Pokémon: 'Catch Lugia, Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos in Pokémon Go'

Advice on capturing the first Legendary trio.

☆ NintendObs Weekly – Monday, August 14, 2017 – Sunday, August 20, 2017.

Pokémon Go

Catch Lugia, Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos in Pokémon GO

Trainers from around the world have banded together over the past few weeks to catch the Legendary Pokémon Lugia, Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos by defeating them in Raid Battles. Don’t worry if you haven’t caught these Pokémon yet—the dream is still alive because all of these Legendary Pokémon are going to return to Gyms and stay until August 31. But Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos, and Lugia will stop appearing as Raid Bosses after this small window. Grab your Golem and get out there before time runs out, Trainers!

Legendary Pokémon are difficult to defeat and even tougher to catch, but we have the tips you need to catch these impressive creatures. You’ll be able to catch them using only the Premier Balls earned from battle, so you’ll need your Pokémon to perform well in battle to maximize your chances. Check out our guide to training Pokémon in Pokémon GO to get your team up to speed, then read on for some pointers to make sure this legend ends triumphantly.

Suggested Pokémon to Lick Lugia

Battling the stout Lugia will be a drawn-out affair, but you can speed things up by taking advantage of its weaknesses against Dark-, Electric-, Ghost-, Ice-, and Rock-type attacks. Lugia can use Flying-, Psychic-, Water-, and even Dragon-type attacks, so you’ll want to tailor your party depending on the Lugia you encounter. Stay away from Fighting-type Pokémon—they have a disadvantage against both of Lugia’s types.

The best partner against Lugia is undoubtedly Tyranitar. The Armor Pokémon has every advantage you could ask for—its Dark-type has an advantage over Lugia’s Psychic type, its Rock-type trumps Lugia’s Flying-type, and it happens to be the most powerful Pokémon available, to boot. Use TMs to replace Iron Tail and Fire Blast—you’ll do more damage with Bite and Crunch or Stone Edge. Be careful if Lugia knows Hydro Pump, though—it will greatly damage even Tyranitar. Consider deploying Water- and Ice-type Pokémon like Cloyster and Lapras to combat the troublesome move.

No other Pokémon will resist Lugia’s complete arsenal as well as Tyranitar, so you should deploy the rest of your roster by focusing on the Lugia’s specific attacks. Lugia’s Psychic-type attacks are best combatted with Dark-type Pokémon, but a Houndoom or Umbreon that knows Dark-type attacks are the only other solid options. Psychic-type Pokémon also resist Psychic-type attacks, so consider the Ice- and Psychic-type Jynx. It can dish out big damage with Frost Breath and Avalanche, but be careful of Lugia’s Charged Attacks. Remember that you can dodge attacks by swiping left or right.

Lugia’s Flying-type attacks are a little easier to combat. Rock-type Pokémon are the safest bet, but this is another encounter where you should look to Golem instead of Rhydon because of the Fast Attack Rock Throw. The Electric-type Pokémon Zapdos, Magneton, and Jolteon will put quite a charge into Lugia, and they resist it’s Flying-type attacks, too. Otherwise, focus on damage—the Ghost-type Gengar can give it a real spook despite its frailty, Gyarados’s Dark-type attacks and Articuno’s Ice-type attacks are great choices to leave Lugia out in the cold, and Moltres, Flareon, and Dragonite are excellent choices if you run out of strong Pokémon with a type advantage.

Suggested Pokémon to Defrost Articuno

Articuno is an Ice- and Flying-type Pokémon, making it weak against Electric-, Fire-, Rock- and Steel-type attacks. It’s especially weak against Rock-type attacks, but that weakness is risky to exploit because Golem and Rhydon are both weak against Ice-type attacks. Try taking a safer approach to this battle by incorporating the Water-, Fire-, Steel-, and Ice-type Pokémon that resist Ice-type attacks instead. And remember that Ice-type attacks are super effective against Dragon-, Flying-, Grass-, and Ground-type Pokémon, so leave Pokémon representing these types at home—especially the reliable Dragonite.

There are only a few Pokémon that can deal supereffective damage to Articuno while resisting its Ice-type attacks. Fire-type Pokémon are readily available to most Trainers and are fantastic against Articuno, so start the battle hot by using Flareon, Arcanine, and others of that type. A Scizor that knows Steel-type attacks will keep your performance sharp and incoming damage manageable, and Omastar can be the best all-around choice for this battle—but only if it knows Rock Throw, a Fast Attack known only by Omastar caught long ago that can’t be taught via a TM. Magcargo, Kabutops, Lanturn, Magneton, and modern Omastar have fantastic matchups with the Freeze Pokémon, but you may find their overall performance drags a little behind some Pokémon with higher stats.

Moltres, Tyranitar, and Charizard won’t resist Articuno’s Ice-type attacks, but each can deal such impressive damage that they’re worth selecting over most Pokémon with better defensive matchups. Houndoom can help melt Articuno’s ice and technically resists Ice-type attacks, but you should still expect the Dark Pokémon to take hefty damage. Golem, Sudowoodo, Zapdos, and other Electric-type Pokémon can dish out heavy damage if you’re not concerned about defense, but don’t expect any to last long if you see Blizzard coming.

