Lucario, the Aura Pokémon. It's said that no foe can remain invisible to Lucario, since it can detect auras even those of foes it could not otherwise see. A well-trained one can use its aura to identify and take in the feelings of creatures over half a mile away.
Overview
Lucario, the face of the fourth generation and Smash Bros superstar has earned those accolades for good reasons beyond popularity. Good Base 110 Attack and 115 Special Attack gives Lucario plenty of power on both fronts and its attacking movepool is wide and varied to utilize them. It just isn’t coverage moves that Lucario possesses, it has access to a multitude of boosting moves including Swords Dance and Nasty Plot, enabling Lucario to run physical special or mixed sets with impunity. Add in all sorts of priority moves including the rare Vacuum Wave and Extreme Speed and Lucario is the definition of an unpredictable attacker.
However, Lucario is very much a relic of its time. Base 90 Speed, while decent at Lucario’s introduction is comparatively slow nowadays, though Lucario’s bountiful priority options assuages this somewhat. Base 70 defenses across the board were and are lacking, only being buoyed by the many resistances Lucario’s Steel typing provides. Even the Steel subtyping isn’t enough; there have been few generations more outright hostile to Steel types than this one, with so many popular Ground types that Lucario struggles against, Lucario can struggle to find a moment to setup without being compromised. All of this together makes it hard to justify Lucario over other, more consistent attackers like Pawmot, Breloom, Okidogi, Magnezone etc. While Lucario may have fallen on hard times but this warrior was once feared for good reason.
Positives
Good Attack and Special Attack enable Lucario to hit hard on either side of the spectrum.
Incredible movepool, with numerous coverage options, boosting and priority makes Lucario a fantastic attacker.
Fighting Steel grants a myriad of resistances that enables Lucario to soak a hit or two.
Base 90 Speed outstrips the large majority of defensive Pokémon enabling Lucario to threaten out softened foes.
Negatives
Average HP and Below average defenses leave Lucario frail and easy to knock out.
Base 90 Speed is awkward, falling short of many offensive threats that Lucario competes with.
Lucario’s balanced offenses leave it outclassed by many other more specialized attackers.
Sorely missing its Mega Evolution
Movesets
Augmented Anubis
-Swords Dance
-Extreme Speed
-Close Combat
-Meteor Mash
Ability: Inner Focus
Item: Life Orb
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Swords Dance Lucario is a vicious attacker, taking advantage of a passive opponent to setup and start ripping holes in the opposing team. Extreme Speed is the crux of this moveset, enabling Lucario to threaten faster attackers that would otherwise normally threaten it. Lucario's STABs compliment Extreme Speed well, Close Combat destroying Rock and Steel types that can stomach Extreme Speed, while STAB Meteor Mash threatens Ghost types, especially Flutter Mane and Mimikyu, and the attack boosting rider can make Lucario impossible to wall. Lucario stands out from other Swords Dance users thanks to Inner Focus, preventing Intimidate users from blunting its offense.
Tera Types:
As with Dragonite, you want to Terastalize to Normal to get the most out of Extreme Speed. The damage from a Swords Dance Boosted Tera Normal Extreme Speed is ludicrous outstripping even Banded Tera Normal Dragonite's Extreme Speed, becoming a veritable sweeping tool against frail sweepers. If not running Extreme Speed other Tera options can be considered. If running Bullet Punch, Tera Steel is heavily recommended for the same reason. Tera Fighting is also worth considering for boosting Close Combat.
EVs and Items:
Standard Sweeper array of Max Speed and Attack are recommended. Lucario may be relying on Extreme Speed for the most part but being able to outspeed or speed tie Pokémon like Hisuian Arcanine, Mamoswine, Hisuian Samurott can mean the difference between Lucario KOing or being KO'd. Life Orb is recommended, giving the largest power boost, vital for reaching KOs with Extreme Speed. If the HP sapping effect is too much, Silk Scarf is a great alternative option, boosting Extreme Speed without tearing Lucario apart. Focus Sash is also worth consideration for guaranteeing Lucario can safely setup Swords Dance.
