Pokémon GO: Lugia Raid Guide, Weaknesses, and Best Counters

Lugia has been in raids several times before, but now this legendary finally has his signature attack, Aeroblast. But first, you will have to beat the Diving Pokémon in a Raid to add it to your team. Use this Lugia Raid Guide to help you find all the better counters for exploiting this great psychic bird's weaknesses.

Lugia Raid Guide for Pokémon GO

There hasn't been a raid boss in a long time as formidable as Lugia. Thanks to a ridiculously high defense stat, this legendary Johto bird can easily survive long enough to take out an entire team of your Pokémon, even if you have five or six trainers in the raid.

It's technically possible to win a Lugia Raid with just three Trainers in battle, but you'll need all the optimal counters at level 40 along with tons of weather and friend bonuses. In other words, you could also invite a few more people to more comfortably win the Lugia raid.

Once you have completed the raid, the Lugia you can catch will be between CP 2028 and 2115. If the raid boss is driven by windy weather, it will be in the range CP 2535 and 2645. Also, a chance to get a shiny version of the Lugia raid.

Lugia's weaknesses

Lugia has good fangs, but if you have the right pawns for this foray, this giant bird will be a little less robust. Lugia has many weaknesses that allow you to get a little creative with your choice's raid counters. You can find the list of Lugia's weaknesses below:

Dark
The icecream
rock
Ghost
Electric

Lugia's best raid counters

You should definitely take advantage of Lugia's weaknesses by selecting the best counters. This is probably the most important part of the Lugia raid guide, as you will need some really powerful Pokémon to be successful here.

The Lugia raid counters listed below are from a Pokebattler simulation with level 35 mons and no attack boost of any kind. Mega and Shadow Pokémon will appear on the list in their own way, as they are currently quite expensive and hard to come by.

Megas :

Mega Houndoom (Grunt | foul play)

Weather Upgrade: Mist

Mega Houndoom leads the pack when it comes to raiding counters from Lugia. It doesn't hit as hard as Mega Gengar, but it will survive much longer. Just be careful if Lugia has Hydro Pump. Mega Houndoom can take a few hits, but this water attack will do a great deal on this Pokémon.

Mega Gengar (Lick | Shadow Ball)

Weather Upgrade: Mist

Like its non-Mega counterpart, Mega Gengar is a fragile Pokémon. The only thing that makes up for its low defense and HP is that it hits like a truck. Mega Gengar can be eliminated quickly, but he will surely leave a mark before he leaves.

Zekrom (Charge Lightning | Wild Charge)
Weather Upgrade: Rain
Zekrom is one of the most powerful Pokémon that have been added to Pokémon GO over the past year, and its electric-type attacks make it a great counter on Lugia's raid. Just keep an eye out for a Lugia with Dragon Tail, as it will be able to launch super effective attacks against Zekrom.
Giratina Forma Origin (Shadow Claw | Shadow Ball)
Weather Enhancement: Fog
Origin Forme Giratina is once again playing Mega Gengar's second fiddle when it comes to ghost types. This Legendary Ghost will last much longer than Mega Gengar, but it won't deal damage as fast. It's still a solid disadvantage to Lugia's raid.
Darkrai (Growl | Shadow Ball)
Weather Upgrade: Mist
Darkrai is a fun counter to use on Lugia's raid. It resists Lugia's dark attacks and has two attacks of different types. Snarl (Dark) and Shadow Ball (Ghost) take advantage of Lugia's various weaknesses. It will survive as long as Mega Houndoom, which is not that impressive. But that's long enough to do serious damage.
Magnezone * (Spark | Wild Charge)
Weather Upgrade: Rain
This is one of the best Pokémon you can use in the Shadow version for this raid, but even the normal one is awesome here. It also benefited from boosting in the rain, which is much more common than the fog needed for a handful of other Lugia raid counters.
Tyranitar * (SmackDown | Stone Edge or Crunch)
Weather Upgrade: Partly Cloudy or Foggy
As with Magnezone, you can't go wrong with Shadow or the normal version of Tyranitar. Let the weather guide you in determining which Tyranitars to use. If there is fog, use Crunch. And if it's partly cloudy, use Stone Edge. Or just use a combination of the two if you have many other trainers attacking with you. Just look for the Lugia hydraulic pump.
Rhyperior (Knock Down | Rock Wrecker)
Weather Improvement: Partly Cloudy
Every Flight to End Times raid will likely include Rhyperior. The only problem here is if you come across a Lugia equipped with a hydraulic pump. If the raid boss has Sky Attack or Future Sight, keep hitting that glorified seagull with Rock-type attacks.
Other viable Lugia raid counters :

Hydreigon (Bite | Dark Pulse) - Weather Upgrade: Fog
Raikou * (Voltage Switch | Wild Charge) - Weather Upgrade: Rain
Weavile * (Grunt | Avalanche) - Weather Upgrade: Fog or Snow
Electivire * (Thunder Shock | Wild Charge) - Weather Upgrade: Rain
Zapdos (Thunder Shock | Thunderbolt) - Weather Upgrade: Rain
Darmanitan of Galar (Ice Fang | Avalanche) - Weather Upgrade: Ice

* Shadow version is also viable

Lugia Raid Move Set

Lugia isn't one of those raid bosses that will KO you against Pokémon with a single charge attack. This is sure to defeat a large part of your team, but not because they are extremely strong offensively. As mentioned above, Lugia has great stamina.

Quick attacks

dragon tail (Continue)
Time Boost: Windy
Dragon Tail is a fast and powerful attack, but it's only super effective against one of Lugia's counters. Zekrom will take damage quickly with this move. Your other Pokémon will take quite a bit of damage too, but not as much as a Dragon of sorts.
Extrasensory (Psychic)
Weather Upgrade: Windy
This fast attack absolutely destroys Mega Gengar. You may receive two charged attacks in this situation. Other Pokémon will take decent damage as well, but not as much as Mega Gengar. Use Darkrai or Mega Houndoom to resist this attack.

Charge attacks

Hydraulic pump (Water)
Weather Upgrade: Rain
Hydro Pump is tough because it's super effective against Mega Houndoom, Tyranitar, and Rhyperior, three of the best counters from Lugia's raid. Even if your Pokémon aren't weak against Water-type attacks, Hydro Pump will quickly take your team out of service.
The vision of the future (Psychic)
Weather Upgrade: Windy
Future Sight is one of the strongest psychic-type attacks in the game, but it's very easy to beat. Lugia has a weakness for dark-type moves, and black Pokémon are resistant to psychic attacks. It is a match made against heaven. Darkrai, Tyranitar, and Mega Houndoom become especially useful here.
Sky Attack (Flying)
Weather Upgrade: Windy
Fortunately, Aeroblast is only on the Lugia you can catch. Sky Attack is already a lot to deal with. It's not as powerful and doesn't hit weaknesses like Hydro Pump, but it's more effective against Lugia's raid counters than Future Sight.

That's everything you need to know about Lugia Raid, counterattacks, and weaknesses. If you follow this Lugia Raid Guide, chances are good that you can catch some of these Legendary Pokémon for your own team.