Even with the dragon-type icon’s massive fan-base, tons of Trainers are still mispronouncing Rayquaza—and The Pokémon Company is stepping in to give us the proper way to say it.
If you’ve been saying ray-KWAH-zuh, official word says that version is off-mark. A reminder flashed on the jumbo screens at the 2025 Pokémon World Championships over the weekend, IGN notes. The “mispronounced Pokémon” slide shown by The Pokémon Company lists the right articulation as ray-KWAY-zuh—essentially rhyming with “quasar.”
Some spectators were stunned by the reveal, yet a sizable chunk of the fandom insists they’ll stick with the old way. This sky-high titan debuted in 2002’s Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, then anchored Pokémon Emerald just two years later. After two decades, it’s little wonder that longtime players are reluctant to swap a pronunciation that’s second nature.
Naturally, a brigade of fans on social media mentions they’ve been using the accurate version all along, largely because the Pokémon anime’s sporadic cameos already leaned that way.
The franchise’s upcoming big leap is Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which doubles down on Mega Evolution as part of its combat system revamp. Whether Mega Rayquaza will soar into that installment remains up in the air.
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