Lucario

Lucario (Japanese: ルカリオ Rukario) is a /-type Pokémon introduced in Generation IV.

Physiology
Lucario is a jackal-like Pokémon that nears four feet in height (3'11" exactly). It stands on two feet like its pre-evolved form Riolu. Lucario is a dog/wolf-like Pokemon, with a few kangaroo-like characteristics as well. Though similar in appearance to Riolu, Lucario has some notable differences. Its forepaws are black and it has large pointed spikes in place of the oval shaped bumps on Riolu. There is also a third spike in the middle of its chest. Lucario's ears and muzzle are longer in comparison to Riolu but it retains the black "mask" and red eyes. The "mask" also has an added upper stripe. It also has four black sensory bundles on the back of its head opposed to Riolu, who only had two and were previously located on the side of its head. Additionally, Lucario's torso is covered in yellow fur.

Lucario has a high attack stat and is also very fast, but its defense has more often than not been its undoing.

Behaviour
Known as the Aura Pokémon, Lucario are sensitive to a special type of energy called Aura. The black appendages on the back of its head are used to detect the Auras of creatures and objects around it. With its ability to sense the Auras in all things around it, it can navigate and track through telepathic methods. They can also guide the waves of an Aura in an offensive manner to create small balls of energy such as Aura Sphere. Lucario are also able to understand human speech; it is said that Lucario can also speak it, though only Sir Aaron's Lucario has been shown to do so and only through telepathy.

Evolution
Lucario is the evolved form of Riolu. Riolu evolves into Lucario by leveling up with high friendship during the day. Lucario can evolve into its Mega form in Pokémon X/Y, during battle, with the Mega Stone known as Lucarionite.

Stats
Lucario=

Mega Lucario=

TM/HM

 * Moves in bold text show that the move receives a STAB.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Lucario is also available as an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It is unlocked when it is met in the Subspace Emissary, or by playing a certain amount of VS matches. Most of its attacks are imbued with aura. Ironically, Lucario does not use any moves like Metal Claw, but uses its down smash in a fashion similar to Dark Pulse.

Lucario's attacks in Brawl are:
 * Standard Special - Aura Sphere
 * Side Special - Force Palm
 * Up Special - Extreme Speed
 * Down Special - Double Team
 * Final Smash - Aura Storm

Subspace Emissary
Lucario's appearance in the story mode The Subspace Emissary is fairly late in the game. Lucario meditates atop an icy peak when he is approached by Meta Knight, who has climbed the mountain alongside the Ice Climbers to reach his stolen ship the Halberd, which is approaching. Lucario challenges Meta Knight to a fight, and the player chooses one or the other to play as in the duel. The winner revives the other, and the two of them become friends. Lucario joins Meta Knight in Infiltrating the Halberd, where he discovers Solid Snake hiding in a cardboard box. Meta Knight then gets ready to fight Snake, but Lucario senses that Snake is a good guy, and halts Meta Knight from attacking Snake. Lucario also senses enemies nearby and signals Snake to join the now-trio.

Lucario is next seen fighting a false Peach and a false Zelda made from Shadow Bugs. Meta Knight, Lucario, and Snake defeat the false princesses and set the real ones free. Lucario also aids Fox, Falco, Zelda, Peach, and Snake in the battle against Duon, while Meta Knight reclaims the ship.

After this, he joins the others to battle Master Hand in subspace. However it is revealed that a powerful creature named Tabuu had been manipulating Master Hand and his associates. He uses his Off Waves to turn all heroes into trophies (except Ganondorf, whom he used a different attack to beat), Bowser (who was trophified by Ganondorf), Master Hand (who is defeated by Tabuu but is not turned into a trophy) and anyone who is already a trophy.King Dedede's pins bring back Luigi and Ness (who in turn revive King Dedede) and Kirby, who is separate from them but comes back because he ate one of King Dedede's pins. King Dedede convinces Bowser to help them, while Link and Zelda (if found) bring back Ganondorf who goes to fight Tabuu. If Lucario is saved he will go to the Great Maze to battle the heroes shadow clones (of every hero who is in subspace excluding Sheik (another form used by Zelda), Zero Suit Samus (Samus is wearing her power suit when she enters subspace) and Red's Squirtle and Ivysaur (when used he always starts with Charizard in story mode)), any bosses that have been fought and Tabuu himself. After they make it to Tabuu he is weakened by the destruction of his wings (by Sonic) which prevents him from turning everyone into trophies. When defeated Tabuu is destroyed and the world returns (except the floating isle because so many bombs went off in one area, so close together).

