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Roost is Lugia's most important move, ridding it of its Flying typing and thus its pesky weakness to Ice-, Electric-, and Rock-type attacks while also providing reliable recovery. Whirlwind allows Lugia to phaze out foes like Zygarde that are trying to set up. Ice Beam hits Ground- and Dragon-type foes for a considerable amount of damage, OHKOing Rayquaza after Stealth Rock and 3HKOing Zygarde-C while Lugia shrugs off their attacks. Toxic is Lugia's main way of dealing with the majority of the metagame; it should be used liberally against foes that are not Steel- or Poison-type to whittle them down and stall them out with Lugia's fantastic bulk. Thunder Wave is an option to incapacitate wallbreakers that try to switch in on Lugia, such as Calyrex-S and Urshifu-S, or the aforementioned Steel- and Poison-types, like Necrozma-DM and Eternatus. 96 Speed EVs are utilized so that Lugia can outspeed maximum Speed neutral-natured base 90s like Kyogre and Groudon, as well as maximum Speed Necrozma-DM. Lugia requires heavy team support, as it is extremely passive and is only seen on more stall-oriented builds. A switch-in to Yveltal is paramount, as it outspeeds Lugia and can cripple it with Knock Off, Taunt, or Toxic. Defensive Xerneas and Eternatus are great teammates, able to deal with anything Yveltal throws their way while also acting as consistent answers to Marshadow, a wallbreaker that Lugia cannot deal with. Ghost-types in general are a problem for Lugia, especially Calyrex-S. As such, Yveltal acts as a good answer to them. Lugia struggles against the premier Steel-types of the metagame in Necrozma-DM and Ferrothorn, so teammates that can beat them are appreciated. Physically defensive Eternatus can use Flamethrower to beat them both, shrugging off their hits and PP stalling them with Pressure. Ho-Oh can threaten them with Sacred Fire and can also remove entry hazards for Lugia with Defog if Lugia's Heavy-Duty Boots are removed. It also serves as a switch-in to Calyrex-S and Marshadow, scouting their sets. In return, Lugia can deal with Zygarde and Rayquaza, both of which give Ho-Oh trouble. Cleric support is necessary in case Lugia gets statused, so Blissey and Chansey make perfect teammates, removing status and acting as emergency switch-ins to Ghost-type attacks. Status absorbers such as Rest Zygarde and Giratina also work.

Moves Roost functions as a reliable form of recovery, and it is chosen over Recover in order to more easily stall out foes with Electric-, Ice-, and Rock-type moves. Examples of Roost's benefits can be seen against threats like Stone Edge Primal Groudon and Thunder Primal Kyogre. Lugia's massive bulk allows it to easily stall foes with Toxic. Whirlwind removes a foe from the field, letting Lugia shut down a setup sweeper that it can't stall out reliably. Whirlwind also has benefits of phazing foes behind Substitute. Dragon Tail is an alternative phazing move that does minor damage and can be handy against Shadow Tag users like Mega Gengar and Gothitelle, but using Dragon Tail leaves Lugia unable to properly check Substitute users, and it has a slight chance to miss. Dragon Tail is also unable to phaze Geomancy Xerneas. Psychic targets certain foes that Lugia cannot effectively stall out with Toxic. It harshly punishes Mega Gengar, having a chance to outright OHKO its regular forme if switched in when Stealth Rock is up. Psychic also has the benefits of 2HKOing Mega Lucario and Toxapex after some prior damage and heavily damaging Marshadow and Mega Blaziken. Ice Beam allows Lugia to take more offensive approaches to checking Dragon-types. Both Mega Salamence and Rayquaza are OHKOed by Ice Beam after Stealth Rock damage, and the former can still be taken out by Ice Beam after taking damage from Double-Edge's recoil. It should be noted that Lugia is able to check Zygarde-C with Ice Beam, which would otherwise freely set up on Lugia with Substitute up to block Toxic and sponge Psychic while phazing Lugia with Dragon Tail. Substitute eases Lugia's attempt to stall slower foes and blocks status. Substitute also serves as Lugia's only way to prevent the loss of momentum against Necrozma-DM, as Necrozma-DM is forced to use Sunsteel Strike against Lugia behind Substitute and will be discouraged to use Lugia as setup fodder. Set Details Maximum HP investment makes Lugia's HP divisible by 16, letting it take full advantage of Leftovers recovery. 96 Speed EVs allow Lugia to outspeed neutral-natured base 90 Speed Pokemon and move first against threats like Swords Dance Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre. 136 EVs can be run to outspeed Dragon Dance variants of regular Zygarde and let Lugia use Toxic on them before they set up a Substitute. The remainder of the EVs are invested in Defense with a Bold nature to maximize Lugia's physical bulk, giving it a good chance to survive attacks like +2 Stone Edge from Arceus-Ground, +1 Double-Edge from Mega Salamence, and +2 Shadow Claw from Extreme Killer Arceus after Stealth Rock damage. Maximum HP and Special Defense investment with a Calm nature improves Lugia's special bulk to the point where it can check Geomancy Xerneas after taking Stealth Rock damage and even avoid the 2HKO from Mega Gengar. However, this option is generally unreliable and Lugia typically prefers physically defensive investment to better check foes it commonly pivots into. Leftovers provides Lugia with passive recovery. Multiscale halves damage from attacks when Lugia is at full HP, but you should note that moves like Sunsteel Strike and Moongeist Beam and abilities like Mold Breaker, Teravolt, and Turboblaze can bypass this. Usage Tips Lugia's role is fairly straightforward. After threats like Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground are revealed to be offensive variants, Lugia can be switched into them liberally to simply wall them and stall them with Toxic. Boosted threats can be phazed with Whirlwind or dealt with by Psychic or Ice Beam depending on the foe. That said, several conditions must be fulfilled in order for Lugia to effectively and consistently check offensive threats. Avoid any status ailments. Both poison and burn will invalidate Multiscale, while paralysis significantly diminishes Lugia's ability to check foes like Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, as they will strike Lugia first if it is paralyzed. Avoiding status moves will not be easy, however, as many Arceus formes carry Toxic and so do a majority of Primal Groudon variants. Statused Lugia should be cured as soon as possible if a Pokemon with a cleric move is given a chance. Keep Stealth Rock away from the field by any means necessary. Lugia's effectiveness as a wall depends on whether its Multiscale is intact or not, and Stealth Rock is worse than other factors that cripple Multiscale due to Lugia's weakness to said entry hazard. Be quick to identify and pressure Stealth Rock users like Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground from the opposing team, eliminating them if possible. As entry hazard users have to be out of play for Lugia to have breathing room, even trading Toxic with Lugia against Stealth Rock setters may be a worthwhile decision if Lugia's team has cleric support. If Stealth Rock is set, have a teammate like Giratina-O or Arceus-Dark swiftly remove it from the field so Lugia can face setup sweepers with Multiscale intact and thus maximize its chance to reliably check them before they proceed to threaten Lugia's team. Do not attempt to stall every foe with Toxic. As Lugia switches