From SmashWiki, the Super Smash Bros. wiki
SSBB Icon.png SSB4-U Icon.png SSBU Icon.png
This article is about the Pokémon. For the smasher, see Smasher:Rayquaza07.
Rayquaza Ruby and Sapphire.png
Rayquaza's artwork from Pokémon Emerald.
A boss in Brawl
Universe Pokémon
Japanese voice actor Katsuyuki Konishi
Article on Bulbapedia Rayquaza

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


Rayquaza's sprite in Pokémon Emerald.

Rayquaza is a legendary Pokémon that debuted in the third generation of Pokémon games, serving as the version mascot for Pokémon Emerald, the third special edition game to Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and is categorized within the Pokédex at #384 as the "Sky High Pokémon". A green, serpentine creature, it is part of a trio of legendary Pokémon commonly referred to as the weather trio along with Groudon and Kyogre, and in its games is able to mediate the fights between those two. Its types are Dragon and Flying. It is considered very territorial and usually flies around in the ozone layer.

Rayquaza first appeared in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire as a legendary Pokémon residing in Sky Pillar. However, it did not have much of a role in these games. In the fifth Pokémon game of Generation III, Pokémon Emerald, Rayquaza is the mascot and served a much bigger role, becoming the one who stops the fight between Kyogre and Groudon. It also stays in Sky Pillar once the conflict is finished and can be obtained much earlier.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]

Role in The Subspace Emissary[edit]

Rayquaza art for Brawl.

Rayquaza is the second boss in The Subspace Emissary in Brawl. In the mode, Rayquaza first appears in the level The Lake after Diddy Kong goes to investigate a crashed Arwing. Seeing Diddy and the Arwing's pilot as intruders of its territory, Rayquaza bursts out of the water, destroys the Arwing with an attack resembling a ball of energy, and then grabs Diddy. Before it can retreat into the water, Fox leaps from the burning Arwing and attacks Rayquaza using Fox Illusion, causing it to lose its grip on Diddy Kong. The beast attacks Fox with the energy ball attack 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.

Even though it wasn't working for the Subspace army, Tabuu brings back Rayquaza to slow down the heroes in The Great Maze.

Also, when Rayquaza is defeated, it twitches at the last second, which probably means it was only knocked out (a possible throwback to the Pokémon series, where a Pokémon who is defeated in battle is said to have fainted).

It can also be battled at any given time in Boss Battles Mode.

Rayquaza's attacks & stats[edit]


Rayquaza fighting against Diddy Kong and Fox in The Lake

Like all bosses, Rayquaza can be controlled in Boss Battles Mode. The start button will, like all bosses self-destruct it.

Move Input Description Move Number
Tail Sweep A Rayquaza sweeps its tail across the ground. It actually hits twice, and it can break shields quite easily at higher difficulties. 1
Dig A^ Rayquaza flies up slowly, then crashes into the character while burrowing into the ground, then appears on the other side. The lightning bolt attack is the substitute for this at lower HP. 3
Dash Av Rayquaza ducks down and rushes to the other side of the stage. 1
Air Dash A< or A> Rayquaza flies up, and then dashes back and forth near the ground. At lower HP, Rayquaza does this two or three times. Small characters can evade this attack by ducking if they can fit between the "waves" of Rayquaza's wavy shape and the ground, but the move also produces a wind that can push characters around into a spot where they can be hit, making crawling an asset. 3
Diagonal Electric Ball B Rayquaza sends a ball of electricity in front of itself diagonally (This can be reflected by various reflecting attacks but not absorbed by PSI Magnet or Oil Panic). 2
Lightning Strike B^ Rayquaza flies up in a tight circle and attacks 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. Similar to Pikachu's Thunder 3
Ground Burst Bv Rayquaza burrows underground, then bursts out of the ground where the player was standing. At lower HP, Rayquaza does this three times. When its HP is low enough that it can be captured with a Trophy Stand, it will perform this attack four times. 2
Horizontal Electric Ball B< or B> Rayquaza lowers its head and sends the lightning orb in front of itself, 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). 2
Blast X Rayquaza's eyes glow, and then it creates an explosion at the location where the character was at that time. While Rayquaza's eyes glow, fighters in contact with its head will be spiked to the ground, often a perfect setup for the explosion. 3
Roar Unusable Rayquaza roars. During the first part of the roar, characters are pushed away from Rayquaza if they are close to it. This attack deals no damage and does not affect Rayquaza's attack cycle. Random

Moveset gallery[edit]

HP and damage taken[edit]

