Pokemon GO Legendary Raids are hard enough, but Shadow Lugia literally won’t stay still for long enough for players to hit it – with some players calling the Raid ‘impossible’
Shadow Lugia is back in Pokemon GO, and for the first time ever, it’s available in Raid Battles. On top of that, this is the first time that the shiny variant of the Legendary Shadow Pokemon can be caught.
Players have until October 29 at 8 PM local time to get their hands on a Shadow Lugia. But for some users, the Raid itself is impossible.
Shadow Lugia Won’t Stay Still in Pokemon GO
After defeating it in a Raid Battle, Pokemon GO players find that Shadow Lugia just won’t stay still, making it nearly impossible to catch.
Legendary Pokemon already have a remarkably low catch rate, requiring players to use Excellent Throws and Golden Razzberries just to boost their odds of obtaining the creature.
But in the case of Shadow Lugia Raid Battles, you’ll be lucky even to hit the Pokemon in the first place, let alone with a high-skill catch:
“It does the attack animation with zero time in between about 15 times in a row before stopping for less than 1 second and then repeating,” Reddit user Noah20201 writes, calling the Pokemon ‘borderline impossible to catch.”
Not only does Lugia deflect balls constantly, but it stays as far away from you as possible while doing so! Just check out how many attacks the Shadow Raid Boss throws out in this clip from Pokemon Master on YouTube:
By remaining at the top of the screen, it makes hitting Excellent Throws impossible.
On top of that, it gives balls a longer distance to travel before making contact, giving Lugia plenty of time to interrupt them with a speedy attack.
Best Tips to Catch Shadow Lugia
- Use Nanab, not Golden Razz Berries
From our experience, the best way to be in with a chance of catching Shadow Lugia is to use a Nanab Berry to slow down its constant movement and attack animations.
That way, you at least have a better chance of hitting the Pokemon in the first place, even if you don’t get the boosted catch rate.
Landing all your throws and hoping for the best is still better than landing just a handful of throws with a Golden Razz Berry.
- Don’t Throw Until it Falls
We also recommend waiting patiently before throwing a ball, to allow Shadow Lugia to return to a lower elevation.
When the Pokemon is at the top of the screen, there’s almost no chance of hitting it, so take your time and throw when it begins its descent.
- Move Lugia Yourself!
Don’t forget that you can turn on AR mode using the slider in the top right of the screen. We’ve found that this allows you to reposition Shadow Lugia’s placement yourself, just by moving your device!
Keep these tips in mind, and you’ll find Shadow Lugia far from impossible to catch in Pokemon GO. But we certainly understand player frustration when you finally get a chance at a Shiny Shadow Lugia and it proves this elusive!