frogofdoom555
(>:O) FFFFFFUUUUUU
Don't forget about the part where Lucario can learn Water Pulse via TM to take out fire types and ground types using earthquake.
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Community POTW #74
- Thread starter Serebii
- Start date
- Status
Double Booster
Lucario @ Focus Sash/Lum Berry/Expert Belt/something else
Adamant/Modest
Inner Focus
252 SpA or Atk, depends on physical or special. give it enough speed to outspeed like everything unscarfed and the rest into Hp.
-Agility
-Swords Dance/Nasty Plot
-Close Combat/Aura Sphere
-Crunch/Shadow Ball
Agility doubles speed, which may be enough to perform a sweep. SD/NP doubles offense, so a sweep is nearly guaranteed. CC/AS is STAB, crunch/shadow ball is coverage
Lucario @ Focus Sash/Lum Berry/Expert Belt/something else
Adamant/Modest
Inner Focus
252 SpA or Atk, depends on physical or special. give it enough speed to outspeed like everything unscarfed and the rest into Hp.
-Agility
-Swords Dance/Nasty Plot
-Close Combat/Aura Sphere
-Crunch/Shadow Ball
Agility doubles speed, which may be enough to perform a sweep. SD/NP doubles offense, so a sweep is nearly guaranteed. CC/AS is STAB, crunch/shadow ball is coverage
Jackel Wars Episode IV: A New Idea
Lucario, a fan-favorite and competitive regular. Good stats, good type, decent abilities, a slick design (looks like Anubis and can cause as much damage too), no wonder this Pokemon is so popular. Adding to this potential is an impressive movepool (far greater than either of it's types would suggest) and now has access to semi-reliable self healing (Drain Punch going up in damage & PowerPoint amount), meaning so few Pokemon can switch in and claim to counter every possible Lucario variation. Sadly, Lucario is a Pokemon of wasted potential, too. Despite a higher Special Attack (expect me to rant about this more in future), most competitive sets rely on Lucario's Attack stat. This generation, Lucario's Dream World ability Justified is dead-set on cementing it's role as another Physical Sweeper, dare I say overshadowing the fact that Lucario now has access to Nasty Plot; the lack of this move somewhat justified (groan if you hate puns too) raising Lucario to be Physical since it then (and still now) has Swords Dance. Not that it's a bad thing, but when more people praise a Pokemon for doing one thing when it's stats are inclined another way and has the potential for so much more...
Okay, enough with the rant. Physical Lucario is deadly for a reason, the less common Special variants are no less deadly (and are what set Lucario apart from other Fighting types), and there is a niche that Lucario can do that few others can...and of them, only Lucario can pull it off so darn well. (I'll post other sets later this week as I think of them and find them not already mentioned, but for the moment, just this one)
His power level...IT'S OVER 9000!
~Bullet Punch
~Vacuum Wave
~Work Up
~Filler (see Other Options below)
Attached Item: Life Orb/Leftovers/Expert Belt/Lum Berry
Ability: Steadfast
EVs and Nature: 128 Attack / 128 Special Attack / 252 Speed
Naive (+ Speed, - Special Defense), Hasty (+ Speed, - Defense)
Plenty of Pokemon get a Priority move. Few get both a Special and a Physical Priority move. Lucario is one of a handful that runs the above moveset (depending on the filler, only one other can copy this). Of that handful, only Smeargle has the stats that aren't lopsided to make this totally unfeasible...and what was said about Smeargle's sweeping capabilities even with Technician (which would make this set near-broken on Lucario)? Anyways, this is something that only Lucario can hope to pull off, and if given a chance, will strike fear into the hearts of unexpecting battlers. Scizor may pull off Bullet Punch with more intimidation thanks to STAB and Technician, but Lucario does have some advantages: unpredictable other moves and a manageable X2 Fire weakness among them. Vacuum Wave is a Special Attack that gets Priority (works off of Lucario's higher offensive stat too) that is rarely seen on anything not named Toxicroak (who's Special Attack is laughable compared to Lucario). This gives Lucario an element of surprise and screws over counters who think they can handle a non-Scizor backed Bullet Punch (like Skarmory). Lucario also gets STAB on both of these Priority moves, and last time I checked, there is no other Pokemon who gets STAB on two Priority attacks of different types that also are not both Physical and/or Special. Which means anything switching in will be hurt by one or the other. Work Up is what earns this moveset the Vegeta meme for it's title. It boosts both the user's Attack and Special Attack by one stage each. Not immediately impressive compared to Swords Dance or Nasty Plot but when you can strike the legendary Skarm-Bliss wall combo at their weak points...yeah, that is not something you want to take lightly. The final moveslot should be used depending on what you need, be that a more powerful move to sweep or something to deal with a would-be counter. You can't cover everything with this moveslot, so pick what you need and work your team to cover the missing gaps.
Item should be self-explanitory at this point: Life Orb is blahblahblah, Leftovers give healing, Expert Belt is blahblahblah, Lum Berry so you don't get ruined by status (once).
