Rain Cloud

The Rain Cloud is a relatively popular Item that can be found in the first 3 Mario Kart arcade games. That's a better show-up than its stormier brother, the Thunder Cloud (only appears in Mario Kart Wii).

What makes the Rain Cloud a more likeable Item? Well, instead of striking players senseless with Lightning, it lightly showers on opponents, making their vehicles slightly harder to control. A little less deadly, and therefore more of a relief to skill-centered players.

Usage

Offense

Almost every "Throw Forward" Item in the Mario Kart arcade series can conveniently lock onto adversaries. The Rain Cloud is no different. If a player is in a range of about 50 feet, a blue target will appear over them. Then you unleash the power of rain on the racer. The Rain Cloud's effect is not as severe as the Thunder. Droplets falling above the victim's kart will simply decrease their control of the vehicle.

Defense

This cloud is solely an attack item. Although it would be a nice feature to have the Rain Cloud block incoming enemy items, it just won't happen. After all, clouds are made of water and dust, two things that don't offer a really solid defense... So, just stick with raining the Rain Cloud down on opponent's heads.

Protection

Using a Place behind Item, such as a Gummy, might possibly block an incoming enemy Rain Cloud, but it's unlikely. The clouds hover above the racetrack, so there's not a lot of options to choose from in evading one. Invincibility Items, for example Shields and Super Stars, are the best option to choose from, but given their rarity, it's probably gonna be a rainy day.

Unlocking

Succeed in beating the Mario Highway track in Grand Prix mode at least once.

Trivia!

Mario Highway is a course found only in Mario Kart Arcade GP and Mario Kart Arcade GP 2. And that means you have to unlock the Rain Cloud using a different method in the third game.
The smiley face on the Rain Cloud is identical to the Thunder Cloud, as well as another cloud variant, the Snow Cloud.