Shadow Lugia

Lugia was the first Cover Legend released in Pokemon Go, and has long been a popular Pokemon in general. However, its utility has long been something of a meme in terms of the PvE meta, as the overwhelming consensus has been to avoid using it outside of select scenarios. But here we are, looking Shadow Lugia in its blood-red eyes as it demands a place on our teams.

Shadow Lugia retains a near-identical TDO to its basic counterpart (TDO which sits near the top of all Pokemon, mind you), but sees a large boost to its DPS as well. This increase is just enough to make an Shadow Lugia a real threat in raids, as it just became one of the most ideal anchors in the entire game for raids weak to Flying and/or Psychic. And while anchors aren't in high demand nowadays, Shadow Lugia's boosted DPS puts it in a solid place in Flying weak raids in particular.

Thanks to Aeroblast+'s insane power, Apex Shadow Lugia can put in a respectable amount of work despite its lack of a Flying-type Fast Attack. Avoid purifying it if you care about its raid performance. With that said, even Apex Shadow Lugia's power pales in comparison to Dragon Ascent Rayquaza and Fly Shadow Salamence.

In short; it's a solid Pokemon (in more ways than one), and can be useful for sure, but it's still not a top-tier pick for most raids.

Best PvE Offensive Moveset

• Extrasensory is Shadow Lugia’s best quick move, targeting Poison and Fighting-types for STAB effective damage.

• Dragon Tail has limited utility

• Future Sight isn't a bad move and has the advantage of pairing with Extrasensory, but in most cases it's best to use a Flying Type option instead.

• Sky Attack is an outstanding attack, but for sheer Flying Type damage, Aeroblast* is better, while Aeroblast+* is the absolute best for those lucky enough to have a good Apex Shadow Lugia. But basic Aeroblast is still stellar in its own right, since Niantic seems determined to make us forget about the mistake that was their attempt at releasing "+" and "++" moves.

• Hydro Pump isn’t a bad charge move, but it has no use on Shadow Lugia.

With the Season 8 buff to Dragon Tail, its incredible damage output now makes it the superior option to Extrasensory despite having slightly less energy gain. Dragon Tail is especially preferred in Master League due to the ubiquitous use of Dragon-type Pokemon. 

Sky Attack is a very efficient move, benefits from STAB, and costs the least amount of energy. Future Sight requires a steep 65 energy cost, and is generally not preferable due to this cost unless Psychic-type coverage is highly needed. Hydro Pump (130 Power/75 Energy) takes longer to charge, has lower base damage per energy, and lacks STAB, but it does allow Lugia to perform better against a number of potential threats, such as Steel- and Rock-types. The addition of Aeroblast from the Nov 2020 Animation Week event is a debatable but nonetheless welcome addition to Lugia's kit, demanding an expensive 75 energy cost but in return offering a massive 170 base power (2.267 DPE). With STAB, Aeroblast when resisted performs almost identically to Hydro Pump, which makes Lugia's signature move more preferable due to its minor chance to proc its +2 ATK buff, despite not offering additional coverage.

Aeroblast+, the signature move of Apex Shadow Lugia, is functionally identical to Aeroblast in PvP. Don't purify your Apex Shadow Lugia.