Catching Rayquaza in Gen 3: Sky Pillar Tricks Most People Learn the Hard Way

Rayquaza has one of those catch rates that makes you question your life choices. Not because you’re weak. Not because you’re “doing it wrong.” But because Gen 3 legendaries were clearly designed by someone who thought joy should be earned through mild suffering.

And honestly? The real villain here isn’t Rayquaza.

It’s the Mach Bike puzzle in Sky Pillar. Specifically: those cracked tiles on the upper floors that love to yeet you back down like you just insulted them personally.

I’ve done the “fall, climb, fall again, stare at the wall, fall again” routine. So let me save you some grief (and some thumb cramps). Here’s how to find Sky Pillar, actually get inside depending on your version, stop the bike puzzle from bullying you, and catch Rayquaza without burning through your entire bag and your sanity.

First: Where Sky Pillar Is (AKA “Why Is This So Easy to Miss?”)

Sky Pillar is out on Route 131, east of Pacifidlog Town.

Here’s the “don’t make me circle the ocean for 20 minutes” path:

• Fly to Pacifidlog
• Surf east on Route 131
• Stick more toward the north side of the route as you go
• You’ll pass a couple trainer pairs in the water
• Watch for a Swimmer in a blue hat moving in a kind of L pattern (this is the weird little landmark my brain refuses to forget)
• Just north of him is a gap in the rocks that looks like a squashed check mark
• Go through the short cave tunnel and boom Sky Pillar is right there

Once you see the tower, don’t sprint in yet like a golden retriever chasing a tennis ball. Whether you can enter (and when Rayquaza is actually catchable) depends on your game.

“Why Is the Door Locked?” (Version Differences That Matter)

Ruby / Sapphire

You need to beat the Elite Four first. Sky Pillar stays locked until you’re in the Hall of Fame. So if you’re not post game yet, the tower is basically just a tall tease.

Emerald

Emerald is the one that tricks people.

During the Sootopolis crisis (Groudon and Kyogre throwing their tantrum), Wallace takes you to Sky Pillar and you climb up to wake Rayquaza. You cannot catch it during that story visit. Rayquaza wakes up, does the dramatic legendary thing, and leaves.

After the Sootopolis storyline is resolved and the city stops being on lockdown, you can come back and Rayquaza will be waiting at the top for a real battle.

(Ask me how many people I’ve seen climb the whole tower during the story moment thinking they’re about to catch it. It’s a rite of passage. A deeply annoying rite of passage.)

What to Bring (So You Don’t Rage Exit Halfway Up)

Before you head out, do yourself a favor and stock up in Lilycove/Mauville. Sky Pillar is not the place to discover you have 6 Ultra Balls and a dream.

Non-negotiables

• Mach Bike (go swap at Rydel’s Cycles in Mauville if you’re currently a cool Acro Bike person)
• Surf, obviously
• Repels (seriously wild Pokémon in here can be up to the high 60s and they do not respect your time)

Balls (don’t overthink it, just bring enough)

Personally, I like:

• Ultra Balls: a big stack (30-50 if you don’t want to keep running out)
• Timer Balls: some (they get better the longer the battle drags on, and Rayquaza battles love to drag on)
• A handful of cheap Poké Balls if you’re the kind of person who likes throwing something on the Fly charge turn without wasting the “good” stuff

Healing

Bring enough that you can be patient:

• Full Restores / Hyper Potions
• A few Revives

Team level (real talk)

Rayquaza is Level 70. If your team is around 60+, you’re fine if you play smart. If you’re underleveled and your plan is “vibes,” consider the Master Ball and live your life.

My Favorite “Catching Team” Setup (Simple and Effective)

You don’t need a hyper optimized spreadsheet team. You need three jobs covered:

1. Something that can inflict Sleep
   • Best case: Spore (Breloom is the star here 100% accuracy is chef’s kiss)
   • Otherwise: Sleep Powder / Hypnosis / whatever you’ve got that lands reliably
2. Something with False Swipe
   • The whole point is getting Rayquaza to 1 HP without accidentally nuking it
   • (Please don’t “wing it” with a strong move and then act surprised when you crit. The crit will happen. The crit always happens.)
3. One bulky “anchor” Pokémon
   • Something that can take hits while you heal, reapply Sleep, and throw balls like you’re paying rent with them

That’s it. Sleep + 1 HP + patience. That’s the holy trinity.

