What I did:
- Added Counter sections to each set
- Added "Team Options" Section
- Fixed some errors from original writing
- Removed outdated references (ie Cloyster as Spiker)
[SET]
name: Great Wall
move 1: Roost
move 2: Reflect
move 3: Whirlwind / Ice Beam
move 4: Ice Beam / Toxic / Light Screen
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Lugia has been and still is one of the most reliable walls in the Uber metagame. While Giratina gives it competition, it does sport several advantages, which it should utilize as much as possible. First and most importantly, it receives immediate recovery moves in Roost and Recover (the preference of Roost over Recover is discussed at length later) 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 pseudo-haze 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.</p>
<p>Lugia is, above all else, a counter for physical Pokémon 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 as little as 67-79% from even a Choice Banded Groudon's Stone Edge, it can't keep up with a Choice Band Metagross Meteor Mash or Life Orb Rayquaza Outrage that is boosted multiple times. Therefore, it needs to remove the boosts by forcing the offending Pokémon 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.</p>
<p>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 Pokémon 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.</p>
<p>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 thinks that 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 Pokémon. However, without Whirlwind, Lugia does not have a quick answer to stat boosters and Baton Passers such as Ninjask.</p>
<p>A Bold nature with 204 Speed EVs is recommended for most walling Lugia, which translates into 307 Speed. This outruns all Pokémon of the base 90 Speed bracket that have a Speed boosting nature, an incredibly important feat in Ubers; this is because Groudon, Kyogre, and Dialga, all frighteningly powerful attackers, exist at that level. Sets with Light Screen may, however, prefer a Timid nature with 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 Spe to outspeed all Palkia without Choice Scarf; the reason is that with Light Screen, Lugia can conceivably stall Palkia that have Life Orb until it faints through Life Orb recoil. To help deal with Rayquaza, Lugia can opt to use 318 Speed, which allows Lugia to outrun Jolly variants of the Dragon and use Roost or Reflect before it uses Stone Edge. This requires 248 Speed EVs. HP should be maxed, like normal, with the remaining 8 EVs spilled into Defense.</p>
<p>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 Pokémon that 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 Pokémon to unleash Thunder against Lugia once it switches back in.</p>
<p>Along with its massive base Special Defense, Lugia’s base 110 Speed stat is often overlooked. This high base Speed stat allows it to out speed 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. Pokémon 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.</p>
<p>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 due 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.</p>
<p>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 out speed 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.</p>
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Roost
move 4: Whirlwind / Thunder
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 192 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>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 Extremespeed. The general idea of this set is to Calm Mind against Pokémon such as Groudon that wouldn't be capable of hurting it and attack with Ice Beam. Whirlwind blows away anything that tries to match Lugia, especially Calm Mind Kyogre. However, Thunder is a viable option over Whirlwind to hit Kyogre directly; it also serves to hit Metagross more effectively. The EV spread given for this set lets Lugia Calm Mind ahead of a Palkia Thunder without fear. Also, it can out speed 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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, Pokémon 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 Pokémon like Deoxys-S, Forretress, Skarmory, or Groudon, can all set up one or more of the three types of passive damage.</p>
<p>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.</p>
[SET]
name: Trick
move 1: Trick
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Roost / Dragon Pulse
item: Choice Specs
nature: Timid
EVs: 200 HP / 116 SpA / 192 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>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.</p>
<p>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 Pokémon 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.</p>
<p>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 Kygore 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. If you opt for Dragon Pulse in the final slot, it will similarly 2HKO most Palkia. 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 ExtremeSpeed 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.</p>
<p>Any Pokémon that can resist or abuse Lugia’s initial strategy of Tricking is an immediate threat to this set. Pokémon that would fall into this category are Pokémon with specially-oriented offensive stats and a Choice item of their own, and Giratina-O</p>