The Lake 185.68 208.4 225.44 253.84 282.24
The Great Maze 151 173 188 211 235
Boss Battles 115.4 121 133.2 128 135 148.6 141.5 150 164 155 165 182.7 191 205 224.5
Damage taken ×0.7 ×0.7 ×0.5 ×1.0 ×0.7 ×0.5 ×0.5 ×0.7 ×0.7 ×0.7 ×0.3
Unknown weak point ×1.0 ×1.0 ×0.7 ×1.5 ×1.0 ×0.7 ×0.7 ×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0 ×0.8

While Rayquaza technically has less health than later bosses, its massive battery of resistances practically gives Rayquaza a very large amount of health. In fact, the only moves which it does not resist are those with freezing hitboxes, which is a nod to the Pokémon games where Rayquaza's typing makes it weakest to Ice-type moves. However with there being only a few moves in the game with hitboxes of the freezing type, only possessed by the Ice Climbers and Lucas, this lone relative weakness can rarely be exploited. Even then those few freezing moves are projectiles, meaning Rayquaza will still resist them, while also being low-damaging and laggy moves that would make them ineffective for using against bosses. With this inability to use moves that Rayquaza doesn't possess an at least x0.7 resistance to, it is effectively about as or even more durable than Duon, the most durable boss outside of Tabuu.

None of Rayquaza's hurtboxes are programmed to be a weak point, though interestingly it has weak point numbers programmed in that are not the default ×2.0 like they are for other enemies that lack a weak point. This may indicate that Rayquaza originally had a weak point to counterbalance its massive resistances, that was scrapped late in development.


Trophy information[edit]

Rayquaza's trophy must be obtained by using a Trophy Stand on it during its Subspace Emissary fight.

Rayquaza trophy in Brawl.
GB Advance: Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire
GB Advance: Pokémon Emerald


Name Game Effect Character(s)
Rayquaza Pokémon series EffectIcon(Aura).png Attack +24 LucarioHeadSSBB.png
Brawl Sticker Rayquaza (Pokemon series).png
(Pokémon series)

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]

As a stage element[edit]

Rayquaza using one of its attacks in the Kalos Pokémon League stage.

Rayquaza appears in the Kalos Pokémon League stage as a stage element. Appearing rarely in the Dragonmark Chamber, 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[edit]

Rayquaza's trophy is exclusive to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, where it is part of the Legend of Pokémon Ruby & Pokémon Sapphire Trophy Box.

Rayquaza trophy in for Wii U.
This Dragon- and Flying-type Pokémon usually dwells high in the ozone layer, so it can't be seen from the ground. In the Kalos Pokémon 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.
GB Advance: Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire (03/2003)

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

As a stage element[edit]

Rayquaza returns in its role on Kalos Pokémon League. It also appears as a Spirit.


No. Image Name Type Class Slot Ability Series
Rayquaza Neutral ★★★ 3 Jump ↑ Pokémon Series


  • Despite being the "Sky High" Pokémon who lives high in the ozone layer, Rayquaza in Brawl seems to be able to live underwater (although in the game, it is capable of learning the move Dive; or might possibly be sleeping there) and attacks by burrowing underground (it cannot learn Dig in the games). The Pokédex says that Rayquaza never touches the ground, however, unless Groudon and Kyogre were to fight.
    • Additionally, despite being immune to ground-type attacks in its home series such as Earthquake, it can still be hit by moves with quake hitboxes in Brawl, such as Donkey Kong's Hand Slap.
  • A glitch can happen when facing Rayquaza. It is unknown how this happens, but it can leave some of the playable character's model stuck frozen in the immediate foreground, moving with the camera. Any attack Rayquaza performs that targets the player's location go offscreen, failing to hit the almost-KO'ed player. This glitch lasts until the player quits the battle. [1]
  • Rayquaza is the only boss fought at the beginning of a stage whose fight isn't the entire stage.
  • Rayquaza is the only boss in The Subspace Emissary known to have a specific voice actor (Katsuyuki Konishi), with the said voice actor voicing several other Pokémon throughout the series as well.
  • Rayquaza seems to be the only boss in SSE without any true connection to the Subspace Army.
  • Rayquaza is the only boss who never comes in contact with a character inside of its own series (in contrast to Porky Minch).
  • Aside from freezing attacks being the most effective, many of Rayquaza's weaknesses and resistances do not match its properties in the Pokémon games: it resists electric, grass, and water attacks more than flame attacks, whereas its Pokémon typing dictates it takes regular damage from electric, half damage from fire and water, and quarter damage from grass.
    • It also takes super effective damage from Rock-type moves in its home series due to its Flying Type, but the weakness is not shown during its boss battle in Brawl.

Ads keep SmashWiki independent and free :)