Quotes
Lucario is able to seemingly speak English in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and oddly doesn't say its name like other Pokémon as it is actually using telepathy to communicate through its thoughts.

Voiced By English: Bill Rogers
 * "Watch the power of Aura!"-using his Final Smash
 * "It's not over!"
 * "Behold the Aura!"
 * "The Aura is mine!"

Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Lucario returns in the next Super Smash Bros. sequel called Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, it appears as a default character. His Final Smash is Mega Evolving, similar to Charizard.

Is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. It was announced on January 31st, 2014, six years to the day of the year that Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released in Japan; according to an extra post on the Miiverse reveal, this timing was done to commend the Brawl developers for succeeding in adding Lucario to said game.

Lucario possesses a unique ability that no other character in the game has: aura. Aura appears as blue concentrated energy, and is used in every single move Lucario performs. As a mechanic, aura is a damage multiplier, starting from 0.66x and capping at 1.7x when Lucario has taken 190% damage. This means that, even though most of Lucario's moves have high knockback growth, their power is extremely low with low aura, and insufficient to KO until well beyond 150%. However, with high aura, Lucario's moves have incredible power, with many of them easily surpassing every other character's at max aura. In addition, with the introduction of the rage mechanic, Lucario's attacks deal even more knockback, complimenting their already high power. Its grab game receives huge benefits as well. Since Lucario's pummel is the fastest in the game, it can deal large amounts of damage at high percents. Its up throw has low base knockback, and can combo effectively at most percents. It is also the most damaging and one of the strongest when Lucario's aura is high, making up for its increased power. Its forward throw is the fastest throw in the game, as well as the third strongest with high aura. Its back throw is very powerful, and also a semi-spike, making it excellent for edgeguarding and tech-chasing.

Other strengths of Lucario include a very useful special moveset. Aura Sphere is a strong projectile very similar to Samus' Charge Shot. However, since its size and power are affected by aura, it is much more dangerous at high percents. Its high damage output when fully powered up also lets it outprioritize most moves in the game. Force Palm shoots a blast of aura forward, with its range and power increasing with aura. If used at point-blank range, the move is treated as a grab, bypassing shields, and has immense power with enough aura. Extreme Speed is Lucario's recovery move, and is able to cover extremely long distances if Lucario has taken much damage, making it impossible to gimp. It can also launch opponents that get hit head-on. Finally, Double Team is Lucario's counterattack. It is the strongest counter in the game with enough aura while possessing plenty of range, but it's also the slowest, since any opponent that is not in hitlag will most likely avoid it.

However, Lucario has significant flaws. Despite possessing above average weight, its endurance is below average at best. The rest of its stats do not help it at all, as they make it vulnerable to combos, and one strong move is usually all it takes to end Lucario, preventing it from utilizing aura effectively after it gets KOed. Its combo game is also heavily reliant on throws, as most other combo moves have either very limited follow-up options or awkwardly positioned hitboxes. Its most serious flaw, however, is its polarized moveset. Its fastest moves are the weakest, and its strongest moves are the slowest, making the latter very punishable. Lucario's aura can also work against it. With low aura, its powerful moves are too weak to KO, and with high aura, its combo-oriented moves are too strong to be chained together. This makes it imperative to keep in mind how Lucario's attacks function depending on percentage, as it cannot afford to make mistakes at higher percentages. It also restricts Lucario to using a "bait-and-punish" playstyle, as it cannot perform rushdowns without getting punished most of the time. Finally, Extreme Speed has numerous flaws. The move is difficult to hit with, since Lucario can only damage the opponent head-on, without having very high power to compensate. In addition, it has high ending lag and, unless Lucario grabs the ledge or lands before the move is concluded, very high landing lag. With low aura, the move is also very slow and doesn't grant much distance, while at high aura, it is possible to overshoot the stage if Lucario isn't careful.