<p>Any Pokémon that uses special attacks and has Choice Specs or even Choice Scarf can pose an instant threat to this Lugia. Luiga’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 Pokémon, such as Tyranitar, and support Pokémon, such as Blissey and Wobbuffet, giving them a Choice Specs will severely hamper their ability to deal with Lugia. However, the aforementioned Choiced Special Pokémon, 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 Pokémon 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 Specsed Water Spout from Kyogre, making them both ideal partners for this set.</p>
<p>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 Sandstream trait will also help drain the health of not only Giratina-O, but also any Pokémon that has received Lugia’s Choice Specs. 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.</p>
<p>Regardless of what Pokémon switches in to acquire Lugia’s Choice Specs, Wobbuffet makes a fantastic partner for picking off the crippled Pokémon. By Wobbuffet in, you can trap the newly Choiced Pokémon 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 Pokémon who hold Choice items prior to Lugia using Trick who are trying to lock Lugia into that move.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Rest + Sleep Talk is a potential replacement for Roost, because Roost leaves Lugia open to Toxic; overall, though, it is far less efficient, and with Rest and Sleep Talk, Lugia loses to Groudon. Safeguard and Substitute protect Lugia from status altogether and could be nice on the special attacking set. Aeroblast is a very powerful STAB attack, but won't hurt that much from Lugia's inferior (by Uber standards) 90 base Special Attack, and has very low PP, which is wasted further by Pressure from various Ubers. A gimmicky Choice Band set could work, with the main attacks being Punishment and Avalanche, but Lugia's superior defensive stats indicate that walling threats is generally more common, and at the very least, you should stick to special attacks, which can be boosted by Calm Mind. Thunder Wave deserves mention on Lugia's sets, as it works well with Lugia's high base 110 Speed, so it can cripple many offensive threats, almost destroying any chance of a sweep. However, it is not always the best option, as some of the more common threats for Lugia to handle include Garchomp and Groudon, both of whom are immune to Thunder Wave.</p>
<p>Earth Power can also find a place on the Trick set to better handle Dialga, Tyranitar, and Metagross. However, you are often better off just crippling Tyranitar and Metagross by burdening them with a Choice Specs via Trick. Aeroblast can work as a filler option in the final slot of the Trick set as well. However, because of the low PP and the fact it doesn't hit any of the Uber metagame for super effective damage means you'll often be disappointed.</p>
<p>Since Lugia falls prey to Wobbuffet quite easy, it is viable to use Shed Shell with it. Wobbuffet can abuse Lugia's slightly lower Special Attack by using Encore on a weaker attack, or Encoring a set up/status move to start a potentially devastating sweep. It can also use Tickle to lower Lugia's defenses, making it bait for Pursuit-users like Tyranitar and Scizor. Thus, a way to escape Wobbuffet's grasp should be considered when possible. The drawback of course is that Lugia loses its passive Leftovers recovery, which not only slows its recovery, but also tips your opponent off that Lugia is using something abnormal.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Due to its healthy Special Attack, Speed, and Defenses, Lugia can play either an Offensive or Defensive role on your team. Regardless, Lugia really appreciates aid from Forretress who can use Rapid Spin to get rid of Stealth Rock, which chops off a quarter of Lugia’s health every time it switches in, severely cutting its staying potential, be it walling or attacking. This can be especially important on the Trick set, as Lugia will not have Leftovers, meaning that it cannot passively gain its health back. Furthermore, the lack of Leftovers recovery will reveal that you have Choice Specs, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the set. Lugia, like any defensive or bulky Pokémon, is helped by dual screens. Lugia can set up its own Reflect (it's recommended on the Great Wall set), but a Light Screen from another Pokémon, like Jirachi, Bronzong, or Mewtwo, can enhance Lugia’s ability to stay in against the many Pokémon of Ubers that use special attacks.</p>
<p>Lugia’s boosted special attacks, mainly Ice Beam and Thunder, can rip through teams that are not prepared for due to the great coverage offered by the moves and Lugia's access to instant recovery. However, the Special Defense titan known as Blissey can put a stop to Lugia, because of its ability to boost its own stats with Calm Mind or Psych Up, along with its massive Hit Points and Special Defense. Because of this, Lucario makes an excellent partner to Lugia. Its extremely powerful Close Combats can not only rip through Blissey, but also Tyranitar, who is a large threat to Lugia as well, with sandstorm, large Special Defense, and two super effecive STABs. Furthermore, Lucario's Swords Danced Extremespeed can devastate faster threats to Lugia, like Choice Scarf Palkia, especially with Spikes or Stealth Rock damage. In return, Lugia’s boosted Ice Beams can take out Groudon and Giratina, who are the main counters to Swords Dance Lucario. Kyogre also helps as well, as it sets up the rain for Lugia to abuse with Thunder, should you choose to run it.</p>
