Lucario (SSB4)

Lucario in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearances	in Brawl in Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Mega Evolution
Tier	B (17)

Lucario (ルカリオ, Lucario) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Its return to the series 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 for its Miiverse reveal, this timing was done to commend the Brawl developers for succeeding in adding Lucario to Brawl.

Daisuke Namikawa reprises his role in the Japanese version with new recorded voice clips of the game. Sean Schemmel, who voiced Sir Aaron's Lucario in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, now voices Lucario in the English version, replacing Bill Rogers from Brawl. As in Brawl, it is also voiced by different voice actors for SSB4's Spanish, French, German and Italian versions.

Lucario is ranked 17th out of 55 on the tier list, placing it in the B tier. This is roughly similar to its mid-tier placement in Brawl, where it was ranked 11th out of 38, although SSB4's tier structuring renders it as a high-tier character. Lucario's signature Aura has been strengthened, which is further supplemented by the new rage mechanic. This makes most of its attacks among the strongest in the game when it is highly damaged, with its smash attacks, up and back throws, and its up and back aerials each being easily capable of KOing. The new Aura mechanics also grant new benefits to Lucario's special moves: with high Aura, Aura Sphere grows even larger than Lucario itself, Force Palm's blast possesses significantly more range, Extreme Speed covers much farther distance, and Double Team becomes one of the strongest counterattacks in the game. As a result, Lucario boasts very potent comeback potential, with a single opening being enough for it to KO careless opponents.

However, Lucario still maintains its below-average mobility, making it difficult for it to force an approach. Lucario's new Aura mechanics also cause its moves to deal drastically lower knockback and damage at low percentages, making it almost impossible to KO opponents until 150%. While this allows Lucario to combo reliably at low percentages, this makes it much harder for it to combo or create set-ups when it is highly damaged, due to the aforementioned strength of its attacks at high Aura and rage. As Lucario is also dependent on Aura to secure KOs, it has a riskier playstyle compared to many other characters. Some examples are its smash attacks, which have high lag, and Force Palm's grab, which can be escaped at low Aura. Finally, Extreme Speed now gains enough speed at max Aura that it can inadvertently cause a self-destruct if used recklessly, and the move has a full second of landing lag if it ends in the air, making Lucario heavily open for punishment.

Lucario has attained decent results in the competitive scene, though its representation is considered below-average. Despite having a number of upsets, such as at Frostbite 2017, where Japanese Lucario player Tsu- placed 2nd while defeating many top players like ZeRo, VoiD, Kameme and Salem, Lucario's true viability has been contested. While Serge and Day continue to develop its metagame, a number of players feel that Lucario's inherent playstyle makes it too risky to be a truly viable pick near the end of the metagame.

Attributes

Lucario is a middleweight with slightly below-average walking speed, average dashing speed, and above-average falling speed and air speed. It also has average gravity and air acceleration, and the highest traction. These attributes render Lucario's overall mobility as average. It is also able to crawl, wall jump, and one of the only five characters in the game that can wall cling.

Lucario possesses a unique mechanic called Aura. Aesthetically, Aura appears as blue, concentrated energy and affects Lucario's entire moveset. Mechanically, Aura is a damage multiplier with a baseline of 0.66× at 0%, and an apex of 1.7× when Lucario has received at least 190%. The multipliers also get multiplied whenever Lucario has a stock lead or not, effectively increasing or decreasing Lucario's Aura. When Lucario is 2 stocks or more ahead, Aura is affected by a 0.6333× multiplier, when at 1 stock ahead it is affected by 0.8×, when at 1 stock behind it is affected by 1.3333×, and when at 2 stocks or more behind it is affected by 2×. This means that, even though most of Lucario's moves have high knockback scaling, their power is extremely low with low Aura; this grants it respectable combo potential, yet makes even its strongest attacks unable to KO until very high percentages. Conversely, high Aura does the opposite: it results in Lucario's combo potential becoming virtually nonexistent, but grants its moves incredible power, with many of them easily surpassing every other character's at maximum Aura. In addition, the rage mechanic further boosts the knockback of Lucario's attacks, which complements their already high power.

Aside from that, another big strength of Lucario is the good versatility throughout its moveset. Its aerial game has good uses: neutral and forward aerials are good combo moves, either for starting or continuing them. Down aerial is Lucario's fastest one, and has the interesting property of canceling Lucario's momentum, which can lead to mindgames or gimps. Up and back aerials are Lucario's strongest ones, and since they have immense power when Lucario is at high levels of Aura, they serve as very effective KO moves. Meanwhile, its grounded game also provides decent options, with its neutral attack, forward and down tilts serving as good anti-pressure options, up tilt serving as a decent combo starter, dash attack being a great option to punish laggy moves and Lucario's smash attacks having immense strength overall. Next, its grab game boasts impressive benefits. Since Lucario's pummel is the fastest in the game, it can deal large amounts of damage at high percentages. Its up throw has decent knockback, and can combo effectively at most percentages. It is also the most damaging and one of the strongest when Lucario's Aura is high, making up for its increased power. Down throw can serve as a combo starer as well, but only on light opponents and at low Aura. Its forward throw is the fastest throw in the game, as well as the strongest of its kind with high Aura, along with Bowser's. Finally, its back throw is a very powerful semi-spike, making it excellent for edgeguarding, tech-chasing and, with sufficiently high Aura, KOing.

Lastly, Lucario has a very useful special moveset. Aura Sphere is a strong projectile very similar to Charge Shot, but since its size and power are affected by Aura, it is much more dangerous at high percents. Additionally, its high damage output when fully charged allows it to out-prioritize most moves in the game. The charging hitbox is also infamous for being a true combo into Lucario's up smash, which is particularly dangerous at high percentages. 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 virtually 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 sufficiently high Aura while possessing impressive range, but it is also the slowest, since any opponent that is not in hitlag will most likely avoid it.

