Lucario (SSB4)

Lucario in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Mega Evolution

Lucario (ルカリオ, Lucario) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. It was announced on January 31st, 2014, 6 years to the same day of the year that Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released in Japan; according to an extra post on the Miiverse reveal, this timing was done to commend the Brawl developers for succeeding in adding Lucario to said game.

For its appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4, Lucario is voiced by Daisuke Namikawa in Japanese and Sean Schemmel in English, replacing Bill Rogers from Brawl (both voiced him in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew). As in Brawl, Lucario is also voiced in the game's language in Spanish, French, German and Italian.

Attributes

Lucario's attributes are overall balanced. It has below average walking speed and dashing speed, while having above average weight and falling speed, as well as average air speed, gravity and air acceleration. It is also able to crawl and one of the only four characters that can wall cling.

Lucario possesses a unique ability that no other character in the game has: aura. The aura appears as blue concentrated energy, and is used in every single move Lucario performs. As a mechanic, the aura is a damage multiplier, starting from 0.66x and capping at 1.7x when Lucario has 190% damage. This means that, even though most of Lucario's moves have high knockback scaling, their power is extremely low with low aura, and insufficient to KO until well beyond 150%. However, with high aura, Lucario's moves have incredible power, and at max aura, almost all of them easily surpass every other character's, including Bowser's and Ganondorf's. In addition, the new rage mechanic complements Lucario's aura extremely well, granting it significantly more KO potential as its damage escalates (Creating the illusion that Lucario's aura is stronger than it actually is). Its grab game receives huge benefits as well. Since Lucario's pummel is the fastest in the game, it can deal large amounts of damage at high percents. Its up throw has low base knockback, and can combo effectively at most percents. It's also the most damaging when Lucario's aura is high, making up for its increased power. Its forward throw is one of the fastest throws in the game, as well as the strongest with high aura. Its back throw deals a large amount of damage, and is also a semi-spike, making it excellent for edge-guarding and tech-chasing.

Other strengths of Lucario include a very useful special moveset. Aura Sphere is a strong projectile very similar to the Charge Shot. However, since its size and power are affected by aura, it is much more dangerous at high percents. When it is fully charged at maximum aura, the blast has so much priority that it is seemingly transcendent. Its charge can also be held indefinitely, and the sphere can damage other opponents. Force Palm shoots a blast of aura forward, with its range and power increasing with aura. If used at point-blank, 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 almost impossible to gimp. Finally, Double Team is Lucario's counterattack. It is the strongest counter in the game with enough aura and plenty of range, but it's also the slowest, enabling rivals to avoid or even counter its counter if they act quickly enough.

However, Lucario has significant flaws. Its endurance is below average at best. Its stats do not help it at all, and one strong move is usually all it takes to end Lucario, preventing it from utilising high aura effectively, and resetting its damage output to very low levels. Because of this, Lucario is forced to master the art of defending which, against skilled opponents, cannot protect it forever. Its combo game is also heavily reliant on throws, as most other combo moves have either very limited follow-up options or have awkwardly positioned hitboxes. Its most serious flaw, however, is its polarized moveset. Its fastest moves are the weakest, and its strongest moves are the slowest, making the latter very punishable. Lucario's aura can also work against it. With low aura, its powerful moves are too weak to KO, and with high aura, its combo-oriented moves are too strong to be chained together. Finally, Extreme Speed has has numerous flaws. The move is difficult to hit with, since Lucario can only damage the opponent head-on, and has very high ending and landing lag. With low aura, the move is also very slow and doesn't give much distance.

