The Black Rayquaza (Japanese: 黒いレックウザBlack Rayquaza), formerly known as Lucius's Rayquaza (Japanese: ルシアスのレックウザLucius's Rayquaza) and Roy's Rayquaza (Japanese: ロイのレックウザRoy's Rayquaza), is a Shiny, Legendary Pokémon featured prominently in Pokémon Horizons: The Series. It is Lucius's firstPokémon and the first Pokémon that Roycaught in the Johtoregion, as well as his fourth overall. It was the first of the Six Heroes encountered by the Rising Volt Tacklers on their journey, and the last one to join them, being placed under Roy's care. It was mostly seen outside of its Poké Ball.
100 years prior to the events of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, the Black Rayquaza traveled alongside its Trainer, Lucius, on his journey to find the Pokémon paradise Laqua. One day, they scared away a group of thieves who were trying to steal Rystal's Terapagos, Pagogo. Since then, Lucius and Rystal, as well as the later addition of Gibeon, journeyed together towards Laqua. On their journey, Rayquaza helped Lucius catch Moltres and Gouging Fire, two of the Six Heroes.
Finally having reached Laqua, the Explorers found themselves in trouble after Gibeon meddled with the Laquium crystals found in the paradise. The Six Heroes released themselves from their Ancient Poké Balls and tried to contain the crystals, but to no avail. Afterwards, Pagogo transformed into its Stellar Form and gave some of its energy to the Six Heroes, allowing them to seal the Laquium away. As a result of this, Lucius was trapped in Laqua, Pagogo reverted into a dormant state, and the Six Heroes got scattered around the world. After the Laquium was sealed, a large explosion happened in Laqua, which was heard from all the way in Pericarp Town, where a little girl witnessed Rayquaza ascend to the skies.
At some point later, for some reason, Rayquaza returned to its Ancient Poké Ball, which ended up somewhere in the ocean, eventually washing up on the shoreline of an island in Kanto. Not long after, it was found by Roy's grandfather, who was unable to open it and eventually gave it to Roy.
Rayquaza meeting Lucius and Rystal's descendant, Liko
The Black Rayquaza debuted in The Ancient Poké Ball, where its Ancient Poké Ball finally opened after Liko's pendant resonated with it during a battle between the Rising Volt Tacklers and the modern-day Explorers. It unleashed an indiscriminate Draco Meteor over the beach, forcing the Explorers to retreat. Roy tried to get Rayquaza to return to its Poké Ball, but it ignored him and flew away after giving a brief glance at Liko, seemingly recognizing her as Lucius's descendant.
At some point after leaving its Poké Ball in The Ancient Poké Ball, Rayquaza received a message from Gibeon's White Zygarde, who requested that it find a worthy Trainer capable of inheriting Pagogo and the Six Heroes so they could stop Gibeon and destroy the Laquium in the future. Rayquaza flew off to various parts of the world, searching for its teammates to pass the message.
Rayquaza arrived in Paldea sometime before the events of Nemona and Brassius and…, where it was spotted by Brassius in a forest near Artazon, resonating with its teammate Arboliva, probably passing on Zygarde's message to it. When Liko, Roy, and Mollie arrived at the site in the following episode, they only found Arboliva, who was in possession of another Ancient Poké Ball, which led the Rising Volt Tacklers to learn more about the Ancient Adventurer and the Six Heroes.
Rayquaza arrived in Galar sometime before the events of Kabu's Battle Training!, where Kabu spotted it heading west of Motostoke towards the Galar Mine, probably to find its teammate GalarianMoltres to pass on Zygarde's message to it too. When Liko, Roy, and Friede went there to investigate in Clash! Galar Mine!, they once again, however, did not find Rayquaza; instead, they found the enraged Moltres with an Ancient Poké Ball.
At the very end of Lapras's Feelings for its Friends, Rayquaza appeared before the Rising Volt Tacklers and Diana at Lapras Sea after Lapras chose to be taken under Liko's care. In the following episode, it was suddenly attacked by Amethio's Ceruledge and Corviknight, but it easily defeated them without taking meaningful damage. Then, it turned its attention to the Rising Volt Tacklers, which forced Terapagos to transform into its Terastal Form in order to protect its friends. Its power, however, was still incomplete, so it quickly reverted back to its Normal Form, and Rayquaza left.
At some point, Rayquaza also found Kleavor and Gouging Fire and passed Zygarde's message to them too, finally passing the message to all of the heroes.