Nevertheless, Lucario is not without flaws. Despite its reasonable endurance, Lucario's average weight and low air movement makes it vulnerable to most combos. Extreme Speed, while being a potent recovery move, also has downsides- unless Lucario grabs the edge or lands before it concludes, its very high landing lag will render it completely vulnerable, forcing it to mix up its landing spot. With low Aura, the move is sluggish and does not grant much distance; with high Aura, it is possible to overshoot the stage and self-destruct Lucario is not careful. As an attack it is difficult to hit with, since Lucario can only damage the opponent head-on, without having very high power to compensate. 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 the polarized strength throughout its moveset when utilized in tandem with the fluctuating Aura mechanic itself. Its fastest moves are the weakest, and its strongest moves are the slowest, making the latter very punishable if not spaced well. Lucario's Aura can sometimes work against it, as attacks with high knockback scaling are bound to finish Lucario off before it has a chance to make use of its rage and/or Aura at the same time. 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 reliably. This makes it imperative to keep in mind how Lucario's attacks and knockback will function depending on how much damage all active fighters have accumulated, as it cannot afford to make mistakes at high percentages. It also often restricts Lucario to using a bait and punish playstyle, as it cannot safely perform rushdowns without getting punished most of the time. This gives Lucario an unusual disadvantage against high-knockback and heavyweight characters; a well-placed and powerful move will often be all it takes to end Lucario at mid or even low percentages, preventing it from utilizing Aura effectively.

Lucario's custom moves offer unique benefits and changes in playstyle. Snaring Aura Sphere has a windbox that pulls opponents in and moves slower, essentially re-purposing the move from a spacing and camping tool to a stage control and edge-guarding tool. Piercing Aura Sphere moves much faster, hits at a lower angle and goes straight through opponents, making it even better at spacing and camping, though at the cost of its immense power. Long-Distance Force Palm has less power, but as its name implies, it has more range, allowing Lucario to strike distant opponents more easily. The grab is also stronger and a semi-spike, making it lethal in any situation. Ride the Wind gives the full distance at any percentage as well as greatly improved maneuverability, at the negligible cost of removing the hitbox from the move. Lastly, Glancing Counter is considerably weaker, but always allows Lucario to attack even if it is not hit.

In the end, Lucario is a very technical character whose weaknesses are outweighed by its strengths. While aura makes Lucario's moveset stronger and it boasts great utility at all kinds of percentages overall, it cannot use all of its moves as effectively at certain percentages as others, meaning Lucario cannot afford to get too predictable when approaching as it can take high damage if not approaching correctly, and it might not be able to KO the opponent or even approach it if they know what Lucario will do. This makes playing with Lucario very methodical, as a small error could cost Lucario for it, even if it manages to regain the advantage in any way. Even so, Lucario does have a small but dedicated playerbase, with players like Day, Gomamugitya, Motsunabe and Serge achieving strong results.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Lucario has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. The modifications to Aura both help and hinder Lucario, and make it much more of a "high-risk, high-reward" character. Lucario starts off with a lower Aura multiplier and it takes longer for Lucario to reach maximum Aura although Lucario is much stronger once it reaches maximum Aura and Aura charges up slightly faster. A number of its attacks have improved combo potentials with minimum to low Aura (although this is also due to the changes to hitstun canceling), but at the cost of their KO potential.

Like Aura, Lucario itself has been buffed and nerfed both directly and indirectly. The changes to hitstun canceling, make up and especially down throws combo starters with minimum to low Aura despite the former's higher knockback. By extension, up and down tilts have improved combo potential with minimum to low Aura. However, all of them barring up throw deal less damage. Lucario's recovery has noticeably improved as its air speed is significantly higher and Extreme Speed has received a hitbox, and its distance scales with Aura making it safer and travel more distance. However, it is still susceptible to punishment, either by overshooting it while at high to maximum Aura, or by failing to mitigate its noticeably higher ending lag via landing on solid ground. Lastly, Lucario's smash attacks have slightly longer ranges, but are noticeably laggier.

Lucario also received a number of useful buffs. Its KO potential has improved, both directly and indirectly: up and back aerials are more reliable KOing options, due to their higher damage and base knockback, while the changes to Aura combined with the rage mechanic supplements them and its other KOing options. Outside of this, Lucario's entire moveset is now affected by Aura; its mobility has been largely improved; and Double Team is stronger.

However, Lucario has received some significant nerfs. One of the most prevalent nerfs Lucario received across its moveset is that many of its attacks have shorter hitbox durations hindering Lucario's spacing ability. A noticeable example of this is forward aerial where its duration was decreased from 14 frames to a mere 2 frames. Forward aerial also has an altered angle and significantly increased base knockback hindering its combo and edgeguarding potential (although the removal of hitstun canceling has allowed it to maintain its combo potential). Lucario's down aerial is also weaker and has a weaker stalling effect hindering its spacing potential. Lucario's falling speed has significantly increased which hinders its aerial game and makes it much more susceptible to combos combined with the removal of hitstun canceling. Lucario's endurance is also noticeably worse especially horizontally. Lucario's weight is slightly lower and its gravity is higher making it easier to KO horizontally. The removal of momentum canceling and the introduction of rage further reduce Lucario's endurance making it harder for Lucario to build up Aura despite its changes. Lucario's damage output without maximum Aura is also lower hindering Lucario's damage racking abilities unless it has full aura. Lastly, Lucario's jab is significantly laggier removing the strong jab canceling potential it used to have.

