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Community POTW #091

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Serebii

And, as if by magic, the webmaster appeared...
Staff member
Admin
Time for the next Pokémon of the Week, and this time it's the final week of our three week movie celebration

384.png


It's Rayquaza, the Dragon/Flying-type legendary from Hoenn. Normally, Rayquaza was just a bit of a pain in the butt to deal with, but fell to various things, but it recently got a boost

rayquaza.png


We're also covering its Mega Evolution, Mega Rayquaza...the only Mega Evolution to note require a Mega Stone to evolve, just to know a specific move! It also has the highest BST in the game!

Go nuts

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-xy/384.shtml
 

ClefairyRox

Nintendo Fan
Good ol' Quay Quay. Always been a popular choice since its inception in Gen 3. And why not? Guy's got everything: amazing Attack, amazing Sp. Attack, Speed that nudges it just ahead of other Ubers like Kyogre and Ho-Oh, a fantastic movepool consisting of boosting moves, priority, and powerful STABs, and on top of it all, a positively awesome design. Rayquazas only real negatives are its Achilles Heel in Ice attacks, a Stealth Rock weakness, so-so defenses, and it wishes its Speed were even higher so to bypass Pokemon like Deoxys and the Lati twins. Welp, its ridiculously overpowered Mega Evolution solved those problems easily, and unlike other Megas, Rayquaza only needs to know Dragon Ascent to Mega Evolve -- which you should be running anyway because that move is amazing. So having those ridiculous stats that can be further augmented with a hold item along with its ability wiping out its Achilles Heel and several of its other weaknesses, a brand new tier had to be made just for Mega Rayquaza, which is ridiculous. Thus, I will be focusing on normal Rayquaza, who while still powerful, can at least be dealt with much more easily.

Air Lock nullifies any weather effects as long as Rayquaza is on the field. Back in the days of infinite weather, this was great for helping neuter Kyogre's Drizzle, Groudon's Drought, and Tyranitar's Sand Stream. Nowadays, while its less effective on normal weather, it still works on Desolate Land and Primordial Sea, helping against Groudon and Kyogre's Primal counterparts.

Mega Rayquaza's ability is Delta Stream. This is a new ability that creates weather called Strong Winds as long as Mega Rayquaza is on the field. Strong Winds overpowers all other forms of weather when Rayquaza switches in, although if Primal Groudon/Kyogre switch in it is overtaken by their respective abilities. More importantly, Strong Winds make Flying-type Pokemon take half damage from moves they are weak too, effectively removing several of Rayquaza's weaknesses, including making it 4x Ice weakness a more survivable 2x weakness.

As Rayquaza learns both Swords Dance and Dragon Dance and has a great physical movepool, many flock to it for its physical attacking capabilities. ORAS gave it a powerful Flying STAB in Dragon Ascent, which decimates everything in its path. You have to invest seriously in physical bulk and/or resist it to not take massive damage. On the downside, it lowers Rayquaza's defenses, making it more vulnerable to revenge killing. Dragon Claw or Outrage will serve as your physical Dragon STAB, just don't recklessly use Outrage if your foe has a Fairy. Earthquake pairs wonderfully with Dragon moves, hitting most Steel-types. Rayquaza was also gifted with Extreme Speed, giving it a powerful +2 priority move to use to pick off faster foes. Finally, there's that Japanese event Rayquaza that knows V-Create, giving Rayquaza yet another hard-hitting move that destroys what Earthquake can't, such as Skarmory, Scizor, and Ferrothorn.

On the special side, Rayquaza can use Draco Meteor for a powerful attack that lowers its Sp. Attack. It can run this very well on a mixed set along with something like Fire Blast. Rayquaza has a nice special movepool, but most of its attacks are weaker than its physical attacks, and those that aren't (like Thunder) are generally unreliable.

