| Lucario in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | |
|---|---|
 
| |
| Universe | Pokémon |
| Other playable appearances | in Brawl in SSB4 |
| Availability | Unlockable |
| Final Smash | Aura Storm |
| “ | Lucario is the only fighter whose attack power increases as it takes damage. A fighter that truly shines when in a pinch, choose Lucario for a thrilling battle. | ” |
| —Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site | ||
Lucario (ルカリオ, Lucario) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It was confirmed as a playable character on June 12th, 2018. Lucario is classified as fighter #41.
Sean Schemmel, Daisuke Namikawa, Jean-Marc Delhausse, Carlos Lobo, Gerhard Jilka and Luigi Fantino's portrayals of Lucario from Super Smash Bros. 4 were repurposed for the English, Japanese, French, Spanish, German, and Italian versions of Ultimate.
How to unlock
Complete one of the following:
- Play VS. matches, with Lucario being the 27th character to be unlocked.
- Clear Classic Mode with Yoshi or anyone in his unlock tree, being the 1st character unlocked.
- Have Lucario join the player's party in World of Light.
With the exception of the third method, Lucario must then be defeated on Spear Pillar.
Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4
Lucario has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Smash 4 to Ultimate, receiving noticeable buffs in game updates but being nerfed overall. The most notable nerf is to its Aura mechanic, as Lucario's Aura multiplier is worse than it was in Smash 4 despite 1v1 multipliers now giving a slight advantage. This, when combined with the universal weakening of the rage mechanic, makes Lucario noticeably less powerful at higher percentages, while its reduced weight makes it even easier to KO and makes harder for it to rely on rage and Aura combined. Furthermore, some of Lucario's most reliable moves have been made less effective, with down aerial halting its momentum less if overused, back aerial being weaker, Double Team having a drastically shorter duration and intangibility and Aura Sphere can no longer be grab-canceled. While Lucario still has a strong recovery, Extreme Speed's controls have been modified to the point where holding down the control stick can accidentally lead to self-destruction, it covers less distance overall and stops its momentum at the end, worsening its recovery, especially at lower percentages. Finally, the changes in DI and air dodging, has the overall effect of limiting or even outright removing some of Lucario's previously guaranteed combos from throw, which were some of the only reliable ways for it to add damage.
However, it did receive some buffs. Lucario's overall mobility has been greatly improved due to faster horizontal movement, while the universal 3-frame jumpsquat further improves Lucario's ability to traverse the stage. Many of its attacks in general, notably its dash attack, forward smash, neutral aerial and forward aerial, are faster, more reliable and less of hindrance, while its special moves have also been improved: Aura Sphere can now be cancelled into a jump or any ground attack during a charge, allowing for mixup options, Force Palm has more range, Double Team can now home in on opponents and is much faster overall, and Extreme Speed is overall safer due to its ending and previously notorious landing lag both being lowered.
Despite its many buffs, Lucario's nerfs generally outweigh the buffs it received and is considered to be worse than its iteration in Smash 4 at launch. To make matters worse, Lucario was nerfed again in patch 2.0.0 which led to ANTi dropping the character as well as Lucario not having a significant impact in America. However, Tsu continues to use Lucario and has done very well at many Japanese tournaments. The multitude of buffs in patch 3.1.0 also grant Lucario much more favorable hitboxes and consistency, making its overall placement uncertain.
Aesthetics
Similar to all veterans returning from Smash 4, Lucario's model has a more subdued color scheme, and its fur has a more detailed texture.- Aura is now cyan in color instead of indigo at earlier percentages, and its visual effects are smoother. At higher Aura levels, the flames produced are more intense, becoming indigo in color, which leave behind a trail as Lucario moves. Purple electricity starts emanating from its paws, and the spikes on each paw begin to glow white. The appendages on the back of its head also rise up as Aura grows in power.
- Many of Lucario's attacking animations have been updated from SSB4. Notably, Lucario stands on one foot more in its attacks, particularly with its smash attacks and Double Team.
Attributes
Like all characters, Lucario's jumpsquat animation now takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).- Lucario walks slightly faster (1.05 → 1.103).
- Lucario runs faster (1.55 → 1.705).