Overall, Lucario is a less well rounded character being more of a high risk, high reward character. Lucario has greater KO potential especially with high aura in exchange for having an overall worse moveset and reduced survivability which makes it harder for Lucario to survive long and build up Aura. The changes to Smash 4's mechanics benefit Lucario overall albeit not to the extent of some other returning veterans as Lucario did receive a couple of hindrances to the new mechanics. Lucario's strength overall relative to the cast remains similar and it has achieved respectable results in spite of its relatively small playerbase.

Aesthetics

• Lucario's design has changed. Its forepaws, pupils, spikes, and the concha of its ears are slightly smaller. Additionally, the hook-shaped tip of its tail is significantly more pronounced, and the fur around its neck is no longer ruffled upward. Lastly, the aesthetic used in SSB4 has resulted in Lucario having a sleeker design, and the blue portion of its fur being more vibrant. Altogether, these changes make Lucario appear virtually identical to its appearance in Pokédex 3D Pro.
• Lucario is slightly more expressive.
• Up taunt's visual effects have changed. Lucario now surrounds itself with a jagged, flame-shaped field of Aura, instead of emitting tiny wisps of Aura from its body.
• Side taunt's visual effects have slightly changed. Lucario now emits a slightly larger blast of Aura.
• Unlike the previous game, Lucario's tail lacks physics-based movement.

Attributes

• Aura has updated multipliers (0.7× → 0.66× (lowest), 1.4× → 1.7× (highest)) and percentage windows (0%-20% (minimum Aura)/21%-74% (low Aura) → 0%-69% (minimum to low Aura), 75%-169% → 70%-189% (average to high Aura), 170%+ → 190%+ (maximum Aura)). While Lucario is weaker with no Aura, Lucario builds up Aura faster and while it takes longer for Lucario to reach maximum Aura, Lucario is significantly stronger with maximum Aura. These changes improve Lucario's combo potential with minimum to low Aura, and improve its KO potential with average to maximum Aura. However, they hinder its KO potential with minimum to low Aura, and hinder its combo potential with high to maximum Aura.
• Lucario's entire moveset is now affected by Aura.
• Lucario is lighter (100 → 99), hindering its endurance. While this would also make it less susceptible to combos, its much faster falling speed, higher gravity, and the changes to hitstun canceling collectively result in it being more susceptible to combos.
• Lucario walks faster (1.0 → 1.05).
• Lucario dashes faster (1.414 → 1.55).
• Lucario's air speed is faster (0.987 → 1.09).
• Air dodge has less startup (frame 4 → 2) and ending lag (FAF 40 → 32).
• Air dodge has a shorter duration (frames 4-29 → 2-25).
• Lucario falls drastically faster (1.2 → 1.68), with it receiving the largest increase out of everyone, matching its fast-falling speed from Brawl. Much like R.O.B., its falling speed is also much faster relative to the cast, going from the 5th worst to the 14th best. This significantly improves its vertical endurance, but makes it more susceptible to combos.
  • Lucario's fast-falling speed is also substantially faster (1.68 → 2.688).
• Lucario's gravity is higher (0.0625 → 0.084). This improves its aerial mobility, but hinders its horizontal endurance.
• Rolls have a shorter duration (frames 4-19 → 4-14) and have more ending lag (FAF 28 → 30) going from among the best rolls in the game to merely just slightly above average rolls.
• Spot dodge has a shorter duration (frame 2-20 → 2-15) and has more ending lag (FAF 26 → 27).
• The newly-added rage stacks with the effects of aura further improving Lucario's KO potential with high Aura.
• However, the introduction of rage combined with the removal of momentum canceling as well as Lucario's lower weight and higher gravity significantly hinders Lucario's endurance making it harder for Lucario to build up and make good use of Aura.
• The removal of meteor canceling hinders Lucario's endurance against meteor smashes due to its lower weight and higher falling speed, while it still has no meteor smashes of its own.
• Lucario's item throw is weaker (1 → 0.96). The removal of glide tossing also hinders Lucario's approach with items.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The second hit of neutral attack has less startup lag (frame 9 → 5) making it come sooner despite Lucario being unable to transition into the second hit for an extra 3 frames.
  • Neutral attack's first and last hits deal less damage (3% → 2.5% (hit 1), 5% → 3% (hit 3)) and the knockback scaling on the final hit was not fully compensated (110 → 120). The first two hits also have significantly increased ending lag (FAF 21 → 34 (hit 1), FAF 23 → 38 (hit 2)) drastically hindering their jab canceling potential.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt deals less damage (5% → 4% (hit 1), (6% (body)/8% (arm) → 6%) (hit 2)), has a shorter duration (frames 12-18 → 12-16) and has more ending lag (FAF 30 → 33).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt no longer deals consistent damage (6% → 6% (foot)/5% (leg)), and deals less knockback (33/38/43 (base), 130 (scaling) → (45/45/50)/110). These changes significantly improve its combo potential with minimum to low Aura at low to medium percentages, and its juggling potential with average to high Aura at high percentages but hinders its KO potential.
  • Up tilt has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 5-15 → 6-13).
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt deals less damage (7% → 5%) and knockback (28 (base), 130 (scaling) → 37/110), improving its combo potential with minimum to low Aura at low percentages but hindering its damage racking and KO potential.
  • Down tilt has a shorter duration (frames 9-15 → 9-12).
• Dash attack:
  • Lucario has a new dash attack, a flying kick. Compared to the previous dash attack, it deals less damage (10% (clean)/7% (late) → 8%/6%), has a shorter duration (frames 7-18 → 7-15) and more ending lag (FAF 35 → 42).
  • Dash attack has more knockback scaling (50 → 75) and better range compared to the previous dash attack, making it stronger in spite of its lower damage output. The late hit also has increased knockback (45 (base), 30 (scaling) → 70/75). Unlike the previous dash attack, it is affected by Aura making it stronger when Lucario is at higher percents.
• All smash attacks' animations have slightly changed. Lucario now stays in place and/or continuously trembles like the rest of the cast, instead of making a full movement.
• All smash attacks have slightly increased ranges.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash deals more knockback (25 (base), 93 (scaling) → 40/106).
  • Forward smash has a clean and late hit with both hits dealing consistent damage (14%/16% → 16% (clean)/14% (late).
  • Forward smash has a shorter duration (frames 22-29 → 22-25), and can no longer hit opponents behind Lucario.
  • Forward smash has increased ending lag (FAF 44 → 55).
• Up smash:
  • Clean up smash no longer deals consistent damage (13% → 14%/12%).
  • Up smash has received an additional hitbox that deals 4% and launches grounded opponents at 100°, decreasing its startup lag (frame 19 → 15) and slightly improving its horizontal range. The main hit also deals more knockback (32 (base), 95 (scaling) (clean), 28/100 (late) → 32/103).
  • Up smash has a much shorter duration (frames 19-42 → 15-23).
• Down smash:
  • Down smash deals more knockback (25 (base), 93 (scaling) → 30/99).
  • Down smash has increased ending lag (FAF 50 → 55).
  • Down smash has a shorter duration (frames 19-22 → 19-21).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial deals less damage (11% (clean)/7% (late) → 8%/6%). This improves its combo potential with minimum to low Aura at low percentages, but hinders its spacing, edgeguarding and KO potential.
  • Neutral aerial has increased start-up lag with a shorter duration (frames 6-24 → 8-11, 22-29), and has decreased range.
  • Neutral aerial has decreased ending lag (FAF 68 → 43).
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial deals 1% more damage (5% → 6%), and deals much higher knockback (28 (base), 100 (scaling) → 80/70). It also has an altered angle (50° → 64°). The removal of hitstun canceling allows forward aerial to maintain its combo potential despite its higher knockback. Altogether, these changes improve its combo potential at low percentages but hinder its combo potential at higher percentages.
  • Forward aerial has a much shorter duration (frames 7-20 → 7-8) significantly hindering its spacing potential.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial deals more damage (12% (clean)/9% (late) → 15%) no longer having a weaker late hit and has increased base knockback (12 (clean)/7(late) → 30), significantly improving its KO potential.
  • Back aerial has increased start-up lag with a shorter duration (frames 15-28 → 16-19). It also auto-cancels later (frame 33 → 40).
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial no longer deals consistent damage (10% → 11% (clean)/6% (late)).
  • Up aerial has increased base knockback (15 → 30).
  • Up aerial has a shorter duration (frames 10-21 → 10-11 (clean), 12-15 (late)) and it auto-cancels later (frame 27 → 29). The introduction of a late hit makes it harder to utilize up aerial as a KO move.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial deals less damage (8% (both) → 5% (hit 1)/6% (hit 2)) and has increased ending lag (FAF 29 → 31). Down aerial's stall effect is also weaker hindering its stalling potential. It can also no longer auto-cancel in a short or be performed twice in a short hop.