As for Ability...as mentioned earlier, Technician would make this set near-broken. Short of a Gameshark or Action Replay (or anything like that), you can't get a Lucario with this anyways. Justified can be used, but not recommended unless you use a Physical Attack for the filler. Usable, but I prefer Steadfast for this set. Being immune to Flinch is nice, but when you end up out-speeding even Arceus Extremespeed (should the situation arise, though I doubt it) after a few flinches with your own Priority moves, then you can shout this meme and you might well be right.
EVs should be self-explanitory for those of you who've seen my Mew entry. If desired, you can swap out 8-12 EVs from one of Lucario's offensive stats to the other if you wish for more damage to be done to whichever of Skarm-Bliss you need more help with, but with Work Up boosting both offensives at the same time, this is a case where you can forgo the massive investment to one stat or the other. Now, because of this set's focus on Priority moves, one might question why invest in Lucario's Speed at all. A good question, with good answers. 1, you want to ensure that you've got a safety layer in place to get at least one Work Up in before you get Taunted by anything not running Prankster. 2, at Base 90 Speed, Lucario isn't the fastest out there. Another Priority user with a Choice Scarf or, even worse, an Infernape can and will outrun you even with double Priority unless you max out your Speed. Even then it might not be enough, but what's the odds that your opponent is expecting you to run this set?
Nature is for the same reason as EV placement, plus no real reason to run something else. Or, as can be described in the following trademarked opener: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...a previous generation once claimed that "Lucario's offensive stats are usable at their Base." Unless that has changed, there is no need to run an offensive-boosting Nature on this set.
OTHER OPTIONS:
Okay, now for the moves that can be used to flesh out this moveset. Like I said earlier, not every move will cover every threat that you will face. Just pick what you need most and build your team around what you can't hurt.
~Shadow Claw/Shadow Ball hit Bulky Ghosts (who seem to counter most sets I create) hard and gives perfect coverage with Vacuum Wave. The claw is Physical and has a higher Critical rate while the ball works off the higher offensive stat and may lower Special Defense, making the aforementioned Fighting move hit harder.
~Dark Pulse/Crunch are in the same boat as the previous moves, just with slightly less perfect coverage. Dark Pulse can Flinch, but Lucario's a tad slow to try and take advantage of this. Crunch can lower the foe's Defense, making Bullet Punch hit harder.
~Dragon Pulse nails Salamence and Garchomp while hitting neutral on almost everything. And of the things that resist it, most Steel types don't want to take a Vacuum Wave.
~Extremespeed makes Lucario the only Pokemon who can run 3 Priority moves at once...and do major damage with them. The lack of super-effective coverage and low PP makes this option less desirable, but if you really want to put far more EVs into Lucario's offense instead of Speed, use it.
~Aura Sphere is for straightforward sweeping.
~Close Combat is in the same boat as Aura Sphere, but Physical and has a negative side affect that may bite you in your tail.
~Psychic gets rid of Toxicroak (as well as other Fighting types) and has good power and a useful side affect. Plus only Dark types (and Shedinja) are immune to it, and few would dare switch into a Lucario in the first place.
~Brick Break is...same as Close Combat just more PP, less power, and stops Screen users.
~Stone Edge/Rock Slide is for Gyrados, Volcarona, and Salamence. For those who don't know me by now, Rock Slide gets preference due to higher accuracy, more PP, and can Flinch.
~Poison Jab...if you really hate Tangrowth and want to see it die. Not much else otherwise.
~Flash Cannon is in the same boat as Aura Sphere. Advantages? May lower the foe's Special Defense and the only Ghost type immune is Shedinja.
~Sky Uppercut is a more powerful, slightly less reliable Brick Break.
~Blaze Kick ends Heracross, Ferrothorn, and the swarm of Bug/Steel types that are critical to many teams.
(from this point on, the following moves are illegal with Justified. if you want that ability, don't consider anything after this point)
~Drain Punch, as previously stated, gives Lucario some self-healing and got better this generation.
~Thunderpunch annihilates Gyrados.
~Ice Punch annihilates the multitude of X4 Ice-weak Dragons.
Lucario, a fan-favorite and competitive regular. Good stats, good type, decent abilities, a slick design (looks like Anubis and can cause as much damage too), no wonder this Pokemon is so popular. Adding to this potential is an impressive movepool (far greater than either of it's types would suggest) and now has access to semi-reliable self healing (Drain Punch going up in damage & PowerPoint amount), meaning so few Pokemon can switch in and claim to counter every possible Lucario variation. Sadly, Lucario is a Pokemon of wasted potential, too. Despite a higher Special Attack (expect me to rant about this more in future), most competitive sets rely on Lucario's Attack stat. This generation, Lucario's Dream World ability Justified is dead-set on cementing it's role as another Physical Sweeper, dare I say overshadowing the fact that Lucario now has access to Nasty Plot; the lack of this move somewhat justified (groan if you hate puns too) raising Lucario to be Physical since it then (and still now) has Swords Dance. Not that it's a bad thing, but when more people praise a Pokemon for doing one thing when it's stats are inclined another way and has the potential for so much more...
Okay, enough with the rant. Physical Lucario is deadly for a reason, the less common Special variants are no less deadly (and are what set Lucario apart from other Fighting types), and there is a niche that Lucario can do that few others can...and of them, only Lucario can pull it off so darn well. (I'll post other sets later this week as I think of them and find them not already mentioned, but for the moment, just this one)
His power level...IT'S OVER 9000!