Countering Rayquaza: Multiscale Lugia can take anything Rayquaza throws at it and force it out with Whirlwind or 2HKO it with Ice Beam. However, it NEEDS Multiscale to avoid being 2HKO'd, so watch out for Stealth Rock! Faster Pokemon like the Lati twins can revenge-kill Rayquaza, but cannot switch in safely. Fairy Arceus can switch in on a Dragon attack and then scare Rayquaza with the threat of Judgement, Rock can do the same on Dragon Ascent. Primal Groudon hates taking Earthquake but can OHKO with Stone Edge. Being a Flying-type, Rayquaza strongly dislikes Stealth Rock, so try to keep them up as much as possible to discourage it from switching in and out.
 

Deltadromeus

Active Member
Well. I knew this day would come. The day we reviewed ~pause for dramatic effect~ MEGA RAYQUAZA!! Just looking at Mega Rayquaza, it is an amazing Pokemon. It is basically a dragon type with that Delta Stream ability. It has 180 on both offenses and 115 on the speed. This outspeeds most of the uber meta game save Deoxys and a few mega pokemon like Salamence and Gengar. Lets look at my first move set.

Fire and Meteors
Rayquaza @ Life Orb/White Herb
Ability: Air Lock, Delta Stream (Mega)
Nature: Hasty(+Spd, -Def)
EVs: 252 Spd, 126 Atk, 126 SpA
- Dragon Ascent
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast/Overheat/V-Creat
- Extreme Speed

This is a mixed set for Mega Rayquaza. You will of course mega evolve, and then, if it isn't resisted, use Draco Meteor. Then you just spam Dragon Ascent until everything dies. You want more? Fine. Life Orb will make your attacks absolutely nuke everything, however, White Herb allows you to fire off two Draco Meteors in a row, or use Overheat after Draco Meteor. The question of Overheat vs Fire Blast is up to you. I'd recogmend Overheat if you have the White Herb. Of course, if you can get V-Create, use it. Hands down, no questions asked. That move is just busted. Dragon Ascent is pretty obvious, and Extreme Speed is there to pick off any Focus Sashes. I chose Hasty over Naive because there are more Special Attackers in the Uber Metagame.

Shenron, Appear!
Rayquaza @ Life Orb
Ability: Air Lock Delta Stream (Mega)
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 SpD
- Dragon Ascent
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake/ V-Create
- Dragon Claw

The idea is to set up 1-2 Dragon Dances. You do that, and you win. You just win, right then, right there. Done. Boom. Over. Okay, E-Spped Arceus still hurts a lot, especially after Spamming Dragon Ascent, but other than that, you are pretty good to go. If you have V-Create, use it. It is still pretty busted.
 

Karxrida

Lost in the Waves
Dragon Claw is pretty worthless, as Dragon Ascent hits neutral targets harder while netting the same kills on several tarets. The only Dragon move you should use is Draco Meteor on MixQuaza (which should be the first set listed btw) since it hits Mega Mence on its "meh" Special Defense and some other stuff I'm too tired to look up.

Every set should have E-Speed at least slashed somewhere.

Other Options should have Surf and Aqua Tail. Air Lock negates Desolate Land so you can screw up P-Don with them.
 
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Psynergy

Strong Winds
Staff member
Super Mod
Now here's the real lord and savior himself. No wall of text about Rayquaza from me today but there's a few things I want to clear up right now for people. Be extra mindful of what makes something a check or counter if you're talking about Mega Rayquaza, I know this became an issue during ORAS following the "omg no mega stone?!?!" revelation and something like Scarf Kyurem-W isn't cutting it as a counter. Also if anyone is remotely seriously thinking about mentioning 6 Klefki as a counter, don't.
 

Deltadromeus

Active Member
I probably should think of counters, but lets just list a few things Mega Rayquaza doesn't like:

Stealth Rocks
It still takes 25% of switch in health, which really, really sucks for him.

