Can Lugia be shiny in Pokemon GO?

Trainers might be getting another opportunity to add a shiny legendary Pokemon to their collection in Pokemon GO.

Lugia, the Diving Pokemon, will be appearing in 5-star raids in September. This will be great news for fans who may not have gotten around to catching it during Pokemon GO Fest 2021.

Long-time fans may remember Lugia from battling it below the Whirl Islands in the Johto region (or its movie appearance in Pokemon 2000). It’s one of the most recognizable Pokemon in existence, and a shiny Lugia would certainly be a valuable addition to anyone’s team.

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Mascot of Pokemon Silver with shiny available through raids

Lugia will be the boss of 5-star raids from Wednesday, September 1, at 10:00 am local time to Tuesday, September 14 at the same time. The shiny form of Lugia will also be available in these raids.

In addition, there will be two raid hours featuring Lugia on the first two Wednesdays in September, giving trainers plenty of opportunities to look for this shiny through raids. The raid hours last from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm local time.

Catching a Lugia from one of these raids will be special, not only because it might be shiny, but also because it will have Aeroblast, its signature move. Aeroblast is a powerful Flying move that Lugia has been destroying Pokemon with since Generation II.

In Pokemon GO, Aeroblast is almost stronger than it was in the main series games. This move has 180 base power, putting it amongst the highest damaging moves in the game.

Trainers should be warned, though, that the fight against Lugia will be long and difficult. This Pokemon has 310 Defense and 235 Stamina, which means it will take hits from weaker Pokemon all day. Lugia is so bulky that the Pokemon with the fastest time to win (Mega Gengar) can’t beat Lugia in under 700 seconds.

The best way to consistently beat Lugia in raids (other than bringing several teammates for every battle), is to use strong Ghost, Dark and Electric-type Pokemon.

If they’re Shadow Pokemon, even better. Shadow Electivire, Magnezone, Mewtwo, Weavile and Zapdos are all in the top 10 best raid counters ranking.