Lugia, the Diving Pokémon. It sleeps in a deep-sea trench. If it flaps its wings, it is said to cause a 40-day storm. It is said that it quietly spends its time deep at the bottom of the sea because its powers are too strong. It is said to be the guardian of the seas. It is rumored to have been seen on the night of a storm.
Overview
Lugia, colloquially known as “The Great Wall” has had a rough generational shift. Thanks to the removal of Z-Crystals and Mega Stones, Knock Off has shot up in viability, which is a troubling move for Lugia on multiple fronts removing either vital passive recovery or Stealth Rock protection. Additionally, the loss of those same Mega Evolutions means that Lugia loses out on popular targets it used to wall, instead having to deal with the Calyrex Riders and the Yveltal who is used to counter the former, all of whom are major threats for Lugia. Dynamax is a massive nightmare for Lugia, giving setup sweepers a sure-fire way to avoid being Phazed out via Whirlwind, while giving many Pokémon reliable Hail and Sandstorm setup to ruin Lugia’s ever so important Multiscale.
However, all is not bad for our deep-dwelling friend. Lugia loves the new Heavy Duty Boots, guaranteeing it comes in with Multiscale intact. Additionally, Lugia can make for a credible Dynamax Sweeper itself, its titanic bulk and known defensive prowess making it easy to grab a Weakness Policy boost in addition to wide coverage and an amazing STAB max Airstream. While Lugia faces incredibly stiff competition as a dedicated wall in Lunala and Giratina, the inclusion of Dynamax gives Lugia a new breath in its game.
Positives
Insane 106 /130 / 154 Defenses coupled with Multiscale and reliable recovery ensures Lugia is not going down without a beating.
Great support movepool including Whirlwind, Screens, Substitute, Thunder Wave and Toxic
Base 110 Speed enables Lugia to get the jump on many popular Pokémon and make it even harder to take down.
Negatives
Psychic Flying typing gives Lugia numerous common weaknesses that make walling difficult.
Reliant on Multiscale to tank big hits and suffers when opponents can bypass it.
Below Average offenses makes Lugia generally passive and it requires numerous boosts or significant type advantage in order to deal serious damage.
Movesets
The Great Wall
-Roost
-Whirlwind
-Toxic
-Ice Beam
Item Attached: Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Multiscale
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Bold Nature
Lugia's flagship set, meant to take some of the strongest attacks in the game and wear down your opponent. Roost is paramount to this set, resetting Multiscale, removing Lugia's Electric, Ice and Rock weaknesses the turn it is used and giving it the recovery needed to take multiple hits. Just as important is Whirlwind, denying opponents into setting up and countering switch-ins by forcing in yet another unfavorable match up. Toxic is great for passive damage, putting Lugia's opponent on a clock it can easily run out with its defenses. Ice Beam rounds out the set, preventing Lugia from being completely shutdown by Taunt and having wide coverage, especially against the many Flying, Ground and Dragon types it faces.
DYNAMAX:
Don't. This set is completely passive and all of Lugia's tools depend on it not being Dynamaxed.
EVs and Items:
EVs are to maximize physical bulk as much as possible. Lugia's special Bulk is so incredibly high that you want the physical bulk to wall as many targets as possible. 96 Speed guarantees Lugia to outspeed the neutral base 90 crowd, including Groudon, Kyogre and Dialga, enabling Lugia to Roost or Toxic before its opponents can act. Heavy Duty Boots is near mandatory -ensuring Lugia can switch-in with Multiscale intact to take a hit. However, Leftovers is worth consideration, giving Lugia valuable passive recovery which can add up over multiple turns. However, needing two turns to recover after Stealth Rock requires heavy Entry Hazard control, which can make it difficult to choose over Heavy Duty Boots.
Other Options:
Substitute -Blocks Status and Dragon Tail Zygarde complete and ensures Lugia isn't maimed by a setup sweeper while trying to Whirlwind it out.
Thunder Wave -With Eternatus being an excellent Toxic setting in its own right, Lugia can forgo it for valuable Speed control, making matchups against the likes of Calyrex-Shadow Rider and other faster threats less disadvantageous.
.
Partners:
Eternatus makes a fantastic partner, reliably switching into Electric moves, Yveltal, Steel types and Toxic while enjoying Lugia's ability to blank Ground and Psychic moves while setting up Toxic and/or Toxic Spikes while contributing to the Phazing with Dragon Tail.