Suggested Pokémon to Douse Moltres

The Fire- and Flying-type Moltres is weak against Electric- and Water-type attacks, and it’s especially weak against Rock-type attacks. Moltres will use only Fire-type moves, further increasing the effectiveness of Rock- and Water-type Pokémon. (Also worth noting is that Fire types and Dragon types will resist its attacks.) Focus on using your Rock-type Pokémon first, then your Water-type Pokémon, and finish up with Electric-type Pokémon if Moltres’s flames still haven’t been extinguished. Stay away from Bug-, Grass-, Ice-, and Steel-type Pokémon, as they’ll quickly be incinerated by supereffective Fire-type attacks.

Golem is the best choice to get your offense rolling. It’s one of the only Rock-type Pokémon that can learn a Rock-type Fast Attack, and it has solid stats, too. You’ll have to cut corners from there—Tyranitar and Rhydon have great stats but can’t learn Rock-type Fast Attacks. Sudowoodo and Magcargo crucially learn the Rock Throw Fast Attack, but their stats are significantly weaker than rock stars like Golem. Use Charged TMs to help your Rock-type Pokémon learn Rock-type Charged Attacks and make the most of your advantage.

Starmie, Omastar, Vaporeon, and Feraligatr will douse Moltres’s flames quickest among Water-type Pokémon, and Omastar can deal even more damage if it knows Rock-type attacks instead of the Water Gun and Hydro Pump combination best suited to the other Water-type Pokémon. Omastar also shares the advantage of taking the least damage from Moltres’s attacks—along with Kingdra, Kabutops, and Magcargo—thanks to its having two types that resist Fire-type attacks.

If you’ve caught the Legendary Pokémon Zapdos since Moltres’s first appearance, your powerful new ally can deal impressive damage in this battle. There aren’t many powerful other Electric types available in Pokémon GO, but Jolteon is sure to deal heavy damage if you have one available. Be careful with it and other Electric-type Pokémon like Raichu and Ampharos, though—without a resistance to Fire-type attacks, none of them will survive many of Moltres’s Charged Attacks. (And stay away from Magneton—as a Steel- and Electric-type Pokémon, it’s actually weak against Moltres’s attacks.) Don’t forget that Dragon-type Pokémon also resist Fire-type attacks, so Dragonite is a solid last resort even without the ability to inflict supereffective damage.

Suggested Pokémon to Ground Zapdos

The Electric- and Flying-type Zapdos is weak only against Ice-type and Rock-type attacks, and it isn’t doubly vulnerable to either type. It’s also resistant to Ground-type attacks, so the tactics you’d use against other Electric-type Pokémon won’t work well against Zapdos. Ground-type Pokémon will still take the least damage from Zapdos’s Electric-type attacks, and Dragon-, Electric-, and Grass-type Pokémon will take reduced damage, too. Zapdos will quickly decimate your Water-type and Flying-type Pokémon with supereffective damage, so deploy them with caution.

No one type resists Zapdos’s attacks while dealing supereffective damage in return. That leaves Golem’s two types overwhelmingly the best choice—its Rock-type attacks will be super effective, and as a Ground-type Pokémon, it’ll take reduced damage from Zapdos’s attacks. Rhydon shares this optimal combination, but it’ll deal much less damage because it can’t learn a Rock-type Fast Attack to go along with the Charged Attack Stone Edge. Fellow Rock-type Tyranitar’s Fast Attacks won’t be super effective either, plus it lacks Rhydon’s resistance to Electric-type attacks. Tyranitar’s astronomical stats still make it a good choice if it knows the supereffective Stone Edge, though.

Most Ground-type Pokémon don’t deal enough damage to be strong choices, but don’t overlook Piloswine. The Swine Pokémon will take little damage from Zapdos’s attacks while dealing impressive damage in return—if it knows the Charged Attack Avalanche.

Other Pokémon able to deal significant damage to Zapdos will also receive significant damage in return, but it’s a sacrifice you’ll probably need to make to win before Battle Raid time expires. Ice-type attacks from Jynx and Articuno, or Rock-type Attacks from Aerodactyl, are sure to deal devastating damage, just be ready for Zapdos to knock them out of battle with shocking efficiency. Setting aside fellow Legendary Pokémon Moltres, the Pokémon that deal the greatest damage to Zapdos without a type advantage are Gengar, Alakazam, Dragonite, and Flareon (in that order). None of them resist Zapdos’s Electric-type attacks, however, so they’ll need to frequently dodge to stay in the Raid Battle for long.

A Legendary Finish

You’ll only get a few Premier Balls to catch your target once you’ve defeated it, so you’ll want to make each throw count. Use a Golden Razz Berry prior to each throw, and be sure to stock up on them beforehand by defeating other Raid Bosses!

The odds of catching a Pokémon are greatest while the target ring is at a small enough diameter to score Nice, Great, or Excellent throws, and throwing Curveballs can improve your chances further. But work within your abilities—if you don’t think you can hit Excellent Curveballs reliably, aim for Nice or Great throws instead of missing the target ring completely.

You’ll waste your Premier Balls if your target is moving around when you throw. Wait for the Pokémon to start acting up and the target ring to disappear while it’s a size you’re comfortable throwing into, then time your throw so that the Premier Ball lands as the target ring reappears.

Legendary Pokémon are tough to catch, so keep at it if your target escapes. But time to catch these magnificent Pokémon is running out, so quickly stock up on useful items like Max Potions, Max Revives, and Golden Razz Berries to try again later. Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos, and Lugia will only be available until August 31—good luck with your Legendary Pokémon adventures, and remember to check back to Pokemon.com/Strategy for more Pokémon GO, video game, and Pokémon TCG tips.

Source: Pokémon.