Xerneas
Not a hard counter my any means, but certainly a check. A speedy nature Xerneas outspeeds a speedy nature Rayquaza the turn it mega evolves, and Xerneas will kill Rayquaza with Moonblast. Also, Dragon Ascent only has a 12.5% chance to OHKO with a Life Orb, so Xerneas, while not a perfect counter my any means, is a potential check.
252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Xerneas: 341-402 (86.7 - 102.2%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

Dialga
Again, not a counter, but a pretty good check. It can switch into a Dragon Ascent, however, it does have to watch out for Earthquake, which will 2HKO, and KO it after a Dragon Ascent. Dialga can OHKO Rayquaza with Stealth Rocks up with even a Dragon Pulse. It is a garunteed OHKO with Draco Meteor, and Dialga can always kill Rayquaza with a Dragon Pulse after a stat drop for Dragon Ascent.

Golduck
Did you expect to see Golduck here? Yes? Okay then. Golduck's Cloud Nine is an amazing ability, especially factoring in Primal Groudon's 4x weakness to Water, and Mega Rayquaza's 4x weakness to Ice. The weather conditions they have would normally block out those weaknesses, but Cloud Nine does in fact negate the primal weather, and so a Modest, Scarfed Golduck can OHKO Mega Rayquaza 93.8% with an Ice Beam, and Extreme Speed, even at +1 with a Life Orb, only has a 31.3% chance of OHKOing Golduck.
252+ SpA Golduck Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Rayquaza: 348-412 (99.1 - 117.3%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
+1 252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Golduck: 266-315 (88.3 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

Now, those are a few things that could possibly remove Mega Rayquaza. I'd like help coming up with hard counters.
 

Karxrida

Lost in the Waves
If you are going to suggest checks and counters, make sure said checks and counters aren't completely worthless/unviable outside of checking or countering the mon in question. Golduck is a horrible Pokemon to use in Ubers and should never be mentioned unironically.

Are we actually going to do a Mega Ray write-up? Nobody in their right mind would battle this thing outside of Doubles Ubers.
 

Shinzan

Active Member
Golduck
Did you expect to see Golduck here? Yes? Okay then. Golduck's Cloud Nine is an amazing ability, especially factoring in Primal Groudon's 4x weakness to Water, and Mega Rayquaza's 4x weakness to Ice. The weather conditions they have would normally block out those weaknesses, but Cloud Nine does in fact negate the primal weather, and so a Modest, Scarfed Golduck can OHKO Mega Rayquaza 93.8% with an Ice Beam, and Extreme Speed, even at +1 with a Life Orb, only has a 31.3% chance of OHKOing Golduck.
252+ SpA Golduck Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Rayquaza: 348-412 (99.1 - 117.3%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
+1 252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Golduck: 266-315 (88.3 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

Now, those are a few things that could possibly remove Mega Rayquaza. I'd like help coming up with hard counters.

While you are at it, you could list regular Rayquaza with its similar ability and access to Ice Beam, but there is the possibility of Scarfed Mega-Rayquaza KOing it instead.

So with its MASSIVE offenses on both spectrums and well-rounded stats, I doubt there is a true counter for it.

Thankfully, the tier it is restricted to (Anything Goes) allows cheap strategies to use. This means that sleep spam, evil evasion techniques, OHKO moves, no species clause is fair game.

Also, he's not so gamebreaking in a doubles environment (but no less dangerous). You can gang up on it with certain team combos such as Darkrai's Dark Void and Rayquaza's Ice Beam for a quick KO, or throw a Mega-Glalie's Explosion just to take it down while preventing it from KOing it using a partner with Fake Out or Follow Me/Rage Powder. The problem though is how its partner supports its teammate.

Two good teammate classifications are those that take advantage of Mega-Rayquaza's ability to null super-effectiveness against flying and those that cover Mega-Rayquaza's weaknesses for synergy.

Tornadus I/T

As the sole mon with only a Flying Typing, partnering it up with M-Rayquaza effectively gives it zero weaknesses whatsoever. Incarnate has the benefit of throwing Priority moves like Taunt to disrupt status moves such as Darkrai's Dark Void or Tailwind to double M-Rayquaza's already impressive speed. Therian has Regenerator to recover health it tanked.