Special Moveset

 * Neutral Special: Aura Sphere: A chargeable, condensed sphere of aura. Pressing the special button again will make Lucario throw it. Increases in size and deals more damage the more damage Lucario has.
 * Custom Neutral Special 1: Snaring Aura Sphere: Slower, but has a vacuum effect that pulls opponents toward the Aura Sphere itself. Has extra ending lag deals slightly less damage. Two uncharged Snaring Aura Spheres can exist on-screen at the same time.
 * Custom Neutral Special 2: Piercing Aura Sphere: Faster and passes through opponents, but deals considerably less damage.
 * Side Special: Force Palm: Fires a stream of aura that increases in range the more damaged Lucario is. If the opponent is close to Lucario, the move acts like a grab, with Lucario grabbing the opponent and then striking them with an aura-infused palm thrust at point-blank range.
 * Custom Side Special 1: Advancing Force Palm: Functions similarly to Force Palm, but it moves Lucario forward, has more start-up and deals slightly less damage.
 * Custom Side Special 2: Long-Distance Force Palm: Has more range, but deals less damage.
 * Up Special: Extreme Speed: Launches itself in a predetermined direction by blasting steams of aura from its paws. Has a hitbox at end of the move. Like Force Palm's blast range, Extreme Speed's range increases the more damaged Lucario is.
 * Custom Up Special 1: Ride The Wind: Slower and deals no damage, but grants more control over Lucario's trajectory.
 * Custom Up Special 2: Extreme Speed Attack: Has less range, but damages opponents at any point it makes contact with them.
 * Down Special: Double Team: Performs a kata. If Lucario is attacked, it will disappear and counterattack with a flying kick from behind the attacker.
 * Custom Down Special 1: Glancing Counter: Dodges attacks but allows Lucario to produce a hitbox, albeit a weaker one, even if it is not attacked.
 * Custom Down Special 2: Stunning Double Team: Functions similarly to Double Team, with the added effect of being able to stun opponents. However, it deals considerably less damage.
 * Final Smash: Mega Lucario: Mega Evolves into Mega Lucario. Mega Lucario's aura multiplier is increased to 1.8x regardless of how much damage it had prior to Mega Evolving and it gains resistance to both flinching and launching throughout its duration. Its duration decreases if damage is taken during this transformation.

Palutena's Guidance
Palutena's Guidance is featured in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and is similar to Snake's Codec in Brawl. Pit holds a special conversation with Palutena and Viridi to comment on one of Pit's opponents, giving him helpful tips about their strengths and weaknesses. This feature is based on the numerous chapter dialogue in Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Viridi: What the heck is that?!

Pit: Oh, that's Lucario. What about it?

Viridi: I've never seen a creature with a life force like that! It's like a current of water. Or a whirlpool!

Palutena: Oh, you mean Lucario's Aura.

Viridi: Aura?

Palutena: Lucario can sense the life force—or Aura—emanating from all living things. As Lucario takes more damage, its own Aura grows stronger.

Viridi: Ingenious! Lucario sounds like a perfect fit for the Forces of Nature.

Pit: We need to focus on the fight at hand.

Viridi: You focus on the fight at hand. I gotta catch my new recruit.

Pit: No! Stop!

Palutena: Pit, a wounded Lucario is stronger than it looks. Be extra careful when it's taken lots of damage.

Anime
Lucario's first appearance in an episode from the main series was in Lost Leader Strategy!, under the ownership of Maylene, the Veilstone City Gym Leader. Maylene's Lucario was used again in the next two episodes Crossing the Battle Line! and A Triple Fighting Chance!, where Maylene battled Dawn in a match and Ash in a Gym Battle.

Another Lucario was used by Riley on Iron Island, being the only Steel type on the island who could resist the machine that Team Galactic was using to drive Steel type Pokémon crazy. Lucario's resistance to the machine was due to a combination of willpower and its strong connection to Aura.