~Bullet Punch
~Vacuum Wave
~Work Up
~Filler (see Other Options below)
Attached Item: Life Orb/Leftovers/Expert Belt/Lum Berry
Ability: Steadfast
EVs and Nature: 128 Attack / 128 Special Attack / 252 Speed
Naive (+ Speed, - Special Defense), Hasty (+ Speed, - Defense)
Plenty of Pokemon get a Priority move. Few get both a Special and a Physical Priority move. Lucario is one of a handful that runs the above moveset (depending on the filler, only one other can copy this). Of that handful, only Smeargle has the stats that aren't lopsided to make this totally unfeasible...and what was said about Smeargle's sweeping capabilities even with Technician (which would make this set near-broken on Lucario)? Anyways, this is something that only Lucario can hope to pull off, and if given a chance, will strike fear into the hearts of unexpecting battlers. Scizor may pull off Bullet Punch with more intimidation thanks to STAB and Technician, but Lucario does have some advantages: unpredictable other moves and a manageable X2 Fire weakness among them. Vacuum Wave is a Special Attack that gets Priority (works off of Lucario's higher offensive stat too) that is rarely seen on anything not named Toxicroak (who's Special Attack is laughable compared to Lucario). This gives Lucario an element of surprise and screws over counters who think they can handle a non-Scizor backed Bullet Punch (like Skarmory). Lucario also gets STAB on both of these Priority moves, and last time I checked, there is no other Pokemon who gets STAB on two Priority attacks of different types that also are not both Physical and/or Special. Which means anything switching in will be hurt by one or the other. Work Up is what earns this moveset the Vegeta meme for it's title. It boosts both the user's Attack and Special Attack by one stage each. Not immediately impressive compared to Swords Dance or Nasty Plot but when you can strike the legendary Skarm-Bliss wall combo at their weak points...yeah, that is not something you want to take lightly. The final moveslot should be used depending on what you need, be that a more powerful move to sweep or something to deal with a would-be counter. You can't cover everything with this moveslot, so pick what you need and work your team to cover the missing gaps.
Item should be self-explanitory at this point: Life Orb is blahblahblah, Leftovers give healing, Expert Belt is blahblahblah, Lum Berry so you don't get ruined by status (once).
As for Ability...as mentioned earlier, Technician would make this set near-broken. Short of a Gameshark or Action Replay (or anything like that), you can't get a Lucario with this anyways. Justified can be used, but not recommended unless you use a Physical Attack for the filler. Usable, but I prefer Steadfast for this set. Being immune to Flinch is nice, but when you end up out-speeding even Arceus Extremespeed (should the situation arise, though I doubt it) after a few flinches with your own Priority moves, then you can shout this meme and you might well be right.
EVs should be self-explanitory for those of you who've seen my Mew entry. If desired, you can swap out 8-12 EVs from one of Lucario's offensive stats to the other if you wish for more damage to be done to whichever of Skarm-Bliss you need more help with, but with Work Up boosting both offensives at the same time, this is a case where you can forgo the massive investment to one stat or the other. Now, because of this set's focus on Priority moves, one might question why invest in Lucario's Speed at all. A good question, with good answers. 1, you want to ensure that you've got a safety layer in place to get at least one Work Up in before you get Taunted by anything not running Prankster. 2, at Base 90 Speed, Lucario isn't the fastest out there. Another Priority user with a Choice Scarf or, even worse, an Infernape can and will outrun you even with double Priority unless you max out your Speed. Even then it might not be enough, but what's the odds that your opponent is expecting you to run this set?
Nature is for the same reason as EV placement, plus no real reason to run something else. Or, as can be described in the following trademarked opener: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...a previous generation once claimed that "Lucario's offensive stats are usable at their Base." Unless that has changed, there is no need to run an offensive-boosting Nature on this set.
OTHER OPTIONS:
Okay, now for the moves that can be used to flesh out this moveset. Like I said earlier, not every move will cover every threat that you will face. Just pick what you need most and build your team around what you can't hurt.
~Shadow Claw/Shadow Ball hit Bulky Ghosts (who seem to counter most sets I create) hard and gives perfect coverage with Vacuum Wave. The claw is Physical and has a higher Critical rate while the ball works off the higher offensive stat and may lower Special Defense, making the aforementioned Fighting move hit harder.
~Dark Pulse/Crunch are in the same boat as the previous moves, just with slightly less perfect coverage. Dark Pulse can Flinch, but Lucario's a tad slow to try and take advantage of this. Crunch can lower the foe's Defense, making Bullet Punch hit harder.
~Dragon Pulse nails Salamence and Garchomp while hitting neutral on almost everything. And of the things that resist it, most Steel types don't want to take a Vacuum Wave.
~Extremespeed makes Lucario the only Pokemon who can run 3 Priority moves at once...and do major damage with them. The lack of super-effective coverage and low PP makes this option less desirable, but if you really want to put far more EVs into Lucario's offense instead of Speed, use it.
~Aura Sphere is for straightforward sweeping.
~Close Combat is in the same boat as Aura Sphere, but Physical and has a negative side affect that may bite you in your tail.
