Pokemon Go accidentally reveals Shadow Lugia in Party Play promo before deleting it

A Pokemon Go photo accidentally revealed that Shadow Lugia will be part of the new Party Play mode, and was swiftly taken down and replaced with a new image, removing the Legendary Pokemon.

The developers of Pokemon Go may have accidentally revealed more than they should have, as a promo image for the game’s Party Play mode featured a Raid battle with Shadow Lugia before it was taken down. This suggests that the rare Legendary Pokemon could appear in a Party Play-exclusive Raid further down the line, as no announcements have been made about Shadow Lugia’s inclusion.

Party Play is a new Pokemon Go mode that lets up to four players team up and collect Pokemon together, with exclusive Party Challenges that can be completed as a group. There is also a special Party Play power-up that can be used during Raid battles, which increases the strength of the user’s Pokemon in battle.

While Party Play mode might not be compatible with Pokemon Go’s Routes, it does encourage players to go raiding together. It’s possible that there will be some Pokemon exclusive to these Raids, as an unusual attempt at censorship is hinting that Shadow Lugia will appear in the mode in the future.

Shadow Lugia Was Removed From A Pokemon Go Promo Image After It Was Posted

Niantic posted a Party Play teaser image ahead of the mode’s launch on X and eagle-eyed fans noticed the bottom half of Apex Shadow Lugia in the photo, in what appeared to be a Raid battle. This image was taken down, but it has been reuploaded by fans, including The Poke Go Hunter on Twitter,

The official Pokemon Go Twitter page took the image down and replaced it with a new one, which cropped the top to remove Shadow Lugia, as can be seen below. However, the damage had been done, and news quickly spread about the original photo.

This creature is believed to be Apex Shadow Lugia, which appeared in Pokemon Go before. Apex Shadow Lugia is a brutally powerful Pokemon, so it’s a great fit for the Party Play mode, as four players can sync their teams up and use the new power-up to give them an advantage over their foe.

The Party Play mode has faced criticism from fans, mostly because it’s still new and is being tweaked by the developers. An awesome Raid boss battle exclusive to the mode could be the boost it needs to get players on board, especially if there are similar boss battles with Legendary Pokemon further down the line.