Great Sage
Banned deucer.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/lugia
I return once again to the wonderful world of Ubers...
[SET]
name: Great Wall
move 1: Roost
move 2: Reflect
move 3: Whirlwind
move 4: Toxic / Light Screen / Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Lugia has largely been passed over in terms of walling in Ubers for Giratina in D/P, but it does sport several advantages, which it should utilize to their fullest. 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, allowing it to pseudo-haze Latias, Latios, and occasionally Rayquaza without too many problems. Additionally, it is much faster and can use Ice Beam, 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 Forretress or Cloyster 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, 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, and protecting it from Water and Dragon 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>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.</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 / 80 Def / 176 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 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 while maintaining adequate physical durability. For example, a Choice Band Groudon Stone Edge only does 85% 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.</p>
[Roost v. Recover]
<p>D/P has brought Lugia a new recovery move in Roost. Roost and Recover are exactly alike, except if a Flying-type uses Roost, its Flying sub-type is essentially nullified for the remainder of the turn. Lugia is fast enough to be affected by this against most Uber opponents, and initially it may appear to be a poor trade-off, because while it Roosts, Lugia can be hit by Groudon's Earthquake. However, Groudon's STAB Earthquake only has roughly 150 power, while a super effective Stone Edge has roughly 200, so using Roost actually benefits Lugia even in that situation. From that potentially shaky situation on, Roost's effect is almost completely beneficial. It temporarily eliminates Lugia's Electric and Ice weaknesses, which is extremely helpful against Palkia and Kyogre.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Rest and 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. Thunder Wave is always helpful for some team support, but generally isn't as useful as Toxic. 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 should generally stick with responding to threats rather than attempting to be one itself.</p>
[EVs]
<p>There are two basic EV configurations for Lugia. First is the defensive Bold 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 Spe spread, which outruns all base 90 Speed Ubers. The more dynamic spread is Timid 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 Spe, which outruns Palkia.</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 its Ghost or Dark 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 without Thunder through attrition; a six-stage boosted Ice Beam will only do 32% at maximum to a Kyogre with no HP or Special Defense investment whatsoever.</p>
<p>Tyranitar is one of the very few Pokémon that can conquer Lugia completely through 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. 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.</p>
I return once again to the wonderful world of Ubers...
[SET]
name: Great Wall
move 1: Roost
move 2: Reflect
move 3: Whirlwind
move 4: Toxic / Light Screen / Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Lugia has largely been passed over in terms of walling in Ubers for Giratina in D/P, but it does sport several advantages, which it should utilize to their fullest. 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, allowing it to pseudo-haze Latias, Latios, and occasionally Rayquaza without too many problems. Additionally, it is much faster and can use Ice Beam, 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 Forretress or Cloyster 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, 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, and protecting it from Water and Dragon 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>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.</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 / 80 Def / 176 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 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 while maintaining adequate physical durability. For example, a Choice Band Groudon Stone Edge only does 85% 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.</p>
[Roost v. Recover]
<p>D/P has brought Lugia a new recovery move in Roost. Roost and Recover are exactly alike, except if a Flying-type uses Roost, its Flying sub-type is essentially nullified for the remainder of the turn. Lugia is fast enough to be affected by this against most Uber opponents, and initially it may appear to be a poor trade-off, because while it Roosts, Lugia can be hit by Groudon's Earthquake. However, Groudon's STAB Earthquake only has roughly 150 power, while a super effective Stone Edge has roughly 200, so using Roost actually benefits Lugia even in that situation. From that potentially shaky situation on, Roost's effect is almost completely beneficial. It temporarily eliminates Lugia's Electric and Ice weaknesses, which is extremely helpful against Palkia and Kyogre.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Rest and 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. Thunder Wave is always helpful for some team support, but generally isn't as useful as Toxic. 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 should generally stick with responding to threats rather than attempting to be one itself.</p>
[EVs]
<p>There are two basic EV configurations for Lugia. First is the defensive Bold 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 Spe spread, which outruns all base 90 Speed Ubers. The more dynamic spread is Timid 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 Spe, which outruns Palkia.</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 its Ghost or Dark 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 without Thunder through attrition; a six-stage boosted Ice Beam will only do 32% at maximum to a Kyogre with no HP or Special Defense investment whatsoever.</p>
<p>Tyranitar is one of the very few Pokémon that can conquer Lugia completely through 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. 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.</p>