~Psychic gets rid of Toxicroak (as well as other Fighting types) and has good power and a useful side affect. Plus only Dark types (and Shedinja) are immune to it, and few would dare switch into a Lucario in the first place.
~Brick Break is...same as Close Combat just more PP, less power, and stops Screen users.
~Stone Edge/Rock Slide is for Gyrados, Volcarona, and Salamence. For those who don't know me by now, Rock Slide gets preference due to higher accuracy, more PP, and can Flinch.
~Poison Jab...if you really hate Tangrowth and want to see it die. Not much else otherwise.
~Flash Cannon is in the same boat as Aura Sphere. Advantages? May lower the foe's Special Defense and the only Ghost type immune is Shedinja.
~Sky Uppercut is a more powerful, slightly less reliable Brick Break.
~Blaze Kick ends Heracross, Ferrothorn, and the swarm of Bug/Steel types that are critical to many teams.
(from this point on, the following moves are illegal with Justified. if you want that ability, don't consider anything after this point)
~Drain Punch, as previously stated, gives Lucario some self-healing and got better this generation.
~Thunderpunch annihilates Gyrados.
~Ice Punch annihilates the multitude of X4 Ice-weak Dragons.
MatchMaster
Member
Interesting set, but there is some criticism I'd like to share. While a mixed set is interesting, Lucario does miss out on a lot of potential power. If Lucario had say 125 Atk / 130 SAtk or had a super-powerful special move to spam like Infernape has (Overheat), it might be more viable. While Work Up is good as a boosting move, it only boosts stats one level at a time, which was partly why Lucario couldn't run a non-choice Special set last generation; Due to Lucario's Fraiity, using Calm Mind to boost the SAtk was unreliable, as it would most likely take two turns to set up, and frailer Pokemon have to set up as quickly as possible so they can do damage before they're KO'd.
Furret Master
Champion Seeker
Overview:
Lucario is a really cool Pokemon. His typing, Fighting/Steel, is only shared with Cobalion. He sports nine resistances, including a double resistance to Stealth Rock, and one immunity with only three weaknesses, which is good for an offensive Pokemon. Two of his weaknesses, however, are the ever-common Fighting and Ground, which can be difficult. Lucario boasts 110/115 for his offensive stats, allowing him to go physical, special, or mixed. This is helped by the fact that Lucario has a great movepool on both sides. Also, Lucario can learn Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, and Work Up, giving his offensive stats a boost. What holds Lucario back slightly, however, is his not-so impressive base 90 Speed and 70/70/70 defensive stats, meaning that neutral or super-effective hits cause problems. Also, his abilities are somewhat lackluster, although they are by no means useless. It you can overcome these problems, however, Lucario is a great asset to almost any team.
Abilities:
Steadfast: When Lucario flinches, his Speed stat is raised by one stage. This is a good ability, but Lucario is not slow enough to worry about flinching to a great extent, although the Speed boost can be helpful.
Inner Focus: Prevents Lucario from flinching. Again, this is not a huge asset to Lucario due to his Speed, but this is usually the preferred ability. After all, an immunity to flinching is usually better than a boost that may not help in the end.
Justified: Lucario's Attack stat is raised by one stage every time he is hit by a Dark-type move. This is a pretty good ability, seeing as Lucario has a double resistance to Dark, but this ability should only be used on physical sets. Otherwise, just run Inner Focus.
Movesets:
Physical Sweeper
-Swords Dance
-Close Combat
-Extremespeed/ Bullet Punch
-Crunch/ Ice Punch
Hold Item:Life Orb
Ability: Justified/Inner Focus
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Attack, 4 Defense, 252 Speed
This is a fairly straightforward set. Switch in on something Lucario resists (such as Dark), boost, then sweep. Swords Dance doubles Lucario's Attack to 638, which turns into about 798 if it nabs a boost from Justified. From here, choose the best move. Close Combat is a very powerful STAB, with the only drawback being the lowering of Lucario's defensive stats by one stage. Both Extremespeed and Bullet Punch have priority, which is very helpful for Lucario. Extremespeed has higher priority, higher power, and better coverage, although Bullet Punch is good because nothing is immune to Steel. The last move has to do with coverage. If you are running Extremespeed, Crunch is the best option toprevent Lucario from being walled by Ghost-types, while also nabbing a super-effective hit on said type. Ice Punch is also good for taking down Gliscor, which can wall Lucario effectively, as well as Landorus, Dragonite, and Salamence.
Life Orb makes Lucario even more powerful by boosting the power of its moves. However, Focus Sash can be also be used to increase the chance that Lucario can pull off a boost before dying, although Magic Guard users can do this more effectively. Since this is a physical set, Justified is the better option, although Justified and Ice Punch are incompatible. The Jolly nature is to boost Lucario's Speed, while the EVs are to maximize offenses and Speed.
Special Sweeper
-Nasty Plot
-Aura Sphere
-Dark Pulse
-Hidden Power (Ice)
Hold Item: Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Defense, 252 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed
Same as the previous set, only going special. Nasty Plot boosts Lucario's Sp. Attack to 658, which is massive. Aura Sphere is powerful, gets STAB, and has perfect accuracy. Dark Pulse hits Ghost-types for double damage, while also keeping Psychic-types from walling Aura Sphere. HP Ice is for additional coverage, again hitting Gliscor, Landorus, and other for lots of damage.
