Rayquaza

Rayquaza
A boss in	SSBB
Universe	Pokémon

Rayquaza (レックウザ, Rekkūza) is a fictional creature in the Pokémon media franchise.

Creature description

Rayquaza is a Legendary Pokémon that first appeared in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and, most prominently, Emerald, where it was featured as the cover Pokémon. Its type is Dragon/Flying. It is the second-highest level wild Pokémon in the games, appearing at level 70, falling short to Arceus, level 80 in the wild.

Rayquaza inhabits the ozone layer and, due to living at such a height, it cannot be spotted from the ground. It feeds on water particles, like those that compose clouds, thus it does not need to descend if not to rest (because it is constantly circling the world). However, should Kyogre and Groudon enter a feud, Rayquaza must come down to put things in their rightful places.

Out of all Legendary Pokémon, Rayquaza is the longest, measuring 23' (7 m). It is, however, only the fourth longest Pokémon, losing to Onix, Steelix and Wailord. It weighs 455.2 lbs (206.5 kg), and its National Pokédex Number is #384.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Role In The Subspace Emissary

Rayquaza is a boss in adventure mode of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In the Subspace Emissary, Rayquaza first appears in the jungle after Diddy Kong goes to investigate a crashed Arwing. It bursts out of the water and destroys the Arwing with Energy Ball, then grabs Diddy. Before it can retreat into the water, Fox McCloud comes out and attacks Rayquaza using Fox Illusion, causing it to lose its grip on Diddy Kong. The beast attacks Fox with Energy Ball again, but Fox reflects the attack back at Rayquaza using his Reflector, sending it tumbling back into the water. Both Diddy and Fox face off against the dangerous Legendary Pokémon. It can also be battled at any given time in Boss Battles. It has not been proven it has any connection with the Subspace Army and could just be angry at Diddy and Fox for intruding on its territory. However, at the last level, Tabuu resurrects Rayquaza to slow down the heroes in the maze he creates out of previous worlds.

Rayquaza's Attacks, Stats & General Strategy

Rayquaza fighting against Diddy Kong and Fox in The Lake.

Attacks

First Move

• Rayquaza uses Iron Tail, which is a sweeping tail attack. It actually hits twice, so it can break your shield quite easily at higher difficulties.

• Rayquaza ducks down and rushes to the other side of the stage.

Second Move

• Rayquaza shoots an energy ball at front of it diagonally, or lowers its head and uses Energy Ball in front of it, which travels across the stage unless it hits the ground, when it will explode. (This can be reflected by various reflecting attacks but not absorbed by PSI Magnet or Oil Panic)

• Rayquaza burrows underground, then bursts out of the ground where the player was standing. At lower HP, Rayquaza does this three times.

Third move

• Rayquaza's eyes glow, and then it creates an explosion at the location where your character was at that time (possibly Focus Blast).

• Rayquaza flies up in a tight circle and uses Shock Wave (or possibly Thunder, though this is extremely different from Pikachu's Thunder) which hits you with a multi-hit lightning bolt (it does not have knockback, however). It breaks shields down quickly. During the time Rayquaza rises touching it will deal Electric damage. It's one of the few attacks that are easier to dodge on higher difficulties due to its much shorter duration. Rayquaza only uses at lower HP.

• Rayquaza flies up slowly, then crashes into the character while burrowing into the ground, then appears on the other side. Thunder is the substitute for this at lower HP.

• Rayquaza flies up, and then uses Extremespeed to dash near the ground back and forth. At lower HP, Rayquaza does this two or three times. Small characters can evade this attack by ducking.

Random

• Rayquaza uses Roar. During the first part of the roar, you are pushed away from Rayquaza if you are close to it. This attack deals no damage. (This does not affect Rayquaza's attack cycle.)

Statistics

Rayquaza has a lot of Health which can make fighting it rather difficult to destroy effectively. It also seems to resist many different kinds of attacks. It has resistance to Fire, Electric, and strangely enough Freezing attacks (in the Pokemon RPGs, Rayquaza is especially vulnerable to Ice). This makes good boss killing moves such as the Knee Smash, and Ganondorf's Thunder Stomp really weak and ineffective. Ganondorf's Darkness attacks are not resisted by it, in fact Rayquaza may be weak against them.

General Strategy & Capture

General Strategy

Like many Bosses Rayquaza's attacks can generally be easily dodged and avoided with sidesteps and air dodges. Since most of its attacks are only on the ground, characters that can stay in the air for long periods can easily dodge some of its faster attacks. Overall Rayquaza is pretty easy if you pay attention to it's movements and learn to air dodge efficiently.

Capture

To quicken the fight you may want to use a heavy hitter (Ganondorf is excellent) to deal loads of damage quickly to get it weak, then use a character loaded with defensive Stickers who can easily dodge its attacks and wait for a Trophy Stand to drop. It is easier if the level difficulty is harder and there are the stickers that make trophy stands appear more frequently.

Trivia

• Despite being the "Sky High" Pokémon who lives high in the ozone layer, Rayquaza in Brawl seems to be able to live underwater. This may be because, in the Pokémon games, Rayquaza can learn the HM moves "Surf" and "Dive".
• When Rayquaza grabs Diddy it looks like it will eat him whilst in the Pokémon games Rayquaza is not carnivorous but it eats water particles high in the atmosphere.
• Rayquaza is resistant to Ice based attacks in Brawl, but in the Pokémon Universe, it is extremely vulnerable to them. It is also resistant to water in the Pokémon Universe, but in Brawl it is not
• It is possible that Rayquaza is not affiliated with The SSE, but rather angry that Diddy Kong invaded it's teritory. This territorial behavior was shown in Destiny Deoxys, where it was shown hunting down the Deoxys for 'invading' it's territory. It still, however, appears as a boss in the final maze.