Community POTW #63

[MetalCrow]

Lol I just realized that rayquaza's v-create hits at almost identical strength as that of victini's v-create...victini gets STAB on it which is a 1.5x multiplier, and rayquaza has exactly 1.5x as much of a base attack

[grantholomew]

Keep in mind that because of Air Lock, you can use Rayquaza on Rain teams to get rid of Forretress and Ferrothorn with V-Create. In fact, I think that V-Create can 2HKO Max Defense Kyogre with a CB boost. However, that means that Thunder will always have 70% Accuracy, even in Rain. This is for all you guys who think it's cool to run Thunder on Rayquaza.

Who would run Thunder on Rayquaza if it can never rain?

[Charizard_Rulez84]

This is prolly a noob question but I been out of the game for a bit, how does rayquaza get v-create?

[floatzel98]

From that Popularity Poll Giveaway thing i'm pretty sure. It got V-Create with it.

[Kraleck]

From that Popularity Poll Giveaway thing i'm pretty sure. It got V-Create with it.

Only Japan got it in said poll, so if you aren't Japanese, nor have a Japanese game chip, you are S.O.L. on getting one. However, that doesn't mean it is completely off the table. Some (*cough*understatement*cough*) people import for early Pokemon game copies, allowing them to get a Japanese-only event anyway. For example, I don't import, but that doesn't mean someone I know doesn't have a V-Create-quaza (I don't even know if they do).

[floatzel98]

Cool.

Anyway, he can't do to much else that hasn't been said. Dragon Dance Sweeper, Mixed Dancer, Swords Dancer, Mixed Attacker, Choice Band, Specs i guess, Scarf even. Most other Pokemon can do better jobs than him sometimes because of his poor defense, for Ubers at least. If he had better defenses he could maybe at least run a Bulk Up set of some kind. Could probably work pretty good as well because he has priority. A Hone Claws set is the same deal sort of. He is to frail to run something like that. Actually most of his moves have like 100% accuracy anyway so it wouldn't be helping as much.

[ClefairyRox]

Boy, oh boy... Rayquaza. This guy is the definition of terrifying, and he's been that way since he was first introduced in 3rd gen. I remember how much of a pain it was to get to him; trying to run the Mach Bike over that crumbling floor... *shudders* And then there was the problem of actually catching this monster, especially since he was level 70 and you usually have Pokemon in their 40s-50s in R/S/E. But getting this guy is well worth the effort. Not only is his Attack a monstrous base 150, his Sp. Attack is equally terrifying at base 150. Base 95 Speed puts him behind a number of Ubers, but Extremespeed and Dragon Dance cancel out that downside. Base 90 defenses are a bit low for Ubers, but base 105 HP is nice. You might wonder how you can possibly defeat such a beast. The answer is...quite simple, actually. As a Dragon/Flying type, Rayquaza's Achilles' heel is his 4x weakness to Ice attacks. A decent Ice Beam can easily OHKO him, and since this attack is rampant in the Uber environment, it can be difficult for 'Quaza to find an opportunity to set up. If he does manage to set up, though, not much will be standing in your way to victory.

Recommended tier: Uber

Air Lock is Rayquaza's only ability, but it's invaluable in the weather-controlled Uber environment. As long as Rayquaza is out on the field, any weather effects are negated. That means teams revolving around Groudon, Kyogre, and Tyranitar won't be trolling you all day long. The fact that Kyogre is the most commonly used Uber makes this even more valuable.

Like most Ubers, Rayquaza has a vast and varied movepool. The newest addition to it is V-Create, a move that only Victini had access to before. This move has a whopping base 180 power, but lowers the user's Defense, Sp. Defense, and Speed by one level. Rayquaza can't get STAB and Sun boosts from V-Create like Victini, but it also isn't powered down by Rain, and Rayquaza has a far higher Attack stat than Victini. It best fits on a Choice set, where you'll want to be switching a lot anyways. Outrage is Rayquaza's strongest attack, but has the downside of causing Confusion. Dragon Claw is a safer, albeit less-powerful option. You can go with Dragon Pulse or Draco Meteor on a special or mixed Rayquaza.

