Shadow Lugia in Pokemon GO: Giovanni returns with Team Rocket
On November 9, 2021, right as the clock strikes 12:01 in the morning, a Team GO Rocket event was scheduled to begin in Pokemon GO. This was an event called "With Light Comes Shadow..." as named after one of the several phrases a Team GO Rocket grunt might say before entering a battle. This event is special as it brings Giovanni back to the game after an extended absence, along with Shadow Lugia!
Shadow Lugia
If you are fighting Lugia, you're going to be taking on a mainly Psychic Pokemon with a bit of Flying-type action. This Pokemon is weak to Ghost, Dark, Electric, Ice, and Rock-type moves. As such, you're going to want to bring out Pokemon like Gengar, Magnezone, Weavile, Raikou, Gyarados, Manectric, Darkrai, Tyranitar (Smack Down and Crunch), and even Hoopa!
Once you capture a Shadow Lugia, you'll do well to make sure it has Dragon Tail as its Fast Move – or teach it said move for optimal battle action. The best Charged Move a Shadow Lugia can have is certainly Aeroblast. Teach that monster this move with a Charged TM, for sure. Future Sight comes in at a close second.
Giovanni Encounter
If you have a Super Rocket Radar, you'll have the opportunity to find and battle Giovanni. If you do not have a full Super Rocket Radar, you'll need to complete some Special Research to attain said Radar. In the past, Niantic planned on releasing a bit of Giovanni Rocket Special Research at the start of each month – that didn't pan out. Now that we're seeing Giovanni return to the game, Niantic might be indicating that they're ready to try a month-to-month launch sort of deal – we shall see!
If you want to fight any of the other Rocket leaders, you'll need to go battle a bunch of Team GO Rocket Grunts until you get enough parts of a Rocket Radar. One Rocket Radar will grant you access to battle Cliff, Sierra, or Arlo. The Pokemon teams you'll be battling with these members of Team GO Rocket are new. If you've been attempting to take down any of the Team GO Rocket leaders in the past, their current lineup might be surprising!
Arlo will start with Shadow Gligar, for sure. The second Pokemon could be Shadow Marwile, Shadow Lapras, or a third Pokemon (not yet revealed). The third Pokemon Arlo battles with could be Shadow Scizor or one of two other mystery Pokemon.
Cliff will be rolling with Shadow Grimer for the first toss, followed by Shadow Venusaur (or one of two other mystery Pokemon). The third Pokemon in Cliff's team could be either Shadow Tyranitar or one of two other mystery Pokemon.
Sierra's team is slightly less of a mystery than the rest – shell have Shadow Nidoran for the start, followed by Shadow Beedril, Shadow Vileplume, or Shadow Slowbro. The third Pokemon on Sierra's team will be Shadow Houndoom, Shadow Marowak, or a third mystery Pokemon.
Battling the rest of Giovanni's team will require that you take on Shadow Persian first. The second Pokemon will be Shadow Rhyperior, Shadow Kingler, or a third mystery Pokemon. The final Pokemon you'll battle with Giovanni will, of course, be Shadow Lugia.