Lucario's custom moves can give it notable benefits. Snaring Aura Sphere has a wind effect that pulls opponents in and moves slower, essentially repurposing 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, but at the cost of its immense power. The aptly named Long-Distance Force Palm has more range, allowing Lucario to strike very distant opponents with ease (albeit at the cost of less damage). The grab is a semi-spike, making it lethal in any situation. Advancing Force Palm also sacrifices power for range, but it has more lag and it moves Lucario forward in a makeshift pseudo-crawl. Extreme Speed Attack is yet another example of the "less/more range for more/less power" archetype, propelling Lucario at a decreased distance but allowing it to hit opponents during any part of the move, instead of just the end of it. Ride the Wind gives the full distance at any percent, as well as greatly boosted maneuverability. Stunning Double Team forgoes the counterattack of the original technique in favor of paralyzing the opponent instead, allowing for easy combo setups or finishing attacks. Lastly, Glancing Counter loses some power in exchange for being able to attack even if Lucario isn't hit.

Overall, Lucario's strengths are even with its flaws, and this has resulted in average tournament representation and results.

Changes from Brawl

When Lucario received a mix of buffs and nerfs for a long time, it was hard to tell if it was overall buffed or nerfed. However, since it got more buffs than nerfs, most notably to the v. 1.1.1 update, Lucario was overall buffed from Brawl to SSB4, despite his status as a mid-high tier character in Brawl. The influence of Lucario's aura has been increased, giving it a better recovery and increased range on some of its attacks, as well as significantly increasing its power, at the cost of its combo ability.

However, Lucario's combo ability has been nerfed on many attacks, such as Force Palm and forward air. While his aura cap has been increased, this makes it slightly easier to KO at max aura, making aura have even more risk. Lucario's finishers are also slower, have less utility, and are harder to land. Thus, while Lucario is a much more rewarding character, it is also much more risky.

In addition to these changes, Lucario also benefits from general changes to the physics in SSB4. On top of immense aura, Lucario also is influenced by rage, which strengthens its finishers even further. Lucario's slow recovery also benefits from edge-stealing, which makes it much harder to edgeguard. Despite these nerfs, Lucario is a better character overall, and is widely used in competitive play.

It was also recently discovered that, since Aura Sphere's charge hitbox can be canceled by shield, and the opponent will remain in hitstun, the canceled charge hitbox can lead into many of Lucario's kill options, most notoriously up smash.

Aesthetics

• Like many of the other characters in SSB4 that come from cartoonish franchises, Lucario has a less realistic and more sleek look than it did in Brawl; its fur is less accentuated and its proportions are more akin to its recent three-dimensional appearances in Pokédex 3D Pro, Pokémon X and Pokémon Y.
• Up taunt now has more aura visuals.

Attributes

• Lucario is slightly lighter than in Brawl (from 100 → 99).
• Lucario dashes slightly faster (1.414 → 1.4847).
• Lucario's air speed is slightly faster (0.987 → 1.01).
• Lucario falls faster (1.2 → 1.56).
• Lucario's gravity has been increased (0.0625 → 0.084), improving its vertical endurance.
• Lucario's increased gravity and falling speed make it easier to combo, however it remains one of the more difficult characters to combo.
• The effects of its aura are much stronger overall.
• All of Lucario's attacks are now affected by aura, regardless of whether they are actually aura-based or not.
• Lucario's aura stacks with rage, giving him even more KO power when at high percentages.

Ground attacks

• All of Lucario's standard ground attacks deal slightly less damage depending on the strength of his aura.
• Lucario has a new dash attack, a low angle flying kick. The new kick covers more ground and is much faster in terms of speed and animation.
• Up tilt is much faster, and has gained more KO power.
• Lucario's animations for charging his smash attacks have been slightly changed. Instead of fully making movement, it stays in place and/or continuously trembles his body like all other fighters.
• All smash attacks are slightly slower, which particularly inhibits its previously feared forward smash.
• Forward smash's sour-spot deals less damage. It no longer has a lingering hitbox and does not hit behind Lucario.
• Lucario now crouches when performing its up smash.
• Lucario's up smash now hits twice, allowing it to easily KO grounded opponents more reliably. It also deals more damage.