Extremespeed is invaluable on any Rayquaza, as it helps him pick off faster, weaker opponents like Deoxys and Mewtwo. Dragon Dance and Swords Dance are two very useful boosting moves, though the choice between them can be difficult. Speaking of boosting, Rayquaza also gets Bulk Up and Hone Claws, but neither is as useful as the previous two. Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, and Flamethrower/Fire Blast are special attacks that provide a lot of coverage and filler on a special set. Overheat has a lot of power, but should only be used on a Choice or mixed set. The EdgeQuake combo is up for use. More fillers include Brick Break, Shadow Claw, Energy Ball, Waterfall/Aqua Tail, Earth Power, and Air Slash. Rayquaza even has a couple of support moves, including Toxic, Thunder Wave, Roar, Dragon Tail, and Tailwind. You should leave support to Rayquaza's teammates though; it doesn't have the survivability to pull it off.

Countering Rayquaza: As I said before, Ice attacks are Rayquaza's Achilles' heel. Nearly any decently powerful Ice attack will OHKO it. On the other hand, switching in is risky because Rayquaza can seriously hurt or even OHKO most of its counters as they switch in. Dialga is a reasonably safe choice, but Earthquakes will hurt it a lot. Lugia has great defenses as well, but Stone Edges are a problem. Groudon has enough physical bulk to stand up to physical Rayquaza, and he can OHKO with Stone Edge. Kyogre stands a chance if its bulky enough, and Scarfed variants can outrun and KO Rayquaza. Other Scarfed Pokemon (including your own Rayquaza) can revenge kill it, unless Dragon Dance is used. Extremespeed will also hurt a lot of would-be revenge killers. If you can withstand the assault, though, you have a pretty good chance of besting this Dragon.

[Ttar's stone edge]

Sets have been mentioned, but this things biggest weakness is Scarf Kyogre. 4x ice beam and rock support will hurt this thing it attempts to keep swapping in and out. Have a spinner to help with its inability to switch, and let all hell break loose

[jireh the provider]

Rayquaza the mighty. The dragon that truly looks and fights like one. This thing will rip apart entire teams if the opponent doesn't have Ice beam, priority moves, or Scarf Garchomp. Rayquaza is one of my favorite Pokemon, and rightfully so.

Here's a few movesets for it:

Dragon Dance physical attacker:
Jolly nature
Item: Life Orb
EV spread: 252 Attk, 252 Speed, 4HP
Moves:
Dragon Dance
Dragon Claw/ Outrage
Earthquake
Extremespeed

This is the typical Rayquaza moveset that, given a chance to set up, will rip entire teams apart with its base 150 attack stat. Jolly is preferred here just because of the higher speed, although Adamant is perfectly useable here, too. Outrage is for sheer power against the opponent, although Dragon Claw does prevent locking steel types from walling you (and even then, you're still going to be taking out a huge chunk of HP). Extremespeed is for priority when you know it's about to go down, and Earthquake is for steels.

Special Rayquaza:
Timid nature
Item: Life Orb/ Choice Scarf/ Specs
EV spread: 252 Sp.Attk, 252 Speed, 4HP
Moves:
Draco Meteor
Flamethrower/Fire Blast/ Overheat
Thunder
Dragon Pulse

This is oftentimes a largely unexpected moveset, and can catch opponents off-guard. Item choice is if you prefer it to be a revenge-killer or a sweeper. Specs is for sheer power, Life Orb is for the ability to switch between moves, and Choice Scarf is if you're interested in the revenge killer. Draco Meteor is for breaking down opponents, while Dragon Pulse is for consistency. The fire move depends on what you prefer, although Overheat is preferred on the scarf set. Thunder is for Kyogre (although the chance of it missing can cost you, so Thunderbolt is an option).

Mixed Rayquaza (my personal favorite set):
Hasty nature
Item: Life Orb
EV spread: 128 Attk, 128 Sp.Attk, 252 Speed
Moves:
Outrage
Draco Meteor
Extremespeed
Fire Blast

My favorite set of them all. This set plays to Rayquaza's strengths of special attack and attack. Draco Meteor, again, is for breaking down walls. Fire Blast is for steels, and Extremespeed is for priority. Outrage is essential to this set, as breaks down what's left of the walls. The confusion doesn't really matter because sometimes this set switches out rather frequently.


