How do you pronounce Rayquaza, the legendary dragon Pokémon? No, you’re wrong.
Between competitor clashes at this weekend’s Pokémon World Championships 2025, spectators were treated to a handy big screen pronounciation guide for the Sky High Pokémon. Brace yourselves, Trainers.
According to The Pokémon Company itself, Rayquaza is apparently pronounced Ray-KWAY-zuh, and not the far more common pronounciation of Ray-KWAH-zuh. The fan response to this revelation, however, has been decidedly mixed, with responses on social media such as “False,” “Noooo,” and “That’s Kway Kway.”
“This is surely AI,” wrote one fan, unable to accept what they were seeing. “It’s Ray Kwah Zuh.”
“I don’t care,” added another fan. “Ray-KWAH-zuh supremacy.”
“It doesn’t matter how many times The Pokémon Company tries to correct us, this is the real way to pronounce it and I ain’t taking no for an answer!”
Ray KWAY Zuh confirmed pic.twitter.com/KTU7FlMFbL
— GlaxonXIII 🔜 WORLDS! (@GlaxonXIII) August 17, 2025
Despite these complaints, the pronounciation does make sense. Like many Pokémon names, Rayquaza is a mix of other words — in this case being ray, referring to its celestial nature, and quasar.
“It’s named after quasar so it’s correct,” wrote Arcashine, attempting to inform others, “but man I don’t think I’ll ever be able to not call it Raykwahzuh lol.” Yeah.
Why is The Pokémon Company informing fans now? It seems likely that Rayquaza and its Mega Evolved version will pop up in the Mega Evolution-focused Pokémon Legends: Z-A, set to launch on October 16. Now, to try and remember Rayquaza’s correct pronounciation when the time comes.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
