Sets
Wall – Pseudohazer
- Item Held
- Leftovers
- Nature
- Bold (+Defense, -Attack)
- Effort Points
- 252 HP – 204 Speed – 54 Defense
- Whirlwind
- Reflect
- Ice Beam / Toxic
- Roost
This set shows what a Wall should do even better than an encyclopaedeia would. After setting up a Reflect, nothing can break through the Defenses of this beast. Whirlwind blows away those who try to set up on Lugia in a desperate attempt to sweep. Ice Beam hits Pokémon like Groudon, Rayquaza, Latias and Latios. On the other side, Toxic makes Lugia a fantastic staller. Roost recovers anything lost in the process and removes Lugia’s Flying type for that turn. Why you ask? For minimizing the damage from Groudon’s Stone Edge and Kyogre’s Thunder.
You may also ask why putting those 204 EPs in Speed since Lugia is a Wall. The reason is really simple. A Bold Lugia with 31 IVs and 204 EPs in Speed will get a stat of 307, enough for outspeeding Groudon and Kyogre even if they run a +Speed nature with 252 EPs in Speed. Outspeeding the two of them is really important for the use of Roost, otherwise you won’t gain anything by removing the Flying type for that turn.
CM Wall
- Item Held
- Leftovers
- Nature
- Bold (+Defense, -Attack)
- Effort Points
- 252 HP – 204 Speed – 54 Defense
- Calm Mind
- Reflect
- Ice Beam
- Roost
This set is the same as the previous one with only a change. Calm Mind in place of Whirlwind. With Calm Mind, you won’t need to send stat-uppers away since you can beat them with your own powered-up Ice Beam. Reflect and Roost are still needed for defensive purposes. The problem this set faces is that it can’t touch Pokémon resistant to Ice, especially if they have a high Special Defense stat, like Kyogre.
CM Sweeper
- Item Held
- Leftovers
- Nature
- Timid (+Speed, -Attack)
- Effort Points
- 252 Special Attack – 176 Speed – 82 Defense
- Calm Mind
- Ice Beam
- Whirlwind / Shadow Ball
- Roost
With a base Special Defense stat of 154 and a base Defense one of 130, this set seems like novelty, but Lugia has some chances at sweeping if you want. Calm Mind to raise your Special Attack, then Roost for recovering any damage you received while setting up, then proceed to sweeping. Ice Beam and Shadow Ball hit more than half of the Ubers but Whirlwind can be used for sending Pokémon that are difficult to face, like Kyogre again, back to their homes. With a Timid nature and 176 Speed EPs, Lugia outruns Modest Latios and Latias as well as +Speed Rayquaza and Palkia apart from the previous mentioned Groudon and Kyogre.
Other Possible Options
Lugia’s offensive movepool is really wide but Lugia is not that good at sweeping. Surf, Thunder, Psychic and Psycho Boost (only available via Pokémon XD) are all eye-catching moves. Especially Aeroblast, Lugia’s signature move, could be possibly used in the sweeping set but its type coverage in Ubers is not that great.
As far as defensive moves go, Thunder Wave is a good possible option that can cripple some dangerous Ubers like Mewtwo. Light Screen if you want Special Defense support. Finally, Rest and Sleep Talk, combined with Toxic, Whirlwind or Reflect and Pressure will give you a perfect staller, able to take hits and survive for a really long time…
Counters
Darkrai is a quite effective counter as it doesn’t fear anything that Lugia can do, so it can easily switch in and use either Dark Void or Taunt. Other Taunt users like Mewtwo and Mew can stop Lugia and use it as a set-up fodder. Mewtwo will Calm Mind up and then sweep while Mew will just Baton Pass its boosts away.
Continuous hits on its weakness will take Lugia down if it fails to Roost off the damage in time. Particularly, Thunder by a Deoxys-A or Kyogre or Ice Beam/Shadow Ball by a Mewtwo with a few Calm Minds will do. If it goes for the sweeping set, which means no Reflect, Stone Edge by a Groudon will kill Lugia. In the end, Toxic will stop it if it doesn’t carry Rest.
Opinion & Notes
Lugia remains more or less the excellent Wall that it was in Advance. The new additions of D/P didn’t affect it much, excluding Roost. That move is like a blessing to this Pokémon, letting it overcome its fear of Groudon’s Stone Edge and Kyogre’s Thunder. With sky-high defensive stats, Whirlwind, Roost, Reflect and Pressure there’s nothing more to deserve from the number 1 Wall in the game.