Counters to Rayquaza: Despite the fact that Rayquaza is one of the strongest dragons, it still does have its counters.

Scarf Garchomp outruns all the sets (unless Rayquaza has a few DD boosts) and KO's with Outrage. Heck, ANY scarfed Pokemon will outpace and OHKO Rayquaza with one of their STAB moves. A few other famous scarf users that can do this include: Dialga, Palkia, Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyogre.

Giratina-A can also try to wall Rayquaza (although it's usually 2HKO'd by most of its attacks). Giratina-O performs a similar function, only you have to be more careful with it than its altered form.

Kyurem, while it is an odd choice for Ubers, is also a solid counter for Rayquaza. They both have the same base speed, and if Rayquaza has no boosts, Kyurem can potentially speed tie and OHKO with a STAB Ice Beam. It can also be a scarf user, once again hitting with Ice Beam.

Many Pokemon have a higher base speed that allows them outrun and KO Rayquaza very easily. Deoxys-A, Deoxys normal form, Mewtwo, Mew, Jirachi, Darkrai, Arceus, Thundurus, Tornadus, and opposing Rayquaza can all hit back with Ice Beam or a similar attack (HP Ice for Tornadus, Thundurus, and/or Ice Punch for Jirachi) that OHKO's instantly.

Closing comments: Beware the mighty Rayquaza. Despite its relatively big list of counters, this thing is still very dangerous to any Pokemon that goes up against it. As it was said above, if that thing is given the chance, it will rip entire teams apart.

This is so true.

His appearance in brawl makes you say, "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! WHERE'S MARTH AND HIS FALCION SWORD. ONLY HIS WEAPON CAN TAKE DOWN THE MOST POWERFUL DRAGONS."

Trust me. This is one of those pokemon I am very scared to fight. If my Ice beamer is dead. I WILL DEFINITELY RUN AWAY, I'D RATHER NOT END on what nearly happened to diddy kong at Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Now with Victini's Sig. move? Wow?

That means rayquaza is Victini's student. Aaaawwwwww. Isn't that nice? I think hoenn and unova are now best friends.

[Aurath8]

Counters

Rayquaza. Dragon typing. 150/150/95 attacking stats allowing it to outpower and/or outspeed most Ubers. Dragon Dance. Swords Dance. A great mixed movepool. Rayquaza is very troublesome Pokemon to counter. It's powerful and versatile. The 2 most important factors that make Pokemon hard to counter. Ah well. Everything has it's counters, right? Right?

I should be probably just say upfront that Rayquaza has no clear cut counters to all sets. The closests you get is BalloonHeatran. But that's 2KOed by CB Outrage without a ton of defence. You can only have counters to specific sets.
CBQuaza
This thing scares me. Between Outrage and V-Create, there are about 3 Pokemon that can avoid a 2KO from both. Bastiodon, Aggron and Max DefHeatran. Oh, what's that? Earthquake? Oh never mind then.
The best thing to do here is to predict what move heal use and act accordingly. If he's using Outrage, bring out your best Steel. V-Create? Kyogre or Palkia. Earthquake? Anything flying/levitating. Once he's locked into a move, use the switch out to your advantage.
Another solution is to let something die and revenge kill it.
ScarfQuaza
ScarfQuaza is like CBQuaza except it's a lot weaker. Much more stuff can switch in it. And of course you still have any Scarfer over Base 95 speed.
DDQuaza
Even easier because you don't have to switch into a move. Deal with it as quickly as possible before it begins it sweep. The general point is 'stop it before it starts'.
SDQuaza
The easiest of the sets to counter. It's fairly average speed and you don't have to switch into anything. This is basically a slower DDQuaza when you get down to it.

Right I think I've covered everything. Just remember, Rayquaza is like Lucario crossed with Excadrill. Lucario's viability lies in it's unpredictability. Until it's first move you don't really know what's going to happen. Excadrill's viability lied in brute strength. It's was so powerful nothing could stop iit.
And that's what you have here. Once you know what it;s running Ray' is much easier until to counter. Until then, good luck.