Dusk Mane Necrozma provides a reliable pivot into any of Lugia's Flying weaknesses and sets up Stealth Rock which greatly increases the advantage Whirlwind generates.
Yveltal is a reliable pivot into Ghost and Dark types that otherwise threaten Lugia, can reduce special damage with Snarl, remove important items with Knock Off, clear away Hazards with Defog and is an all around fantastic partner despite the numerous shared weaknesses.
Titan of the Deep
-Calm Mind
-Aeroblast
-Earth Power
-Roost
Item Attached: Weakness Policy
Ability: Multiscale
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 100 Def / 156 Spe
Bold Nature
A more offensive Lugia set, this aims to use the boosts accrued from Dynamaxing, Calm Mind and Weakness Policy to go for a sweep when the opposing team has been worn down. Calm Mind is the crux of this set, giving Lugia the extra Special Attack boost it needs while shoring up its Special Bulk. Aeroblast and Earth Power form a very complimentary typing combo that is resisted by few Pokémon. Roost keeps Lugia healthy, making it very hard to takedown once setup.
DYNAMAX:
This set near requires Dynamaxing, as the additional power provided is just too important for the set to function without it. Max Airstream is vital for Lugia to outstrip the faster threats in the format while providing an overwhelming spammable STAB move. Max Quake further shores up Lugia’s titanic Special Defense, making it even more unbreakable on the Special front, but mostly it is there to give Lugia a reliable answer against Steel types and has extremely complimentary coverage with Max Airstream. The additional bulk providing by Dynamaxing makes Lugia maddingly difficult to break down even without recovery and between Dynamax and Multiscale easily ensures Lugia can eat a super effective attack for a Weakness Policy Boost.
Other Options:
Thunderbolt -hits Corviknight, Skarmory and Celesteela hard, as they resist the Airstream/Quake combo.
Ice Beam -hits Zapdos, which is otherwise a huge problem for this set and has generally wide coverage.
Partners:
Entry Hazard setters to setup for the sweep are always appreciated. Dusk Mane Necrozma and Eternatus excel at this and wearing down a team while having complimentary typings if Lugia is forced out early and can help bluff a stall Lugia in team preview.
Answers to Yveltal are greatly appreciated as Yveltal can stop a sweep before it starts. Zacian, Tyranitar and Mimikyu all excel at this role.
Countering Lugia
Yveltal is hugely problematic for Lugia, able to shake off multiple Ice Beams/boosted Aeroblasts, and hinder Lugia with Taunt, Toxic, and/or Knock Off.
Pokémon that can ignore Multiscale give Lugia a rough time as well, piling on more damage than it can hope to heal with recover. Zekrom, Moongeist Beam Lunala, Sunsteel Strike Solgaleo/Necrozma-Dusk Mane all directly ignore Multiscale and can deal irreparable damage as a result. Tyranitar also deserves mention, its Standstorm reliable chipping Luigia out of Multiscale range which it switches in.
Calyrex Shadow Rider and Ice Rider can easily 2HKO Lugia in spite of Multiscale, though the latter has to be concerned about Roost removing the Ice Weakness and the former has to be wary of the Dynamax set that can capitalize on the given Weakness Policy boost.
The defensive set struggles against Steel types, who can’t be chipped by Toxic and take piddling damage from Stealth Rock and Ice Beam, but fare less well against the Dynamax set.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Whirl Islands
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Navel Rock (Emerald)
Trade from FireRed/LeafGreen/Emerald (Ruby/Sapphire)
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Navel Rock
Colosseum/XD:
Snagged from Cipher Boss Greevil in Citadark Isle (XD)
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Trade from HeartGold/SoulSilver
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Whirl Islands
Black/White:
Transfer from Generation IV
Black 2/White 2:
Transfer from Generation IV
X/Y:
Trade from Alpha Sapphire
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Sea Mauville (Alpha Sapphire)
Trade from Alpha Sapphire (Omega Ruby)
Sun/Moon:
Trade from Ultra Moon
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Ultra Space Wilds (Ultra Moon)
Trade from Ultra Moon (Ultra Sun)
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Dynamax Adventures (Shield)
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Ramanas Park
Legends: Arceus:
Not in game
Anime Appearences