Aerial attacks

• All of Lucario's aerials are faster.
• Neutral and down aerial deals less damage.
• Neutral aerial has less range and no longer has a lingering hitbox.
• Its forward aerial deals more damage.
• Its forward aerial has slightly higher base knockback at 0%, making it harder to use in combos.
• The sweetspot of back aerial deals more damage.
• Up aerial deals more damage.
• Down aerial's ending lag has almost been reduced entirely.

Throws/other attacks

• Lucario's grab is slightly faster.
• Pummel is significantly faster, now being the fastest (and arguably the best) pummel in the game.
• Forward and down throw deal less damage.
• Up throw deals more damage.

Special moves

• Aura Sphere can achieve larger sizes, with its max size now being even larger than Lucario himself. The projectile itself deals more knockback and can KO earlier. Aura Sphere's graphics have also been altered, and smoke appears behind Lucario as the projectile is fired and is stronger.
• Reverse Aura Sphere now pushes Lucario back a bit, making it safe to use offstage as an option that can trick opponents.
• Aura Sphere deals less damage, 11% and 29% fully charged at 0% and 190% aura respectively, whereas the Brawl version deals 13% and 39%.
• Aura Sphere now makes a different sound while being charged.
• Force Palm's non-grabbing portion is faster and has a much larger blast, which scales with Aura. The blast has immense range at maximum aura. It also produces much stronger knockback.
• Force Palm's stronger knockback reduces the amount of follow-ups Lucario previously had, such as utilizing multiple Force Palms in succession. The grabbing portion of Force Palm is also escapable when Lucario has low damage.
• Force Palm visually looks more like a flame-like blast rather than a mass of energy like in Brawl. Lucario also leans more forward with its body facing more sideways, with its following arm placed high and behind itself and doing a stomping gesture while releasing the blast.
• Extreme Speed is now affected by aura, allowing it to cover massive distances at high damage, with range comparable to Brawl's at zero damage. The move also now does damage at the end which can KO opponents if both they and Lucario are at high percents.
• Extreme Speed now has a terrible two second ending lag if the move ends in the air, making it much easier to punish. This can be remedied by ending the move on the ground or making Lucario hit the stage face first.
• Extreme Speed now produces visible aura streams.
• Double Team's power and range have increased.
• When successful, Double Team causes Lucario's eyes to glow. Lucario also flies higher above the ground when kicking, making it look more akin to its dash attack animation.
• Lucario has a completely new Final Smash, Mega Lucario. Compared to Aura Storm, Mega Lucario raises its aura power to maximum regardless of its damage and also gives it super armor, but at the cost of invincibility and a stage-wide beam with huge KO power (albeit difficult to land).

Update history

While it is debatable whether Lucario has been buffed or nerfed directly by patches, it can be considered to be buffed overall. Most notably, due to the shieldstun increase in 1.1.1, Lucario can now attempt to break shields by using Aura Sphere on the ledge with the opponent putting on shield so the opponent falls for an unavoidable KO if they don't attempt to SDI out of the move.

1.0.4

• Lucario's helpless get-up animation has increased endlag: 36 frames → 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

• A bug where Extreme Speed could be used to cancel hitstun has been fixed.

1.0.6

• Extreme Speed: Landing lag glitch has been fixed.

1.0.8

• Jab 1's knockback growth has been reduced significantly, allowing it to link into Jab 2 more reliably.

