Pokemon Legends
Raikou
The Legendary Dog of Thunder, Raikou is said to embody the pure essence and spirit of lightning. So much so, that people believe that it descends with lightning from the sky.
A native of Johto, Raikou is rarely seen, purely because of the speed it travels at. It is able to move at the same speed as lightning, and its barking sounds like the crash of thunder.
Raikou is one of the few electrical Pokemon able to withstand an electric attack from the legendary bird Pokemon, Zapdos. Because of this, Zapdos and Raikou are often at odds, trying to prove which of the two are stronger.
The legendary Dogs of Johto were created by Celebi to aid him in keeping a control on Time. There is a legend that states that Suicune, Entei and Raikou are able to move fast enough to travel through time, but there has been no proof of this yet.
Raikou, along with the other Legendary Dogs, Suicune and Entei, are one of the few legendaries that have been reported to have actually died. The three perished in the fire that burnt down Brass Tower, now renamed Burnt Tower, in Ecruteak City. Ho oh, angry that humans would burn down its home and kill three legendaries, restored the three Dogs to life, and placed them under the care of Celebi.
Raikou also has the ability to tell when his sibling dogs are in trouble. There are accounts of Suicune and Entei being attacked, and Raikou appearing to help them. Scientists believe that the three dogs should have an additional type of 'Psychic' because of this link, but the three have remained Water, Fire and Lightning types respectively.
Raikou has often shown to have a liking for plateaus and fields were lightning storms are able to move fast upon. This is where many of the sightings of this Pokemon have been reported, along with Burnt Tower, Tin Tower and, oddly, Cerulean City in Kanto.
Of the three dogs, Raikou is the only one able to travel in the air. It is able to shape itself as a lightning bolt and travel with a lightning storm. It must travel with a lightning storm occasionally, lest the cloud it carries on its back runs out of electricity.
A thing that many scientists find intriguing is the fact that, while it can travel with storms, Raikou is not able to summon storms. It must wait for a storm to come in order to travel, or it must run.
Raikou's fur also seems to generate electricity. While it runs, Raikou builds up an enormous amount of static electricity. No matter what though, this electricity cannot be grounded unless Raikou wishes it. It seems that the pads on Raikou's paws are made of an unknown insulator. The static electricity is still weaker than the electricity Raikou carries on the cloud on its back. A sign that Raikou is nearby is weather-vanes pointing against the wind, drawn by the magnetic field radiated by Raikou.