Throws/other attacks

• All grabs have increased ranges.
• Standing and dash grabs has decreased ending lag (FAF 30 → 29 (standing), FAF 40 → 36 (dash)).
• Pivot grab have more ending lag (FAF 30 → 34).
• Pummel:
  • The changes to Aura significantly improve Pummel's damage racking potential.
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw deals 2% less damage (10% → 8%) and has decreased knockback scaling (65 → 55), hindering its spacing potential.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw has decreased knockback (60 (base), 65 (scaling) → 50/60).
  • Back throw is now affected by Aura further hindering its spacing and KO potential with minimum to low Aura but improving its KO potential with high Aura.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw deals 5% more damage (6% → 11%), has increased base knockback (60 → 70), and its angle has been altered (90° → 88°) improving its KO potential. The changes to Aura and hitstun canceling, allow it to maintain its combo potential with minimum to low Aura at low to medium percentages despite these changes.
  • However, these changes hinder its overall combo potential especially with high Aura and the removal of chain grabbing hinders its damage racking potential.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw's angle has been altered (75° → 80°). When coupled with its lower knockback and the changes to hitstun canceling and DI, these changes improve its combo potential with low Aura.
  • Down throw is now affected by Aura improving its combo potential at most Aura levels and improving its KO potential with high Aura but hindering its combo potential with high Aura.
  • Down throw deals 3% less damage (10% → 7%), and its knockback scaling was not fully compensated (25 → 30). Lucario also releases the opponent sooner (frame 36 → 28) and the throw's ending lag was not fully compensated (FAF 52 → 51) hindering its followup potential.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack now deals consistent damage compared to its old fast edge attack (8% (Aura)/6% (body) → 7%).