into foes, there is a considerable chance that the likes of Primal Groudon, Arceus-Ground, and Mega Lucario will set up. As Lugia can only handle the first hit with Multiscale, boosted foes should be promptly phazed with Whirlwind or Dragon Tail before they overpower Lugia with a second attack after breaking Multiscale. Team Options In order for Lugia to provide its team with strong defensive presence, it must be employed on teams where various Pokemon can consistently remove Stealth Rock from the field and provide cleric support. Pokemon like Arceus-Ground, Arceus-Dark, and Giratina can provide Defog support and effectively handle Primal Groudon or Necrozma-DM. Arceus-Ground is notable for its ability to offensively check Dragon-types with Ice Beam in the event where Lugia does not have said moves, and revenge kill Primal Groudon and Necrozma-DM. Both Arceus-Dark and Giratina can avoid Shadow Tag users, and the former can check dangerous wallbreakers like Ultra Necrozma and Lunala while the latter can effectively absorb status for Lugia and handle Ho-Oh well. Mega Sableye is another noteworthy partner that can provide entry hazard control with Magic Bounce. Magic Bounce is useful for bouncing back Stealth Rock and other status moves, punishing a foe's attempt to hinder Lugia. Mega Sableye also offensively checks Ultra Necrozma and Extreme Killer Arceus, which Lugia struggles to take down immediately, with Foul Play. The ability to completely shut down defensive Necrozma-DM and benefiting from Lugia's Toxic with Fake Out are other notable reasons why Mega Sableye has good synergy with Lugia. Clerics like Chansey and Blissey can cure Lugia's status with Heal Bell and absorb status themselves thanks to Natural Cure. They can also deal with powerful special attackers like Xerneas and Primal Kyogre more consistently with their sheer special bulk. Xerneas and Magearna are appropriate clerics as well, and they can also check Dark-types and, in the former's case, Marshadow. As Lugia struggles to do much against Steel-types, Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh can be good partners. Primal Groudon sets Stealth Rock to keep Yveltal in line and makes up for Lugia's passivity with its offensive presence. Ho-Oh can spread various status ailments to facilitate Lugia's attempt to stall foes with residual damage, and Lugia appreciates Ho-Oh's ability to spread burns and further worsen physical attackers' matchup against it. Ho-Oh's Regenerator is also worth noting, as this allows Ho-Oh to effectively scout many Primal Groudon and Necrozma-DM sets without sustaining much damage. Scouting aforementioned foes is somewhat dangerous for Lugia due to them potentially carrying Stealth Rock or other status moves. Entry hazard users can make Lugia's Whirlwind and Dragon Tail more useful and also punish Toxic-immune Pokemon every time they switch into Lugia. Primal Groudon, Arceus-Ground, Arceus-Dark, and Tyranitar are Stealth Rock users that can be employed on teams that Lugia generally secures its place in. Ferrothorn and Skarmory can set Spikes, which harshly punishes Steel-types' attempts to take advantage of Lugia, and they can check some troublesome foes like Primal Kyogre and Necrozma-DM, respectively. Mega Gengar can trap and remove clerics to prevent them from curing poison and take advantage of Lugia spreading poison with Hex. In events where Lugia fails to stop offensive foes but manages to put them on a timer, Mega Gengar can trap and revenge kill them. Toxapex can set Toxic Spikes to further aid Lugia's attempt to Toxic stall foes, can check Marshadow, and can check many sweepers that remain as the last Pokemon with Haze. Pursuit trappers like Tyranitar and Alolan Muk can trap and remove Mega Gengar from play.

Moves Roost provides reliable recovery for Lugia, allowing it to consistently stay healthy and keep Multiscale intact. Whirlwind phazes setup sweepers, preventing them from overwhelming Lugia with repeated boosted hits. Toxic is Lugia's main way of dealing damage and allows it to wear down threats such as Primal Groudon. Ice Beam circumvents Taunt and hits Mega Salamence for doubly super effective damage, which is especially important against Refresh Mega Salamence if it is the last Pokemon on the opposing team. Reflect helps Lugia wall foes reliably, even when Multiscale is not intact; it also provides support for Lugia's teammates, though this is not the primary purpose of Reflect. Dragon Tail can be used over Whirlwind, as it bypasses Taunt at the cost of not being able to hit Fairy-types. Set Details 252 HP EVs give Lugia maximum mixed bulk while also giving Lugia an HP value that is divisible by 16, which increases Leftovers recovery. 120 Defense EVs with a Bold nature help Lugia consistently take hits from the physical attackers in Ubers. 136 Speed EVs allow Lugia to outspeed Adamant Rayquaza. An alternate Speed benchmark is using 96 Speed EVs to outspeed neutral-natured, fully invested base 90 Speed Pokemon. This spread allows Lugia to invest slightly more in its Defense than the 136 Speed spread. Multiscale halves the damage that Lugia takes while at full HP, which lets Lugia take boosted hits from strong attackers relatively well. Leftovers provides nice passive recovery in addition to Roost. Usage Tips It is very important to keep Multiscale intact by using Roost, avoiding burns and Toxic, and clearing Stealth Rock; however, it should be noted that keeping entry hazards on the opponent's side will greatly increase the effectiveness of Lugia's phazing. Generally, switch Lugia into almost any physical attacker and proceed to spread Toxic, use Roost if Lugia is in danger of being overwhelmed, and phaze setup sweepers with Whirlwind. Make sure to use Toxic first before phazing a setup sweeper that cannot 2HKO Lugia, with the exception of a potential Geomancy Xerneas, which should be phazed immediately with Whirlwind. Toxic is generally the more effective way for Lugia to deal damage, but Ice Beam should be used on predicted Taunts and against some Dragon-types such as Mega Salamence and Rayquaza. When the opponent has a strong switch-in for Lugia, especially one that can take advantage of a switching opportunity such as Mega Gengar or Klefki, double switching can keep momentum and prevent these Pokemon from taking advantage of the opportunity. Team Options Entry hazard control is extremely important to keep Multiscale intact, so Defog Arceus formes, Latias, Latios, and Rapid Spin Excadrill make for good partners. Pokemon with Magic Bounce can also help keep away Stealth Rock, so Mega Sableye and Mega Diancie pair well with Lugia; they also serve as status absorbers by bouncing back status moves. Other status absorbers that can switch into status moves, such as RestTalk Primal Kyogre and Refresh Arceus, are good teammates. Additionally, Steel- and Poison-types can switch into Toxic, while Fire-types can absorb burns. Instead of absorbing status, cleric support from the likes of Clefable, Blissey, Mega Diancie, and Xerneas can remove status conditions that weaken Lugia. Lugia also appreciates Spikes support from Ferrothorn and Klefki, as Spikes synergizes well with Lugia's walling capabilities and Whirlwind by punishing switches; however, because of Lugia's inability to keep momentum through offensive pressure, suicide entry hazard setters such as the Deoxys formes are not good partners. Pursuit users such as Tyranitar and Aegislash can trap Mega Gengar, which threatens to Taunt and remove Lugia. Ho-Oh and Primal Groudon can take advantage of the Steel-types that frequently switch into Lugia.