Partners:
Alolan Ninetales and Grimmsnarl stand out as partners for facilitating Swords Dance setup with Screens. Lucario's biggest issue is its durability, so the added protection from Screens is pivotal in not only ensuring Lucario lives to setup Swords Dance, but also gives Lucario more wiggle room and not mandating that it OHKO every target it faces after setup. Both also cover targets Lucario struggles with, Alolan Ninetales handling physically bulky Ground types and Dondozo, and Grimmsnarl threatening Ghost types.
Hazard setters like Azelf and Overqwill are also invaluable, the chip damage the hazards they set great for helping Lucario reach KOs. Azelf is fantastic for softening targets for Lucario to clean up later, especially bulky Fighting and Poison types like Paldean Tauros, Chestnaught, Dragalge, and Okidogi, while Overqwill is great for handling opposing Ghost and Psychic types. Toedscruel deserves special mention for not only setting up Spikes, but also enabling easy setup with Spore.
Other Options:
Bullet Punch is an alternative priority that is weaker than Extremespeed but gains STAB and more synergistic with Steel Tera.
Crunch hits bulky Ghost and Psychic types that resist Meteor Mash and can soak up Extreme Speed hits like Slowbro, Chandelure, and Basculegion.
Earthquake is great coverage for hitting a wide selection of targets like Armarouge, Gholdengo and Chandelure.
Ice Punch smashes Landorus Therian as well as immediately threaten Noivern and Dragalge, but Meteor Mash is comparable in power otherwise.
Watch the Master of Aura
-Nasty Plot
-Vacuum Wave
-Aura Sphere
-Flash Cannon
Ability: Inner Focus
Item: Life Orb
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Lucario’s naturally higher Special Attack lends itself very well to a Nasty Plot set, acting similarly to the Swords Dance set, but checking and being threatened by different targets. Vacuum Wave is incredibly valuable, being one of the very few instances of Special priority attacks in the game, checking Pokémon that other priority users can struggle to like Shell Smash Cloyster, Iron Bundle, and Iron Treads, on top of possessing the incredible coverage that Fighting STAB provides. Aura Sphere is reliable secondary Fighting STAB that is great for punching through bulkier Rock, Steel and Normal targets that can suck up a Vacuum Wave without issue and Flash Cannon rounds out the set providing valuable neutral coverage and answering Fighting resistant Fairies like Flutter Mane, Diancie, and Fezandipiti.
Tera Types:
Tera Fighting is the way to go here, incredible for getting the extra push needed to guarantee/reach KOs with Vacuum Wave and Aura Sphere. If running Shadow Ball, Tera Ghost is worth considering given the Fighting immunity can save Lucario on top of providing a notable boost to the extremely spammable Ghost type which synergizes incredibly well with Lucario’s Fighting STAB.
EVs and Items:
Standard Sweeper array of Max Speed and Special Attack are recommended. Lucario can’t sweep with Vacuum Wave like it can with Extreme Speed, so every drop of speed is invaluable for outspeeding Pokémon like Falmigo, Gallade, Chandelure, and more, KOing them before being KO’d back. Life Orb again is the recommended item, the flexibility of power and move choice it provides is invaluable to countering as many opponents as possible. Other item options include Focus Sash for guaranteeing Nasty Plot setup and Black Belt for a non-detrimental boost to Aura Sphere and Vacuum Wave. Alternatively, one could forego Nasty Plot and have Lucario act as a revenge killer taking advantage of its wide coverage and movepool.