During the Unova League Vertress Conference, Cameron's Riolu evolved into a Lucario during a battle against Ash.

Korrina's Lucario appeared in Mega form in The Aura Storm!.

Lucario also makes a small cameo in the opening theme songs "Unbeatable," "Battle Frontier," and "Together".
 * Lucario (MS008)
 * Riley's Lucario
 * Maylene's Lucario
 * Cameron's Lucario
 * Korrina's Lucario
 * Gurkinn's Lucario
 * Nate's Lucario

Movies
Lucario has a lead role in the movie Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. Lucario is considered a legend from olden times to the town where he appears in front of Ash Ketchum and his friends, and mistakes Ash for his old friend Sir Aaron due to his similar aura. At one time in the past, Lucario was going to try and help Sir Aaron save a castle, but Aaron trapped him in his Aura staff which made him think that Sir Aaron had betrayed him.

Voiced By: Japanese: Daisuke Namikawa/ English: Sean Schemmel

Trivia

 * Lucario is the second non-legendary Pokémon to be in the central role in a Pokémon movie, the first being Unown and the third being Zoroark.
 * Lucario is one of the only Pokémon (the others being Cubone, its evolved form Marowak, and Mandibuzz) to learn a bone-based attack. It creates a bone-shaped object from Aura to use the attacks.
 * Lucario is the only non-legendary Pokémon to appear in the opening of the movie, The Rise of Darkrai.
 * Lucario is the second playable Pokémon to speak English, the first being Mewtwo in Super Smash Bros. Melee (the English version of the game removed Mewtwo's spoken lines).
 * Prior to Generation V, no other Pokémon had the same Fighting-Steel type combination as Lucario. Another one, namely Cobalion, was introduced in Generation V.
 * Lucario is the only non-legendary boss in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia to guard a gem. It appears in the mission: "Get the Blue Gem!".
 * Lucario is one of the few Pokémon in the anime that actually died and it is also interesting to note that all of the other Pokémon that died were Legendary. The first was Celebi in Pokémon 4ever, but was later brought back to life by many other Celebi. The second was Latios in Pokémon: Heroes and Lucario was the third. Darkrai was apparently the fourth (but it was seen standing on top of a tower during the final seconds of The Rise of Darkrai). So really, Lucario is the second Pokémon that actually dies in the anime and stays dead.
 * Though Lucario more physically resembles a dog or type of canine, it has a few cat-like traits. For example, Lucario has slit eyes, like most house cats do. It's also possible that it has retractile claws, as it can learn attacks such as Metal Claw, Hone Claws, and Shadow Claw. Its agility and balance matches that of felines. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it is shown perched on a very thin piece of ice, then agily jumps down, landing on its feet.
 * It's likely to be aesthetically based on Anubis (an Egyptian god of death who was believed to have the head of a jackal).
 * In the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, due to Pokémon having both of their abilities if they have multiple ones, Lucario's Inner Focus ability prevents flinching which does prevent Lucario's other ability, Steadfast, from activating in this matter; however, if Lucario eats a X-eye seed, the crossed-eyed effect will still activate Steadfast.
 * Although most Steel types have higher Attack than Special Attack, most Fighting types have higher Attack than Special Attack, and prior to Generation IV, all Steel type moves and Fighting type moves were physical, Lucario actually has higher base Special Attack than Attack. Cobalion has a base Attack and Special Attack of 90.
 * Lucario is one out of the four Steel-type Pokémon to speak English in the anime.
 * Lucario was the first Pokémon shown to achieve Mega Evolution.
 * Lucario was one of the first Pokémon to be featured in Pokkén Tournament. The other two being Blaziken and Machamp.
 * Lucario, despite being a Generation IV Pokémon, debuted in Generation III along with Bonsly and Weavile in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.

Origins
Lucario's name possibly derives from a part of the word orichalcum in Japanese (oriharukon), when spelled backwards. Orichalcum is a legendary metal and might have a relation to Lucario, since it is a -type Pokémon. Another less likely theory is that part of Lucario's name could be based off of the Egyptian capital city, Cairo. Lucario's appearance may be based on the Egyptian god of death, Anubis, who has the head of a jackal.