- Lucario's initial dash is significantly faster (1.8 → 2.255).
- Lucario's air speed is much higher (1.09 → 1.281), now being on par with Wolf's.
- Lucario's air acceleration is higher 0 → 0.01 (base), 0.07 → 0.08 (additional), 0.07 → 0.09 (max).
- Lucario's traction is higher (0.0736 → 0.116). However, due to traction being significantly increased across the cast, it no longer has the highest traction in the game going from first out of 58 to eighteenth out of 76 characters.
Lucario is lighter (99 → 92), making it more difficult to survive at higher percents to take advantage of Aura.- Aura increases in strength faster at lower percentages, reaching base damage at 65% (70% in SSB4), but slower at higher percentages, reaching a maximum of 1.6x power at 190% (down from 1.7x). Aura's strength at 0% is unchanged (0.66x).
- The weakening of Rage reduces Lucario's KO potential at high percents. When combined with the changes to Aura and Lucario's reduced weight, he has become considerably less threatening when damaged.
- Aura's effects have been modified regarding placement. In 1v1 matches, the overall multiplier for Aura has increased slightly (0.8x → 0.83x (minimum), 1.33x → 1.4x (maximum)).
- However, this new multiplier applies beyond 1v1, also reducing the maximum multiplier of a four player match down from x2 to x1.4. This removes much of the Anubis Combo's extreme comeback factor, which makes Lucario more reliant on taking damage to reap the benefits of Aura.
Ground attacks
- Neutral attack:
- Neutral attack's hits connect much more consistently.
- All three hits of neutral attack have less ending lag (FAF 34, 38, 41 → 27, 27, 36).
- The first two hits of neutral attack can jab lock opponents.
- Neutral attack's first hit comes out later than before (frame 6 → 7).
- The first hit has fewer active frames (frames 6-8 → 7-8).
- The final hit has fewer active frames (frames 9-11 → 9-10).
- Dash attack:
- Dash attack now has a sweetspot located on Lucario's foot during the early frames of the attack. This new sweetspot deals more damage (10%) and knockback than the rest of the attack, letting it KO earlier.
- The sourspot of the clean hit does more damage (8% → 8.5%).
- Dash attack's sweetspot has more range (hitboxes: 3.0u → 3.6u (clean), 2.8u → 2.9u (late)).
- Lucario now lands on its feet after using dash attack; previously, it fell on its side after the kick.
- Forward tilt:
- Forward tilt has a new animation, with Lucario leaning back before the palm thrust. In addition, the updated visual on the Aura effect matches the hitboxes much better.
- Up tilt:
- Up tilt has a new animation; Lucario jumps slightly higher when kicking, and kicks in an overall more animated fashion. It then quickly hops back into place at the end of the attack.
- Down tilt:
- Down tilt has less ending lag (FAF 25 → 23). This improves its safety and combo potential.
- Down tilt's new animation has Lucario crouch low to the ground while kicking. This allows it to lower its profile and dodge more attacks while using down tilt.
- Forward smash:
- Forward smash's clean hit has a larger hitbox (5.5u → 5.7u), and greater horizontal extension (Z offset: 4.7-10.2 → 5-11.7), improving its range.
- Forward smash becomes active earlier (frame 22 → 19).
- Forward smash has more vibrant Aura effects.
- Forward smash's animation is more animated and snappy compared to SSB4. It also now ends the attack standing on one foot.
- The new animation of forward smash has Lucario lean back at the start of the attack, allowing it to evade attacks before retaliating with its own.
- Up smash:
- Up smash has an altered animation, with Lucario raising its leg much higher while releasing the blast of Aura. The charging stance is different, and the blast of Aura is much wider than before to match the hitbox more accurately.
- Up smash's first hit has more horizontal range (Z offset: -4–4 → -5–5).
- Up smash's second hitbox is larger (8u → 8.8u), and lower down (Y offset: 25 → 23.5), improving its horizontal range and allowing it to connect better against opponents pulled up from the ground, but reducing its vertical range.
- Down smash:
- Down smash has a new animation; instead of raising its arms into the air and bringing them down, Lucario now briefly stands on one foot before stomping it to the ground while simultaneously releasing Aura from its palms.