1.1.1

• Glancing Counter hitbox angle altered: 58° → 65°
• Glancing Counter ending lag decreased by 7 frames.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.5%	Punches twice, followed by a high kick.
			2%
			3%
Forward tilt			4% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	Thrusts its hands forward, hitting twice.
Up tilt			6% (foot), 5% (leg)	Performs a crescent kick.
Down tilt			5%	Thrusts its leg forward while crouching, similar to Ganondorf's down tilt.
Dash attack			8% (clean), 6% (late)	Peforms a low-angle flying kick.
Forward smash			16% (clean), 13% (late)	Thrusts its arms out and releases a small blast of aura forward. When Lucario is at full power at high percentage, it is the strongest and the most damaging side smash in the game, dealing 38% damage when sweetspotted and fully charged. It is a One-hit KO when at Max Aura near the ledge or the center of Final Destination.
Up smash			4% (hit 1), 14% (clean sweetspot hit 2), 12% (clean sourspot hit 2), 9% (late hit 2)	Fires two pulses of aura upwards. When both hits connect, are sweetspotted, fully charged, and Lucario is at full power, it is one of the strongest up smashes in the game and the most damaging smashes in the game, dealing 42% damage.
Down smash			14%	Crouches and then fires two bursts of aura to either side. One of the strongest down smashes in the game when Lucario is at full power.
Neutral aerial			8% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	Spins around, hitting with aura from its paws.
Forward aerial			6%	Performs a modified crane kick.
Back aerial			15%	Thrusts its arm behind it, releasing aura. High horizontal knockback. It is the strongest back aerial and one of the strongest aerials in the game when Lucario is at full power, KOing opponents under 50%. However it has rather long start up.
Up aerial			11% (clean), 6% (late)	Thrusts its leg upward. One of the strongest up aerials in the game, KOing opponents at 70% onwards, when Lucario is at full power.
Down aerial			5% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	Stomps downwards twice powered by aura. Unlike in Brawl, this move no longer stalls downward movement.
Grab			—	Holds opponent with its paws.
Pummel			1%	Sends a pulse of aura through the opponent. Very fast. The fastest pummel in the game, and one of the best pummels in the game should Lucario have a high enough level of aura.
Forward throw			8%	Throws opponent forward.
Back throw			10%	Throws opponent backwards onto the ground. The most damaging back throw in the game and a great KO move when it is at full power.
Up throw			5% (hit 1), 6% (throw)	Performs an uppercut, throwing the opponent upwards. Other opponents next to Lucario are dealt high knockback. The most damaging throw in the game when it is at full power, dealing 18% damage total.
Down throw			7%	Holds the foe over its head, then slams them into the ground.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Throws its paws forward, dealing aura damage.
Neutral special	Default	Aura Sphere	17.25% (fully charged)	Lucario charges a spherical aura blast. Pressing the special button again will cause Lucario to fire it. Increases in size and deals more damage the more damage Lucario has.
	Custom 1	Snaring Aura Sphere	14.5% (fully charged)	A slower Aura Sphere. Has an additional vacuum effect that pulls opponents towards the sphere.
	Custom 2	Piercing Aura Sphere	6.75% (fully charged)	A faster Aura Sphere that passes through opponents.
Side special	Default	Force Palm	11.875% (projectile sweetspot), 7.5% (projectile sourspot), 13% (throw), 6% (escape)	Fires a burst of aura that increases in range the more damaged Lucario is. If the opponent is close to Lucario, the move acts like a grab, with it blasting the foe with aura at point-blank range.
	Custom 1	Advancing Force Palm	10% (projectile sweetspot), 7% (projectile sourspot), 10% (throw), 6% (escape)	Works like Force Palm, except with more startup lag, and moves Lucario forward.
	Custom 2	Long-Distance Force Palm	7.4% (projectile sweetspot), ~4.23% (projectile sourspot), 13% (throw), 6% (escape)	Has more range than a regular Force Palm, but acts normal otherwise.
Up special	Default	Extreme Speed	6%	Lucario launches itself in a predetermined direction. Has a hitbox at the end of the move. The length that Lucario is fired is increased the more damaged it is.
	Custom 1	Ride the Wind	0%	A slower, non-damaging Extreme Speed with more control over Lucario's movement.
	Custom 2	Extreme Speed Attack	4% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	Shorter range than Extreme Speed, but attacks opponents at any point in the attack.
Down special	Default	Double Team	11%	Lucario poses, which acts as a counterattack. If Lucario is attacked, it will disappear and counter with a sliding kick from behind the attacker.
	Custom 1	Glancing Counter	10%	Dodges attacks but 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%	Works like Double Team, with the added effect of being able to stun opponents.
Final Smash		Mega Lucario	—	Lucario Mega Evolves into Mega Lucario. Mega Lucario does not flinch from being attacked, takes half as much damage, and deals 1.8x the base damage of its attacks regardless of the amount of damage it has taken.

