Lugia (ルギア, Rugia?) is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise. Lugia was first introduced in the movie Pokémon The Movie 2000, and then in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver, where this Pokémon represents the Silver version of the game.
A mythic beast comparable to Lugia other than the Shinto kami Ryūjin is the mythical Greek Halcyon. Lugia might have also been based on Hurakan, the Mayan god of storms and winds (hence its ability to create strong winds)
Before the release of Gold and Silver Version, Lugia was referred to as "Pokémon X". A few characters in the anime also refer to Lugia as Pokémon X.
Lugia's name is most likely to be a variant of that of the Shinto kami Ryūjin, which is also referred to as the "umi no kami" in Japanese religious/mythological writings. This same term is used in the original Japanese script of the second Pokémon movie to refer to Lugia; the term itself translates roughly to "guardian of the sea" or "god of the sea", somewhat interchangeably. There are also myths regarding Ryūjin which have similar elements to Lugia, such as control of storms, the seas, as well as a story regarding the "jewels of the sea", which bear some similarities to the orblike "treasures" obtained by Ash/Satoshi in the course of the film. The English name of Lugia may also be formed around the Spanish words "Luz" (light) and "Rugía" (roared) or "Guía" (guidance); as well as "Beluga", one species of white whale with characteristics similar to Lugia. There also a siren in the Odyssey called Ligeia/Lygia which might be an explanation.