Zapdos/Thundurus I/T

By factoring strong winds, the Electric/Flying mons are also left with no weaknesses, unless Roost is used, which leaves Zapdos with a ground weakness. Zapdos has the advantage of learning Defog and is bulky enough to tank multiple hits and heal with Roost. Thundurus-I possesses similar strengths to Tornadus-I but is only good for taunting. Thundurus-T is just a powerhouse.

Togetic/Togekiss

The Togepi line is only notable for learning Follow Me, which has the equivalent speed priority to Fake Out/Extreme Speed to take hits meant for M-Rayquaza. With strong winds, it is left with the standard Fairy-type weakness. However, it can still put a dent on attackers with paraflinch hax.

Darkrai

While it doesn't benefit from strong wind, it can still eliminate threats to M-Rayquaza with its especially deadly movesets. Dark Void is obvious enough, but it also carries Ice Beam for other dragons, Sludge Bomb for Fairies, and Focus Blast/Incinerate for Ice and Steels.
 

Alita54

Well-Known Member
I like (mega) ray, but man oh man gamefreak should have never given him such a overpowered and sometimes overrated mega. I'ma just talk about checks to mega ray...

Anyways I'm glad someone mentioned clod nine golduck. Yes we know it not the best thing out there. But it's definitely the best cloud nine user to face mega ray with. It's not like mega ray has a huge number of checks out there to deal with it anyway so it is something to consider. If your going into a battle format where mega ray is used, your definitely gonna want multiple pokes on your team who can threaten it considering how ridiculous it is. I'd run either that item that always leaves you with 1 hp on it or choice scarf probably with modest nature. You must have a decent ice type move on it obviously with maybe a priority(I believe the duck learns aqua jet?) just in case it has some hp left.

I think klefki is the best way to deal with mega ray though. A prankster thunder wave is going to hinder any version of mega ray. And considering how ridiculous it's attack is a foul play from klefki is going to do major damage. Rayquaza's dragon stab does nothing to it and both dragon ascent and extreme speed are resisted. If rayquaza tries earthquake klefki can learn magnet rise which benefits from priority too. Fire attacks are problematic but with the right bulk investment it should be able to survive at least one.

If you know mega ray is running an all physical set avalugg could also be a potential check with it's godly physical defense, ice type super effective stab, and longevity via curse and recover. This is only in regards to physical sets on mega ray though.
 
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Psynergy

Strong Winds
Staff member
Super Mod
Are we actually going to do a Mega Ray write-up? Nobody in their right mind would battle this thing outside of Doubles Ubers.

Oh yes. The movesets are really similar between regular and Mega anyway but it's still getting covered just like any other Mega. If someone has a death wish then that's their problem.

I like (mega) ray, but man oh man gamefreak should have never given him such a overpowered and sometimes overrated mega. I'ma just talk about checks to mega ray...

I mean in all fairness this is a Mega that from a canon perspective was likely purposely designed to be broken beyond belief. It's a fan favorite that won the 15th anniversary poll over Pikachu so of course they're going to give it special treatment. Not like they'd ever allow it in VGC so Game Freak had little reason to try balancing it anyway, may as well go all out.
 

Mestorn

Wandering Battler
Grounding Rayquaza

Rayquaza is the near epitome of an idealized sweeper, especially when mega evolved. Good speed, powerful offenses, a wide offensive movepool, and access to boosting moves make it near impossible to wall and enough defense and a great array of resistances to prevent it from becoming fodder from Priority moves not named Ice Shard. In fact, even priority users not named ExtremeKiller Arceus must eat an Extremespeed before hitting Rayquaza making that avenue less viable than normal. The best method to take out Rayquaza? Passive damage. Stealth Rock, as mentioned before takes 1/4 of Rayquaza's HP every time it switches in. Status is is very good in this regard as well. Paralysis maims Rayquaza's speed and makes it less reliable on an offensive front, while burning Rayquaza disables or at least hinders most Rayquaza which run Physical or Mixed sets. Rayquaza thankfully (or not, if you are using one) does not have access to Roost, leaving it vulnerable to repeated assaults, especially after a Dragon Ascent; even more so if using a Life Orb.

