, and is one of the most powerful Pokémon in the franchise. Originally decried as an imitation of the popular Digimon series and an unimaginative Pokémon, Rayquaza has proven a popular character true to the spirit and concept of the games.

Design and characteristics

As with all the characters introduced in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Rayquaza was designed by Ken Sugimori with the help of a development team.^[1] The name "Rayquaza" comes from a combination of the words ray and quasar. Rayquaza resembles a large serpent dragon.^[2] The design is based on the Chinese dragon, and influenced by Mesoamerican art.^[2]

Rayquaza has an elongated, green serpent body with yellow patterns covering its length. Red-tipped fins extend from its body, and additional appendages lengthen from a serpent-like head. Rayquaza is part of the weather trio, a group of three Pokémon who have control over weather conditions. It is able to negate all weather conditions.^[3] Rayquaza lives far above the ozone layer, and is those only very rarely sighted.^[4] Rayquaza eats water particles from the sky where it lives,^[5] and only descends if his fellow weather Pokémon, Kyogre and Groudon engage in combat.^[6] From the ground, Rayquaza appears as a meteor in the sky.^[7]

Appearances

In video games

Rayquaza first appeared in the Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire games, where he could only be located on the top of the Sky Pillar. The player only has one chance to battle and capture Rayquaza; the Pokémon will disappear upon fainting or if the player loses the battle.^[3]

Rayquaza also serves as the main Legendary Pokémon of Pokémon Emerald,^[8] and appears on the cover of the game.^[9] In Pokémon Emerald, Rayquaza aids the player in stopping Team Magma and Team Aqua from harnessing the power of Kyogre and Groudon to rule the world.^[10] The game also focuses on attempts by these two factions to control Rayquaza, and thus the sky.^[11]

Rayquaza also appears in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team as a Pokémon available to battle and join the player's Pokémon team. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Rayquaza shoots down Fox McCloud's Arwing, and serves as a boss, a trophy, and a sticker within the game.^[12][13][14]

In other media

Rayquaza was featured in a line of Subway restaurant promotional toys, where it decorated the handle of a flying disc called the "Rayquaza Disc".^[15] Nintendo also released a version of the Game Boy Advance SP inspired by Rayquaza, with a green color and pictures of the Pokémon on the cover,^[16][17] in order to promote the release of Pokémon Emerald.^[18] Rayquaza also shows up as a card in eight series of the Pokémon Trading Card Game.^[19]

Rayquaza has appeared in one Pokémon film. In Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys, Rayquaza battles Deoxys, believing it is invading the Earth. Eventually, Rayquaza must be saved by Ash Ketchum. After Rayquaza is saved, it decides that Deoxys is not a threat, and returns to the atmosphere. Rayquaza has also appeared briefly in two episodes of the Pokémon anime, and was mentioned as a legend in Pokémon Adventures.

In 2005, the Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications released a postage stamp featuring Rayquaza on it.^[20]

Reception

Prior to the release of Ruby and Sapphire, some criticized the design of Rayquaza as nothing more than that of a rehashed Digimon.^[21] Rayquaza, along with fellow legendary Pokémon Dialga, have been cited as examples of a falling quality in Pokémon design, with one reporter remarking "Rayquaza may seem robotic" but that it still "maintain[s] the concept or idea that Pokémon created".^[22]

Further, IGN criticized the game designers for making Rayquaza too powerful, with stats that cannot be matched by other Pokémon, though it is still admitted that it is a "great Pokémon overall".^[21] IGN further claimed Rayquaza was a "heavy-hitting" favorite of fans,^[23] and that one could tell Rayquaza's impressiveness before even knowing of its abilities.^[24] In 2005, search engine Yahoo! reported Rayquaza as one of the top Pokémon-related web searches.^[25]

References