The item is the same as in the previous set. Inner Focus is the best ability to run, since Justified's Attack boost is useless on this set. Again, the nature and EVs maximize offense and Speed.
Mixed Sweeper
-Work Up
-Close Combat/ Aura Sphere
-Crunch/ Dark Pulse
-Ice Punch/Hidden Power (Ice)
Hold Item: Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus/Justified
Nature: Hasty/ Naive
EVs: 128 Attack, 128 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed
This set attempts to let Lucario hit from either defensive side. This set lacks the raw power of the other two sets, but versitility is the name of the game here. Work Up boosts both of Lucario's attack stats by one stage. The rest of the moves let you choose which side of the spectrum you want to hit more, and the descriptions can be seen above.
Other Options:
Lucario has quite a few options.
-Obviously, Lucario can use any of the Choice items with ease.
-A set with Agility can be used. For that set, run Adamant or Modest to boost Lucario's offense and the normal EV spread.
-Air Balloon can give Lucario a temporary immunity to Ground, which can be fun if you switch into a Pokemon Choice-locked into Earthquake or something. This will force a switch, but be sure to know if the item is actually a Choice item and not Expert Belt or something.
-Hi Jump Kick can replace Close Combat on physical sets, although the risk of missing or the opponent switching to a Ghost-type make this a risky switch.
-Vacuum Wave is priority for special sets, although this usually works better on a Choice Specs set where Lucario has a fourth move slot open.
-Blaze Kick, Thunderpunch, Psychic, and Dragon Pulse are some other moves Lucario can learn, but they are usually outclassed by the moves listed above. Psychic can be good against Fighting-types like Conkeldurr and Toxicroak, but they usually pack priority, making this a risky move choice.
Counters
The Pokemon that can counter Lucario are completely dependent on his set and movepool. Gliscor is terrific against physical Lucario if he lacks Ice Punch, while Chansey and Blissey can be somewhat effective against special sets. Remember that Aura Sphere hits the two for super-effective STAB, which still put a large dent in them. Any Fighting-type that packs Mach Punch or Vacuum Wave can shred Lucario if he lacks priority of his own. This includes Conkeldurr, Toxicroak, Breloom, and other Lucario, with Toxicroak usually being the best choice unless a rare Psychic is used. Overall, Lucario is quite dangerous because of his vast choice of moves. If you lack solid priority, you may find it hard to take the Aura Pokemon down.
Lucario is a really cool Pokemon. His typing, Fighting/Steel, is only shared with Cobalion. He sports nine resistances, including a double resistance to Stealth Rock, and one immunity with only three weaknesses, which is good for an offensive Pokemon. Two of his weaknesses, however, are the ever-common Fighting and Ground, which can be difficult. Lucario boasts 110/115 for his offensive stats, allowing him to go physical, special, or mixed. This is helped by the fact that Lucario has a great movepool on both sides. Also, Lucario can learn Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, and Work Up, giving his offensive stats a boost. What holds Lucario back slightly, however, is his not-so impressive base 90 Speed and 70/70/70 defensive stats, meaning that neutral or super-effective hits cause problems. Also, his abilities are somewhat lackluster, although they are by no means useless. It you can overcome these problems, however, Lucario is a great asset to almost any team.
Abilities:
Steadfast: When Lucario flinches, his Speed stat is raised by one stage. This is a good ability, but Lucario is not slow enough to worry about flinching to a great extent, although the Speed boost can be helpful.
Inner Focus: Prevents Lucario from flinching. Again, this is not a huge asset to Lucario due to his Speed, but this is usually the preferred ability. After all, an immunity to flinching is usually better than a boost that may not help in the end.
Justified: Lucario's Attack stat is raised by one stage every time he is hit by a Dark-type move. This is a pretty good ability, seeing as Lucario has a double resistance to Dark, but this ability should only be used on physical sets. Otherwise, just run Inner Focus.
Movesets:
Physical Sweeper
-Swords Dance
-Close Combat
-Extremespeed/ Bullet Punch
-Crunch/ Ice Punch
Hold Item:Life Orb
Ability: Justified/Inner Focus
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Attack, 4 Defense, 252 Speed
This is a fairly straightforward set. Switch in on something Lucario resists (such as Dark), boost, then sweep. Swords Dance doubles Lucario's Attack to 638, which turns into about 798 if it nabs a boost from Justified. From here, choose the best move. Close Combat is a very powerful STAB, with the only drawback being the lowering of Lucario's defensive stats by one stage. Both Extremespeed and Bullet Punch have priority, which is very helpful for Lucario. Extremespeed has higher priority, higher power, and better coverage, although Bullet Punch is good because nothing is immune to Steel. The last move has to do with coverage. If you are running Extremespeed, Crunch is the best option toprevent Lucario from being walled by Ghost-types, while also nabbing a super-effective hit on said type. Ice Punch is also good for taking down Gliscor, which can wall Lucario effectively, as well as Landorus, Dragonite, and Salamence.
Life Orb makes Lucario even more powerful by boosting the power of its moves. However, Focus Sash can be also be used to increase the chance that Lucario can pull off a boost before dying, although Magic Guard users can do this more effectively. Since this is a physical set, Justified is the better option, although Justified and Ice Punch are incompatible. The Jolly nature is to boost Lucario's Speed, while the EVs are to maximize offenses and Speed.