In The Plan to Capture Rayquaza, Rayquaza was lured to the Levincia Lighthouse by a resonance generator that recreated Terapagos's energy output. Once it appeared, Coral, Sidian, and Chalce of the Explorers started attacking it from multiple directions, but Rayquaza's sheer power and Liko, Roy, and Dot's meddling proved to be too much for them. As a last resort, Coral had her Glalie recklessly charge towards Rayquaza's Dragon Pulse and use Self-Destruct. The resulting explosion dealt notable damage to the Legendary Pokémon, who was sent crashing into the Brave Olivine.
In From So Far Away, the Explorers retreated aboard Spinel's helicopter, and Liko and Roy challenged Rayquaza to a battle, which it accepted. Amethio later joined the fray and teamed up with Friede, with them Terastallizing Ceruledge and Charizard, respectively, but both were eventually defeated by a devastating Dragon Ascent. Liko and Roy confronted Rayquaza next, but despite Fuecoco learning Flame Charge and Sprigatito evolving into Floragato, they were unable to do much against the Legendary Pokémon. Before leaving, Rayquaza locked eyes with Liko again, seeming to take note of the resemblance she bears to its partner, Lucius.
In The Pillar of Fire, Pagogo and the five reunited members of the Six Heroes summoned Rayquaza to Area Zero. In the following episode, Rayquaza challenged the Rising Volt Tacklers to another battle. Despite being exhausted from their battle with Gouging Fire, Liko and the others were able to use effective strategies to deal damage to Rayquaza, though not without most of their Pokémon fainting in the process, leaving only Pagogo and Crocalor. After a final showdown where both Pagogo and Rayquaza dealt massive damage to each other, Pagogo used the last of its strength to Terastallize Crocalor, giving it the strength to weaken Rayquaza enough for Roy to recapture it into its Ancient Poké Ball. Rayquaza emerged from its Poké Ball and properly reunited with Pagogo and the Six Heroes before flying into the sky to guide the Rising Volt Tacklers towards Laqua.
In Where the Land Meets the Sky, Rayquaza and the Rising Volt Tacklers arrived at Mount Pericarp. As Laqua was located too high up for the Brave Olivine to ascend, Liko, Roy, Dot, and Friede had to traverse the mountain on foot while Rayquaza went ahead and waited for them at the summit. In the following episode, once Liko and the others reached the summit, Rayquaza appeared and blew away the clouds covering the area, revealing Laqua hidden beneath them. Rayquaza then laid down to rest and had Roy return it to its Poké Ball.
Rayquaza protecting the Rising Volt Tacklers from the other Heroes
In Guided by the Black Rayquaza!, at the center of Laqua, Liko's group, the Six Heroes, and the Explorers witnessed Gibeon's Zygarde free a still-living Lucius from a cluster of Laquium crystals. Lucius revealed that while he was sealed away, he received a message from Zygarde, who informed him that it asked Rayquaza to find someone capable of restoring Pagogo to its full strength in order to completely destroy the Laquium. While Liko, Roy, Dot, and Amethio confronted Gibeon and Zygarde, the Six Heroes began gathering their power into Pagogo. After Gibeon was defeated, Pagogo transformed into its Stellar Form and began circling the Laquium core along with the Six Heroes.
In Where the Adventure Leads, once the Laquium was purified, Lucius and Gibeon faded away, causing the Six Heroes to all become released. With the exception of Rayquaza, who appears to be capable of resisting Laquium, the Six Heroes were infected by Laquium mist fired from Spinel's Laquium Spheres. The infected Heroes went berserk and began attacking both friend and foe, causing the earth below everyone to become unstable and collapse. Rayquaza shielded Liko and the others with its body before urging them to flee the area.
Rayquaza resting at the Dragon Shrine within the Dragon's Den
In the following year, while Spinel captured the other members of the Six Heroes, Rayquaza retreated to a cave near Blackthorn City to rest in a shrine dedicated to restoring Dragon-type Pokémon's energy. It was eventually discovered by Team Dragon Rampage, who resolved to protect it due to their mission to protect Dragon-types. They did so by spreading misinformation to divert attention away from it. During his training in Kalos, Roy met a young Trainer named Ult who wished to catch the Black Rayquaza as well.
Rayquaza and Roy
In Crash! Team Dragon Rampage, Liko and Roy ran into Team Dragon Rampage, who initially tried to chase them off due to believing they were from their rival gang, Team Wriggle. However, after they saved several Dratini Eggs from being attacked, they gained their trust and the gang brought them to Rayquaza, where Pagogo was delighted to see it again. Roy told Rayquaza that the Laquium that it and its friends initially purged returned, but promised it that they would handle the situation for it. Ult then arrived and realized that it was not as strong as he had anticipated, and told it to recover soon so they could have a worthy battle.
