Should you purify shadow Lugia in Pokémon Go?

Giovanni has a new shadow Pokémon in Pokémon Go. For a limited time, you’ll be able to rescue shadow Lugia from Giovanni, so long as you complete the Season of Mischief’s season-long Special Research quest, Misunderstood Mischief. The final tasks in this Special Research story have you facing off against Team Rocket and battling Giovanni. Once you defeat him, you’ll be able to catch Lugia. Should you purify shadow Lugia or keep it as a shadow Pokémon in Pokémon Go?

We cannot emphasize enough that you should keep shadow Lugia as a shadow Pokémon. It’s not every day that you have a chance to face off against Giovanni and rescue a legendary shadow Pokémon. These encounters are extremely rare, even more so than fighting against a legendary Pokémon in a five-star raid and catching it. You can do this multiple times during an event, but shadow Pokémon are typically limited to one encounter, with most players only receiving one chance to catch one.

Because of this rarity, it’s typically better to keep a legendary shadow Pokémon as a shadow. We’ve recommended this in the past for other legendary Pokémon that have also had shadows appear alongside Giovanni, even if their shadow version was not as good as the original. The rarity of these Pokémon far outweighs the potential for PvP or PvE battles. Thankfully, Lugia’s shadow version is essentially on par, if not better, than the other original.