- The charging animation of down smash now has Lucario fold its arms while crouching in front of its chest instead of waving its arms in a circular motion.
- Due to the change in stance, Lucario is less vulnerable to attack while charging down smash.
Aerial Attacks
- Neutral aerial:
- Neutral aerial now hits twice, regardless of whether the opponent is in front of or behind Lucario. This allows the move to deal more damage in general and hit behind him much sooner, increasing its potency.
- Neutral aerial is able to drag opponents with the attack, allowing for more followups.
- Neutral aerial has reduced landing lag (9 frames → 5).
- Neutral aerial's first active frame is later than before (frame 8 → 10).
- Neutral aerial's first hit lasts for a longer period of time (frames 8-11 → 10-14).
- The second hit comes out earlier (frame 22 → 18).
- The second hit lasts a shorter period of time (frames 22-29 → 18-21).
- It auto-cancels earlier (frame 39 → 36).
- Its initial auto-cancel window was shortened (frames 1-7 → 1-4).
- Neutral air has a new animation; Lucario spins more quickly than it did in SSB4.
- Forward aerial:
- Forward aerial has reduced landing lag (18 frames → 9).
- Lucario can grab ledge faster after using forward air (64 frames → 52).
- Back aerial:
- Back aerial becomes active sooner (frame 16 → 13).
- Back aerial deals less damage (15% → 14%) and thus less knockback.
- Back aerial has more ending lag (FAF 49 → 50).
- Its initial auto-cancel window has been lengthened (frames 1-3 → 1-4).
- The burst of aura from Back aerial's animation better matches its hitbox.
- Up aerial:
- Up aerial has decreased landing lag (22 frames → 13).
- Up aerial has fewer active frames (10-15 → 10-13).
- Up aerial has an altered animation, with Lucario backflipping following the initial kick.
- Down aerial:
- Down aerial stalls Lucario's movement less on successive uses.
- Down aerial has more landing lag (9 frames → 12).
Throws/other attacks
- Pivot grab has more horizontal range (Z offset: 4-15.2 → 4-16.5).
- Forward throw is now a two-hit move. This change also grants the move a collateral hitbox to hit opponents near Lucario. This is makes it better at seperating certain two-in-one characters such as the Ice Climbers and Rosalina & Luma.
Special Moves
- Aura Sphere:
- Aura Sphere is visually closer to how it appears in recent Pokémon games. It has an "energy absorption" effect while charging and no longer emits a trail of smoke when launched.
- Aura Sphere can now be jump-canceled, even in the air. Additionally, it can now be canceled into any grounded option while charging with an advanced technique called Charge Storage Cancelling.
- With Lucario's increased air speed, this makes it possible to edge-guard opponents by charging Aura Sphere and then cancelling it into an aerial, as well as improving its movement when combined with B-Reverses, Wavebounces, etc.
- Moving the control stick down has Lucario spot dodge, much like how moving it left or right has it roll.
- Lucario cannot shield immediately out of Aura Sphere, making it less safe to charge.
- Lucario cannot use its standard grab out of a charging Aura Sphere without shielding, as pressing the Z button fires the Aura Sphere.
- The aerial charge animation for Aura Sphere was altered; it now more closely resembles the grounded charging animation.
- Fully charged Aura Sphere has a larger hitbox (2.0u → 2.6u).
- Force Palm:
- Force Palm has increased grab range.
- Force Palm's projectile deals less damage with the far hit (7.56% → ~5.4%).
- Force Palm's hitbox now matches its Aura graphics more closely.
- Force Palm's grab triggers Special Zoom if Lucario has at least half of its maximum Aura.
- The animation for Force Palm has been completely changed; instead of pulling its left paw back before thrusting it forward with a stomp to release a blast of Aura, Lucario now moves its paws in a circle around its body while crouching low to the ground before gathering its paws together and releasing a blast of Aura from its left paw.
- Extreme Speed:
- Extreme Speed has less endlag and landing lag.
- Extreme Speed now has a hitbox upon directly crashing into the ground or a wall, making it safer to use for recovery.
- Crashing into a wall now sends Lucario upward as opposed to stopping it in place. This greatly increases the safety of the recovery.