Special moves

• Aura Sphere:
  • Reverse Aura Sphere now slightly pushes Lucario backward, improving its mindgame potential.
  • Fully charged Aura Sphere deals less damage (18.75% → 17.25%).
  • Aura Sphere has updated visual effects. Its outline is thicker and makes it appear slightly jagged, instead of smooth.
• Force Palm:
  • Force Palm's size now scales with aura.
  • Force Palm's near blast deals 1.88% more damage (10% → 11.88%).
  • Force Palm's blast is larger especially with high Aura, and the throw has increased knockback (40 (base), 83 (scaling) → 66/86).
  • Force Palm's mid and far blast deal less damage (9% (mid)/8% (far) → 7.56% (both)).
  • Force Palm's animation has changed. Lucario now leans in further with its body facing more at a more sideways angle, places its following arm high and behind itself, and performs a stomp with its leading foot while firing the blast.
  • Force Palm's visual and sound effects have changed. Its blast is now shaped like a smooth flame instead of a jagged flame, and its sound effect's pitch scales with Aura.
• Extreme Speed:
  • Extreme Speed has received a hitbox at the end of its animation that deals 3% and launches at 38°, improving its safety. The distance it covers also now scales with Aura, drastically improving its recovery.
  • Extreme Speed has increased ending lag. However, this can be avoided by ending it on the ground, or by making Lucario hit the stage head first.
  • Extreme Speed has updated visual effects. Lucario now emits streams of Aura from its forepaws.
  • Extreme Speed is reusable if it ends on the ground with tap jump disabled.
• Double Team:
  • Double Team has a longer duration (frames 5-35 → 5-39) increased power and range.
• Mega Lucario:
  • Lucario has a new Final Smash, Mega Lucario. Lucario undergoes Mega Evolution to become Mega Lucario. Unlike Aura Storm, Mega Lucario is a transformation-based Final Smash that can move freely across the stage. Mega Lucario has an Aura multiplier of 1.8×, regardless of Lucario's damage prior to Mega Evolving, and has both super armor and flinch resistance throughout its duration. However, its duration will shorten upon receiving damage.

Update history

Lucario has received a mix of buffs and nerfs from game updates. While it has experienced few direct changes, its most notable nerf in 1.0.4 gave a significant increase to Extreme Speed's landing lag if Lucario lands while helpless, making it notoriously exploitable. However, update 1.1.3 improved Lucario's mobility by increasing its walking, air and falling speeds, the latter of which makes it slightly less susceptible to vertical KOs.

The changes to shield mechanics have affected Lucario indirectly: due to the shieldstun increase brought about by update 1.1.1, Lucario could attempt to break shields by using Aura Sphere on the edge with the opponent shielding so the opponent could fall for an unavoidable KO if they did not attempt to SDI out of the move. However, this technique was very situational and was not used at high-level play.

Furthermore, Aura Sphere became even more situational as of update 1.1.3, thanks to its decreased hitlag resulting in it being impossible to perform with a charging Aura Sphere charge at low Aura. Despite this, it is still possible to perform with a charging Aura Sphere at high Aura, as the higher damage output generates more shieldstun and hitlag. Even so, Lucario's most damaging moves, such as its smash attacks and Force Palm, benefited from these changes thanks to their ranges and, in the case of its forward and down smashes, their hitlag.

1.0.4

• Forward smash's ending lag increased: frame 46 → 55.
• Down smash's ending lag increased: frame 50 → 55.
• Landing lag from helplessness increased: 36 → 60 frames.
• Extreme Speed/Extreme Speed Attack hit 2 ending lag (frames): 0 → 8
• Extreme Speed Attack hit 1 ending lag: 0 → 5

1.0.5

• Fixed a glitch where Extreme Speed could be used to cancel hitstun.

1.0.6

• Fixed Extreme Speed's landing lag glitch.

1.0.8

• Neutral attack's first and second hits' knockback decreased. This allows them to connect together better.

1.1.1

• Glancing Counter's angle altered: 58° → 65°.
• Glancing Counter's ending lag decreased.

1.1.3

• Falling speed has been increased (1.56 → 1.68).
• Air speed (1.01 → 1.09), fast falling speed (2.496 → 2.688) and walking speed (1 → 1.05) have been increased.
• Aura Sphere charge (including custom variants) angle (80° → 83°).
• Aura Sphere (including custom variants) knockback scaling (100 → 93).
• Aura Sphere charge (including custom variants) hitlag modifier (1x → 0.78x), making it harder to DI..

Mega Lucario

• Aura Sphere (including custom variants) knockback (10 (base), 100 (scaling) → 12/93).
• Aura Sphere (including custom variants) hitlag modifier (1x → 0.78x), making it harder to DI.

Moveset

• Lucario's moveset is affected by Aura. The following moveset list details the properties of its attacks when its Aura is at its lowest (0%), average (70%), and highest levels (190%).
• Lucario is able to crawl, wall cling, and wall jump.