ExtremeKiller Arceus is perfect for picking off a weakened Rayquaza, with a naturally higher base speed and a priority move with the same priority as Rayquaza's own priority. (Mega)Diancie and Mega-Mawhile deserve special mention, resisting both of Rayquaza's STABs and Extremespeed, and able to OHKO back with Super Effective STABs, but neither like Earthquake (or V-Create in Mega-Mawhile's case) and neither like eating a Dragon Ascent (which can 2HKO them before Swords Dance). If Rayquaza lacks Extremespeed, Darkrai becomes a viable check, possessing a higher base speed than Rayquaza and can shut it down with Dark Void, or if Rayquaza is weakened by Stealth Rocks, out right OHKO it with Ice Beam. Same goes to Mega Mewtwo Y with Ice Beam.
 

KillerDraco

Well-Known Member
Golduck
Did you expect to see Golduck here? Yes? Okay then. Golduck's Cloud Nine is an amazing ability, especially factoring in Primal Groudon's 4x weakness to Water, and Mega Rayquaza's 4x weakness to Ice. The weather conditions they have would normally block out those weaknesses, but Cloud Nine does in fact negate the primal weather, and so a Modest, Scarfed Golduck can OHKO Mega Rayquaza 93.8% with an Ice Beam, and Extreme Speed, even at +1 with a Life Orb, only has a 31.3% chance of OHKOing Golduck.
252+ SpA Golduck Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Rayquaza: 348-412 (99.1 - 117.3%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
+1 252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Golduck: 266-315 (88.3 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

Now, barring the fact that Golduck is absolutely worthless, there's one teensy tiny little factor that I think you're overlooking. Golduck can only check, albeit unreliably, an unboosted Mega Rayquaza. Because if a Mega Rayquaza is at +1, that means it's used Dragon Dance, in which case, it doesn't need to use Extreme Speed because at +1 it outspeeds Scarf Golduck. Of course, there's also Swords Dance variants of Mega Rayquaza as well, in which case...

+2 252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Golduck: 356-420 (118.2 - 139.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

So Scarf Golduck is only checking the unboosted Mega Rayquaza. And if Mega Rayquaza has boosted in ANY way, then Scarf Golduck can't even do that. So at best it's a very shaky check. And as karxrida mentioned, Golduck is horrid outside of that unreliable checking option. It's akin to utilizing Scarf Vital Spirit Primeape as an answer to Darkrai; yes, it may be able to check that one Pokemon in question, but it fails at pretty much anything outside of that incredibly specific niche, which can greatly rob you of momentum. True, sometimes you have to think outside the box to deal with Mega Rayquaza, but there are checks that can be used who aren't dead weight outside of that specific check. I mean heck, you'd be better off trying to utilize a Scarf Latios than Scarf Golduck! Because they at least can contribute a little bit more outside of that tiny niche of Checking Mega Rayquaza.

So to reiterate, Golduck is just... no.

Edit: I'm not necessarily saying Scarf Latios is the best check, either, since it's outsped at +1 and 1HKO'd by +2 LO Extreme Speed as well. It was just a point of comparison.
 
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Chinonso

Therians
OK, I'll go ahead and do Mega Rayquaza:

Positives:
+ 180/180 attacking stats is about as good as it gets. It's ridiculously powerful and its power is only beaten by more powerful Choice Band-ers like Darmanitan.
+ Delta Stream removes its 4x weakness to Ice, making it just 2x, and removes its weakness to Rock, and makes it resistant to Electric. It's an amazing ability for any named Flying-type, and they benefit from it very well.
+ 105/100/100 defences are also very good. While not as amazing as Suicine, it can still take hits well, especially when Delta Stream is there.
+ Doesn't require a Mega Stone to evolve, so you can give it a Choice Band for maximum damage output.
+ Base 115 Speed is very fast, but not the best in the situation it's in (unless you Scarf it).
+ An expansive Normal-type movepool (as well as Dragon).
+ Learns Extreme Speed, which is extremely useful as it hits hard and has priority.
+ It learns like... almost every single TM out there.

