Pokemon: The Remarkable History Behind Lugia’s Creation

The story behind Lugia’s creation often goes overlooked. Here’s what you need to know about it and the man behind the Gen 2 legendary.

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Lugia is the legendary Pokemon most people associate with the Johto region alongside the Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal games. Known as the “Diving Pokemon,” the Psychic/Flying-type has a polar opposite legendary, Ho-Oh. While Lugia is associated with being the guardian of the sea, Ho-Oh is the guardian of the sky. However, Lugia tends to get much more attention from fans both due to its popular dragon design and the recognition it receives from the anime and movies.

Of course, what really put Lugia on the map in the hearts and minds of Pokemon fans was the second Pokemon movie, Pokemon the Movie 2000. The head anime writer at the time, Takeshi Shudo, was the man who created Lugia for the sole purpose of the movie. Shudo had a remarkable career as head writer for the first five years of the anime and for the first three Pokemon movies. Luckily for curious fans, Shudo did write a lot about what inspired Lugia before he passed away in 2010 which was translated and made public to English audiences by online Pokemon historian, Dr. Lava.

The Origin Story Of Lugia

Lugia’s creation was partly due to the success of the first Pokemon movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back. The film had a budget of just five million and earned 170 million back. Due to its critical success, Shudo was given a lot of freedom for his next Pokemon project. Though he was not a Pokemon designer, Lugia’s design can be attributed to Shudo himself. This also makes Lugia one of the few, if not the only, Pokemon to be designed by someone in the anime writing staff rather than by the Game Freak design team.

While Lugia was a Shudo creation, the name “Lugia” was decided by a majority vote during a development meeting. The name does not have any meaning in Japanese, but some theories suggest that the name “Lugia” comes from “Lugeo,” which is Latin for lying dormant. Lugia is also a name shared in both English and Japanese versions, though the movie title in Japan was quite different. In Japan, the movie was called Lugia’s Explosive Birth instead of the plain Pokemon the Movie 2000.

According to Shudo’s translated writings, he saw Lugia as a Pokemon that was both male and female despite having a masculine voice in the movie. He actually noted feelings of regret regarding Lugia’s masculine voice, noting that he saw Lugia as a maternal being rather than a paternal one. Apparently, towards the end of his life, Shudo wrote a lot about Lugia, and not all that he wrote was a positive reflection of his time spent working on the iconic legendary.

Shudo made it known that he turned towards alcohol and drugs while working, especially when it came to creating Lugia and the second Pokemon movie. In his blog, he even noted that alcohol helped him make sense of the dialogue in his head and would make him less argumentative with any criticism he received. If drinks were not on hand, he used over-the-counter tranquilizers from the pharmacy. Of course, many believe these habits are part of what contributed to his poor health and eventual death at the age of 61.

Lugia’s Impact On Pokemon

Shudo did not expect Lugia to have a legacy after the second movie. In fact, Shudo wanted Pokemon to go in a different direction, one where characters could grow up with their audiences and there would be a clear end. He did not expect the series to last much longer after the second movie and when he heard the series would be continuing for at least 10 more years, he was not happy. Even Lugia being used in the games and anime series came as a surprise to him.

After the second movie, Lugia went on to become one of the most iconic legendary Pokemon of all. Not only was Lugia on the box art for Pokemon Silver, but would later be on the art of Pokemon SoulSilver and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. In the anime, Lugia appeared in the episode Around the Whirlpool and a young Lugia appeared in three episodes of the Johto generation. Outside of the main series, Lugia also appeared in a Pokemon Generations. The legendary is also big in the manga, appearing in Pokemon Journeys, Pokemon Adventures, The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Ash & Pikachu, and the movie manga adaptations. Lugia has even appeared outside of Pokemon games, as a side character in some of the Super Smash Bros. games.

It’s been about 21 years since Lugia was introduced to the world in Pokemon the Movie 2000, far longer than Shudo anticipated the series would go on for. Though it might have not been what Shudo had hoped for, his involvement in its creation alongside his own personal trials when conceiving the legendary Pokemon continues to add to its relevance decades after the fact.

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