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Lucario surges with Aura appearing all around it while letting out a growl.
• Side Taunt: Lucario points out its paw, growls, and pulls it back.
• Down Taunt: Lucario steps on one foot, one arm out, one arm above its head.

On-Screen Appearance

Lucario enters the stage with surging aura around it as it slowly falls to the ground.

Idle Poses

• Lucario stretches both arms out, one on each side, slowly lowers its body, and enters its regular stance again.
• Lucario moves its arms in a circular motion before returning to its normal stance.

Victory Fanfare

A small excerpt of the music that would play on the title screen of Pokémon Red, Blue and Green Versions, a track which would go on to become the Pokémon Main Theme, which also appears as a standalone track in Brawl. It is shared with Pikachu, Charizard, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, and Greninja.

Victory Poses

• LucarioPose1WiiU.png
• LucarioPose2WiiU.png
• LucarioPose3WiiU.png

• Moves its paws in front of itself, then clasps them together, saying "The aura is with me!"
• Aura pulsates out of its paws, then does a crane-like stance, saying "Behold the power of aura."
• Moves its paw to its side while aura radiates off 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

•  Azen
•  Day
•  Gomamugitya
•  Junebug
•  Kamicario
•  Loota
•  Shiny

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Brawl: Lucario is one of the opponents fought in this event. All characters debut from Brawl and reappeared in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
• Aura Mastery: Lucario (starting with 200% damage) must defeat a team of invisible Sheik and invisible Wii Fit Trainer in a 2 stock battle.
• Fire-Type Frenzy: Charizard must defeat Greninja, Lucario, and Pikachu all appearing after another.
• Pokémon Battle: Greninja must defeat a team of Pikachu, Charizard, and Lucario in a 1 stock battle.

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 dies.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select characters and must defeat the entire roster.

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)

• LucarioAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Mega Lucario

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

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

• 

  Lucario's amiibo, which is exclusive to Toys 'R' Us.

• 

  The pic of the day shown during Lucario's reveal.

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  Close up of Lucario's down smash.

• MegaLucarioWiiU.png

  Lucario as Mega Lucario in SSB4.

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  Lucario charging an Aura Sphere.

• 

  Using its down smash to hit both Mario and Link at once.

• 

  Lucario air dodging while Mario and Mega Man initiate an attack on the Yellow Devil.

• 

  Neutral attack hit 3, while Wii Fit Trainer performs a pose.

• 

  Using Double Team against Link.

• 

  Lucario teetering while King Dedede approaches from behind with Jet Hammer.

• 

  Lucario sleeping under a tree produced by Villager.

• 

  Using ExtremeSpeed on the Rainbow Road stage.

• 

  Lucario using ExtremeSpeed with charged-up aura.

• 

  Lucario performing its up taunt in the 3DS version.

• 

  A picture showing off the difference between a low level and high level Aura Sphere.

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  Lucario next to Palkia, a Poké Ball Pokémon.

• 

  Using Double Team against Marth.

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  Lucario using its back aerial.

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  Lucario, 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 on the GBA, even though the games were actually released on the Nintendo DS. This was later fixed.
• Lucario is one of two Pokémon to not have a custom move share its name with an actual Pokémon attack, the other being Greninja.
• Lucario's Alt. Trophy in the Wii U version bears a resemblance to Mewtwo's Alt. Trophy in the Wii U version; both show the character in a dark alternate costume charging their neutral special.