Calm Mind Lugia might seem outclassed by Arceus at first, who is faster and boasts better offenses, but this is simply not the case. Lugia, unlike most of the Arceus formes, can hold Leftovers, meaning Lugia can continue boosting without needing to use Roost as frequently. With Multiscale, Lugia has more initial setup opportunities and can switch into attacks better than Arceus can. If you choose to run Pressure instead, Lugia can become a PP stalling machine and allows it to win the war against opposing Calm Mind users such as Latias. Due to the prevalence of low PP moves in Ubers such as Spacial Rend, Pressure can be extremely useful even on a set like this because Lugia retains much of its bulk. Ice Beam is Lugia's main attack on this set. Although Lugia's Special Attack is mediocre, Ice Beam will still do plenty of damage after a few Calm Mind boosts, and the super effective coverage it has on Dragon-types is a huge plus. Thunder is a great move to use in general thanks to its solid base power and high paralysis rate. With Thunder, Lugia zaps Kyogre and Manaphy for good damage while getting a decent smack on Steel-type Pokemon, giving Lugia a way to get past its usual checks. Whirlwind can also be used to stop other Calm Mind users from setting up on Lugia, if one is willing to forgo the added type coverage. Whirlwind is particularly effective thanks to Lugia's immense bulk, as it is capable of taking hits from opposing boosters and removing all of their boosts through Whirlwind. With Whirlwind, Lugia can also abuse damage from entry hazards to weaken its usual counters before attempting a sweep. If you really hate certain Steel-types, Earth Power can be used instead. It blasts Excadrill, Heatran, and Magnezone to pieces while landing a solid smack on Reshiram and Tyranitar. Either way, both moves have great type coverage when paired with Ice Beam. However, it is generally not worth it to use Earth Power simply because Thunder offers better utility in general while Whirlwind allows Lugia to take advantage of its bulk. Psyshock is another interesting option for this set. It allows Lugia to beat pink blobs, Tentacruel, and opposing Calm Mind users, including Arceus, Latias, Kyogre, and Manaphy without phazing them out. However, Lugia loses great coverage and phazing prowess when using Psyshock. Certain Arceus forms, especially those dangerous to Lugia such as Arceus-Dark and Arceus-Steel, are not harmed by Psyshock. Aeroblast is a very powerful STAB but it has horrible PP and Lugia being a defensive Pokemon in general hates losing PP so quickly. Substitute can go over Thunder if you really hate status and Ferrothorn. Surf destroys Excadrill, Heatran, and Arceus-Ground in the rain but is pretty useless otherwise because it is weather dependent and does not have good neutral coverage. In addition to being hampered by all of the Pokemon that trouble the previous set, other Calm Mind users, such as the Arceus formes (Arceus-Dark, Arceus-Electric, Arceus-Ice, Arceus-Ghost, and Arceus-Rock), can easily beat Lugia one-on-one due to their better type matchup or offensive stats. However, Arceus might lose if Lugia runs Whirlwind because all of them cannot quickly dispatch Lugia, especially if Lugia has Multiscale. Blissey can handle most kinds of Calm Mind Arceus with ease thanks to Toxic. While Kyogre fears boosted Thunders, it can threaten Lugia back with powerful Thunders of its own. Kyogre is easily dealt with by Scarf Zekrom and Arceus-Grass thanks to their superior Speed, powerful super effective STAB moves, and resistance to Water-type attacks. Forretress and Tentacruel can also set up Toxic Spikes, which greatly hampers most of this set's counters by putting them on a timer so they won't be able to bother Lugia as much anymore. Excadrill can support Lugia by defeating Tyranitar and Zekrom. Kyurem-W is not as threatening to this set but a Choice Specs-boosted Ice Beam can still be an issue. The pink blobs and Jirachi can wall Kyurem-W and support Lugia with Wish.

Lugia's defenses are very tough to crack, but it is more suited to be a physical wall. With the listed combination of moves, it can function as an excellent counter to some of the top threats in the Uber metagame, including but not limited to Groudon, Rayquaza, Garchomp, Arceus, Giratina-O, Genesect, and some Palkia, Latias, Latios, and Dialga. It also gets Leftovers as an additional recovery so it will not get worn down by passive damage as easily as Arceus. Immunity to Spikes and Toxic Spikes is huge in Ubers because the metagame is heavily Spikes-based. Access to Dragon Tail allows Lugia to phaze through Taunt, which is something defensive Arceus wishes it could do. Roost is Lugia's most important move because its main role is to stall out the opponent. It provides reliable healing and cancels out its weaknesses to Rock-, Electric-, and Ice-type attacks for a turn, which Lugia can often take advantage of due to its great Speed stat. This is particularly useful when trying to stall out dangerous opponents such as Zekrom or Kyurem-B using Fusion Bolt. If you are not a fan of Whirlwind leaving Lugia exposed to Taunt, Dragon Tail is an acceptable alternative to phaze through it and deal a little damage in the process. Keep in mind that Dragon Tail cannot phaze through Substitutes, and with Lugia's pathetic offenses, this can prevent Lugia from stopping sweepers abusing Substitute such as Giratina-O. When using Whirlwind, Ice Beam is the preferred option to deal direct damage to the Dragon-types Lugia is famous for countering. Rayquaza, Garchomp, and Salamence are all easily OHKOed by Ice Beam after a layer of Spikes or Stealth Rock. Nevertheless, bulkier sweepers not weak to Ice such as Mewtwo and Arceus can easily shrug off Ice Beams. If you are using Dragon Tail over Whirlwind, Substitute becomes a decent option to prevent status such as Toxic from crippling Lugia. Once poisoned, Lugia is rendered useless as it can no longer stall out opponents due to the increasing damage. Substitute also allows Lugia to PP stall the opponent with ease. There are many options for the last slot as Lugia has a wide movepool. Reflect allows Lugia to bolster its Defense stat to counter powerful physical sweepers such as Groudon and Arceus more efficiently. This is especially important when Lugia