Partners:
Much like with Swords Dance, many of the same partners work for Nasty Plot. Alolan Ninetales and Grimmsnarl stand out as partners for facilitating setup with Screens. Lucario’s biggest issue is its durability, so the added protection from Screens is pivotal in not only ensuring Lucario lives to setup Nasty Plot, but also gives Lucario more wiggle room and not mandating that it OHKO every target it faces after setup. Alolan Ninetales appreciates Lucario’s ability to pivot into Lycanroc-Dusk’s Accelrock and threaten it out with Vacuum Wave, while Grimmsnarl’s Ghost and Psychic handling abilities are great for Lucario lacking Shadow Ball.
Hazard setters like Ting-Lu and Overqwill are also invaluable, the chip damage the hazards they set great for helping Lucario reach KOs. Toedscruel deserves special mention for not only setting up Spikes, but also enabling easy setup with Spore.
Other Options:
Shadow Ball is phenomenal, the synergy between it and Fighting STAB provides near unresisted coverage as well as handle many Steel resistant Ghost types that Lucario can struggle against otherwise, though it is painful giving up Vacuum Wave for it.
Psychic provides coverage against Poison types that can either stomach Steel STAB or are specially bulky in general like Salazzle, Dragalge, Clodsire and Toxapex.
Close Combat is niche, but enables Lucario to act as a lure to sponges like Blissey and Hisuian Goodra before destroying them with it, but Nasty Plot ensures that Aura Sphere reliably 2HKOs both.
Doubles and VGC Options
Lucario looks to have been built for Doubles, with two abilities that punish Flinching, resistance to the most common Flinch inducing moves in Fake Out, Rock Slide and Icicle Crash and potential immunity to Intimidate. Add in a movepool rife with support options like Helping Hand, Follow Me, Heal Pulse and Quick Guard on top of Lucario’s own plentiful priority options and Lucario is looking very good. However, Lucario’s stats once again let it down. Its frailty renders Follow Me, and Heal Pulse nigh impossible to use effectively, and Lucario’s poor speed is much more apparent in one of the fastest Doubles formats in history. Lucario having poor matchups into common flinch inducers like Iron Hands and Landorus Therian do not help matters either. What leaves Lucario in consideration is its unique typing. Thanks to the popularity of many Dark types running around, especially Chien-Pao, Chi-Yu, and Urshifu Single, being a Fighting type is very good for this format, and the best Fighting answer in Flutter Mane wants nothing to do with Lucario’s Steel STABs. Stiff Fighting competition in Urshifu and Iron Hands, both of whom can handily crush Lucario, are part of what keeps it as a minor niche.
Steel Fist
-Close Combat
-Meteor Mash
-Bullet Punch
-Detect
Ability: Inner Focus
Item: Focus Sash
Tera Type: Steel
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
Inner Focus makes Lucario an incredibly persistent attacker, able to threaten opponents regardless of Fake Out or Intimidate, enabling it to exercise its excellent STABs for the best of its ability. Close Combat has fantastic coverage into the numerous Dark type attackers as well as Hisuian Arcanine, Tera Normal Dragonite, Heatran and Ursaluna. Meteor Mash obliterates Flutter Mane, Chien-Pao and the many Pokémon that utilize Tera Fairy. Bullet Punch is preferred for priority synergizing well with Meteor Mash and Tera Steel, enabling Lucario to OHKO any Flutter Mane not running defense, and massively damage those that are. Doubles formats revolve around Protect, for the utility it provides in scouting, stalling out opposing field conditions and more, so Detect which has the benefit of not being sealed by Imprison is a natural choice.
Standard sweeper allotment of Max Attack and Speed for as much damage as possible. Adamant Nature is recommended, since most Pokémon near Lucario’s speed bracket like Hisuian Arcanine, Urshifu, and Rillaboom prefer to run some bulk, so max speed investment is sufficient to outspeed most of them, opening the nature for Adamant to be used to counteract the increased bulk. Focus Sash is recommended for the item, ensuring Lucario is living at least one attack and thanks to Inner Focus, most opponents don’t like using Fake Out on Lucario to break its Sash.
Other Options & Partners:
Extreme Speed is always worth consideration, especially with Tera Normal and unlike Dragonite and Arcanine, Lucario’s Extreme Speeds cannot be blunted by Intimidate.