[Rayofquazar]

Awesome.... Rayquaza is not just one of my favorites, it is in fact, hands down, my favorite pokemon to date. Based on looks, coolness and raw power! It has everything a sweeper wants, a 150 BS in both attacks and a wide movepool that completely makes you unpredictable in what you are doing. Also it has an ability that saves him from overpowered water type attacks from rain, and overpowered fire attacks in sun keeping it's resistances to both types of attacks. Most importantly, sandstorm will not take away some of your HP each turn. Another thing Air lock would do, is to punish Chlorophyll and sand rush users not so much swift swimmers, Sand veil Guardchomp, Full accuracy thunders and hurricanes... It's speed is not perfect leaving it outsped by many threats in Uber tier but access to Extremespeed saves the day. An 80 BP priority move that is not situational (Like sucker punch) is very handy and the fact that it's normal typed means that it will hit everything not rock, steel or ghost typed and anyway the former two are usually slower than rayquaza. The major downfalls of this deity is it's defeses. While not bad, they are not good in uber standards and a weakness to stealth rock really makes things worse. And to top all that a 4x weakness to ice type attacks destroys any hope of tanking on this pokemon. But seriously... who want to use rayquaza as a tank! It's like using shuckle offensively

Rays of Destruction
Rayquaza@Choice band
Ability: Air lock
Nature: Jolly
Moveset:
-Earthquake
-Extremespeed
-Outrage
-Stone edge
Pretty simple... Attack, destroy everything. Anything that thiks is faster than you get an extremespeed in it's face.

Rayquaza ia pretty unpredictable it has plenty of other option to play with. Dragon and swords dance is very good on the physical set while bulk up is good if you want it more defensively inclined (if anyone would want one... anyway). It's special side is more varied containing moves such as focus blast, ice beam, draco meteor, dragon pulse, thunderbolt, fire blast,...

The unpredictability of this pokemon makes it pretty hard to counter. Instead of listing possible pokemon counters I'll will tell you it's secret. This pokemon has counter moves not counter pokemon. It will be down in no time if you have "Stealth rock" While spamming it with a strong "Ice beam" from a faster pokemon that is not affraid of extremespeed!

[uberheracross]

Im not familiar with Ubers so i'll give it a try for some fun ^^

MixQuaza

Ev's 252 SpAtk, 252 Spd or 252 Atk, 252 Spd. Naive/Hasty Nature.

Item: Life Orb, Lum Berry/White Herb

Draco Meteor/Outrage
V-Create
Extremespeed
Brick Break/Dragon Dance

Mixquaza he certainly has the stats for it. you definitely want 252 speed ev's and a positive speed nature to help Ray get over his lowish speed, Draco Meteor is a very powerful STAB 140 base power coming from 150 base SpAtk? even without max SpAtk it's really gonna hurt, Outrage there is a good alternative if you're running Max Atk instead but in all honesty I prefer max SpAtk Quaza. V-Create 180 base power? from a 150 Base Atk stat? ridiculously strong, too bad its impossible to get sun up against Ray if it was this move would be so much overkill, it is very deadly after a Dragon Dance or even unboosted for that matter it's 180 base Power for Gods sake!! Extremespeed is there as it helps Ray to revenge kill with ease, and to compensate for its lowish speed, Brickbreak is their for Blissey and Chansey (if they even get used in Ubers I have no idea D: ) but it is a viable choice it would all round be better to use Dragon Dance as it helps to boost Rays lowish speed and boost his monster Atk stat.

For item, I really like white herb in conjunction with Draco Meteor and V-create it give Ray a free powerful hit. Life orb could work for more damage all round.

[Zachmac]

Im not familiar with Ubers so i'll give it a try for some fun ^^

MixQuaza

Ev's 252 SpAtk, 252 Spd or 252 Atk, 252 Spd. Naive/Hasty Nature.