- Extreme Speed's controls have been modified; the initial flight direction is locked in a short period of time before flight begins, which can lead to unintentional self-destructs.
- Extreme Speed travels less distance overall.
- Extreme Speed now halts at the end of the move, making it worse for recovering at low percents.
- The animation for Extreme Speed has been updated; Lucario now gathers Aura in its paws at the start of the move. If it is grounded, dust ripples appear around Lucario as it gathers Aura. Additionally, the streams of Aura during flight are much bigger and more colorful than before. At the end of the flight, a gust of wind envelops the front of Lucario to indicate the attack portion of the move.
- Double Team:
- When performing the attack, Lucario now moves into the direction the control stick is being held rather than from it, making the move more intuitive.
- Double Team deals more damage (11% → 12.5%).
- Double Team's counterattack activates faster (frame 28 → 16), making the attack much more consistent.
- Lucario leaves blue-colored afterimages of itself in the location where it stood just before the attack.
- Double Team has less endlag on an unsuccessful counter (80 frames → 71), decreasing the window of time where Lucario can be punished.
- Double Team can now track opponents that activate the counterattack; Lucario will teleport to the attacker's location (within a certain range) and start its counterattack.
- Double Team now slows down time for the opponent that attacked Lucario. This allows Double Team to punish many more attacks, greatly increasing its reliability.
- Double Team has fewer active frames (frames 5-39 → 5-24), no longer having the longest frame window in the game.
- Double Team has significantly fewer intangibility frames (5-39 → 4-13), no longer covering the entire counter window.
- Double Team's momentum in the air carries over into Lucario's own movement, which both benefits and hinders its recovery potential, as it can help with recovering when facing towards the stage, but prevent recovery (or even lead to a self-destruct) when facing away from the stage.
- The animation for Double Team has completely changed; instead of moving its arms in a circular motion while crouching, Lucario now stands upright with its left leg raised while holding a pose. It then pulls its right paw back while holding its martial arts-like stance. A vortex of wind surrounds Lucario throughout the entire animation.
- Aura Storm:
- Lucario's Final Smash has been reverted to Aura Storm. It now Mega Evolves into Mega Lucario before performing the attack.
- Compared to Aura Storm in Brawl, the beam fired is much wider, improving the move's horizontal reach.
Update history
Lucario has received a mix of buffs and nerfs from game updates, but has been buffed overall.
- Lucario can grab ledge faster after using forward aerial (64 frames → 52).
- Aura Sphere has less hitlag during the charge (0.78× → 0.5×), allowing characters to escape it much easier.
- The Final Smash Meter version of Aura Storm has a higher knockback multiplier (x0.7 → x0.77).
- Aura Sphere deals less shield damage ((0/3 (uncharged/fully charged) → -2.3/-4).
- All hits of neutral attack have less ending lag (FAF 32, 35, 39 → 27, 27, 36).
- Dash attack's sweetspot has more range (hitboxes: 3.0u → 3.6u (clean), 2.8u → 2.9u (late)).
- Forward tilt's second hit deals more knockback (50 base/95 scaling → 54/98).
- Forward smash's sweetspot has a slightly larger hitbox (5.5u → 5.7u).
- Up smash's hits connect more reliably.
- Neutral aerial has two additional hitboxes that can only hit grounded opponents.
- Up aerial's clean hit has a larger hitbox (4.0u → 5.0u).
- Up aerial's late hit has less range (Y offset: 17u-12u → 17u-13u).
- Down aerial's hits connect more reliably.
- Down aerial's lower hitboxes have more range (size: 4.2u → 4.6u; Y offset: 2u → 2.2u).
- Aura Sphere no longer pushes opponents away as much while charging.
- Fully charged Aura Sphere has a larger hitbox (2.0u → 2.6u).
- Aura Sphere travels farther.
- Aura Sphere has less ending lag (FAF 57 → 52. Out of charging: FAF 49 → 43).
- Force Palm has more grab range (Z offset: 4.8u/6.5u → 5.3u/7.4u).
Opponents no longer move through Lucario during Force Palm's startup.
- Lucario's portrait now briefly shows upon activating Final Smash Meter version of Aura Storm.
