Raikousen

Raikousen (雷光閃) is the technique Zero and Layer obtain after defeating Gigabolt Man-O-War in Mega Man X8. By pressing the special attack button while dashing, Zero will perform a shadow-dash, turning him invisible and producing a horizontal trail of thunder-bolts when he reappears, paralyzing weak enemies. Zero is invincible against any damage during the invisibility portion of the technique. Raikousen can be performed while air-dashing as well, and as the length of the shadow-dash is fixed, it can also be used to extend the range of the air-dash.

Raikousen is Avalanche Yeti's primary weakness, but the player will need to time it carefully since there is a slight lag before and after the move is performed.

In Marvel vs. Capcom 3, this move replaces Zero's midair Ryuenjin from Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, and slightly resembles a Sentsuizan covered in lightning. The stab itself does not hit, and Zero no longer disappears, but after a brief moment of activating the attack, a trail of lightning appears for a total of three hits and knocks down the foe lightly, making it great for extending combos. It can also be aimed in three directions, diagonally up, diagonally down, and straight forward. Zero at times will have passed to the opposite side of the screen before the trail appears, making the move great for cross-ups. The lightning is also not part of Zero's hitbox, so it acts as a projectile that cannot be displaced by Advancing Guards; however, should Zero get hit anytime during his dash, the lightning will not appear.

In the Ultimate version, this move combined with Zero's new ability to fire his Hyper Zero Blaster right after his special moves gives him great zoning ability with the Raikousen+HZB combo.

In both versions of MvC3, Zero after activating Sougenmu can launch his foe in any form of knockdown in the corner (e.i. connecting with a Lv. 3 HZB to achieve it), then with Sougenmu activated can rapidly spam Raikousen in small jumps for a corner loop, somewhat remiscent of his Triple Rod loop from his Mega Man Zero incarnation in SvC Chaos. These are aptly referred to as the "Lightning Loops" by fans, and tends to be one of the mains reasons why Zero has been considered a top-tier character, especially in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, ever since.

Raikousen will appear once more in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, with its command changed, the upwards version removed, the downward version being able to hit OTG and the ability to instead release a max HZB-charge during it to perform the Mikazukizan. The aforementioned Lightning Loops are also considerably nerfed due to the increased damage scaling of the game, along with the Counter Switch mechanic.

Similar Techniques

 * Raijinken

Counterparts to this Technique

 * Thunder Dancer
 * Plasma Gun