is trying to stop Zekrom or Swords Dance Groudon due to their high base Attack stat and possess super effective moves to hit Lugia with. Reflect can be used to its fullest extend with a faster EV spread. If you are not a fan of Whirlwind, Toxic can be used. Toxic is Lugia's only way of dealing real damage to bulky opponents, and works well with Lugia's stalling prowess. When the opponent can no longer be forced out, Toxic works as a great solution such as when facing end game Swords Dance Arceus. Earthquake can also work in the last slot as it allows Lugia to strike at Zekrom, Heatran, and Reshiram switch-ins, all of which are key stallbreakers, so weakening them as fast as possible can be a game-changer. If you do not mind losing Ice Beam, a combination of Toxic and Reflect together with Roost will help Lugia defeat end-game Swords Dance Arceus all of the time bar a critical hit. The EV spread listed above is best to maximize Lugia's ability to stomach physical attacks--for example, a Lugia with this EV spread can never be OHKOed by a Life Orb-boosted Outrage from Rayquaza at +1 Atk after Stealth Rock damage, and it can also take on sun-fueled Sacred Fire from Ho-Oh; however Reflect is needed to outstall Ho-Oh. It also ensures that standard Extreme Killer Arceus is unable to 2HKO with a +2 Silk Scarf boosted Extreme Speed after Stealth Rock as long as Lugia uses Reflect on the turn it is hit. The Special Defense EVs also ensure that Lugia will rarely be 2HKOed by an unboosted Thunder from Timid Palkia, factoring in Leftovers. However, an EV spread of 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe with a Jolly or Timid nature is also reasonable. It allows Lugia to outspeed Terrakion, giving Lugia time to throw up a Reflect before it can use Stone Edge, and it allows Lugia to take on Garchomp, Swords Dance Rayquaza, Kyurem-B, and mixed Palkia and Dialga more effectively. It also allows Lugia to speed tie at worst with Latias and Latios, and with Roost, both of them are easily outstalled as long as the weather is not rain. The faster spread will work best with Multiscale, so Lugia's decreased bulk will not be so significant. A fast Roost can also allow Lugia to activate Multiscale before the opponent gets to attack and this can prove to be very important when facing powerful threats such as Choice Specs Palkia. 96 Defense EVs and a Defense boosting nature are already sufficient for preventing a Jolly Dragon Dance Rayquaza +1 Outrage from OHKOing after Stealth Rock and one turn of Leftovers. Max HP and Def is also a fine EV spread if you don't care about the additional Special Defense, while surviving +1 Outrage from the rare Adamant Rayquaza 100% of the time. If you like a balance of bulk and Speed, a spread of 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe can be used to outrun everything up to Modest Kyurem-W, while also providing optimum bulk to avoid the 2HKO from Choice Scarf Salamence's Outrage even after Stealth Rock and sandstorm or hail damage. Go any faster and you might as well just use max Speed because that sacrifices too much of Lugia's bulk already. Both of Lugia's abilities work well for this set depending on your team's needs. Toxic is probably Lugia's biggest hindrance, followed closely by Stealth Rock. The former renders Lugia incapable of walling anything due to the ever-increasing poison damage, while the latter slices 25% of Lugia's HP away every time it switches in, and it breaks Multiscale too if you choose to use it. Thankfully, Forretress is immune to Toxic and can also make use of Rapid Spin to clear Stealth Rock from the field, giving Lugia more freedom in switching in to absorb blows. Forretress is also capable of setting up entry hazards to help weaken foes alongside Whirlwind and Dragon Tail. Excadrill and Tentacruel are also excellent partners for Lugia as they are both immune to Toxic and have access to Rapid Spin and the latter with the ability to setup entry hazards as well. Cleric support from the likes of Blissey is also great in making sure Toxic doesn't cripple Lugia. Lugia is generally threatened by fast sweepers not weak to Ice Beam and which are capable of hitting it with powerful STAB super effective moves, namely Darkrai. Dark Void will block Lugia's attempts to phaze it out by lulling it to sleep, giving Darkrai a chance to obtain a Nasty Plot before destroying Lugia with a boosted Dark Pulse. Tyranitar and Magnezone also completely wall Lugia without Earthquake, and can easily cut it down using Stone Edge or Thunder, respectively. However, both of them have to beware of getting out stalled by Roost and Pressure. Lugia is also completely incapable of doing anything to defensive threats such as Chansey and Blissey, who can just cripple Lugia with Toxic and sit there until it succumbs to the debilitating poison. Wobbuffet can trap Lugia with Shadow Tag and turn it into setup fodder using Encore. Forretress and Ferrothorn can also come in and set up whatever they want on Lugia, as Lugia can't really hurt them. Lugia cannot spinblock the entry hazards it loves, so a spinblocker is recommended as a partner, although keep in mind Ghost-types share some similar weaknesses with Lugia. Kyogre and Zekrom pack super effective Electric-type attacks to annihilate Lugia. Kyurem-W is another major threat to Lugia as Choice Specs Ice Beam coming from Kyurem-W will always OHKO standard Lugia. Xatu prevents Lugia from doing anything if it lacks Ice Beam thanks to Magic Bounce. Groudon handles most Zekrom and Magnezone with ease thanks to its immunity to Electric-type attacks and great defenses, and the sunlight it brings with it makes Thunder less of a worry to Lugia. Tyranitar and Blissey also have little hope of getting through Groudon although Blissey can cripple Groudon with Toxic. Arceus-Fighting, with its impressive defenses and resistances, handles Darkrai, Arceus-Dark, Kyurem-W, Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn very well, and is capable of using Forretress as setup bait, as long as the bagworm lacks Toxic. Palkia can come in on Kyogre with ease and blast it away with Thunder, and it can also use a mixed set to lure in and take out Wobbuffet. Genesect is capable of revenge killing Darkrai, Tyranitar, Kyurem-W, and Zekrom while also sharing great typing synergy with Lugia.

