The second generation of Pokemon games were massive endeavors for the time and it made them and their legendary duo very memorable for older players. The psychic/flying legendary Lugia is perhaps even more notable due to the movie based around it and its ferocious power.
About Lugia
| First appearance in anime | In the Pokemon movie ‘The Power of One’ also known as ‘Pokemon 2000’ |
| First appearance in game | Gold and Silver |
| Region | Johto |
| Evolution | None |
| Pokedex Entry | It sleeps in a deep-sea trench. If it flaps its wings, it is said to cause a 40-day storm. It is said to be the guardian of the seas. It is rumored to have been seen on the night of a storm. Lugia's wings pack devastating power — a light fluttering of its wings can blow apart regular houses. As a result, this Pokémon chooses to live out of sight deep under the sea. |
Lugia’s Base Stats
| HP | 106 |
| Attack | 90 |
| Defense | 130 |
| Sp. Attack | 90 |
| Ap. Defense | 154 |
| Speed | 110 |
Appearance of Lugia
Lugia is a large bird-like Pokemon though its design takes more inspiration from a plesiosaur than a bird. Its wings can act as fins but also appear to have human-like fingers on the end of them. It's almost completely white aside from dark blue accents on its eyes and back as well as its stomach being a lighter blue.
Behavior of Lugia
Lugia rests at the bottom of the ocean, slumbering there for most of the time of the games and anime. It can be found in a large underwater cave in the games but in the anime, it's shown to sleep directly underwater. This sleep is good however as it's an incredibly powerful Pokemon and the entire premise of the movie it first appears in is based around its sheer dangerous power falling into the wrong hands. Thankfully it is in the hands of our pure-hearted protagonist Ash and it uses its power to protect not just itself but also the rest of the main cast.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Lugia is a psychic/flying type but is often confused for a water type so its type matchups can be a bit confusing. Lugia is strong against the grass and psychic moves and takes half damage from them and takes even less damage from fighting-type moves, only taking 25% damage. Being a flying type, it's also completely immune to ground-type moves. On the weaknesses side, it takes double damage from rock, ghost, electric, ice, and dark type moves.
Shiny Lugia
Shiny Lugia might be hard to notice at first. A Shiny Lugia will have its blue accents replaced with a reddish-pink color but the main color of a Shiny Lugia will still be very close to white. Though similar to a normal Lugia, Shiny Lugia has its white color tuned to be slightly pink, though it's incredibly difficult to notice.
Shadow Lugia
Shadow Lugia is the flagship Pokemon of the side game Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. Shadow Lugia is a part of a number of shadow Pokemon made by the evil organization Cipher. In the game, Shadow Lugia is referred to as the ultimate shadow Pokemon and is similar to Shiny Lugia in that it changes the colors of Lugia’s normal design. Shadow Lugia is covered in lots of deep dark black and purple colors and the accents on its face are more spiked than normal Lugia. Though shadow Pokemon appear in Pokemon Go, there is no way to see or obtain a Shadow Lugia.
Mega Lugia
While Mega Lugia does not appear in a mainline Pokemon game, it still makes an appearance in a Pokemon game outside the series. Mega Lugia appears in the online Pokemon fangame PokeFarm Q, a game that has the goal of hatching Pokemon to ‘Hatch ‘em all.’ Mega Lugia functions similarly to official Mega Evolutions. A Lugia with Lugianite Q will turn into Mega Lugia.
Baby Lugia
In the Pokemon anime, a Baby Lugia named Silver appears in the episodes The Mystery is History, A Parent Trapped!, and A Promise is a Promise. The Baby Lugia was befriended by a character named Oliver and became rather attached to him. The premise of most of the episodes is that Team Rocket is attempting to capture the Baby Lugia. The design of this Baby Lugia is essentially the same as a fully grown Lugia just scaled down.
Best Moveset for Lugia
Wall: Lugia is only allowed in the competitive Ubers category but there it serves as one of the best wall Pokemon available. It may be weak to a variety of types but when equipped with Rest or Roost and paired with its incredibly high defenses, Lugia can stay on the field for a very long time. Giving it Toxic allows that stalling to really drain the resources of your opponent.
| Roost | Toxic |
| Whirlwind/Dragon Tail | Psychic/Ice Beam |
How to Catch Lugia in Pokemon Go
Like other legendaries in Pokemon Go, Lugia appears as a Raid Boss in Raid Battles. Battling and defeating a Raid Boss Lugia will give you the opportunity to capture it after the battle. It can also appear in its shiny form.
Trivia
Before Lugia had its name, it was referred to as Pokemon X and was referred to as such in the anime until it gained its name in the Pokemon games.
Lugia was originally created just for the Pokemon movie it debuted in, it was a surprise to its creator when Lugia appeared in the games as well.
In Pokemon Stadium 2, Shiny Lugia’s color is green rather than pink.
The water type confusion goes further in the TCG where it is often a water type.
FAQs
Q. What is Lugia the god of?
Many legendary Pokemon are viewed as gods in the Pokemon universe. Lugia is a part of a legendary duo representing opposite elements of the world. Ho-Oh is the Pokemon of the sun and Lugia is the Pokemon of the sea.
Q. Is Lugia a bird or dragon?
Lugia is based on a plesiosaur but due to it being converted to a bird Pokemon it resembles a dragon as dragons can arguably be likened to flying dinosaurs.
Q. Did Lugia create legendary birds?
While the three legendary birds, Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno, answer to Lugia as their master and are considered inferior to Lugia, they weren’t created by Lugia.
Q. Is Lugia a legendary or mythical Pokemon?
Lugia is considered legendary. A mythical Pokemon is simply a Pokemon that is rare and appears from special events, however legendary Pokemon appear without events and can only be found in the one location they appear in, implying that legendary Pokemon are not only powerful but unique.
Conclusion
While it can't always be used, especially in competitive play, Lugia can still do work on the battlefield. And with its position as the star Pokemon of an early Pokemon movie, many people will recognize and love this legendary the moment it appears.
