Dynamax Lugia Max Battle Weekend & its Best Counters

Dynamax Lugia will make its debut in Pokémon GO during the other November 2025 Max Battle Weekends. Dynamax Lugia will be featured in Power Spots as five-star Max Battles. The Max Battle Weekend is scheduled for Saturday, November 29, at 6:00 a.m. local time to Sunday, November 30, 2025, at 9:00 p.m. local time.

Dynamax Lugia encountered after winning a Max Battle can be a Shiny one if you are lucky.

Max Battle Weekend Bonuses

Trainers participating in the Max Battle Weekend will have access to the following during the event.

• Max Particle collection limit will be increased to 1,600
• 0.5 km adventuring distance to receive Max Particles.
• Power Spots will refresh every 30 minutes.
• 800 Max Particles from Power Spots. (+20 Max Particles each if it is a Power Spot you have not visited before).

Dynamax Lugia Free Timed Research

There will be a free Timed Research opportunity available to Trainers starting Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at 6:00 a.m. local time. Completing the Timed Research will reward you an encounter with a Dynamax Gastly. Additionally, the Timed Research tasks will award Gastly Candy, Max Particles, and more to help power up your battle team.

The tasks associated with this Free Timed Research must be completed and their rewards must be claimed before Sunday, November 30, 2025, at 9:00 p.m. local time.

Dynamax Gengar (a full evolution of Dynamax Gastly) is one of the best counters against Dynamax Lugia. Although, you are better off using Gigantamax Gengar.

Best Counters against Dynamax Lugia

Lugia is a Legendary Psychic- and Flying-type Pokémon that is weak to Pokémon with either a Rock-, Ghost-, Electric-, Ice or Dark-type attack/move. Gigantamax Gengar is a Ghost- and Poison-type Pokémon that can learn Ghost-type attacks/moves. This is why it one of the best counters to have in your battle party.

There are other Gigantamax or Dynamax Pokémon you can have in your battle party to defeat Lugia in its Dynamax form. These Pokémon are as listed below with their recommended moves/attacks.

Gigantamax Counters

• Gigantamax Toxtricity with Spark as a Fast Attack and Wild Charge as a Charged Attack
• Gigantamax Lapras with Ice Shard as a Fast Attack and Blizzard as a Charged Attack
• Gigantamax Grimmsnarl with Sucker Punch as a Fast Attack and Dark Pulse as a Charged Attack

Dynamax Counters

• Dynamax Zapdos with Thunder Shock as a Fast Attack and Thunder as a Charged Attack
• Dynamax Raikou with Thunder Shock as a Fast Attack and Wild Charge as a Charged Attack
• Dynamax Toxtricity with Spark as a Fast Attack and Wild Charge as a Charged Attack
• Dynamax Articuno with Ice Shard as a Fast Attack and Ancient Power as a Charged Attack
• Dynamax Urshifu with Sucker Punch as a Fast Attack and Payback as a Charged Attack

These Pokémon are great against Dynamax Lugia. However, for optimal strategy, these are the three Pokémon you should have in your battle team.

Pokémon	Role	Fast Attack	Charged Attack
Gigantamax Lapras	Defender/Healer	Ice Shard	Blizzard
Gigantamax Gengar	Attacker	Lick	Shadow Ball
Gigantamax Grimmsnarl	Attacker	Sucker Punch	Dark Pulse

Important things to note

• Only use Gigantamax Gengar during the dynamaxing/gigantamaxing phase of the max battle. This is because Gengar is weak to Lugia’s Psychic attacks/moves.
• You can choose to use two defenders and one attacker. If you choose to, replace Gigantamax Gengar with either Gigantamax Toxtricity or Dynamax Metagross. The Dynamax Metagross should have Shadow Claw as a Fast Attack and Meteor Mash as a Charged Attack. I’ll prefer Dynamax Metagross because, although it will deal less damage, it is bulkier than Gigantamax Toxtricity.
• If this is your first time doing a Dynamax Battle, please check the previously posted Dynamax Battle tips to learn other strategies that can help you win.
• WARNING. Lugia is generally a very hard-to-defeat Pokémon. In addition, it is very difficult to catch it. Be prepared for double-trouble. If you don’t want to go through the trouble, you would not miss anything since Lugia is currently useless in raids and battles because of its current move pool. You can wait for its Dynamax form in the future when Lugia gets a better move pool.
• If your team of 4 (3 other trainers and you) finds it difficult to defeat Lugia in its Dynamax form, you can either choose to use Max Mushrooms or use Eternatus’ Dynamax Cannon Adventure Effect. Use either of these in addition to the best counters above. Furthermore, you can also choose to reroll* the Power Spot until you get a Dynamax Lugia with Sky Attack and Fly as its Charged Attack. Try and avoid those with Aeroblast or Hydro Pump as Charged Attacks.

You reroll Power Spots by leaving the lobby completely, re-entering the battle lobby, and finding out what moves a Power Spot boss has.

Good luck with your max battle weekend.