The Mach Bike Puzzle: How to Stop Falling Through the Floor Like a Cartoon

Let’s talk cracked tiles, because they are the reason so many perfectly nice trainers become temporarily unhinged.

The one thing that matters: momentum

Cracked tiles break if you mess around on them. The trick is not tiptoeing. It’s full speed.

• Get a run up on solid ground
• Hit the cracked path at speed
• For turns: release the D pad briefly, then immediately press the new direction
• If you hesitate, slow down, or bonk a wall, the game will happily drop you like a bad habit

If you haven’t used the Mach Bike in a while, go do a couple laps on Cycling Road first. Five minutes of practice can save you thirty minutes of “WHY.”

Floor notes (so you know what to expect)

• Floor 1 and Floor 3: basically calm little palate cleansers. Enjoy them.
• Floor 2: the warm up puzzle that still ruins people’s day
• Floor 4: the actual villain. The boss battle before the boss battle.

Floor 2 (the turn sequence that works)

You want a clean run up, then it’s basically:

Left → Up → Right → Up

Quick directional snaps. No hesitation. No over aiming. If you clip the wall, you’re going back down and you’re allowed to be dramatic about it.

Floor 4 (deep breath, you can do this)

This floor is tighter, faster, and gives you less room to recover. My best advice:

• Don’t ride hugging the wall give yourself a tiny buffer
• Commit to your turns (second guessing is how the tower wins)
• If you fall, you usually restart at the entrance of Floor 4, so it’s not the end of the world… it just feels like it

Eventually you’ll hit Floor 5, where the game stops being cute and lets you walk like a normal person again.

When you reach the top: SAVE

Save immediately before you talk to Rayquaza.

Stand in front of it. Check your bag. Make sure your Sleep user isn’t fainted. Make sure you didn’t accidentally bring 3 balls and a lemonade. Then save.

This is not optional unless you enjoy suffering recreationally.

The Rayquaza Fight: How to Catch It Without Losing Your Mind

Rayquaza is Dragon/Flying, Level 70. The battle is less about “can I survive?” and more about “can I stay calm while it breaks out 17 times in a row?”

The moves that matter most:

• Extreme Speed (it goes first, so expect chip damage)
• Outrage (hits hard for a few turns, then confusion)
• Rest (fully heals and sleeps annoying, but it can also be free throw time)
• Fly (one turn up, one turn down)

My step by step catching routine

1. Turn 1: Put it to Sleep

   Sleep is your best friend here. (Paralysis is fine, but if I can choose, I choose Sleep.)

2. Get it to 1 HP with False Swipe

   Swap in your False Swipe user and take it down carefully.

3. Start throwing Ultra Balls

   Keep it asleep. Keep it at 1 HP. Throw, throw, throw.

4. Switch to Timer Balls later

   If the battle drags on, Timer Balls start pulling their weight.

And yes sometimes you do everything “right” and it still refuses to stay in the ball. That’s not you failing. That’s just Rayquaza being Rayquaza.

“Help, Something Went Wrong” (Quick Fixes)

• It keeps breaking out

  Make sure it’s actually low (ideally 1 HP), and keep a status on it (Sleep is best). If it wakes up, reapply before you keep throwing.

• I accidentally KO’d it

  Reload that game specific reset rules save you made at the summit. (This is why we save. This is why I nag.)

• My team wiped

  Annoying, but not permanent. You can come back and try again.

• I ran away

  Same fix: reload your save.

Should you use the Master Ball?

My opinion: using the Master Ball on Rayquaza is completely valid if you’re underleveled, out of patience, or you just want to move on with your life.

The only reason to hesitate is if you’re planning to hunt Latios/Latias and other Emerald legendary encounters (depending on your version), because roamers are their own special flavor of pain.

But also… it’s a Master Ball. It exists to be used. You don’t have to “earn” it with maximum suffering points.

The Real Secret to Catching Rayquaza (It’s Not Reflexes)

Catching Rayquaza is basically three separate challenges stacked on top of each other:

1. Show up at the right time (version/story matters)
2. Get through the Mach Bike nonsense (momentum and confident turns)
3. Be patient in the battle (Sleep + 1 HP + lots of throws)

You’ll fall through tiles a few times. You’ll have a few balls pop open like they’re spring loaded. That’s normal. Save at the top, stick with the plan, and keep your cool.

And when that ball finally clicks?

You will feel like you personally conquered Mount Everest on a bicycle with square wheels. Which, honestly, is kind of what Sky Pillar is.