Special Sweeper
-Nasty Plot
-Aura Sphere
-Dark Pulse
-Hidden Power (Ice)
Hold Item: Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Defense, 252 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed
Same as the previous set, only going special. Nasty Plot boosts Lucario's Sp. Attack to 658, which is massive. Aura Sphere is powerful, gets STAB, and has perfect accuracy. Dark Pulse hits Ghost-types for double damage, while also keeping Psychic-types from walling Aura Sphere. HP Ice is for additional coverage, again hitting Gliscor, Landorus, and other for lots of damage.
The item is the same as in the previous set. Inner Focus is the best ability to run, since Justified's Attack boost is useless on this set. Again, the nature and EVs maximize offense and Speed.
Mixed Sweeper
-Work Up
-Close Combat/ Aura Sphere
-Crunch/ Dark Pulse
-Ice Punch/Hidden Power (Ice)
Hold Item: Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus/Justified
Nature: Hasty/ Naive
EVs: 128 Attack, 128 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed
This set attempts to let Lucario hit from either defensive side. This set lacks the raw power of the other two sets, but versitility is the name of the game here. Work Up boosts both of Lucario's attack stats by one stage. The rest of the moves let you choose which side of the spectrum you want to hit more, and the descriptions can be seen above.
Other Options:
Lucario has quite a few options.
-Obviously, Lucario can use any of the Choice items with ease.
-A set with Agility can be used. For that set, run Adamant or Modest to boost Lucario's offense and the normal EV spread.
-Air Balloon can give Lucario a temporary immunity to Ground, which can be fun if you switch into a Pokemon Choice-locked into Earthquake or something. This will force a switch, but be sure to know if the item is actually a Choice item and not Expert Belt or something.
-Hi Jump Kick can replace Close Combat on physical sets, although the risk of missing or the opponent switching to a Ghost-type make this a risky switch.
-Vacuum Wave is priority for special sets, although this usually works better on a Choice Specs set where Lucario has a fourth move slot open.
-Blaze Kick, Thunderpunch, Psychic, and Dragon Pulse are some other moves Lucario can learn, but they are usually outclassed by the moves listed above. Psychic can be good against Fighting-types like Conkeldurr and Toxicroak, but they usually pack priority, making this a risky move choice.
Counters
The Pokemon that can counter Lucario are completely dependent on his set and movepool. Gliscor is terrific against physical Lucario if he lacks Ice Punch, while Chansey and Blissey can be somewhat effective against special sets. Remember that Aura Sphere hits the two for super-effective STAB, which still put a large dent in them. Any Fighting-type that packs Mach Punch or Vacuum Wave can shred Lucario if he lacks priority of his own. This includes Conkeldurr, Toxicroak, Breloom, and other Lucario, with Toxicroak usually being the best choice unless a rare Psychic is used. Overall, Lucario is quite dangerous because of his vast choice of moves. If you lack solid priority, you may find it hard to take the Aura Pokemon down.
Lucario moveset
mind sweeper
calm mind
flash cannon
aura Sphere
dragon pulse
items leftovers
nature quiet
ev special attack and defense
Dancing Knight
Swords dance
close combat
thunder punch
drain punch
item life orb
nature Adamant
ev attack and speed and defense
Quick killer
extremspeed
bullet punch
vaccum wave
bulk up
item life orb
nature Adamant
ev attack special defense and defense
mind sweeper
calm mind
flash cannon
aura Sphere
dragon pulse
items leftovers
nature quiet
ev special attack and defense
Dancing Knight
Swords dance
close combat
thunder punch
drain punch
item life orb
nature Adamant
ev attack and speed and defense
Quick killer
extremspeed
bullet punch
vaccum wave
bulk up
item life orb
nature Adamant
ev attack special defense and defense
Reversal
Lucario @ Focus Sash
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Hasty (+Spe, -Defense)
- Reversal
- ExtremeSpeed
- Crunch
- Swords Dance / Ice Punch
The idea here is to spam crazy strong Reversals after getting down to low health. Reversal has 300 power with STAB at its strongest. Coming off Lucario's nice Attack stat will dent anything that does not resist it. Unfortunately, Lucario is a bit slow so other sweepers will be able to KO it first but that's why ExtremeSpeed is there. It lets Lucario unleash a final hit before it goes down. Crunch rounds off the coverage so Lucario will be able to hit everything for at least neutral damage. If you're up against a slower enemy, you can Swords Dance and then Reversal the next turn. I guess you could pack Ice Punch to decimate Gliscor if you're concerned about it but I'd rather have Swords Dance for stupidly high damage. Oh don't forget to put 0 IVs for HP, Defense, and Special Defense to help ensure that you'll reach 1 HP after being hit.
Reversal With Salac
Lucario @ Salac Berry
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SAtk) or Adamant (+Atk, -SAtk) These Natures should be used if you are running Substitute. If you are using Endure, run a Nature that lowers Defense. And don't forget to lower your defensive IVs if you use Endure.