For a gallery of Lucario's hitboxes, see here.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.5%	The kham choui, a downward sweeping punch in Shaolin Kung Fu, followed by the choong choui, a jab-style punch in Shaolin Kung Fu, followed by a stretch kick.
			2%
			3%
Forward tilt			4% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	The kap theai choui, a low-angle cross-style punch in Shaolin Kung Fu. Hits twice even though Lucario only uses one paw.
Up tilt			6% (foot), 5% (leg)	An outside crescent kick. Can reliably combo into itself when Lucario has low Aura, and is a reliable juggling option with average Aura.
Down tilt			5%	A kneeling Hapkido-style shin kick. It can be followed up with a dash attack or a dash grab with low Aura.
Dash attack			8% (clean), 6% (late)	A flying kick. A decent follow-up from a down tilt with low Aura, or a back throw with average Aura.
Forward smash			16% (clean), 13% (late)	A double palm thrust that emits small blasts of Aura. When Lucario is at full power and has high Aura, it is the strongest and the most damaging forward smash in the game, dealing 38% when fully charged and sweetspotted. It is a one-hit KO with max Aura and performed near the edge or center-stage.
Up smash			4% (hit 1), 14% (clean sweetspot hit 2), 12% (clean sourspot hit 2), 9% (late hit 2)	A modified version of the long choui, an uppercut-styled punch in Shaolin Kung Fu. Hits twice even though Lucario only uses one paw. When it is fully charged, sweetspotted, both of its hits connect, and Lucario has max Aura, it is one of the strongest up smashes in the game and the most damaging smash attack in the game, dealing 42%.
Down smash			14%	A modified version of the kap theai choui. Hits on both of its sides and is one of the strongest down smashes in the game when Lucario has max Aura.
Neutral aerial			8% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	Spins while emitting Aura from its paws. Very low landing lag, great for spacing. Depending on aura, it can lead into a grab, dash attack, tilts, and even a tech situation.
Forward aerial			6%	A stretch kick. Can be used as a follow-up twice after its down throw beginning at 0% and up to low percentages.
Back aerial			15%	The sou choui, a sweeping punch in Shaolin Kung Fu. It is the strongest back aerial in the game thanks to its high knockback and one of the strongest aerials in the game when Lucario has max Aura, KOing opponents under 50%. However, it has rather long start-up.
Up aerial			11% (clean), 6% (late)	Leans back and performs a front kick upward. One of the strongest up aerials in the game, KOing opponents beginning at 70% when Lucario has max Aura.
Down aerial			5% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	Stomps twice. Unlike in Brawl, it no longer stalls Lucario's descent.
Grab			—	Clinches the opponent.
Pummel			1%	A surge of Aura. The fastest pummel in the game and one of the best pummels in the game if Lucario has high or max Aura.
Forward throw			8%	Shoves the opponent away. The strongest forward throw in the game when Lucario is at max Aura, on par with Bowser's. It is also the fastest throw in the game.
Back throw			10%	The tai otoshi, a Judo throw. The most damaging back throw in the game and a viable KOing option when Lucario has max Aura.
Up throw			5% (hit 1), 6% (throw)	The pao choui, an uppercut-styled punch in Shaolin Kung Fu. Launches the opponent upward and with low Aura, it can act as a set-up for its up tilt, neutral aerial and up aerial. Other opponents next to Lucario are dealt high knockback. The most damaging throw in the game when Lucario has max Aura, dealing 18% total.
Down throw			7%	Holds the opponent over its head and then slams them into the ground. Can lead into its neutral, up or forward aerials with low Aura and while opponents are at low to medium percentages, although lightweights can avoid these combos.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Kicks around itself before getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Kicks around itself before getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Kicks behind itself and then in front of itself while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Performs a double palm thrust that emits a small blast of Aura while climbing up.
Neutral special	Default	Aura Sphere	6.8% (no charge), 17.25% (fully charged), 0.7% (charging sphere)	A chargeable, condensed sphere of Aura. Nearby opponents take minor damage if touching the sphere while charging. Pressing the special button again will make Lucario fire the sphere. Charging increases damage, speed, range, and size, while its size and damage further increase scale with Aura. A fully charged sphere pushes Lucario back slightly. A charging Aura Sphere can lead into up smash for a KO.
	Custom 1	Snaring Aura Sphere	2.5% (no charge), 14.5% (fully charged), 0.5% (charging sphere)	A slower variation, similar to Dense Charge Shot, but has a vacuum effect that pulls opponents toward the Aura Sphere itself. Has extra ending lag and deals slightly less damage, but can strike opponents up to three times. Two Snaring Aura Spheres can exist on-screen at the same time per Lucario. Charged spheres don’t push Lucario back.
	Custom 2	Piercing Aura Sphere	3% (no charge), 6.75% (fully charged), 0.7% (charging sphere)	A smaller, faster variation that pierces opponents, but deals significantly less damage.
Side special	Default	Force Palm	11.875% (near blast), 7.5% (mid/far blast), 13% (throw), 6% (escape)	Fires a stream of Aura. Its blast's range scales with Aura. If the opponent is close to Lucario, the move acts like a grab, with Lucario grabbing the opponent and then striking them with a palm thrust at point-blank range.
	Custom 1	Advancing Force Palm	10% (near blast), 7% (mid/far blast), 10% (throw), 6% (escape)	Moves Lucario forward, but deals slightly less damage and has more start-up lag.
	Custom 2	Long-Distance Force Palm	7.4% (near blast), ≈4.23% (mid/far blast), 13% (throw), 6% (escape)	Has more range, but deals less damage and has slightly more startup lag.
Up special	Default	Extreme Speed	6%	Briefly stalls before propelling itself in a predetermined direction by blasting steams of Aura from its forepaws. Has a hitbox at the end of its animation. Like Force Palm's blast, Extreme Speed's range scales with Aura. Covers a lot of distance very quickly, but suffers high landing lag.
	Custom 1	Ride the Wind	—	Slower and deals no damage, but travels even farther and grants more control over Lucario's trajectory, though this can cause Lucario to veer off course and SD.
	Custom 2	Extreme Speed Attack	4% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	Has less range, but damages opponents at any point it makes contact with them.
Down special	Default	Double Team	11%	Performs a kata. If Lucario is attacked, it will disappear while emitting afterimages and then counterattack with a flying kick from behind the attacker. Tied for having the biggest counter window with Vision, and strikes swiftly, although the attack can miss its target outright and even send Lucario flying off stage, particularly if used while airborne.
	Custom 1	Glancing Counter	10%	Dodges attacks and also allows Lucario to produce a hitbox, albeit a weaker one, even if it is not attacked.
	Custom 2	Stunning Double Team	1% (hits 1-2), 1%	The counterattack stuns the opponent, similarly to Disable. Like Disable, the stun's duration is longer the more damaged the opponent is, but it also deals minuscule damage due to not being a true counterattack.
Final Smash		Mega Lucario	—	Mega Evolves into Mega Lucario. Mega Lucario has an Aura multiplier of 1.8×, regardless of Lucario's damage prior to Mega Evolving, and has both super armor and flinch resistance throughout its duration. However, its duration will shorten upon receiving damage. Lucario can still use his custom special moves after transforming.