- Overall shield size has been increased.
Moveset
- Lucario's moveset is affected by Aura. Each move lists the percentages according to Lucario's damage: 0%/65%/190%.
- Lucario's Aura effects also change in regard to placing. When at a -1 placing, Lucario's Aura gains a multiplier of ×1.125.
| “ | As Aura's power increases, your attack power increases as well. The more unfavorable the match is for you, the more power you gain.
|
” |
| —Move List Description, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | ||
- Lucario is able to crawl, wall cling, and wall jump.
For a gallery of Lucario's hitboxes, see here.
Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.
| 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. At higher levels of aura, it becomes a viable KO option. | ||
| Up tilt | 6% (foot), 5% | An outside crescent kick above itself. A good juggling and combo tool. Has a sweetspot on its foot. | ||
| Down tilt | 5% | A kneeling Hapkido-style shin kick. It can be used in rather quick succession and has decent range. | ||
| Dash attack | 8.5% (sourspot), 10% (sweetspot), 7% (late) | A flying kick. Its decent speed and good range allow it to function as a decent punishment tool, and its sweetspot allows it to KO at very high percentages. | ||
| Forward smash | 16% (clean), 13% (late) | A double palm thrust, which emits a burst of Aura. When at max aura, it is extremely powerful; it is the strongest smash attack in the game overall, as it has the potential to one-hit KO almost every fighter in the roster when fully charged. However, its noticeable startup and ending lag makes it punishable. | ||
| Up smash | 4% (hit 1), 14% (clean hit 2), 9% (late hit 2) | A modified version of the long choui (an uppercut-styled punch in Shaolin Kung Fu), while emitting a blast of Aura. Hits twice. One of the strongest up smashes in the game, and the most damaging smash attack in the game when at max aura. | ||
| Down smash | 14% | Thrusts its palms in front and behind, while emitting blasts of Aura. Resembles a modified version of the kap theai choui. Hits on both of its sides simultaneously, making it a good option to punish rolls. Very strong at max aura, KOing below 60% at the ledge at max aura. | ||
| Neutral aerial | 8% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2) | Spins while emitting Aura from its paws. It hits twice, and the first hit can be used to combo into grounded moves on landing. | ||
| Forward aerial | 6% | A stretch kick. Its diagonal-vertical launch angle and low knockback make it an excellent combo tool, allowing it to string into itself and combo into moves like neutral aerial and up aerial. | ||
| Back aerial | 14% (clean), 13% (late) | The sou choui (a sweeping punch in Shaolin Kung Fu). At max aura, it is one of the strongest back aerials in the game, KOing at around 50% at the ledge. However, it is Lucario's slowest aerial. | ||
| Up aerial | 11% (clean), 6% (late) | A high front kick with a delayed backflip at the end. Extremely powerful at max aura, capable of KOing at around 80% even at ground level. Outside of that, it makes for a good juggling tool. Its late hit can act as a potential KO setup into its sweetspot on landing. | ||
| Down aerial | 5% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2) | Stomps twice, emitting blasts of Aura with each stomp. It stalls Lucario in the air temporarily and deals great damage at higher levels of aura. | ||
| Grab | — | Clinches the opponent. | ||
| Pummel | 1.3% | A surge of Aura. Quite fast. | ||
| Forward throw | 5% (hit), 3% (throw) | Shoves the opponent away. A very fast throw, along with being one of the strongest forward throws in the game at max aura. | ||
| Back throw | 10% | The tai otoshi, a Judo throw. It deals very high damage and knockback when at max aura. | ||
| Up throw | 5% (hit), 6% (throw) | The pao choui (an uppercut-styled punch in Shaolin Kung Fu). One of Lucario's best combo starters, as it can follow up with a neutral aerial, forward aerial, and an up aerial or back aerial as a 50/50 KO setup. | ||
| Down throw | 7% | Holds the opponent over its head and then slams them into the ground. A good combo starter, as it can combo into a forward aerial, a neutral aerial or an up aerial. | ||
| 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% | Same as its frontal floor attack. | ||
| Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip) |
5% | Kicks behind itself and then in front of itself while getting up. | ||
| Edge attack Edge getups |