- Reversal
- Substitute / Endure
- Crunch / Swords Dance
- ExtremeSpeed / Swords Dance
Unlike the previous set, this one uses the Salac Berry which will sharply raise Lucario's Speed when it is low on HP. Because Lucario is not normally very fast, it would benefit greatly from double Speed. You can use Substitute to lower your own HP and activate the Salac Berry but it's kinda risky since Lucario is a bit frail and slow. If you're lucky enough, you might be able to activate the Salac Berry with the Substitute still intact but that's not going to happen often. Using Endure is usually better. After you reach 1 HP with +2 Speed, you're ready to sweep with Reversal. You no longer have to fear threats such as Terrakion because you can now outspeed them and KO with Reversal. Anything that carries priority will finish you off so be careful. ExtremeSpeed probably won't kill them but it'll at least do some damage. I guess you could drop Crunch and have Swords Dance and ExtremeSpeed but stuff like Gengar will completely wall you. You're trading off coverage for an very powerful priority move. +2 Reversal will kill just about anything and ExtremeSpeed will do major damage to priority users (then again, the only priority users are Scizor and Dragonite; both which take half damage from ExtremeSpeed).
Lucario @ Focus Sash
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Hasty (+Spe, -Defense)
- Reversal
- ExtremeSpeed
- Crunch
- Swords Dance / Ice Punch
The idea here is to spam crazy strong Reversals after getting down to low health. Reversal has 300 power with STAB at its strongest. Coming off Lucario's nice Attack stat will dent anything that does not resist it. Unfortunately, Lucario is a bit slow so other sweepers will be able to KO it first but that's why ExtremeSpeed is there. It lets Lucario unleash a final hit before it goes down. Crunch rounds off the coverage so Lucario will be able to hit everything for at least neutral damage. If you're up against a slower enemy, you can Swords Dance and then Reversal the next turn. I guess you could pack Ice Punch to decimate Gliscor if you're concerned about it but I'd rather have Swords Dance for stupidly high damage. Oh don't forget to put 0 IVs for HP, Defense, and Special Defense to help ensure that you'll reach 1 HP after being hit.
Reversal With Salac
Lucario @ Salac Berry
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SAtk) or Adamant (+Atk, -SAtk) These Natures should be used if you are running Substitute. If you are using Endure, run a Nature that lowers Defense. And don't forget to lower your defensive IVs if you use Endure.
- Reversal
- Substitute / Endure
- Crunch / Swords Dance
- ExtremeSpeed / Swords Dance
Unlike the previous set, this one uses the Salac Berry which will sharply raise Lucario's Speed when it is low on HP. Because Lucario is not normally very fast, it would benefit greatly from double Speed. You can use Substitute to lower your own HP and activate the Salac Berry but it's kinda risky since Lucario is a bit frail and slow. If you're lucky enough, you might be able to activate the Salac Berry with the Substitute still intact but that's not going to happen often. Using Endure is usually better. After you reach 1 HP with +2 Speed, you're ready to sweep with Reversal. You no longer have to fear threats such as Terrakion because you can now outspeed them and KO with Reversal. Anything that carries priority will finish you off so be careful. ExtremeSpeed probably won't kill them but it'll at least do some damage. I guess you could drop Crunch and have Swords Dance and ExtremeSpeed but stuff like Gengar will completely wall you. You're trading off coverage for an very powerful priority move. +2 Reversal will kill just about anything and ExtremeSpeed will do major damage to priority users (then again, the only priority users are Scizor and Dragonite; both which take half damage from ExtremeSpeed).
lucario572
Oyashiro-sama
Mix Lucario
Lucario:
;448;
-Aura Sphere
-ExtremeSpeed
-Dragon Pulse
-Close Combat
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Steadfast/ Inner Focus
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 128 Atk / 128 Sp.Atk / 252 Speed
Nature: I use my Lucario with a Rash Nature, but I don't know if it is the best Nature to make a Mixed Lucario. Maybe he could be with a Naive Nature or Hasty.
My Lucario is a killer, with my baton passer Gorebyss using shell smash to pass to my Lucario with White Herb can kill just like my Mixed Salamence, that has the same Strategy.
Lucario:
;448;
-Aura Sphere
-ExtremeSpeed
-Dragon Pulse
-Close Combat
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Steadfast/ Inner Focus
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 128 Atk / 128 Sp.Atk / 252 Speed
Nature: I use my Lucario with a Rash Nature, but I don't know if it is the best Nature to make a Mixed Lucario. Maybe he could be with a Naive Nature or Hasty.
My Lucario is a killer, with my baton passer Gorebyss using shell smash to pass to my Lucario with White Herb can kill just like my Mixed Salamence, that has the same Strategy.
jireh the provider
Video Game Designer
Agree with your sets. A work up can actually give your opponent doubts on which fight spectrum you posses. It's like:
"IS THAT LUCARIO AN ARCH SAGE(SPECIAL) OR A VANGUARD(PHYSICAL)?!" Puns from Fire Emblem ya kno.
But here is my opinion on what ranks made lucario a 4th generation star. (Heck, I'll be honest! Riolu is Sinnoh's Pikachu!)
Top 3: Movie awesomeness. Only few poke movies represents sacrifice, loyalty, and death like his movie. Tied with Mewtwo's movie. Really, why are many players around the world idolize killing when they don't like being killed?