On-screen appearance

• Hovers slightly above the stage, and then spreads its arms and legs slightly while briefly emitting a surging, jagged, flame-shaped field of Aura around itself before descending.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Folds its arms and then extends them while growling and emitting a surging, jagged, flame-shaped field of Aura around itself.
• Side taunt: Extends its right forepaw forward and growls before emitting a small blast of Aura from its forepaw.
• Down taunt: Performs a kata that is very similar to the one performed during Double Team.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Stretches both arms out, one on each side, slowly lowers its body, and assumes its normal stance again.
• Moves its arms in a circular motion before assuming to its normal stance again.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Lu-cario!	Lu-car-io!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

An orchestral excerpt of the title theme from Pokémon Red, Blue and Green Versions, which has since become the main theme of the Pokémon series.

• Moves its paws in front of itself and then clasps them together while saying "The Aura is with me!" (波導は我にあり！, The aura is with me!).
• Extends both arms forward and next to each other while emitting small blasts of Aura from its paws, then assumes a Fujian White Crane-like stance while saying "Behold the power of Aura." (満ちるぞ,この波導！, I am filled with aura!).
• Performs a kata where it leans forward while extending its left arm forward, keeping its right arm to its side, and performing a kiai while a flame-like field of Aura briefly surges from its body.

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Lucario	2111	3111	1112	2112	3112
	1211	2211	1121	3121	1311

Notable players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the PGR 100, which recognizes the official top 100 players in Super Smash Bros. 4 of all time.

•  Astro - Had a win over Holy. Placed 5th at Enthusiast Gaming Live.
•  Blacktwins - The best Lucario player in Canada. Notably double eliminates Samsora with Lucario at Friday Night Smash Delight : A Mini Showdown 3 and has taken two sets over Mistake.
•  Day (#80) - Considered the best Lucario player in North America. Took a set off ZeRo at Super Smash Con 2016. Placed 17th at said tournament. Formerly ranked 38th on the Panda Global Rankings v2.
•  Gomamugitya - One of the best Lucario players in Japan. Frequently teamed with Taiheita, creating a powerful doubles team (with them notably winning Super Smash Con 2016 over ZeRo and Nairo).
•  Jeda - Considered the best Lucario player in Europe. Ranked 9th on the French Power Rankings. Had sets over players like Meru, Ogey, TheFlow and Glutonny.
•  JohnnstR - One of the best Lucario players in the Midwest. Expanded Lucario's metagame and achieved high results against Michigan's top players.
•  Kamicario - One of the best Lucario players in North America. Notably placed 13th at CEO 2015 and 5th at Low Tier City 3.
•  Loota - One of the best Lucario players in Europe. Notably placed 3rd at Eclipse.
•  Maverick - Considered the best Lucario player in the New England region. Notably placed 5th at GUMS 8 and 17th at Shine 2016 and defeated Marss and Ned.
•  Moonshine - Considered one of the best Lucario players in the Southwest, Ranked 7th on the Colorado Power Rankings.
•  Motsunabe - One of the best Lucario players in Japan.
•  Okoru - One of the best Lucario players in the Midwest. Had a win over Zinoto.
•  P2P with Gibus - Considered the best Lucario player in Texas. Notably placed 7th at Low Tier City 4.
•  Pitbull - Placed 17th at 2GGT: ESAM Saga and 33rd at SwitchFest. He took games off of players such as Dath and NCJacobT.
•  QD - One of the best Lucario players in the Midwest. Placed 25th at The Big House 8. Expanded Lucario's metagame.
•  Richi - Had sets over players like Serge. Placed 25th at Smash Factor 7.
•  Serge - Considered the best Lucario player in Mexico. Ranked 4th on the Mexican Power Rankings.
•  Shiny - Ranked 3rd on the Eastern Washington Power Rankings.
•  Skinny Penis - Considered the best Lucario player in Pennsylvania, with wins over players like Big Dick Billy and Abs. Ranked 7th on the Central Pennsylvania Power Rankings.
•  Steam - One of the best Lucario players in the Southwest, Ranked 1st on the Colorado Power Rankings. Had a win over Mew2King.
•  Sunny - Considered one of the best Lucario players in the Southwest, Ranked 3rd on the Colorado Power Rankings.
•  Tsu- (#32) - Considered the best Lucario player in the world. Placed 2nd at Frostbite 2017, 7th at 2GGC: ARMS Saga, 13th at EVO Japan 2018 and 2GGC: MkLeo Saga, and 25th at EVO 2017. He took sets off of players such as ZeRo, Abadango, Mr.R, VoiD, Salem, Tweek, KEN, and Kirihara. Ranked 46th on the Panda Global Rankings v5.
•  Vivid - Also known as "justy", used Lucario as a secondary and is considered the best Lucario in Tri-State. Ranked 3rd on the New Jersey Power Rankings.
•  XF0 - Considered the best Lucario player in the Middle East. Took a set off of Mr. R at Nemesis 2017.
•  Azen

Tier placement and history

Lucario was considered to be a viable character since the game's release. The aura buffs, which vastly increased Lucario's KO power to the point where a max Aura Lucario could consistently KO opponents under 75%, and improved its recovery to become one of the best, as well as a powerful combo game, lead many professionals to view Lucario as a high-tier character. Despite its low tournament representation, it achieved acceptable results in the game's early lifespan thanks to notable players such as Day, Motsunabe and Serge, and would eventually be ranked 23rd on the first 4BR tier list. More recently, Lucario has achieved better tournament representation in competitive play. At Smash Factor 5, Serge, along with fellow smashers Daimy and Richi, placed among the top 12 using Lucario. Day also managed to place 17th at Super Smash Con 2016, a much bigger tournament which had many top level players attending and notably saw him defeat ZeRo, which sent him into the losers bracket of said tournament, a feat achieved by only a select few. Gomamugitya also managed to place 1st with his partner in the doubles tournament of Super Smash Con 2016 while using Lucario. This caused it to slightly rise to 22nd place on the second tier list.