In HZ129, Liko, Roy, and Ult returned to Rayquaza to bring it an item that Friede had asked them to bring to it. The item in question turned out to be a meteorite, which Rayquaza consumed, restoring it to full power. Pagogo then Terastallized Rayquaza, and Roy and Ult challenged Rayquaza to a battle to see which of them would get to be its partner. Although Rayquaza managed to defeat most of their Pokémon, it was eventually defeated by Roy's Skeledirge, after which it gave Roy its approval and allowed itself to be caught by him, fulfilling Roy's dream of doing so. Afterwards, Rayquaza left to regather the Six Heroes in preparation for erasing the Laquium Core.
In HZ134, Rayquaza arrived in Laqua alongside the rest of the Six Heroes to erase the Laquium Core once and for all. In the next episode, Rayquaza and the rest of the Tera Type Pokémon made an attempt to purify the Laquium Core, but the Explorers interfered, losing Penny's Sylveon in the process, until Coral sent out her Scream Tail, nicknamed Screamypuff, to take the Intertwining Pokémon's place. However, Rayquaza and the rest of the Tera Type Pokémon couldn't erase the Laquium Core before Spinel merged with it, awakening it. Rayquaza subsequently teamed up with its friends to take down the Laquium Core. In the following episode, Rayquaza Mega Evolved and weakened the Laquium Core before Pagogo purified the Core for good. With the Laquium threat neutralized, Rayquaza chose to remain at Laqua with the Six Heroes, Pagogo, and Zygarde to restore the paradise to its previous state. Rayquaza flies back into the sky to watch over Laqua.
The Black Rayquaza is the first and most powerful member of Lucius's Six Heroes. It appears to be very aggressive, though it is often elusive, preferring to fly away from the ones seeking it, including its former teammates and Pagogo, roaming the world instead. It has also shown to be able to recognize Liko as its Trainer's descendant.
The meteorite Rayquaza ate that allowed it to Mega Evolve
Rayquaza shares a close bond with Pagogo, talking and playing together the first time that they met. Pagogo also enjoyed lying on its head as Rayquaza flew. Lucius says Pagogo was the only Pokémon that did not fear Rayquaza. Diana theorizes that it wants to see Terapagos's true power, as it voluntarily appeared before the Rising Volt Tacklers after Lapras returned Pagogo's energy, which possibly enabled its Tera ShiftAbility. Gibeon also claims that both Terapagos and Rayquaza are the keys to Laqua, however this was not elaborated on. It's later revealed that Rayquaza was the only one to know how to reach Laqua.
Rayquaza has proven to be an incredibly strong and powerful battler, able to singlehandedly defeat almost every single one of the Rising Volt Tacklers' Pokémon through brute force alone, despite being at a severe disadvantage and taking several supereffective hits, and was even able to outmatch Pagogo's Terastal Form, though not before taking massive damage from its Tera Starstorm. Although it initially overlooked Roy in favor of Liko during their first encounter, Rayquaza has since shown some respect towards Roy after they battled each other in Area Zero, allowing him to call it back into its Poké Ball to rest after flying for so long. Much like Lucius, Rayquaza was also shown to be selfless and protective of others when it urged the Rising Volt Tacklers to flee while it fought the other five heroes that were rampaging due to Spinel's Laquium Sphere.
Description: A combination of Dragon Ascent and Torch Song, used against the Laquium Core. While Mega Rayquaza charges with Dragon Ascent, Skeledirge uses Torch Song on it, causing the fiery bird to combine with Rayquaza.
Has been seen using two battle techniques (Terastallization and Mega Evolution).
Has been released.
Rayquaza's capture took place 123 episodes after its debut, marking the longest time between the debut and the capture of a main character's Pokémon in the animated series.
During most of the series, Rayquaza had a distinct crystallized glow coating its body, which looked extremely similar to a Terastallized state, but without a Tera Jewel on its head. In The Wonders of the World!, a flashback revealed that this was due to it receiving some of Pagogo's power 100 years prior to the events of the series. This distinction disappeared when Rayquaza returned that power to Pagogo in Beyond the Shining Rainbow.
Despite all of the Six Heroes having being given some of Pagogo's power, Rayquaza was the only one to gain this trait. The reason for this is currently unknown.
Like the White Zygarde, the Black Rayquaza only began to sparkle as it exited its Poké Ball once it was recaught in a standard Poké Ball, in this case by Roy in HZ129.
Rayquaza is the first Legendary Pokémon to have Mega Evolved in the animated series, outside of movies and Mega Evolution Specials.
If other animated media are taken into account, it is also the first one to have required a Trainer with a Key Stone to do so.
As its species does not have an associated Mega Stone, Rayquaza had a unique animation sequence while Mega Evolving, in which the strands of light connected directly to its body instead of the held Mega Stone.