Negatives:
- The tier that it's in has no rules, so people can pull off banned strategies, which can get annoying.
- Dragon Ascent lowers both defensive stats. These are your lowest stats so they're worth treasuring.
- ... nothing else that I can think of. Having the highest BST in the game and one of the best abilities means that there's very little wrong with it.

Ability:
Delta Stream: A current appears that removes the weaknesses of Flying-type Pokemon. This is such an amazing ability as on Mega Rayquaza, it's only weak to Ice and it helps against other Flying types when in Double/Triple battles. It even gives Tornadus no weaknesses!

Moveset:
Choice Specs
Air Slash
Dragon Pulse
Dragon Ascent
Flamethrower

Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Delta Stream
EV's: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 HP / 4 Def
Modest Nature.

The amazing thing about Mega Rayquaza is that you don't need a Mega Stone to Mega Evolve it, you just need Dragon Ascent, but this looks to me to be more of a mixed set *sigh*. OK, I was originally intending to have max damage output from Dragon Pulses and Air Slashes, but it does need Dragon Ascent to Mega Evolve:

252 SpA Choice Specs Mega Rayquaza Air Slash vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Xerneas: 267-315 (67.9 - 80.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Mega Rayquaza Dragon Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Greninja: 352-415 (123.5 - 145.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Mega Rayquaza Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 204-240 (62.9 - 74%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Not bad.
 

Reisuke

Apparently i died
OK, I'll go ahead and do Mega Rayquaza:

Positives:
+ 180/180 attacking stats is about as good as it gets. It's ridiculously powerful and its power is only beaten by more powerful Choice Band-ers like Darmanitan.
+ Delta Stream removes its 4x weakness to Ice, making it just 2x, and removes its weakness to Rock, and makes it resistant to Electric. It's an amazing ability for any named Flying-type, and they benefit from it very well.
+ 105/100/100 defences are also very good. While not as amazing as Suicine, it can still take hits well, especially when Delta Stream is there.
+ Doesn't require a Mega Stone to evolve, so you can give it a Choice Band for maximum damage output.
+ Base 115 Speed is very fast, but not the best in the situation it's in (unless you Scarf it).
+ An expansive Normal-type movepool (as well as Dragon).
+ Learns Extreme Speed, which is extremely useful as it hits hard and has priority.
+ It learns like... almost every single TM out there.

Negatives:
- The tier that it's in has no rules, so people can pull off banned strategies, which can get annoying.
- Dragon Ascent lowers both defensive stats. These are your lowest stats so they're worth treasuring.
- ... nothing else that I can think of. Having the highest BST in the game and one of the best abilities means that there's very little wrong with it.

Ability:
Delta Stream: A current appears that removes the weaknesses of Flying-type Pokemon. This is such an amazing ability as on Mega Rayquaza, it's only weak to Ice and it helps against other Flying types when in Double/Triple battles. It even gives Tornadus no weaknesses!

Moveset:
Choice Specs
Air Slash
Dragon Pulse
Dragon Ascent
Flamethrower

Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Delta Stream
EV's: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 HP / 4 Def
Modest Nature.

The amazing thing about Mega Rayquaza is that you don't need a Mega Stone to Mega Evolve it, you just need Dragon Ascent, but this looks to me to be more of a mixed set *sigh*. OK, I was originally intending to have max damage output from Dragon Pulses and Air Slashes, but it does need Dragon Ascent to Mega Evolve:

252 SpA Choice Specs Mega Rayquaza Air Slash vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Xerneas: 267-315 (67.9 - 80.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Mega Rayquaza Dragon Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Greninja: 352-415 (123.5 - 145.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Mega Rayquaza Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 204-240 (62.9 - 74%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Not bad.

