Best Lugia Pokémon Cards

Introduction

Who is Lugia?

When the topic of the strongest Pokémon come up, Lugia always seems to make the top of that list, and it’s no surprise. A Legendary Pokémon known in the Johto region to be a sacred animal and is worshipped as a God of the sea, underworld and the weather.

This Pokémon has featured in many Pokémon games, and is considered one of the strongest Pokémon.

What type of Pokémon is Lugia?

In the Pokémon universe, Lugia is strongly associated with the sea, the element of water, the complete opposite of Ho-Oh. As a Flying-type and Psychic-type Pokémon, Lugia has multiple psychic abilities, like telepathy and flying. That being said, Lugia also has Water-type powers.

Considered a Legendary Pokémon, Lugia is often compared to a bird, dragon or sea monster. It is mainly pale silver- white, but has blue undersides. Lugia possess the ability to calm storms and said to appear when storms start, as seen in the Pokémon: The Movie 2000.

A light flutter of Lugia’s wings is capable of producing winds capable of blowing the roof off of a house. A very intelligent Pokémon, that isolates at the bottom of the sea, where it slumbers to avoid accidently causing damage with its devastating power.

2012 Pokémon B&W Lugia EX Holo Plasma Storm

This card is a Colorless-type Basic Pokémon-EX card. It was first released in the English Plasma Storm expansion from the Legendary Treasures set, with artwork from Toyste Beach. This card is such a good-looking card it makes it seem as if Lugia is flying over the stat box. You can truly see the Legendary Pokémon’s strength displayed on this card. The cards in this set were all visually enhanced for Team Plasma cards.

PSA Population Report:

This card has only been submitted to the PSA 115 times. With a lowest grading of EX- MT 6, a majority of the grades are a Mint 9, with 70. With a 14% chance of your card getting a perfect grade, this would make a terrific investment card. Lugia cards have been exploding on the market lately, and this card is still projecting to increase.

2001 PM Japanese Promo Lugia Holo Game Boy

In Japan, this card was included in copies of Pokémon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR! This card also came with Great Rocket’s Mewtwo and was an Unnumbered Promotional Card released on March 28, 2001. These were only sold for a limited time at toy stores in Japan. On the middle right side of the card, it has the official Gameboy “GB” symbol on it in place of an expansion symbol. This Lugia is featured as a Colorless- type card.

PSA Population Report:

There have been 596 of these cards submitted to the PSA with an amount of 267 getting a perfect Gem Mint 10. This would mean you have a 44% chance of your submitted card receiving a perfect 10 grade. Considering these cards were only a Promotional Card for a limited time in 2001, these cards would also make a good investment for the future. The PSA is showing a steep increase in price for this card if you can get it in perfect condition.

2005 Japanese Lugia EX Holo 1st Edition Golden Sky Silvery Ocean

This Lugia card was released in the Japanese set Golden Sky, Silvery Ocean as the fourth expansion in the Pokémon Card Game era. This set was released in Japan on April 8, 2005. This Lugia card is considered to have one of the best art-works in the EX era. The silver color of the card and the background of water really gives you the sense of power Lugia is capable of. Especially when Lugia is flapping its wings, it can do a lot of damage.

PSA Population Report:

There have only been 76 of these cards submitted to the PSA for grading, with a lowest grade received of a VG-EX 4. The odds of getting your card graded Gem Mint 10 is 63%. These cards can be pretty reasonable to purchase at a Gem Mint 10 grade and can be a very good investment in the long run. According to the PSA this card is showing continuous growth in value.

2000 Topps Pokémon Lugia Movie 2000 1st Appearance Foil

This card was produced in 2000 with the Pokémon: The Movie 2000 Trading Card set. On July 21, 2000 kids rushed the movie theaters to see the newest film, Pokémon: The Movie 2000! Lugia is a dual psychic/flying Legendary Pokémon that was introduced in Generation II. This Legendary Pokémon is so powerful it’s the master of Kanto’s three legendary bird Pokémon. This card is 1 of 6 first appearance cards available and perfectly depicts Lugia’s large wings that somewhat resemble hands.

PSA Population Report:

There have only been 55 of these cards submitted to the PSA for grading. The highest grade to be received was a Mint 9 grade, for only 2 cards. So this card is pretty rare, especially if you were to get ahold of a Gem Mint 10 card. This card is from the earlier Pokémon era, so it is only going to keep going up in value. Since there have been no Gem Mint 10 cards graded, it could fetch a pretty nice price at auction.

2012 Pokémon B & W Full Art Lugia EX Plasma Storm Holo

Pokémon TCG: Black & White- Plasma Storm was the eighth main expansion of cards from the Black & White series of Pokémon TCG. It was released in English on February 6, 2013 and the card designs were visually enhanced for Team Plasma cards. This card was illustrated by Toyste Beach and is the Plasma Storm Full Art print. This Lugia card has a Colorless- type Basic Pokémon.

PSA Population Account:

This card has only had 279 cards submitted to the PSA for grading, with only 16 of them being in Gem Mint 10 condition. That gives you a 5% chance of having your card graded with a perfect grade. This card averages the most grades with 169 Mint 9’s graded. This would be a perfect card for any beginning collector to grab for a new collection. Over time this card is going to increase in value.

2002 PM Japanese 1st Edition Lugia Holo Wind from The Sea

This card is also a part of the Aquapolis expansion set, but in Japan was released as the third expansion Wind from the Sea. The Wind from the Sea set was released in Japan on May 24, 2002. Lugia is featured on the Japanese Wind from the Sea pack and has a Super Rare Holo rarity. Much like it’s English printed twin, this card is featured as a Colorless-type Basic Pokémon card.

