Grab your Silver Wing and your flashlight, because it’s time for this week’s Legendary Pokemon of the Week post. Today we wrap up my little three-week event with the final Guardian of the Sea, Lugia.
Lugia is considered by many to be the opposite number of Ho-Oh. Lugia is the Guardian of the Sea, while Ho-Oh is the Guardian of the Sky. The sun and the color gold represent Ho-Oh, while the moon and the color silver represent Lugia. Ho-Oh is a Fire-type, and while Lugia isn’t a Water-type it does learn Water-type moves. Lastly, Lugia appears at the beginning of storms and can cause them, while Ho-Oh appears at the end of storms and perhaps even ends them, creating a pretty rainbow in the process.
In the games, Lugia once roosted atop the Brass Tower in Ecruteak City. But then catastrophe struck and the Brass Tower was hit by lightning and burned to the ground, becoming the Burned Tower. After that, Lugia few away to parts unknown, though more on that in a moment. Lugia is also known as being the master of Kanto’s Legendary Bird trio. Though I’ve never been able to figure out how that relationship came to be. I mean as far as I know, Lugia didn’t create the Legendary Birds.
Hangout: In Gold, Silver, Crystal, and their remakes, Lugia is found in the caves beneath the Whirl Islands in Johto. The people of Olivine City often tell their children that if they misbehave, they’ll be sent to the Whirl Islands. This frightening reputation that these islands have among the children is well earned, or at least it is in my opinion. Picture in your minds that you’re wandering in a cave that’s pretty much pitch black, you keep getting turned around and every five steps you’re ambushed by a wild Pokemon. Then once you find yourself in deepest, darkest part of the cave, a creature resembling a dragon bursts forth from the depths and attacks you.
That’s pretty much the While Islands; the inside is so dark that you need a Pokemon that knows Flash to see where you’re going. And even then it’s a bit of a challenge, or at least it was in Gold, Silver, and Crystal. It really doesn’t help that there are four different entrances to the cave, and if you pick the wrong one you can’t get to Lugia’s cave. I always had to use the map in my strategy guide to get to where I was going. But even after catching Lugia there are a few reasons to go back. Though it is hard to navigate, the cave is home to several Water Pokemon, some of which you can’t catch by fishing. Plus it’s a good place to train your Electric and Grass-type Pokemon.
Signature Move: Like Ho-Oh, Lugia was one of the first Legendary Pokemon to have a Signature Move, and Lugia’s is in the form of Aeroblast. It’s a pretty cool move to watch, especially in the anime. Plus it’s fun to use against Bruno of the Elite Four. Aeroblast’s most notable effect that it can land a lot of critical hits. Perhaps not as dazzling as Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire attack, but you can’t help but like a cannon.
Storms: I think the attribute of Lugia that I like the most is its ability to cause storms. This may sound weird, but I actually like a good thunderstorm. Unless it causes a blackout, then it just ruins the evening. But thunderstorms are pretty cool to watch from a distance too, almost beautiful in a way. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a thunderstorm out over the ocean outside of pictures, but I imagine that it’d be a pretty cool sight. Though I certainly wouldn’t want to be on a boat in the middle of a storm.
So that wraps it up for this week, and also brings my three-week event to a close. At them moment I’m not sure which of my favorite Legendary Pokemon I’ll talk about next week, but I do have a few ideas. So until next week, stay tuned.