9% | Performs a double palm thrust that emits a small blast of Aura while climbing up. | ||
| Neutral special | Aura Sphere | 6.9%~17.2% (move), 0.6% (charge loop) | A chargeable, condensed sphere of Aura. Pressing the special button again will make Lucario fire the sphere. Its size scales with Aura and has a hitbox while charging, comboing into back air at mid percents . The charge can be cancelled into into dodge, shield, and jump. | |
| Side special | Force Palm | 11.8% (close blast), 5.4% (far blast), 13% (throw), 10% (throw collateral) | 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. At half of its maximum Aura or more, it triggers Special Zoom, and deals immense damage and knockback, KOing at around 60% near the ledge. | |
| Up special | Extreme Speed | 6% (dash), 4% (impact) | Propels itself in a predetermined direction by blasting streams of Aura from its forepaws. Has a hitbox at the end of its animation, and upon crashing directly into a wall or the ground, Lucario will bounce. This can be used to bounce off the sides of the stage towards the ledge, but isn't recommended on stage due to ending lag. Extreme Speed's distance scales with Aura. | |
| Down special | Double Team | 12.5% | Performs a kata. If Lucario is attacked, it will disappear while emitting afterimages and then counterattacks with a flying kick. The direction Lucario kicks in can be controlled. Lucario will also aim above or below if it is hit accordingly. Unlike most counters, it does not scale based on the attack it counters; it scales based on Lucario's aura. | |
| Final Smash | Aura Storm | 0.8% (loop), 11.5% (final hit) | Mega Evolves into Mega Lucario, then leaps up above the center of the stage, and firing a huge stream of Aura. Increases in power depending on Lucario's Aura and can achieve OHKO power at max aura if all hitboxes connect. | |
On-screen appearance
- Teleports on stage, floats for a second, gathers aura in its hands, and then lands
Taunts
- Up Taunt: Floats in mid-air and growls, emitting aura from its body.
- Side Taunt: Moves one hand forward and one behind its back, growling.
- Down Taunt: Stands on one foot and holds one hand in mid-air. This taunt is very similar to Link's down taunt.
Lucario's up taunt.
Lucario's side taunt.
Lucario's 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.
Lucario's first idle pose
Lucario's second idle pose
Victory poses
- Left: Aura pulsates out of its paws, then does a crane-like stance, saying "Behold the power of aura." ("満ちるぞ,この波導！", I am filled with aura!).
- Up: Moves its paws in front of itself, then clasps them together, saying "The aura is with me!" ("波導は我にあり！", The aura is with me!).
- Right: Moves its paw to its left side and groans while aura radiates off its body.
In competitive play
When Ultimate got released, many players noticed that Lucario had a lot of potential and that it was better than its already strong Smash 4 incarnation. This was due to many of its options either becoming faster and more reliable along with the character greatly befitting from the game's mechanics. On top of this, Donkey Kong, who was previously considered to be a hard counter to Lucario in Smash 4, was now an easier matchup. Because of this, many players considered Lucario as a solid high-tier character with some saying it had potential to rise into top tier.
Unfortunately, as the meta advanced, players recognized that the character's nerfs overshadowed the many buffs it received. This was because of aura's overall weaker damage multiplier, down air not being as safe for disadvantage, Aura Sphere having less versatility, its recovery being worse, the removal of some of its kill confirms, and some characters such as Bowser, Wario, and Ness proving to be very troublesome for Lucario. As a result, players' opinions on Lucario dropped and it obtained a below average playerbase through Ultimate's metagame, with many players such as ESAM claiming that it is a mid-tier character at best. Despite this, players such as Tsu and Jeda have still placed fairly well at tournaments: Tsu placed 5th at Umebura Japan Major 2019, while Jeda placed 13th at Syndicate 2019 and 17th at Albion 4. As of now, Lucario's current state of viability is uncertain.
Notable players
Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Fall 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from July 13th, 2019 to December 15th, 2019.
Active
Jeda - The best Lucario in Europe. Placed 3rd at BURST 4, 5th at Ultimate WANTED 1, 9th at Stunfest 2019, and 17th at Albion 4. Ranked 6th on the French Ultimate Power Rankings.