This particular Lugia is designed to cripple, or at least hamper, many of its common switch-ins while still serving the role of a defensive counter. However, beware that "normal" Lugia sets will almost always use Leftovers, making the lack of Leftovers recovery give away that fact that you are holding Choice Specs. Trick is the main feature of this set and allows Lugia to disable more defensive switch-ins such as Blissey and Latias. For example, if the standard Latias (Timid, 112 HP / 204 SpA / 0 SpD) is Tricked on the switch-in and loses its Soul Dew in exchange for Lugia's Choice Specs, Lugia will beat it 1 on 1 with Ice Beam (assuming that Latias does not get multiple critical hits or that you are without Roost). If Latias chooses to lock itself into Recover or Roost, Lugia can easily PP stall it out. Trick will also allow Lugia to disable Pokemon like Calm Mind Mewtwo as they switch in. By investing a small amount in Special Attack when aided with Choice Specs Lugia can cripple its more offensive switch-ins such as Kyogre. Although Aeroblast appears to be an oddball in this set, it provides general coverage, and is surprisingly powerful when powered up by Choice Specs. If you are having problems predicting between Ice Beam or Thunder while Choice Specs is still held by Lugia, you can't go wrong with Aeroblast. The EV spread is designed to accomplish a few specific goals. A Timid nature with 192 Speed EVs gives Lugia 334 Speed, enough to outrun Jolly Garchomp. 116 Special Attack EVs guarantees a 2HKO on 240 HP / 0 SpD Kyogre with Thunder as well as on opposing Lugia if Stealth Rock is in play. They also guarantee an OHKO against 4 HP / 0 SpD Rayquaza and a 2HKO on 252 HP / 60 SpD Adamant Groudon with Ice Beam. The 200 HP EVs also serve a specific purpose. They assure that a once Dragon Danced Jolly Rayquaza's Life Orb Outrage will never OHKO and an Adamant one will not OHKO on average. Additionally, a Swords Danced Adamant Rayquaza's Life Orb Extreme Speed will never OHKO and if said Rayquaza is Jolly, Lugia has a slight chance to not be 2HKOed. Lugia will also still be able to effectively counter most Groudon with the given EVs or at a minimum cripple them with Trick or Ice Beam. If you opt to use Aeroblast, 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe is a better EV spread. Lugia's Aeroblast does 52.8%-62.7% to max HP / max SpD Careful Forretress and 50.6%-60% to 4 HP / no SpD Palkia. Lugia will still survive a Swords Danced Extreme Speed from Adamant Rayquaza holding a Life Orb after taking Stealth Rock damage. Any Pokemon who can resist or abuse Lugia's initial strategy of Tricking is an immediate threat to this set. Pokemon who would fall into this category are Pokemon with specially oriented offensive stats and a Choice item of their own, and Giratina-O. Any Pokemon who uses special attacks and has Choice Specs or even Choice Scarf can pose an instant threat to this Lugia. Lugia's main strategy is to Trick right away, so therefore it will catch its counter switching in, which will forced to carry Choice Specs. Since Lugia's normal counters include physical Pokemon, such as Tyranitar, and support Pokemon, such as Blissey and Wobbuffet, giving them a Choice Specs will severely hamper their ability to deal with Lugia. However, the aforementioned Choiced special Pokemon, such as Palkia, Dialga, or Kyogre can all take Lugia's Choice Specs, giving Lugia back their own Choice item. Lugia is then locked into Trick, and is forced to switch out, giving your opponent a free turn to smack your switch-in with a high-powered Draco Meteor or Water Spout. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you have a Pokemon with high Special Defense to deal with these threats. Blissey can take any attack, barring Aura Sphere, from Dialga or Palkia, while Latias can deal with a Choice Specs Water Spout from Kyogre, making them both ideal partners for this set. Giratina-O is kept in its Origin forme with its special item, the Griseous Orb, and thus it cannot be Tricked your pair of Choice Specs. Then, taking advantage of the fact that you are locked into the ineffective Trick, it can set up for a potentially dangerous sweep. Therefore, pairing this with a Tyranitar is beneficial, since Giratina-O cannot kill it before it reciprocates with a super effective Crunch or Pursuit, unless it carries Aura Sphere. Tyranitar's Sand Stream trait will also help drain the health of not only Giratina-O, but also the Pokemon who has received Lugia's Choice Specs (so long as it is not a Ground-, Rock- or Steel-type). Wobbuffet can also work well to deal with versions without Shadow Ball, as it can Encore a set-up move or Mirror Coat back an offensive move. Regardless of what Pokemon switches in to acquire Lugia's Choice Specs, Wobbuffet makes a fantastic partner for picking off the crippled Pokemon. With Wobbuffet in, you can trap the newly Choiced Pokemon with Shadow Tag, locking it into an attacking move, which you can then Mirror Coat or Counter back for heavy damage. Wobbuffet can also deal with Pokemon who hold Choice items prior to Lugia using Trick who are trying to lock Lugia into that move.

Lugia's talents can extend to special sweeping after boosting with Calm Mind. While Latias may appear to run the bulky Calm Mind course more effectively due to a better special movepool, lack of an Electric-type weakness, and far superior Special Attack, Lugia can boast that it isn't locked in and annihilated by Metagross Pursuit and doesn't care about Normal Arceus with Extreme Speed. The general idea of this set is to Calm Mind against Pokemon such as Groudon that wouldn't be capable of hurting it and attack with Ice Beam. Earth Power gives coverage against common Steel-types, especially Heatran. Weather Ball allows Lugia to OHKO Forretress in sunlight, and deal a decent amount to it in rain. Thunder can be used on rain builds, but Lugia is generally hard to fit on rain stall. The EV spread given for this set lets Lugia Calm Mind ahead of a Palkia Thunder without fear. Also, it can outspeed any non-Choice Scarf Garchomp, allowing it to faint the beast with an Ice Beam before it can do too much damage to Lugia. Lugia also keeps a lot of its physical durability, for example, a Choice Band Groudon Stone Edge only does 85.58% at maximum, so Lugia will be able to stall out its effectively 4 PP (after Pressure slices its original 8) assuming there aren't too many critical hits or the random numbers remain medium or low. However, make sure you have spun away Stealth Rock. Unlike Kyogre, Lugia does not have access to any move as strong as Kyogre's Water Spout, and thus, even with many Calm Mind boosts, it falls victim to being walled by Blissey. Psych Up or Calm Mind versions can match Lugia's boosts, making it nearly impossible to break Blissey, barring a critical hit or freeze from Ice Beam. By using Whirlwind, you can phaze Blissey out, but she can still come back in to wall Lugia to her heart's desire. For this reason, it is highly recommended that you have a physical or mixed attacker to accompany Lugia by taking out Blissey, and, for versions without Thunder, Kyogre as well, as it will resist Ice Beam and start setting up Calm Minds, or just deal immediate damage to Lugia with Thunder. Sets with Whirlwind benefit greatly from entry hazards. Moves like Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes can cause lots of passive damage that Lugia can utilize by shuffling your opponent's team with Whirlwind, in order to wear down his or her team for Lugia's sweep. After many switch-ins, Pokemon without dedicated recovery moves, such as Groudon and Tyranitar, will not be able to stand up to Lugia's boosted attacks, even if they are normally sound counters, in Tyranitar's case. For entry hazard support, it is beneficial to pair Lugia with Pokemon like Deoxys-S, Forretress, Skarmory, or Groudon, can all set up one or more of the three types of passive damage. If you decide to run Thunder on Lugia, it is very important to have weather support on your team in the form of Kyogre to set up rain. Although Ice-type attacks are very effective in Ubers with the high amount of Dragon- and Flying-types around, Thunder helps greatly by hitting the also ubiquitous Steel-types for neutral damage. Also, it is incredibly useful for hitting Kyogre, who otherwise takes very little damage for your Ice Beams.

