Pokemon Go fans point out big missed opportunity with Shadow Lugia Raid
Niantic / The Pokemon CompanyPokemon Go fans have called on Niantic to add the “real Shadow Lugia” to Raids after leaks revealed the Legendary was on its way.
Pokemon Go recently revealed Shadow Lugia’s debut in the Team Go Rocket Takeover event for October 2023.
This Shadow Lugia debut is markedly different from the Apex Shadow Lugia that was introduced in February 2022 and will be available in Five-star Shadow Raids from Saturday, October 28, 2023, at 10 AM to Sunday, October 29, 2023, at 8 PM local time.
However, some fans have labeled this version of Shadow Lugia a missed opportunity, and have called to see the “real Shadow Lugia” make a return.
Pokemon Go fans want “real Shadow Lugia” to come back
A post on the Pokemon Go subreddit gained traction among fans after one trainer asked, “Are we really not getting this version of Shadow Lugia?”
The OP included an image of the black and white Shadow Lugia introduced in Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness for the Nintendo Gamecube, which served as a pseudo-sequel to Pokemon Colosseum.
In their post they said, “…It looks like Go’s Shadow Lugia is just gonna be like any other shadow Pokémon. Just red eyes and a shadowy aura. Is Niantic truly incapable of putting in any real effort to give us the REAL Shadow Lugia?”
This version of Shadow Lugia has only ever reappeared as a Promo TCG card, and it’s somewhat unclear why it has never resurfaced in any other spin-off or mainline titles. Some speculate that this may be a result of licensing issues.
On top of that, neither The Pokemon Company nor Niantic has acknowledged the lore introduced in Colosseum or Gale of Darkness in any official capacity, so it seems all the more unlikely for this version of Shadow Lugia to be introduced.
Still, some fans argued that since Armored Mewtwo appeared in Pokemon Go, XD’s Shadow Lugia could be possible as well.
While Gale of Darkness’ Shadow Lugia certainly has a more visually interesting design, this particular case may unfortunately be out of Niantic’s hands.