Item: Life Orb, Lum Berry/White Herb

Draco Meteor/Outrage
V-Create/Fire Blast
Extremespeed
Earthquake/Dragon Dance

Mixquaza he certainly has the stats for it. you definitely want 252 speed ev's and a positive speed nature to help Ray get over his lowish speed, Draco Meteor is a very powerful STAB 140 base power coming from 150 base SpAtk? even without max SpAtk it's really gonna hurt, Outrage there is a good alternative if you're running Max Atk instead but in all honesty I prefer max SpAtk Quaza. V-Create 180 base power? from a 150 Base Atk stat? ridiculously strong, too bad its impossible to get sun up against Ray if it was this move would be so much overkill, it is very deadly after a Dragon Dance or even unboosted for that matter it's 180 base Power for Gods sake!! Extremespeed is there as it helps Ray to revenge kill with ease, and to compensate for its lowish speed, Brickbreak is their for Blissey and Chansey (if they even get used in Ubers I have no idea D: ) but it is a viable choice it would all round be better to use Dragon Dance as it helps to boost Rays lowish speed and boost his monster Atk stat.

For item, I really like white herb in conjunction with Draco Meteor and V-create it give Ray a free powerful hit. Life orb could work for more damage all round.

Changes in bold. If it's running mixed, Fire Blast is an option as it doesn't lower it's stats. As for brick break, I can't think of any common uber pokemon it hits that EQ doesn't, besides Blissy and Ferrothorn.

[Meowmeow]

Rayquayza is quite beastly. It can pump out huge damage quickly.
Rayquayza is not without a major problem: bulk. It's weak to Stealth Rock, which is a big problem since Rayquayza will be switching in and out often because of Draco Meteor and the newly acquired V-Create. Also, a 4x weakness to ice and weaknesses to rock and dragon hurt.
Alright, time for some move sets. I'm using an iPad, so it might look weird.

Choice Band
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 252 attack and speed, 4 HP
@: Choice Band

Outrage
V-Create
Extremespeed
Dragon Tail/Dragon Claw

A basic Choice set.

Right now, using an iPad is driving me crazy, so I'll come back with more sets later. Sorry!

[GirlKirbyZombie]

Woah! New forum layout!

Anyways, Rayquaza was one of my favorites as a kid, so why refuse?

The Yellow-Eyes Green Dragon
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, and 4 sp. Def
Item: Focus sash
Moves:
Psych Up
Outrage/Dragon Claw
Extreme Speed
Rock Slide/Aerial Ace/Brick Break

In case you don't play Yu-Gi-Oh, you have to tribute off weaker monsters to summon the bad boys. In this case, a belly drummer is to be foddered off after Rayquaza Psychs up the stat change. Then you can sweep the floor!

[MetalCrow]

I just had a genius idea on the DD sets...what if you ran a focus sash and switched in on something that you could force out. From the switch is you're 1st DD, then a second DD in the face of your counter while you endure their attack with the sash...now you have a +2/+2 Rayquaza w/ 3 moveslots of destruction...Sure it requires some support, but after all, every set does...
On a similar note, does Air Lock negate the residual damage from sand and hail?

[briguin]

I just had a genius idea on the DD sets...what if you ran a focus sash and switched in on something that you could force out. From the switch is you're 1st DD, then a second DD in the face of your counter while you endure their attack with the sash...now you have a +2/+2 Rayquaza w/ 3 moveslots of destruction...Sure it requires some support, but after all, every set does...
On a similar note, does Air Lock negate the residual damage from sand and hail?

Yes. I believe Air lock does remove Sandstorm and Hail.

[battle171]

I really do think Air Lock is a bit of a double edge sword ability on Rayquaza. Sure, it's usefulness in shutting down weather like Kyogre's rain, Groudon's sun, T-tar's sand, and the rare hail is useful, but because it negates ALL weather effects, moves like V-Create and Surf don't get their boosts in sun and rain respectively and it doesn't make Rayquaza much of a team player in Doubles/Triples unless it's in a weatherless team. Still, it's really good in single battles as a D.Dancer/Mix Sweeper, regardless.