Lugia is a decent physical wall in Ubers albeit generally outclassed by Cresselia. While Giratina also gives it competition, it does sport several advantages, which it should utilize as much as possible. First and most importantly, it receives an immediate recovery move in Roost and therefore isn't forced to use the less efficient Rest and Sleep Talk. It also doesn't have a weakness to Dragon-type attacks, allowing it to phaze Latias, Latios, and occasionally Rayquaza, without too many problems. Additionally, it is much faster and can use Ice Beam, which is generally a very effective move in Ubers. Lugia is, above all else, a counter for physical Pokemon such as Groudon and Metagross; both Roost and Reflect aid its mission, with Roost as the critical recovery move and Reflect slicing physical damage in half. Whirlwind is another move geared towards stopping physical attackers. While Lugia is sturdy enough to take 72%-85% from even a Choice Band Groudon's Stone Edge, it can't keep up with a Choice Band Metagross's Meteor Mash or Life Orb Rayquaza's Outrage that is boosted multiple times. Therefore, it needs to remove the boosts by forcing the offending Pokemon to switch out. If used after one's own Forretress has set down Spikes or Stealth Rock, Whirlwind also works to inflict some residual damage upon the opponent. As is often the case, the fourth slot involves a more complicated decision. For Lugia, viable options there include Toxic, Light Screen, and Ice Beam. Toxic is Lugia's best opportunity for any significant damage to Pokemon not weak to Ice-type moves, such as Darkrai and Mewtwo, and is usually the best of the three options; it is also excellent to ravage some of Lugia's targets, such as Rayquaza and Groudon. However, Toxic is utterly ineffective against Metagross and leaves Lugia with no offensive moves, leaving it a facile target for Taunt from Darkrai, Mewtwo, and others; also, all of Lugia's exertions may be rendered useless by a timely Blissey Aromatherapy. Considering Toxic's foibles and the fact that Toxic Spikes is quite popular on Uber teams, one may choose the next option, Light Screen. Although Lugia is predominantly a physical wall, it does have excellent base 154 Special Defense, and Light Screen capitalizes on that by essentially neutralizing its common weaknesses of Electric-, Ice-, Ghost-, and Dark-type attacks, and protecting it from Water- and Dragon-type attacks. Light Screen has the same issue as Toxic in that it leaves Lugia vulnerable to Taunt, though, and makes Lugia thoroughly incapable of inflicting any damage without field effects in place. Ice Beam is a proactive solution that will not deter Metagross, but hits super effectively on Groudon and Rayquaza. Unfortunately, the damage it inflicts is lackluster on anything else, and only has a 2.6% chance of OHKOing the standard Rayquaza even after one round of Life Orb damage. Lugia may sometimes drop Whirlwind so that it may use both Ice Beam and Toxic. This allows it to deal quick damage to both Groudon and Rayquaza, while being able to inflict status on Mewtwo and Darkrai that think they can switch in believing that Lugia has Ice Beam and not Toxic. Toxic can act as a semi-phazing move as the opponent will not want to stay in to face the increasing poison damage, and unlike Whirlwind it can permanently cripple a Pokemon. However, without Whirlwind, Lugia does not have a quick answer to stat boosters and Baton Passers such as Ninjask. A Timid nature with 192 Speed EVs is recommended for most walling Lugia, which translates into 334 Speed. This outruns all Pokemon up to the base 102 Speed bracket that have a Speed boosting nature, an incredibly important feat in Ubers; this is because Groudon, Garchomp, Rayquaza, Palkia, Kyogre, and Dialga, all frighteningly powerful attackers, exist at that level. However, Timid Lugia is OHKOed by a Dragon Danced, Life Orb boosted Outrage from Rayquaza after Stealth Rock damage. One also has the option to ignore Lugia's Speed stat in favor of its Defense and switch the nature from Timid to Bold, should he or she find the boosted Speed not helpful to the team as a whole. With it, a Dragon Danced, Life Orbed Outrage from Jolly Rayquaza maxes out at 72%, allowing Lugia to survive and deal a fatal blow with Ice Beam. The boosted Defense also allows it to wall Ho-Oh much more effectively. Although Lugia has a phenomenal base 154 Special Defense, its main purpose is to wall physical attacks, and it is EVed as such, and thus it cannot compete with the massively powerful special attacks that are thrown about in Ubers territory. Lugia's Flying-type, while giving it many opportunities to switch into Ground-type attacks, causes it to attract loads of Electric- and Ice-type attacks, both of which are extremely common in the Ubers metagame, further destroying its chance of taking special hits. Therefore, it is best for you to pair Lugia with a Pokemon who has good Special Defense with which to take the Ice- and Electric-type attacks directed at Lugia. Blissey can take any of these attacks, but can't do much back to the perpetrator, barring status or Seismic Toss. Kyogre can take Ice Beams from any target. However, it is worth warning that Kyogre's Drizzle invites various Pokemon to unleash Thunder against Lugia once it switches back in. Along with its massive base Special Defense, Lugia's base 110 Speed stat is often overlooked. This high base Speed stat allows it to outspeed certain threats, such as Rayquaza, Groudon, and non-Choice Scarf Garchomp, and hit them with a super effective Ice Beam before they can do more damage. As a result, inflicting Lugia with paralysis severely hampers its ability to wall normally. Pokemon like Blissey, Jirachi, and even some Groudon, such as support sets and the Paradancer set, can mitigate Lugia's walling abilities. A Groudon of your own can switch into Thunder Wave, as it is immune to the Electric-type status. It can also take a boosted Stone Edge directed at Lugia that usually accompany a ParaDancing Groudon. Another massive threat to Lugia is Tyranitar, regardless of what set it chooses to run. Choice Band sets can severely damage Lugia with STAB Pursuit, should Lugia switch out, and it also has Crunch and Stone Edge should Lugia stay in. A Tyranitar with a combination of Taunt and Dragon Dance will completely shut down Lugia. Tyranitar can come in on one of your teammates and Dragon Dance as you switch to Lugia. With Taunt, it can prevent Lugia from Roosting or throwing up a Reflect, and then can wipe you out with its STAB moves, both of which are super effective against Lugia. Also, because of the sandstorm that Tyranitar sets up, its Special Defense is boosted, making Lugia's Ice Beams very ineffective against it. Lucario can accompany Lugia, as it has 4x resistances to both of Tyranitar's STAB attacks, and hits it for massive damage with STAB Close Combat, while Tyranitar can do little in return, barring a Fire Punch. Groudon, can also prove a useful partner, as it can take any attack Tyranitar can unleash upon it. Furthermore, its Drought ability diminishes the accuracy of Thunder, which can be extremely helpful, as Thunder-users are other threats to Lugia. Forretress can threaten Lugia, not because of its damage output, but rather because of the damage it can do to your team. While Forretress cannot do much to Lugia, Lugia cannot do much back, meaning Forretress can set up Spikes, Stealth Rock, or even Toxic Spikes with ease, all of which are annoying and difficult to deal with. Groudon with Fire Punch can deal with Forretress, as it brings the sun into play, boosting its Fire-type move. Also, a Forretress of your own can Spin away entry hazards. Wobbuffet is another annoyance to Lugia, as it can turn it into utter set-up bait. However, sadly Wobbuffet has no counter, as you cannot switch out due to its ability, Shadow Tag. Lugia can use Whirlwind to scout potential Wobbuffet switch-ins, forcing it out, letting Lugia itself leave the battlefield before Wobbuffet comes back in. Lugia can also Whirlwind while Wobbuffet is in, but due to Whirlwind's negative priority, Wobbuffet's Encore will outspeed it and force Lugia to use its most recently used move (which could be Whirlwind). Wobbuffet can also be dealt with by using Toxic. While you are still trapped and potentially Encored, it will permanently cripple Wobbuffet, or even put it in KO range.