As time went on, Lucario's tier position grew to be among the most contentious of all characters, as players within the community (that grew steadily bigger around late 2015) began seeing Lucario as having one of the worst neutral games due to its laggy attacks and subpar movement speed, and viewed its recovery as blown out of proportion as its flaws were surprisingly easy to exploit, especially with its extreme landing from a helpless state lag post 1.0.4. A number of professionals then considered Lucario to be a poor character who suffered from overspecializing with the aura gimmick, thus leaving it as little threat to a cautious player. As time went on, Lucario's tournament results grew barren, with fewer players maining it, thus causing more and more to look down on it.

In spite of these setbacks, Lucario's results have since noticeably improved as time went on due to some new developments towards its metagame, and has seen generally improved results, especially in Japan, leading it to be perceived more positively again in spite of high competition. This allowed it to rise to 19th on the third and tier list. While some advocated Lucario's placement was too high due to its inconsistent results and high-risk playstyle, Tsu- broke through perceptions by placing 2nd at Frostbite 2017, while defeating ZeRo at the same tournament. Although ZeRo himself managed to win the tournament, This very high result, tied with more consistent ones, have led Lucario to rise to 17th on the fourth and current tier list. As such, the majority of players feel that Lucario's current placing was accurate for the time being, although a few professionals occasionally voice about its high-risk playstyle being a liability against competitive play, most notably against characters such as Cloud.

Trophies

Lucario

A Fighting/Steel-type Pokémon that excels in combat through the reading and manipulation of Aura. As Lucario takes more damage, its attacks grow in strength. At maximum power, Lucario deals triple damage and its Aura Sphere is particularly devastating! Foes won't even know what hit them!

This Fighting- and Steel-type Pokémon can sense the movements of its enemies using its Aura abilities, and is even said to be able to see enemies when they're invisible. As it takes damage, its attacks grow in strength. At maximum power, its deals triple damage, which can make its Aura Sphere attack a real force to be reckoned with!

: Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl (04/2007)

: Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (10/2013)

Lucario (Alt.)

Lucario's up special Extreme Speed will send this Pokémon soaring on the path you choose. Lucario flies farther the more damage it's taken. Lucario makes use of its Aura for the side special Force Palm. At extremely close range, Lucario will grab an enemy first, dealing additional damage.

The Extreme Speed up special sends Lucario rushing in your chosen direction, and you can adjust the flight path mid-air. Also, the more damage Lucario takes, the further it will go. For the Force Palm side special, Lucario attacks with its Aura. Using it while close to an enemy adds a grab to the move and deals extra damage.

: Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl (04/2007)

: Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (10/2013)

Mega Evolution (Lucario)

In Lucario's Final Smash, it Mega Evolves into Mega Lucario. The attacks it can use don't change, but its Aura abilities become more powerful than ever, letting it deal more damage and launch opponents farther. It can also resist being launched by other fighters, but the more attacks it takes, the sooner it will transform back.

For Lucario's Final Smash, it Mega Evolves into Mega Lucario. The attacks it can use don't change, but its Aura abilities become more powerful than ever, letting it deal even more damage and launch opponents even further. It can also resist being launched by other fighters, but the more attacks it takes, the less time the Final Smash lasts.

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Mega Lucario

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Brawl: Lucario is one of the opponents fought in this event. All of the opponents debuted in Brawl.
• Aura Mastery: A highly damaged Lucario must defeat an invisible Sheik and an invisible Wii Fit Trainer.
• Fire-Type Frenzy: As Charizard, the player must defeat Lucario, Greninja, and Pikachu all appearing after another.
• Pokémon Battle: As Greninja, the player must defeat a team of Lucario, Pikachu, and Charizard.

Co-Op Events

• Pokémon Multi Battle!: Pikachu and Charizard must defeat a team of Lucario and Greninja, then a team of Pikachu and Charizard each appearing after one opponent is defeated. Lucario can appear if Pikachu is KO'd.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select characters and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Lucario in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

• 

  Lucario's amiibo.

• 

  Using its up taunt.

• 

  Using its down smash.

• 

  Using Mega Lucario, its new Final Smash.

• 

  Charging Aura Sphere.

• 

  Using its down smash on Mario and Link.

• 

  Air dodging while Mario and Mega Man attack the Yellow Devil.

• 

  Using its neutral attack's last hit alongside Wii Fit Trainer's forward tilt.

• 

  Using Double Team against Link.

• 

  Teetering while King Dedede charges Jet Hammer.

• 

  Sleeping under a tree grown by Villager.

• 

  Using Extreme Speed on Rainbow Road.

• 

  Using Extreme Speed alongside Luigi's Super Jump Punch.

• 

  Using its up taunt in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

• 

  A picture displaying Aura Sphere's size difference in scale with Lucario's Aura.

• 

  Alongside Palkia.

• 

  Using Double Team against Marth's Shield Breaker.

• 

  Using its back aerial alongside Samus and Diddy Kong's back aerials.

• 

  Taunting alongside Charizard, Greninja and Pikachu.

Trivia

The Lucario error on the Super Smash Bros. official Facebook page.

• On the Super Smash Bros. official Facebook page, Lucario was first listed as originating from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Versions on the Game Boy Advance, even though those games were actually released on the Nintendo DS. This was later fixed.
• Lucario and Dr. Mario are the only characters to lack a meteor smash of any kind, including unconventional meteor smashes.
• Lucario and Mewtwo are the only Pokémon whose on-screen appearances do not involve emerging from a Poké Ball.
• Lucario is the only character whose up special move is still affected by the grab release glitch.
• While Bowser, Little Mac, and Wario use mirrored versions of their regular special moves as opposed to their custom versions after transforming via their Final Smash, Lucario is still able to use his custom special moves, further enhanced by the boosted Aura.