Top 2: He is playable in Super Smash Bros Brawl! If only pokemon's double team is THAT Lucario's Double team! Dodges an attack and counter back to the enemy. Really, lucario is fitting for an action game like brawl like mewtwo. PLUS, A BRAWL EXCLUSIVE MOVE! "Feel the power, of the aura! Aura Storm!" A crazy epic version of a fighting type hyper beam, yet it acts like a solarbeam.
Top 1: Of course! Online battles in pokemon. From a cute little dedicated puppy. (Aaaaaawwwww. You're so cute! and cool! Whoever hates riolu will prank you for eternity with taunt.) Into a badass main character replacement, Woundn't it be nice if all of us can control aura? I'd love it.
Oh, and lets not forget the cute puppy. With prankster, I guess it has a new role on little cup up to NU for taunting and more. Don't dare going on eviolite. It may be a waste of performance for a puppy K-9, except for the annoyer (Wich you can't hate for being cute as well. Hy, its thanks to these 2 that I overcame most of my fear of real life dogs).
Luke, the spec warrior
@Life Orb
Steadfast
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Aura Sphere / Focus Blast
- Vacuum Wave
- Dragon Pulse
- Dark Pulse / Nasty Plot / Calm Mind
Special set. Aura Sphere is his signature and reliable fighting move, but Focus Blast trades accuracy for power. Vacuum Wave for priority move, meaning you can have a STABbed 60 base power and maximizing Sp.Att efforts. The third slot goes for Dragon Pulse. Although Dark Pulse is the common choice for hitting Psychic and Ghost moves, Dragon Pulse cover all of the resistances (Bug types resist the other duo) and has more BP than Dark Pulse. Last move either for Dark Pulse if you really want to cover more super-effective damage or Nasty Plot/Calm Mind if you go for stat boost
PS: During the week, it suddenly came to my mind that Lucario could be this POTW, I don't know why since I don't even try to guess which one is going to be the next one. Weird...
@Life Orb
Steadfast
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Aura Sphere / Focus Blast
- Vacuum Wave
- Dragon Pulse
- Dark Pulse / Nasty Plot / Calm Mind
Special set. Aura Sphere is his signature and reliable fighting move, but Focus Blast trades accuracy for power. Vacuum Wave for priority move, meaning you can have a STABbed 60 base power and maximizing Sp.Att efforts. The third slot goes for Dragon Pulse. Although Dark Pulse is the common choice for hitting Psychic and Ghost moves, Dragon Pulse cover all of the resistances (Bug types resist the other duo) and has more BP than Dark Pulse. Last move either for Dark Pulse if you really want to cover more super-effective damage or Nasty Plot/Calm Mind if you go for stat boost
PS: During the week, it suddenly came to my mind that Lucario could be this POTW, I don't know why since I don't even try to guess which one is going to be the next one. Weird...
Its for use on special sets. Hp water may have higher power, but water pulse has that confusion niche. Shame lucario can't learn psyshock, because it learns psychic, you would think it can learn it.
WOW don't tell me a 30% confusion chance and with that bulk lucario can always confuse it is better than just outright kill them with ES or VW...
Lucario is an attacker any chance of Stalling or bulky lucario shouldn't be considered.
A good lucario runs priority and a boosting move (got every boosting move it needs) if it don't run one of them at least then the lucario set is MEH.
I got an idea for a set: double boosting lucario with agility and SD or NP and
crunch/close combat or shadow ball/aura sphere but I think it is outclassed by terrakion.
I think that the thing lucario does the best is spam Extreame Speed once he SDes it isn't outclassed because dragonite can't learn swords dance.
I do like the idea of the confusion, but it outclassed by so many other special moves that it is only a last thing that should be thought of. when testing a 252 spd jolly lucario, it got outsped by alot of things. A smash-pass sorts that out, or, try steel gem +bullet punch / normal gem+extreme speed /fighting gem+vacuum wave and skill swap with unbudened driftblim or just try skill swap with dw xatu for a magic bounce or magic guard from a skill swap from dw alakasam. These are just suggestions, but the unburdened swap seems the best, with the speed boost. alternativley, try a choice scarf for a revenge killer (if not abusing the 3 priorty moves).
Dragalge
"Orange" Magical Girl
Good luck with Conkeldurr and Skill Swapping is too gimmicky since Lucario is frail
Serpentine
Pokemon Breeder
Both Circle Throw and Roar have the same priority so the Prankster Boost would raise them from -6 to -5
You should have some kind of attacking move because right now you're major taunt bait. Although, i don't think a status Riolu is very normal...
What I meant was other pokemon using it on him. In triples, use clefable , lucario abd skill swap unburdened driftblim. Clefable distracts, lucario attacks, and driftblim uses skill swap on lucario. You lose clefable, but anyway, it was a suggestion. Could work if used correctly
@serpentine
Wouldn't that mean that you can play mind gmes and try win. Its unexpected, but could catch you off guard.
tomjames1966
Well-Known Member
I thought that circle throw had basic priority...
Oh it doesn't. Guess you shouldn't use roar and use circle throw instead because circle throw stops you from being Taunt bait.
It may bait taunters, but who would use one on riolu, as they expect a physical sweeper. It cripples their team, so it can be a suggestion.
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