[Ilan]

I just had a genius idea on the DD sets...what if you ran a focus sash and switched in on something that you could force out. From the switch is you're 1st DD, then a second DD in the face of your counter while you endure their attack with the sash...now you have a +2/+2 Rayquaza w/ 3 moveslots of destruction...Sure it requires some support, but after all, every set does...
On a similar note, does Air Lock negate the residual damage from sand and hail?

this set must have extreame speed, a spinner on the team and a maybe a magnezone to check scizor.
I am not sure but does air lock temporaly locks weather? or for the rest of the match

[Meowmeow]

Alright, now that I'm on a computer, I will put a few more sets.

SpecsQuayza
Nature: Modest/Timid
EVs: 252 sp attack and speed, 4 HP
@: Choice Specs

Draco Meteor
Fire Blast/Overheat
Earth Power/Extremespeed
Dragon Pulse

A pretty basic Specs set. Earth Power is for Heatran while still hitting Dialga, Reshiram, Zekrom, Excadrill, and others. You could opt for Surf or Focus Blast instead. It may seem odd to pair Draco Meteor with Overheat, but the fact that you're locked by Choice Specs means you will be switching anyway.

How do you Dance without legs?
Nature: Adamant/Jolly/Lonely
EVs: 252 attack and speed, 4 HP/sp attack if you opt for Fire Blast
@: Life Orb

Dragon Dance/Swords Dance
Outrage
V-Create/Fire Blast
Extremespeed/Earthquake

A stat-boosting setup. Rayquayza has trouble pulling off stat boosts because of its issues switching in, but if you pull off one boost, things get fun fast. Dragon Dancers should not use V-Create as the speed boosts will be erased.

MixQuayza Dancing
Nature: Mild
EVs: 248 attack, 252 sp attack, 8 speed
@: Life Orb

Dragon Dance
Outrage
Overheat/Fire Blast
Earthquake/Earth Power/Extremespeed

Pretty straightforward, but that's what Rayquayza does best. Dragon Dance for boosts. Outrage is the STAB move to use because it is powerful (unlike Dragon Claw and Dragon Pulse) and does not drop your stats (like Draco Meteor). Overheat gets mentioned here again, but if Overheat is not Quayza's only special attack, use Fire Blast instead. V-Create should not be used because of the speed drops. The last slot depends on whether you need priority or a way to take down Heatran.

Other options:
Air Slash is another STAB move, but Outrage and Draco Meteor make Air Slash useless.
Quayza has access to a large number of extra coverage moves in Thunderbolt, Thunder, Surf, Ice Beam, Energy Ball, and Focus Blast on the special side, as well as Stone Edge, Waterfall, Crunch, Brick Break, and Aqua Tail on the physical side. However, with Focus Blast being the possible exception, all of these moves will deal less damage than Quayza's Outrage and Draco Meteor, as well as Fire Blast and Overheat.
I will give Thunder a second mention as a way to put Kyogre down. However, even with Kyogre around, Thunder will have 70 accuracy because of Rayquayza. You should do fine with Outrage or Draco Meteor anyway.
Flamethrower is the weaker and accurate Fire Blast. In the Uber tier, Flamethrower does very little, making Fire Blast and Overheat much better choices.

I have now completed my Quayza for POTW. Enjoy!

[Rayofquazar]

this set must have extreame speed, a spinner on the team and a maybe a magnezone to check scizor.
I am not sure but does air lock temporaly locks weather? or for the rest of the match

Yes, air lock only negates the weather effects when rayquaza is on the field. When rayquaza switches out or is KO the effects are restored! So no, rayquaza is not a team player except for things that are aiding it like spinners, or baton passers...

[Kraleck]

Fighting Rayquaza
Step 1 - Identify Quickly
Rayquaza's biggest asset is its offensive potential. Because of this, you know it can lay the smackdown on your Rare Candy...ahem...

It's tough to get out of taking a hit (or two) to I.D. a 'quaza. Worse yet, you take (in my calculations) three-to-four hits on average before you fully and accurately identify a 'quaza's tactics (Physical, Special, or Mixed). Even with an Attack- or Sp.Atk-lowering Nature, it isn't truly out of luck with those options from its huge bases. The sooner you can make the right decision, the sooner you can attempt to wall it.