Mixed sets generally appreciate life orb more just because boosting one type of moves ain't going to cut it. And being able to switch between moves also makes it easier
 

jireh the provider

Video Game Designer
Grounding Rayquaza

Rayquaza is the near epitome of an idealized sweeper, especially when mega evolved. Good speed, powerful offenses, a wide offensive movepool, and access to boosting moves make it near impossible to wall and enough defense and a great array of resistances to prevent it from becoming fodder from Priority moves not named Ice Shard. In fact, even priority users not named ExtremeKiller Arceus must eat an Extremespeed before hitting Rayquaza making that avenue less viable than normal. The best method to take out Rayquaza? Passive damage. Stealth Rock, as mentioned before takes 1/4 of Rayquaza's HP every time it switches in. Status is is very good in this regard as well. Paralysis maims Rayquaza's speed and makes it less reliable on an offensive front, while burning Rayquaza disables or at least hinders most Rayquaza which run Physical or Mixed sets. Rayquaza thankfully (or not, if you are using one) does not have access to Roost, leaving it vulnerable to repeated assaults, especially after a Dragon Ascent; even more so if using a Life Orb.

ExtremeKiller Arceus is perfect for picking off a weakened Rayquaza, with a naturally higher base speed and a priority move with the same priority as Rayquaza's own priority. (Mega)Diancie and Mega-Mawhile deserve special mention, resisting both of Rayquaza's STABs and Extremespeed, and able to OHKO back with Super Effective STABs, but neither like Earthquake (or V-Create in Mega-Mawhile's case) and neither like eating a Dragon Ascent (which can 2HKO them before Swords Dance). If Rayquaza lacks Extremespeed, Darkrai becomes a viable check, possessing a higher base speed than Rayquaza and can shut it down with Dark Void, or if Rayquaza is weakened by Stealth Rocks, out right OHKO it with Ice Beam. Same goes to Mega Mewtwo Y with Ice Beam.

Of the many lists that I can see, I think yours has the most convincing. From what I know so far, I say that it's better to check Mega Rayquaza than to even try countering Mega Rayquaza since he is just ... Godlike on attack onslaughts! I mean, setting up stealth rocks to deal with him (by using Mega Aerodactyl or Skarmory w/ sturdy) is like scary since they get to only do it once (maybe twice if lucky) in the whole battle.

Like, "Mega Rayquaza! F*** Yeah!" Geesh, "America! F*** Yeah!" is like the best song description that I can say out loud on his beyond broken Mega powers. He is the last pokemon I hate to face in ANY battle. I'm glad Smogon left him out of Ubers.
 

Deltadromeus

Active Member
Kinda off topic, but if you could use Mega Rayquaza competitively, would you? And do you think everybody else and their mother would be running one (like Thundurus and Landorus is VGC).
 

Mye

Someone has to win..
Yes, and yes. Mega Rayquaza is a shining example of how extreme creativity can be a giant burden on (almost) everyone. They created an extremely powerful pokemon, gave it an extremely powerful move that "counts" as its megastone, gave it extremely good moves to abuse its new stats with, and even gave it an ability that kills off half its weaknesses (let's not forget that delta stream also sheds that nasty rock weakness). To those who hate its sheer existence, I ask ye this: if someone were to make a flying car that's only flaw was that it competed with other car companies, and it was free, wouldn't you take it for a spin?
 

Karxrida

Lost in the Waves
While DS negates the Rock weakness, it does not reduce Stealth Rock damage because DS activates after the damage is calculated.
 

ger9119

Well-Known Member
Mega Ray is pretty much the closest thing we got to a perfect pokemon so far.
 
I'd also like to point out that a Rattata holding a focus sash that knows endeavor and quick attack is the ultimate troll to almost any Pokemon. If your Rayquaza doesn't know extreme speed, this little Pokemon is a nightmare. Think about it.
 
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