Kir - Placed 13th at EGS Cup, 49th at Umebura SP 7, and 65th at both Umebura SP 5 and Umebura SP 6.- Tsu - The best Lucario player in the world. Placed 5th at Umebura Japan Major 2019, 9th at Umebura SP 2 and Thunder Smash 3: Clash of the Pandas, and 13th at Umebura SP 3. Has wins over Abadango, Fatality, Prodigy, and Zackray.
Vivi - The best Lucario player in the United States. Placed 17th at Defend the North 2019 and 33rd at Let's Make Moves. Has wins over Venia, UtopianRay, and Daybreak.
Inactive
- ANTi - A Snake and Mario co-main with a strong Lucario secondary. Placed 2nd at DreamHack Dallas 2019, 7th at Combo Breaker 2019, and 9th at Smash at The Paramount. While he hasn't officially dropped the character, he now only plays Snake and Mario in recent tournaments.
Classic Mode: Counter Encounters
Lucario fights characters with counterattacks.
| Round | Opponent | Stage | Music | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shulk  and Little Mac  |
Gaur Plain | Time to Fight! - Xenoblade Chronicles | |
| 2 | Palutena  and Bayonetta  |
Umbra Clock Tower | Red & Black | |
| 3 | Marth  and Lucina  |
Coliseum | Story 5 Meeting | |
| 4 | Mii Swordfighter  (x6) |
Spear Pillar | Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon Diamond / Pokémon Pearl | Horde Battle. Mii Swordfighter costume combinations: |
| 5 | Roy  , Ike  , and Corrin  |
Castle Siege | The Devoted | |
| 6 | Greninja  |
Pokémon Stadium 2 | Battle! (Champion) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y | |
| Bonus Stage | ||||
| Final | Master Hand | Final Destination | Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher) |
On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand. |
Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Lucario has Route 209 - Pokémon Diamond / Pokémon Pearl accompany the credits.
Role in World of Light
Lucario was among the fighters summoned to the cliffside to fight against the army of Master Hands.
Lucario was present when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. Lucario dodged a beam of light using Double Team, but was hit by a beam Greninja avoided a moment later, vaporizing it and placing it under Galeem's imprisonment along with the rest of the fighters, excluding Kirby.
In the mode proper, Lucario can be found on the corner of a stone wall.
Fighter Battle
| No. | Image | Name | Type | Power | Stage | Music |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | |
Lucario | Attack | 3,300 | Spear Pillar (Ω form) | Battle! (Team Galactic) |
Spirits
Lucario's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Lucario in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.
Additionally, Lucario's Mega Evolved form appears as a Primary Spirit.
417. Lucario
505. Mega Lucario
In Spirit battles
As the main opponent
| Spirit | Battle parameters | Inspiration | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Image | Name | Series | Enemy Fighter(s) | Type | Power | Stage | Rules | Conditions | Music | Character |
| 505 |  |
Mega Lucario | Pokémon series | •Lucario 
|
 |
9,400 | Coliseum (Battlefield form) | •Sudden Final Smash | •The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash •Lucario's Aura has increased power |
Battle! (Trainer Battle) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y | |
| 509 | Dialga | Pokémon series | •Giant Lucario 
|
|
9,700 | Spear Pillar | •Earthquake •Sudden Final Smash |
•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash •Periodic earthquakes will shake the stage after a little while •The enemy is giant |
Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar | ||
| 525 | Cobalion, Terrakion, & Virizion | Pokémon series | •Lucario  •Duck Hunt  •Yoshi 
|
 |
9,000 | Kalos Pokémon League | N/A | •The enemy's melee weapons have increased power •The enemy can unleash powerful critical hits at random •The enemy starts the battle with a Beam Sword |
N's Castle | Virizion | |
| 526 | .png){kind=small} |
Tornadus (Incarnate Forme) | Pokémon series | •Lucario
|
 |
4,300 | Skyworld (clouds only) | •Hazard: Heavy Wind | •Dangerously high winds are in effect •The enemy starts the battle with an Ore Club |
N's Castle | |
| 534 | .png) |
Keldeo (Ordinary Form) | Pokémon series | •Lucario 