Step 2 - Surviving a Hit
Yes, I said attempt to wall it. Without proper knowledge, you've sealed your fate. With improper setup, you've, similarly, sealed your fate. As soon as you can survive a hit, you have to pray 'quaza can only 3HKO you. What's worse, 'quaza can often pick off weak enough Pokemon with Extremespeed (short of Ghost Types, of course). Access to powerful Moves of every Type (except Poison, Bug, and Psychic without Hidden Power; yes it can get Fury Cutter, but I said powerful Moves) doesn't help your case, either.

It's potential coverage is universal, even without having STAB Moves. Bolt-Beam, Edge-Quake, and the Water-Dragon Move-Type Combos are all available to 'quaza. Dragon Dance on a Mixed Attacker makes things less in your favor. Air Slash, Rock Slide, and Waterfall can Flinch you and all are found in 'quaza's repertoire. Switching is near-mandatory, but, as Step 1 dictates, you must determine your enemy's 'quaza before it can gain ample ground against you.

Step 3 - Hope & Pray
Even if you can master Steps 1 and 2, you still need tons of luck with prediction, dishing out, but not taking, Critical Hits, and Speed advantages. If you can slam a solid hit into a 'quaza that just weakened its defenses with V-Create, mad props to you...but don't expect it to happen 100% of the time...

[Ilan]

Fighting Rayquaza
Step 1 - Identify Quickly
Rayquaza's biggest asset is its offensive potential. Because of this, you know it can lay the smackdown on your Rare Candy...ahem...

It's tough to get out of taking a hit (or two) to I.D. a 'quaza. Worse yet, you take (in my calculations) three-to-four hits on average before you fully and accurately identify a 'quaza's tactics (Physical, Special, or Mixed). Even with an Attack- or Sp.Atk-lowering Nature, it isn't truly out of luck with those options from its huge bases. The sooner you can make the right decision, the sooner you can attempt to wall it.

Step 2 - Surviving a Hit
Yes, I said attempt to wall it. Without proper knowledge, you've sealed your fate. With improper setup, you've, similarly, sealed your fate. As soon as you can survive a hit, you have to pray 'quaza can only 3HKO you. What's worse, 'quaza can often pick off weak enough Pokemon with Extremespeed (short of Ghost Types, of course). Access to powerful Moves of every Type (except Poison, Bug, and Psychic without Hidden Power; yes it can get Fury Cutter, but I said powerful Moves) doesn't help your case, either.

It's potential coverage is universal, even without having STAB Moves. Bolt-Beam, Edge-Quake, and the Water-Dragon Move-Type Combos are all available to 'quaza. Dragon Dance on a Mixed Attacker makes things less in your favor. Air Slash, Rock Slide, and Waterfall can Flinch you and all are found in 'quaza's repertoire. Switching is near-mandatory, but, as Step 1 dictates, you must determine your enemy's 'quaza before it can gain ample ground against you.

Step 3 - Hope & Pray
Even if you can master Steps 1 and 2, you still need tons of luck with prediction, dishing out, but not taking, Critical Hits, and Speed advantages. If you can slam a solid hit into a 'quaza that just weakened its defenses with V-Create, mad props to you...but don't expect it to happen 100% of the time...

How to beat a rayquaza with 3 simple steps:
1.shoot it with ice beam
2.shoot it with ice beam!
3.SHOOT IT WITH ICE BEAM!

note: Ice shard works too

sarcasem aside.. you don't have to wall it... and play safe you can just use something bulky that survives hits well like Lugia and use ice beam or paralyze it... end of the story.

[Zachmac]

Or make a sacrifice and revenge kill it. Maybe sac a weakened pokemon, I mean, you won't have to fear moxie or anything.

[Kraleck]

Rayquaza's 4x Ice weakness gives its user the option to readily identify Ice Beam users. Merely having Ice Beam and a Speed advantage is nothing unless you can survive getting into 'quaza (usually as a revenge K.O.) and punish the user for switching it out (usually rolled into the luck portion above). Rayquaza's allies are usually going to resist Ice Beam with Type (i.e. Heatran), a high Sp.Def stat (i.e. Blissey), or, Arceus help you, both (i.e. Kyogre).