Should you purify Apex Shadow Lugia in Pokémon Go?

It becomes a big decision in Pokémon Go when you receive a shadow Pokémon if you should purify it or not. There are some positives and negatives to using a shadow Pokémon, and many of them are preferred. When it comes to Apex Shadow Lugia, it’s a huge decision given the limited availability of this Pokémon. In this guide, we cover if you should purify Apex Shadow Lugia in Pokémon Go or keep it as it is.

The significant benefit to purifying Apex Shadow Lugia is it learns a stronger attack. In its standard shadow form, Apex Shadow Lugia knows the charged move Aeroblast+, which is an already stronger version of the charged move. When you purify this Pokémon, it learns Aeroblast++, an even more powerful version. However, Apex Shadow Lugia loses its increased attack power and decreased defense power bonuses.

When it comes down to it, the difference between Aeroblast+ and Aeroblast++ is virtually no power, at least for PvP. They both deal 170 damage, the same attack power as the standard attack. If you plan to use Apex Shadow Lugia for PvE battles, such as battling Team Rocket or fighting at Gyms, you could purify it. However, because of Apex Shadow Lugia’s rarity, we recommend against it, essentially replacing your already powerful Shadow Lugia for PvP battles. While the two are similar when it comes to stats, Apex Shadow Lugia comes with a notably unique animation that makes it stand out.

Because it’s virtually the same as the standard Shadow Lugia, we recommend against purifying Apex Shadow Lugia unless there’s a unique reason not to do this.