Is Rayquaza Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Embedded Tower static encounter at level 50 after obtaining both Kyogre and Groudon. Dragon/Flying at 680 BST with AbilityAir Lock negating all weather. Handles everything. The ultimate Battle Frontier weapon.
Rayquaza resists most of Falkner's coverage and hits back hard.
Rayquaza resists most of Bugsy's coverage and hits back hard.
Rayquaza resists most of Whitney's coverage and hits back hard.
Rayquaza resists most of Morty's coverage and hits back hard.
Rayquaza resists most of Chuck's coverage and hits back hard.
Rayquaza has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Rayquaza has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Rayquaza resists most of Clair's coverage and hits back hard.
Rayquaza resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Rayquaza has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Rayquaza has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Rayquaza resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Rayquaza resists most of Janine's coverage and hits back hard.
Rayquaza has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Rayquaza has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Rayquaza has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Rayquaza resists most of Will's coverage and hits back hard.
Rayquaza resists most of Koga's coverage and hits back hard.
Rayquaza resists most of Bruno's coverage and hits back hard.
Rayquaza resists most of Karen's coverage and hits back hard.
Rayquaza has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Rayquaza in Embedded Tower (interact, Lv 50, limited). Encounter at the Embedded Tower on Route 47 after obtaining both Kyogre and Groudon.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 50)
- LV 50DragonOutragePower 180Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 50FlyingAir SlashPower 113Accuracy 95%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- After Pryce
- TUTORDragonDraco MeteorPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Blackthorn City
- After Clair
- TM02DragonDragon ClawPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Route 27
- LV 65FlyingFlyPower 135Accuracy 95%PP 15
- LV 80NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
- LV 90DragonDragon PulsePower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10
How to Get Rayquaza in HeartGold & SoulSilver
You'll find Rayquaza at Embedded Tower as a set encounter. It's always there at that location, so come prepared for the battle. The location details below cover exact positioning.
1 location to catch Rayquaza
Badge 8How to Get Rayquaza in HeartGold & SoulSilver
How to Get Shiny Rayquaza in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Rayquaza descends on the Embedded Tower, so save in front of it and soft-reset the encounter until the shiny appears. Compare Shiny Rayquaza odds across every game
Shiny Rayquaza Evolution
Does Not EvolveHeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Rayquaza Calculator
1 MethodThe only route here is Soft Reset, about 1 in 8,192 on each try.
Soft Reset: Save in front of a static, gift, or legendary encounter, then reset until it sparkles.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 864-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 2,357-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 5,678-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 18,862-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Rayquaza in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
Rayquaza Weakness
Rayquaza is weak to Ice, Rock, and Dragon. Watch out for Ice attacks, those deal 4x damage. On the flip side, it's immune to Ground-type moves entirely. It resists 5 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Rayquaza's overall bulk (105/90/90) lets it take a hit or two from most weaknesses before going down.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Ice |
| 2x (Weak) | Rock, Dragon |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Fighting, Bug |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Rayquaza Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Rayquaza
 Latios DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodPewter City Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rayquaza View Latios builds →Ice Beam 4x110-129%KO Dragon Pulse 2x77-91% | ||
 Latias DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodPewter City Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rayquaza View Latias builds →Ice Beam 4x94-111%KO Dragon Pulse 2x67-79% | ||
 Jynx IcePsychic | C | |
 Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Pewter City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rayquaza View Rampardos builds →Head Smash 2x158-186%KO Avalanche 4x85-100%KO Dragon Pulse 2x29-35% | ||
 Glaceon Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
 Articuno Ice | C | |
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rayquaza View Articuno builds →Ice Beam 4x125-148%KO Ancient Power 2x27-31% | ||
 Dragonite Dragon | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Dratini (Dragons Den Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rayquaza View Dragonite builds →Outrage 2x106-125%KO Ice Beam 4x88-103%KO Stone Edge 2x59-69% | ||
 Aggron SteelRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rayquaza View Aggron builds →Avalanche 4x60-71% Stone Edge 2x75-88% Dragon Claw 2x40-47% | ||
 Weavile DarkIce | B | |
 Walrein IceWater | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rayquaza View Walrein builds →Ice Beam 4x125-148%KO Rock Slide 2x29-34% | ||
 Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rayquaza View Lapras builds →Ice Beam 4x115-135%KO Dragon Pulse 2x36-43% | ||
 Mamoswine IceGround | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rayquaza View Mamoswine builds →Ice Fang 4x113-133%KO Stone Edge 2x57-68% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rayquaza View Rhydon builds →Stone Edge 2x86-102%KO Avalanche 4x70-82% Dragon Pulse 2x23-27% | ||
 Omastar RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Omanyte (Pewter City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rayquaza View Omastar builds →Ice Beam 4x98-116%KO Ancient Power 2x47-56% | ||
Rayquaza Evolutions
Rayquaza is a powerhouse with 680 total stats as a Dragon/Flying legendary. Can't breed it, so you're locked to whatever you catch or receive. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
HGSS Rayquaza Best Moveset
Mixed attacker at 150 in both Attack and Sp. Atk choosing physical or special based on the target's weaker side. AbilityAir Lock neutralizes all weather effects. 95 Speed outruns most threats. The moveset has no defensive gap opponents can reliably exploit. Banned from standard play.
Best Build
Rayquaza best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Setup Sweeper Moveset
- Extreme Speed
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The TM pool is where it gets interesting. Coverage across 13 types means almost nothing walls Rayquaza cleanly, with Draco Meteor and Outrage anchoring the STAB side. Matchup flexibility isn't a problem.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 38 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It flies in the ozone layer, way up high in the sky. Until recently, no one had ever seen it.
Rayquaza HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
Mega Evolution isn't available in HeartGold & SoulSilver, but Rayquaza does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Rayquaza hits 780 BST.
Rayquaza is a static encounter at Johto Embedded Tower in HeartGold & SoulSilver. Rayquaza appears at level 50. Save before the encounter. These one-shot Pokemon don't respawn if you knock them out or run out of Poke Balls.
Yes. Rayquaza is not available during the main story. It can only be obtained after entering the Hall of Fame. Rayquaza becomes available after the main story is complete in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Rayquaza plays as a wallbreaker. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully. Outrage is the primary attack.
Game Availability
Rayquaza has appeared in 16 games since Ruby & Sapphire, spanning 7 generations. As a Legendary, it's typically a one-per-save encounter tied to the story or post-game content.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RSDebut
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORASMega
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
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