<p>As mentioned, Lugia has trouble with handling the high-powered special attacks that are common in Ubers. Pokémon like Kyogre, Darkrai, and Mewtwo are the most threatening, as they can either out speed it or hit it for super effective damage off their massive base Special Attacks, or both (and in some cases, STAB too). Blissey can wall Darkrai, Mewtwo, and Kyogre that are not locked into Water Spout. Her massive Hit Point and Special Defensive stats cushion the powerful blows, and she can reply with status or Seismic Toss, especially for Taunt + Calm Mind Mewtwo, however Darkrai's Dark Void can cripple Blissey, while a boosted Focus Blast actually really dents her. A Rest + Sleep Talk Kyogre can also be used, as it can wall Mewtwo (unless it has set up many Calm Minds), and Sleep Talk when Darkrai puts it to sleep, to possibly inflict a lot of damage on Darkrai. However, there is also Tyranitar, who also strikes fear in Lugia’s heart although it uses physical attacks. Scizor also falls into all of these roles perfectly, making it a potentially better choice than Blissey, unless your team also needs a special wall. It is neutral to Tyranitar’s Rock-type STAB, and resists its Dark-type STAB, while replying with a super effective Bullet Punch or Superpower. Scizor can also take any Dark-type move that Darkrai throws at it, and can severely injure it with any of its moves, barring Pursuit, however, you must watch out for boosted Focus Blasts. Finally, Scizor either resists or is neutral to Mewtwo’s two most common moves, Aura Sphere and Ice Beam, and can trap it with Pursuit, or U-turn or Bullet Punch it, should it stay in. Since Groudon can generally not do much to Lugia, barring a critical hit with Stone Edge, many opponents will try and poison Lugia while it switches in with Toxic, which greatly hurts its ability to be a wall. Blissey can help by using Aromatherapy to cleanse Lugia of status. This also works well with paralysis, since Lugia relies quite a bit on its Speed.</p>
<p>The Pokémon that threaten Lugia most, Mewtwo, Darkrai, and Tyranitar, are generally paired with Kyogre or an offensive Dragon-type such as Garchomp, Rayquaza, or Palkia. Latias equipped with Soul Dew has no problem with even the toughest of Kyogre, as it can switch in on even Choice Specs Water Spouts and Recover off the damage, while also threatening Kyogre with Grass Knot or Thunder. Blissey again makes an appearance as a great partner, as it can easily take the special attacks of special orientated Dragon-types, such as Palkia and some Dialga. Lugia itself deals with physical Dragon-types, such as Garchomp or Rayquaza quite easily with Reflect, Roost, and Ice Beam, so no extra teammate is required, provided you are using a defensive set. If your Lugia is running an offensive set, Groudon can take the physical attacks from the likes of Garchomp, Rayquaza, and other Dragon-types.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Lugia is undoubtedly one of the sturdiest physical walls in the game, but is actually numerically stronger special defensively even with the standard spread. This results in a very evenly rounded wall that can take almost any attack; it's extremely difficult to OHKO something with a 106/130/154 defensive layout. Lugia's good 110 base Speed is also higher than that of many Ubers, including Rayquaza, Ho-oh, Palkia, Groudon, and Kyogre without Choice Scarf.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Lugia can't do anything against Pokémon with Taunt, as its attacks aren't very powerful without any boosts. Calm Mind Mewtwo rips Lugia to shreds, while Mew can set up and Baton Pass away. Darkrai can even put Lugia to sleep and smash it with Calm Mind boosted STAB super effective Dark Pulses. Toxic is also very debilitating against Lugia without Rest, so a stalling Dialga will beat it.</p>
<p>Arceus in either its Ghost- or Dark-type guise will inflict monumental damage on Lugia, but like many others, it will inevitably be Whirlwinded out before Lugia faints. Calm Mind Kyogre beats Calm Mind Lugia when Lugia is without Thunder through attrition; a six-stage boosted Ice Beam will only do 32% at maximum to a Kyogre, even without HP or Special Defense EV investment.</p>
<p>Tyranitar is one of the very few Pokémon that can conquer Lugia completely, by using sheer force. A Choice Band boosted maximum Attack Stone Edge has an 86% chance of OHKOing the standard Lugia, with Sandstorm in effect, while Pursuit chases down fleeing Lugia, reducing its health to the extent that any reasonable attack will kill it. However, using Stone Edge may be risky, as Roost negates the Rock-type weakness and Pressure eats away at Stone Edge's low PP. Even if it has a Reflect up, Lugia can't take repeated Crunches, because Tyranitar will eventually inflict enough Defense drops to knock Lugia out. However, if those Defense drops do not come in quickly enough, Tyranitar may succumb to repeated Toxic damage.</p>