Earthquake is Lucario’s best answer against Iron Hands on physical sets as well as covering Gholdengo.
Special sets with Aura Sphere, Flash Cannon or Steel Beam, and Vacuum Wave are worth considering, but the inability to wreck Flutter Mane with priority loses out on a big selling point of Lucario.
Rillaboom’s Grassy Surge provides a valuable resistance to Earthquake and passive recovery that Lucario greatly appreciates while threatening Urshifu Rapid, while in turn Lucario destroys Chien Pao and Heatran that threaten Rillaboom.
Tailwind setters like Tornadus and Fezandipiti are greatly appreciated, help Lucario address its speed issues and exercise its more powerful attacks with impunity. Both having positive matchups against opposing Fighting types is also greatly appreciated. Tornadus provides another pivot into Ground attacks while Fezandipiti’s Toxic Chain provides valuable chip to help Lucario reach KOs.
Countering Lucario
There is no singular defensive switch in to an unknown Lucario. Its balanced attacking stats and movesets are too wide and varied to ensure any safe switch in, and access to Swords Dance and Nasty Plot can enable Lucario to muscle past most checks with a free boost.
Physical sets struggle against physical walls like Dondozo, Moltres, Quagsire, and Mudsdale, all of whom threaten an OHKO back with Body Press/STAB Earthquake, though Mudsdale must be wary, as after a Swords Dance, Close Combat will OHKO after chip. If Lucario lacks Crunch, Slowbro and Basculegion do well, and if lacking both Crunch and Earthquake, Skeledirge, and Hisuian Typhlosion can safely pivot in and threaten Lucario.
Special sets are hardwalled by Clodsire and Assault Vest Iron Hands if they don’t have Psychic, and other sponges like Assault Vest Goodra and Alolan Muk work well. If lacking Shadow Ball, Slowking is a hard wall.
Offensively checking Lucario seems simpler given Base 90 falls short of a lot of Pokémon, but Lucario’s many priority options means that even such checks must have the requisite bulk and or typing to survive a blow. Scarf Chandelure, Hisuian Zoroark, and Gengar, are all safe options against Extreme Speed and Vacuum Wave, Iron Treads and Lycanroc0Dusk do well against Extreme Speed and Bullet Punch, Ninetales does well against Bullet Punch and Vacuum Wave, Floatzel, Barraskewda, Greninja, and Walking Wake do well with Bullet Punch.
The most important thing when facing Lucario is to not give it a free turn. Offensively pressure it and make sure it does not get to setup safely, as options to handle it quickly dwindle.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game
Colosseum/XD:
Not in game
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Riolu
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Riolu
Black/White:
Evolve Riolu
Black 2/White 2:
Evolve Riolu
X/Y:
Evolve Riolu
Gift in Shalour City
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Trade from X & Y
Sun/Moon:
Poni Grove
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Poni Grove
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
North Lake Miloch, Roaring-Sea Caves
Max Raid Battles: Dusty Bowl, Giant's Seat, Hammerlocke Hills, North Lake Miloch, Rolling Fields, Stony Wilderness, Brawlers' Cave, Courageous Cavern, Stepping-Stone Sea (Sword)
Max Raid Battles: Dusty Bowl, Giant's Seat, Hammerlocke Hills, North Lake Miloch, Rolling Fields, Brawlers' Cave, Courageous Cavern, Stepping-Stone Sea (Shield)
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Evolve Riolu
Legends: Arceus:
Alabaster Icelands: Icebound Falls, Snowfall Hot Spring or nearby
Cobalt Coastlands: Massive Mass Outbreak
Alabaster Icelands: Massive Mass Outbreak
Scarlet/Violet:
North Province Area One, North Province Area Two, Fellhorn Gorge, Kitakami Wilds, Oni Mountain, Timeless Woods, Dalizapa Passage
Anime Appearences
