"What is the inspiration behind Rayquaza?"

Rayquaza is based on a range of sky-dwelling monsters from Mesoamerican, Asian, European and Hebrew legends.Rayquaza is the trio master of the weather trio, with its counterparts Kyogre and Groudon. This trio reflects the Hebrew legendary trio of Ziz, Behemoth and Leviathan (Fig. 2). Like Rayquaza, Ziz is described as the primal master of the sky. Although Kyogre and Groudon are visually similar to some depictions of their counterparts, Ziz is often represented as a griffin which doesn't resemble Rayquaza.In this fashion, Rayquaza is closer in appearance to serpentine dragons such as those in East Asian mythology and the two legged Wyverns of British legend. Rayquaza’s design seems to be strongly influenced by Mesoamerican depictions of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, who was commonly depicted as a flying serpent (Fig. 3).Rayquaza has a range of characteristics inspired by Quetzalcoatl’s serpent form. Both have similar colouration and Rayquaza has ‘flanges’ that resemble the God-serpents feathers. However, Rayquaza has incorporated wyvern forelimbs and its design is more robotic. Perhaps it's circuit board-like features indicate the control of electricity in the form of lightning.For the figures, check out http://ift.tt/2sm9SM3 via /r/pokemon http://ift.tt/2CaVINe