Mega Lucario has been banned from OU. This discussion will now continue with his effectiveness in the Ubers metagame.
Base stats: 70/110/70/115/70/90
Mega Evolution base stats: 70/145/88/140/70/112
With the advent of Gen six, mega evolutions were added. Not every Pokemon received them, and some of the ones that did immediately became top tier OU threats. One such example is Lucario.
Pros:
- Can go both physical and special, each has its own set of checks
- Has one of the best offensive abilities in the game: Adaptability
- Gets both +2 Offensive boosting moves
- Great speed tier
- Great coverage moves in Crunch, Ice Punch, and Dark Pulse
- Gets a 240 Base Power move in Close Combat
- Gets a +2 priority in Extreme Speed, which allows him to kill would be checks such as Talonflame
Cons:
- Frail
- Mega Evolution added nothing to his special defense, meaning that strong special attackers can KO him
- Easily revenge killed
- Close Combat lowers defenses, meaning anything that can survive a +2 Close Combat can kill him.
- Scarf users that can take a boosted Extreme Speed/ Bullet Punch can do serious damage to him.
With all of his pros, and few cons, Mega Lucario quickly became one of the most used Mega Evolutions with the ban of Gengarite and Kangaskahnite. With his rise in popularity, many players feel that he over centralizes the metagame.
Here is a common Physical set seen on the Pokemon Showdown Ladder:
Lucario @ Lucarionite
Jolly Nature
Justified/Adaptability
4 HP 252 Atk 252 Spe
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed/ Bullet Punch
- Crunch/ Ice Punch
This set is simple. Come in on something that can't hurt Luke. Mega Evolve and Swords Dance on the switch, then Close Combat everything that doesnt 4x resist it (remember that a 2x resisted Close Combat is still more powerful than any of his other moves when they are neutral). If Aegislash doesn't bother you, a great option to run is Ice Punch. It hits many Dragons 4x super effectively, and KOs Gliscor and Landorus, both of which wall Luke without it. Ghosts and Psychic types can sometimes be a problem, so Crunch is a good option for coverage. Crunch is the only thing that is able to hurt Aegislash, who otherwise forces Luke out and sets up, or goes straight for the KO. Talonflame, while normally a problem, can be bypassed with Extreme Speed. The +2 priority allows Luke to hit before Brave Bird, and is a guaranteed KO at +2 with Stealth Rock in play.
Here is the special variant of Mega Lucario:
Lucario @ Lucarionite
Timid Nature
Steadfast/ Adaptability
4 HP 252 SpAtk 252 SPe
Nasty Plot
Vaccum Wave
Flash Cannon/ Aura Sphere
Dark Pulse
This set basically works the same as the physical variant. Come in on something that can't hurt it, set up, then sweep. Vaccuum Wave is a decent priority move that hits first with 80 Base Power. Flash Cannon is often used against fairies, but if your team has them covered, you can opt for a more powerful fighting type move in Aura Sphere. Dark Pulse allows Luke to hit ghosts fairly hard, the most notable being Aegislash. If played correctly, Aegislash can completely wall physical variants, while Talonflame is a good hard counter to the special sets, as Vaccuum Wave doesnt hit very hard, and Luke is KOd by an unboosted Flare Blitz.
He is also a suspect for the suspect test currently going on on Smogon. Discuss.
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