PSA Population Account:

With only 191 of these cards being PSA graded, only 127 of them have received a Gem Mint 10. That is about a 66% rate of these cards being a perfect condition card. Which is amazing considering these cards were released for the e-Reader, and many kids, myself included, have scuffed the cards trying to swipe them into the reader.

2003 Pokémon Aquapolis Lugia Holo

On this card, Lugia is featured as a Colorless-type Basic Pokémon card. This card was released in the Aquapolis expansion on January 15, 2003 in English. This was the second main expansion of cards from the e-Card Series of the Pokémon TCG. This set introduced Crystal Pokémon, and has a separate card collection number for Rare Holo cards. This card perfectly captures Lugia’s Flying- type with the beautiful star- covered sky in the background.

PSA Population Account: 915

There has been a total of 915 of these cards submitted to PSA for grading with the lowest grade of Auth. The majority of these cards are graded Mint 9 and Gem Mint 10. There have only been 119 cards receiving a PSA grade of Gem Mint 10.

2011 Pokémon Lugia Holo Call of Legends

This Lugia is a Water- type Basic Pokémon card. It is a part of the Call of Legends expansion that was released on February 9, 2011. The Call of Legends expansion had a Rare Holofoil card and a Shiny Rare Holofoil card. The one featured above is the Shiny Rare Holofoil print illustrated by Hideaki Hakozaki. In the games, Lugia is depicted as a Psychic/Flying Pokémon, here it is shown as a Water-type Pokémon.

PSA Population Account:

Of the 293 cards that have been submitted to the PSA for grading, only 18 of these cards have received a perfect Gem Mint 10! It makes about a $10,000 difference with a Gem Mint 10 and a Mint 9. There is currently a 6% rate of this card being a Gem Mint 10.

2005 Pokémon Lugia EX Holo Unseen Forces

This card was released in the Pokémon TCG: EX Unseen Forces and is the tenth main expansion of cards from the Pokémon TCG. This set included Pokémon-ex and Pokémon ☆ in the set.

This Lugia cards attack is similar to the same card in the Neo Genesis set. The Silver Sparkle’s name references Lugia’s status as the game mascot of Pokémon Silver.

PSA Population Account:

This beautiful Holo Lugia card only has 413 of these cards graded by the PSA. With the lowest grade of Auth and only 59 of these cards receiving the highest grade of Gem Mint 10. There is only a pop of 59 Gem Mint 10. There is a 14% rate of these cards being submitted with a Gem Mint 10, meaning this card will continue to get more valuable over time.

2000 Pokémon Neo Genesis Lugia Holo 1st Edition

This card was produced in the Pokémon: Neo Geneses card set released on December 16, 2000 in English. The Neo Geneses set was the first main expansion of cards from the Neo Series of the TCG. This is also the first set to feature Generation II Pokémon in the card game. This Lugia card was the first card in the TCG that required three different types of Energy to use its attack. On an eBay auction on November 25, 2020 this card sold for an astonishing $129,000.

PSA Population Account:

Recently this card has skyrocketed. This card in 2019 was valued at $1,000, then sold in late November for a crazy $129,000! There has been a total of 475 of these cards graded by the PSA with a grade of Mint 9 and above. A Mint 9 card will only get around $2,300. There are currently only 43 cards that have been graded by the PSA with a Gem Mint 10 grade, which the PSA values at $60,000. But they have been selling recently as high as $129,000! This card is super valuable if you can find it in perfect condition, even at a Gem Mint 9 grade, it is still worth some money and would make an excellent addition to any collection.

Is Lugia a legendary Pokémon?

Yes, Lugia is one of the 81 different Legendary Pokémon.

What Pokémon moves are effective against Lugia?

Lugia is weak against rock, ghost, electric, ice, and dark-type moves.

How much is a Lugia Pokémon card worth?

Some Lugia cards can sell for a couple dollars and the 2000 Neo Genesis Lugia has sold for a record for Lugia of $129,000.

Is Shadow Lugia the strongest Pokémon?

Shadow Lugia is the strongest Shadow Pokémon.

Is Shadow Lugia a real Pokémon?

Not exactly. The only Shadow Lugia card was a Jumbo Promo card that was given out at the Nintendo World Store in New York in 2005. Since Jumbo cards can’t be played in the TCG, Shadow Lugia only really exists in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.

Is Lugia a rare Pokémon card?

There are some Lugia cards that are very common, while others do tend to be rarer.

Can you get Lugia in Pokémon Crystal?

Yes, Lugia is one of the five Legendary Pokémon available in Pokémon Crystal.

Can you get Lugia in Pokémon Gold?

Yes, you have to pick up Whirlpool to get near the Island and the Silver Wing from a man in Pewter City or the Radio Station Manager in Goldenrod City to find Lugia.

Can you still get Lugia in Pokémon Go?

Yes, you can only get Lugia if you work your way through the Season of Mischief’s season-long Special Research, the Misunderstood Mischief Quest.

Why are Lugia prices rising?

Lugia is becoming a very popular Pokémon and people are really looking for its cards. Lugia has also been featuring on box artwork and games and is such a powerful Pokémon, it’s hard not to love Lugia.

Conclusion: Why is Lugia so special?

Not only is Lugia the guardian of the sea, protecting countless lives of fellow Pokémon, it is also a Pokémon that came out during the height of the Pokémon movie craze. With so much extra coverage and featuring in Pokémon Silver as well as primetime movies, Lugia quickly became special in many fans’ hearts. Not only is Lugia smart, Lugia is powerful as well, helping aide in its popularity.

Do you have a favorite Lugia card? Tell us in the comments below!