This set takes a radically different approach from the other Lugia sets, focusing on Lugia's offensive capabilities instead of its defensive prowess. While Lugia's low base 90 Special Attack may seem unappealing, its bulk, Speed, and powerful Aeroblast more than make up for this setback. Aeroblast is the crux of this set, being more powerful than a Life Orb-boosted Ice Beam from Mewtwo. With Stealth Rock, +1 Aeroblast 2HKOes Wobbuffet and nearly OHKOes Mewtwo, Lugia's most common counters. It can also 2HKO common threats, such as Giratina-O, Latios, Groudon, Scizor, and Forretress, as well as OHKOing Darkrai and Rayquaza after SR. In addition, it has a chance to 2HKO max HP Kyogre after Stealth Rock, though Calm Mind variants with Rest / Sleep Talk can cause trouble. Roost is a vital move for this set, as it allows Lugia to set up multiple Calm Minds against specially offensive foes, such as Palkia and Dialga. You should choose the last move depending on what your team can handle. Earth Power in general hits Pokemon who resist Aeroblast, such as Steel- or Electric-type Pokemon. Earth Power specifically helps deal with Dialga and Heatran, both of whom may attempt to wall Lugia. Thunder easily defeats Kyogre, opposing Lugia, and Skarmory. It also hits Ho-Oh, though be careful, as sun reduces Thunder's accuracy to 50% and allows Ho-Oh to OHKO Lugia with Sacred Fire. Hidden Power Fighting is a viable option, as it allows Lugia to 2HKO specially defensive Tyranitar after a boost, and OHKO minimum HP Tyranitar after Stealth Rock. While you will no longer 2HKO specially defensive Dialga (thus meaning that Lugia will lose to Bulk Up Dialga), Lugia will still be able to 2HKO max HP Dialga with a boosted Hidden Power Fighting. However, Hidden Power Fighting Lugia will have issues getting past Jirachi and Metagross. Finally, if Steel-types are not a problem, Ice Beam is a possibility to get a quick OHKO on Rayquaza and Garchomp while still 2HKOing opposing Lugia after you gain a boost. Ice Beam will also deal a massive amount of damage to Giratina-O. Here are some damage calculations to show the power of this set. All of these damage calculations assume that Lugia is Timid and has set up one Calm Mind. Aeroblast vs 28/252+ Wobbuffet: 46.78% - 55.3% Aeroblast vs 4/0 Mewtwo: 76.55% - 90.11% Aeroblast vs 4/0 Kyogre: 54.39% - 64.04% Aeroblast vs 252/0 Kyogre: 46.04% - 54.21% Aeroblast vs 4/0 Palkia: 65.73% - 77.88% Aeroblast vs 252/60 Groudon: 63.12% - 74.26% Aeroblast vs 248/200 Scizor: 69.1% - 81.63% Aeroblast vs 252/252+ Forretress: 68.93% - 81.36% Aeroblast vs 4/0 Darkrai: 96.1% - 113.12% Aeroblast vs 0/4 Rayquaza: 76.35% - 90.03% Aeroblast vs 0/0- Giratina-O: 62.59% - 73.7% Aeroblast vs 86/96 Giratina-O: 48.92% - 57.79% Aeroblast vs 4/0 Latios: 50.66% - 59.6% Earth Power vs 4/0 Dialga and Jirachi: 86.55% - 102.34% Earth Power vs 252/0 Metagross: 89.56% - 105.49% Earth Power vs 252/216+ Tyranitar: 36.63% - 43.56% Earth Power vs 4/0 Tyranitar: 58.48% - 69.01% As you can seen from these damage calculations, this Lugia will greatly appreciate Stealth Rock, as it relies on that to defeat Wobbuffet and max HP Kyogre. Additional, Spikes are also fairly helpful due to them allowing Lugia to OHKO Mewtwo with a boosted Aeroblast. An important thing to note about this Lugia is that due to its offensive nature, it has a radically different playstyle when compared to the defensive Lugia sets. Because of the lack of HP EVs, this Lugia will not be able to tank hits as well as the defensive sets. For example, an unboosted Outrage from Garchomp will 2HKO this Lugia after Stealth Rock damage. Offensive Lugia will often find time to set up after an opponent has KOed one of your Pokemon. For example, after Choice Scarf Palkia gets a kill with Spacial Rend, Lugia can set up. Lugia will also be able to set up on Choice Scarf Dialga's Dragon Pulses. Wobbuffet can be a very helpful teammate for Lugia, as it can Encore support moves and Earthquakes for Lugia to set up on. There are several Pokemon who will be troublesome when attempting to sweep with Lugia. Blissey is by far the biggest problem, as she walls Lugia's entire moveset and can cripple it with status. Tyranitar is another serious issue. Lugia will have trouble even 2HKOing some Tyranitar with a boosted Earth Power, while Choice Band Tyranitar will usually OHKO Lugia with Crunch. Even worse, Tyranitar can actually trap Lugia with Pursuit. Without Thunder, Lugia will never 2HKO Ho-Oh without Stealth Rock, while Life Orb Ho-Oh will OHKO Lugia with Sacred Fire after Stealth Rock damage. While a +1 Aeroblast with Stealth Rock can 2HKO Latias, she can use Calm Mind and Recover to defeat Lugia in a Calm Mind war. In a similar manner, Rest + Sleep Talk Calm Mind users, such as Kyogre and Giratina, will be able to outstall Lugia. Without Thunder, Skarmory and opposing Lugia will have no problems phazing Lugia away with Whirlwind, or crippling it with Toxic. If you use Thunder over Earth Power, Dialga will wall Lugia. Because of these issues, offensive Lugia works very well with the Tickle Wobbuffet + Pursuit strategy. Wobbuffet can use Tickle several times on Blissey, Lugia, and Calm Mind Giratina, and then let them fall prey to Pursuit users, such as Scizor, Metagross, and Tyranitar. You can also use Dugtrio with Wobbuffet to defeat Blissey after you have Encored her. Additionally, Pursuit users keep Latias at bay (provided that she doesn't have Hidden Power Fire in Scizor's case). Scizor can switch into Tyranitar's Crunch and threaten to do a massive amount of damage with Bullet Punch or U-turn. Ho-Oh unfortunately lacks any true counters; however, Kyogre can check it. Kyogre can also use Thunder Wave or Toxic to cripple Latias switch-ins, or even Waterfall to 2HKO Blissey (with Life Orb or Mystic Water). Groudon can easily force Tyranitar and Dialga out with Earthquake, and can make a great Skarmory lure with Overheat. Calm Mind Latias and Latios can defeat Kyogre, OHKO Skarmory with Thunder, and do a massive amount of damage to Tyranitar switch-ins with a boosted Grass Knot. Choice Scarf Palkia can lure in Tyranitar expecting Spacial Rend (only to 2HKO them with Surf), and can revenge kill Latias with Outrage. Mixed attackers, such as Dialga and Palkia, work well in dealing a massive amount of damage to Blissey. Dialga in particular can use Bulk Up on its mixed sets to lure in Skarmory. Bulk Up Dialga itself is also a great teammate, as it can set up on Blissey, Tyranitar, and Calm Mind Kyogre.