|
 |
3,500 | Unova Pokémon League | N/A | •Stamina battle •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Keldeo) •The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly |
N's Castle | |
| 542 |  |
Xerneas | Pokémon series | •Lucario
|
|
9,400 | Garden of Hope | •Flowery | •You constantly take minor damage •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Xerneas) •The enemy is injured but powerful |
Battle! (Champion) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y | |
| 740 |  |
Young Cricket | WarioWare series | •Lucario
|
|
1,900 | Suzaku Castle | •Item Tidal Wave | •The enemy's dash attacks have increased power •Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while |
Chun-Li Stage Type A | |
| 857 |  |
Kicks | Animal Crossing series | •Lucario
|
|
3,600 | Town and City | •Move Speed ↑ •Slippery Stage |
•The stage's platforms are very slippery •All fighters have increased move speed |
Plaza / Title Theme - Animal Crossing: City Folk / Animal Crossing: Wild World | |
| 991 | Fei Long | Street Fighter series | •Lucario 
|
|
2,000 | Arena Ferox (Ω form) | •Jump Power ↓ | •The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power •The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power •Stamina battle |
Fei Long Stage Type B | ||
| 998 | Gen | Street Fighter series | •Lucario 
|
|
3,600 | New Pork City (Ω form) | •Jump Power ↓ | •Lucario's Aura has increased power •Stamina battle •All fighters have reduced jump power |
Fei Long Stage Type A | ||
| 999 |  |
Karin | Street Fighter series | •Lucario 
|
|
3,900 | Wuhu Island (hazards off) | •Jump Power ↓ | •Stamina battle •All fighters have reduced jump power •The enemy has increased move speed and reduced weight |
Cammy Stage Type B | |
As a minion
| Spirit | Battle parameters | Inspiration | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Image | Name | Series | Enemy Fighter(s) | Type | Power | Stage | Rules | Conditions | Music | Character |
| 522 |  |
Zoroark | Pokémon series | •Wolf  •Lucario (×3)
|
|
3,500 | Prism Tower | N/A | •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Zoroark) •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd |
Battle! (Reshiram/Zekrom) | Zoroark using illusions of Raikou, Entei, and Suicune from the movie Pokémon — Zoroark: Master of Illusions |
Alternate costumes
| |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gallery
Artwork of all playable Pokémon characters and Poké Ball Pokémon, as posted by the official Pokémon Twitter account.
Lucario's fighter card.
Lucario charging Aura Sphere on Find Mii.
Lucario attacking Greninja on Pokémon Stadium 2.
Using its dash attack on an aerial Squirtle on the Bridge of Eldin.
Performing its neutral aerial in front of Samus on Prism Tower.
Lucario using its down tilt on Snake on Moray Towers.
Lucario, Wolf and Fox sleeping around Chrom with Super Leaf equipped on Living Room.
Character Showcase Video
Trivia
- Lucario and Charizard are the only characters to have had their Final Smash change between games only to have it revert back to the original Final Smash. In Lucario's case, it had Aura Storm in Brawl, changed to Mega Lucario in Smash 4, and then reverted back to Aura Storm in Ultimate. However, it does transform into Mega Lucario for the duration of Aura Storm. In Charizard's case, it had Triple Finish in Brawl, changed to Mega Charizard X (as it was a standalone character) for Smash 4, and reverted back to its original Final Smash Triple Finish in Ultimate (as a consequence of being regrouped back into Pokemon Trainer's party).
- Both characters are also characters from the Pokémon universe.
- The Tip about Lucario's Aura being able to reach a multiplier of ×2.5 is both true and false: as of recent updates, ×1.6 is the maximum multiplier. However, Lucario at 0% has a ×0.6 multiplier on its attacks, making the net change about ×2.5.
- Lucario is the only Pokémon character whose animations are not mirrored.
Notes
- 1.^ translates to "Smashing Punch"
- 2.^ translates to "Thrust Punch"
- 3.^ translates to "Armpit Punch"
- 4.^ translates to "Wave Punch"
- 5.^ translates to "Sweeping Punch"
- 6.^ translates to "Body Drop"
- 7.^ translates to "Cannon Punch"
