Pokemon Theory Explains Shiny Rayquaza's Coloring

gamerant.com:

Shiny Pokemon are often fascinating, both in looks and purpose, and a Pokemon fan has put together a theory explaining why shiny Rayquaza looks the way it does. It seems that Pokemon often do not necessarily have any specific reason why their shiny forms look the way they do. This has always been an aspect of the world within Pokemongames that fans have been curious about, although the lack of proper explanation may be part of why they are so popular. Shiny Pokemon are unique, and that alone is reason enough to cause fans to go out of their way to find them.

Shiny Pokemon originally began to appear in Pokemon Gold and Silver. In the debug menu for those games, these Pokemon were referred to as "rare," and in the debug menu for Pokemon Colosseum, they were called «color» Pokemon. The name «shiny» comes from the fans, a reference to the shimmer effect that happens when caught shiny Pokemon are thrown out of their Poke Balls. Many curious players would appreciate an explanation as to why they look that way. Even though plenty of gamers may simply attribute it to the way animals in the real world can have various different features, Pokemon fans are a creative bunch, and they often make theories.

On Reddit, a user named Ok-Sorbet8225 shared their thinking. They point out that Rayquaza is the mascot of Pokemon Emerald, and taking the nature of the gem in the real world, over time an emerald can become richer, with the crystal becoming darker in appearance. Looking at Rayquaza and using a color picker to illustrate the point, they identify the color of Rayquaza's skin, or scales, for that matter, as not black but a deep, rich dark green, much like emeralds. Perhaps this is simply what happens to Rayquaza as it ages.

This is a very interesting idea. However, other commenters were quick to ask why the other legendary Pokemon in the Emerald trio do not appear to follow the same logic, as shiny Groudon is a yellow-greenish color, and shiny Kyogre is a light pink/reddish color.