Set Description Reflect and Whirlwind let Lugia be an effective stop to physical wallbreakers like Groudon, Heracross, and Rayquaza, using Reflect on their attacking moves to take more hits and phazing setup variants that boost too high for even Reflect to handle. Toxic is the main way Lugia makes progress, alongside Whirlwind. Poisoning foes like Ho-Oh severely reduces their longevity, and residual damage from Whirlwind with Spikes makes up for Lugia running no attacking moves. 96 Speed EVs allow Lugia to outrun maximum Speed base 90s with a neutral nature such as Groudon and Kyogre, as well as important slower foes such as Adamant Heracross. Lugia can also afford to run less Speed in favor of a tankier set, with only 16 Speed EVs being needed to outrun and set up Reflect against a -1 Speed Snorlax if Lugia gets paralyzed. Team Options Lugia fits best on very bulky team structures that utilize its slow pace and walling abilities while defensively covering for its shortcomings. It has multiple exploitable weaknesses to common attacking types like Ghost, Electric, and Ice while also lacking any Special Defense investment. Blissey is a strong switch-in to special attackers like Kyogre, Latios, and Latias, can absorb status from Pokemon like defensive Ho-Oh, and can even provide Lugia with incredible Aromatherapy support. Blissey's Light Screen also lets Lugia take essentially any hit and respond with Toxic or Whirlwind, something important in the Calm Mind Kyogre matchup. Forretress is practically mandatory so Whirlwind can force progress with Spikes. It also provides a Ghost resistance to help against Pokemon like Choice Band Deoxys-A, which can overwhelm even Lugia. Deoxys-D is a good switch-in to most other strong special attacking Psychic-types like Latios and Latias, Mewtwo, and Petaya Berry Deoxys-A, which Lugia cannot handle itself. It also provides the crucial Spikes support Lugia wants and is another Pressure user, allowing for easier PP stalling against opposing defensive teams. Snorlax is one of the better pivots into Latios, Latias, and Mewtwo and has Immunity to cover for Lugia's terrible weakness to Toxic, making it a strong partner as well.

Set Description Choice Band Lugia is a strong and fast wallbreaker, using its good natural bulk to come onto the field multiple times per game. Aeroblast is a strong STAB move and is used most, breaking past most Pokemon that don't resist it. Shadow Ball is used to hit bulky Latias the hardest as well as dent opposing Lugia and Dusclops, which can Pressure stall Aeroblast. Earthquake is needed to threaten Metagross, and it also covers more niche Pokemon like Tyranitar and Steelix. Whirlwind can be a last-ditch effort against setup sweepers, using Lugia's massive natural bulk to stomach a hit and remove a threat like boosted Groudon in a pinch. The Speed EVs and a Jolly nature are needed to outspeed Modest Latias and Latios, and Lugia needs maximum Attack investment for power. Team Options Magneton is an excellent partner for Lugia, removing Steel-types like Forretress and Skarmory to let it more easily spam Aeroblast. Latios and Latias provide Lugia with a lot of support by switching into Kyogre, which can threaten Lugia with Thunder, as well as being offensive but sturdier Groudon checks in combination with Lugia soft checking it. Deoxys-A appreciates Lugia's ability to bait in and chip Steel-types like Forretress and Metagross, which can take a few hits from Deoxys-A, and Lugia benefits from Deoxys-A baiting in Skarmory, which Lugia can't break with any attack. Fire-type coverage on Pokemon like Snorlax and Metagross in sun is also good for baiting in and weakening Steel-types like Forretress and opposing Metagross.

Set Description This is Lugia's most consistent set. Curse and Whirlwind, coupled with its absurd bulk, allow it to check many threats with ease. It can easily switch into Vaporeon, Heracross, Snorlax, and Mew and phaze them with Whirlwind. Aeroblast is the only attacking move on this set, as there are no Pokemon immune to Flying-type attacks; its high critical chance can also overwhelm checks like Curse Snorlax and Barrier Mewtwo. Using Aeroblast and Whirlwind in concert turns Lugia into one of the most threatening late-game presences in Ubers. Earthquake is an option over Whirlwind, as Lugia commonly baits Tyranitar and other Pokemon weak to Ground, such as Steelix and Jolteon, into the field. However, not having Whirlwind means that Lugia is unable to beat Barrier variants of Mewtwo, a Pokemon that would otherwise be helpless against it, and is an infinitely worse late-game presence because Pokemon like Ho-Oh and opposing Lugia can phaze it. Team Options Lugia struggles heavily against Pokemon like Tyranitar, Golem, and Rhydon, all of which resist Aeroblast and can annoy Lugia with Roar. Because of this, Earthquake Snorlax is a good teammate, as it commonly lures them out while also checking other threatening Pokemon for Lugia, like Zapdos and Jolteon. Lugia, in return, can potentially beat Pokemon like Barrier Mewtwo for Snorlax. Pokemon that can lure in Electric-types like Zapdos and Raikou for Lugia, such as Exeggutor, Self-Destruct Mewtwo, and Self-Destruct Snorlax, are also good teammates. Cloyster and Forretress can lay down Spikes for Lugia, making its Whirlwind all the more threatening, and provide some offensive pressure with Toxic and Explosion. Cloyster additionally can threaten Tyranitar with its STAB Surf. On more defensive teams, Celebi is also a good partner for Lugia, as it can comfortably switch into the Electric-type Pokemon that annoy Lugia and use Heal Bell to ensure that status does not ruin Lugia.

Set Description This set trades Lugia's original approach of a Curse sweeper and turns it into a supporter for its team. Surf can OHKO Pokemon like Golem and Rhydon, 2HKO Marowak and Steelix, and potentially threaten Tyranitar. Toxic allows Lugia to put pressure on the enemy team by incurring crucial passive damage. This gives Lugia an option to put Pokemon like Zapdos, Tyranitar, and Cloyster on a timer. Cloyster will be pressured to use Explosion earlier after it's been poisoned, while Tyranitar and Zapdos will be forced to use Rest. Whirlwind lets Lugia phaze threatening Pokemon like Vaporeon, Snorlax, and Mew, as thanks to its massive bulk, it only fears Self-Destruct and Explosion from them. Team Options As this Lugia set doesn't carry ways to boost its Defense, physical attackers can overwhelm it. Additionally, Lugia can have trouble repeatedly switching into Pokemon like Snorlax, Marowak, Mew, and Mewtwo if it's paralyzed, so Pokemon like Barrier Mewtwo and Celebi are appreciated. Barrier Mewtwo can check threatening attackers alongside Lugia, while Celebi can provide Heal Bell support to ensure status does not ruin Lugia. Tyranitar can comfortably absorb Lovely Kiss from Snorlax and check Mewtwo without a Fighting-type coverage move; it can also potentially beat opposing Tyranitar one-on-one if it gets enough Curse boosts. In return, Lugia checks Pokemon like Mew and Earthquake Snorlax for Tyranitar.