- Game Versions
- Smash 3DS
Who Is Lucario?
Lucario is a dual-type Fighting-and-Steel-type Pokemon hailing from the DS Generation, Generation IV, Sinnoh, or, as most of you non Pokemon fanatics know them, Diamond and Pearl. Lucario was first introduced into the Smash series in Brawl as a playable fighter, albeit an unlockable one, and has been returned to Smash 4 as a beginning fighter. Lucario was put in Brawl for many reasons, but most notably two. The first was the critical acclaim and widespread popularity of his movie, Lucario And The Mystery Of Mew. The second was that every Pokemon up to this point had been very popular and well-known outside of one appearance(In case you don't know, the previous Pokemon before Lucario had been Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu, and Mewtwo.) Lucario has been the only Generation IV Pokemon representative, and he has fulfilled the role well.
In Brawl, Lucario was generally considered a high-tier character, but, sadly, out of all the Brawl newcomers(Ike, Snake, Sonic, Lucas, King Dedede, Meta Knight, Pokemon Trainer, Wolf, Olimar, Toon LInk, Wario, and ROB), Lucario got the least publicity. He is an often-overlooked character, and I have never quite been able to figure out exactly why that is. He's easy to play, quite fun to play, especially at high percents(If you don't know why I said that, you'll find out in a minute), and is a powerful character that is rewarding to win with. Now, here's the reason I have been able to come up with: Nobody likes Lucario. He's unpopular becuase there are so many other more notable fighters that newcomers don't feel attracted to him, and veterans overlook him because they already have their set-in-stone mains.
This fate has befallen many other characters, but none more so than our Aura-imbued friend. Lucario is attractive as a fighter to those at an intermediate level of play(like me upon first getting Smash 4), looking to get new mains. Lucario is a great character, with loads of potential, but unfortunately, he has little tournament representation and is a much-overlooked character. That's where we come in, as Lucario mains. To help bolster a little more playing of Lucario, and hopefully find someone who can compete in tournaments and not utterly fail(Junebug, I'm talking to you.). Perhaps you're that person? Okay, maybe not, but still, keep reading, becuase I took the time out of my oh-so-busy life(#SarcasticOpeningCommentIsSarcastic) to write this guide for you, so grab your applesauce and 3DS, because here we go!
Lucario's Playstyle, and Pros and Cons
How does Lucario play? Is probably the first question you people have for me, and that's a... well... okay, that's not as easy to answer as I first thought it would be. Lucario is a zoning character, and for those of you not educated in Smash lore, here's what that means. Lucario functions well keeping enemies in a certain "zone" away from him(Hence the word "zoning".) This is done through Lucario's main offensive tactics, Force Palm and Aura Sphere, his two versatile specials, as well as his tilts, smashes, and grabs. Lucario isn't a combo character, I mean, he has a few, but he ain't no Luigi or Pit. He has a few stale combos he can use, but they get predictable in a real hurry unless you can mix them in with your jabs and tilts, which isn't that hard to do. It's also worth mentioning that while his Force Palm grabs, it's only when the opponent is at very close range, but does increase the kill power appreciatively.
Lucario is a mid-heavyweight character, weighing in 16th out of all the characters, which isn't too bad, until you look at his physics. Lucario was handed an awful set of physics to enter the battlefield with. He is oddly floaty, for such a heavy character, he's slow on the ground, has disproportionately weird hitboxes(Okay, not physics), and has horrid startup/ending lag on his moves. Then there's his Aura mechanic, which makes Lucario the greatest risk-taker or risk-and-reward character in the history of Smash. More on that below. But anyways, his pros and cons up right now:
Pros
Aura Mechanic
Fairly heavy
Fast air moves
Easy combos
Great zoning/poking/harassing tools
Has a(somewhat unreliable) counter
Godlike recovery
Floaty jumps
No one knows how to fight a good Lucario!
Cons
Aura Mechanic
Utterly falters against certain characters
Slow walking/running speed
Floaty air physics
Weid playstyle
The Aura Mechanic-What is it?
To make a long story short, Aura is a glorified Rage mechanic on steroids. Aura causes Lucario's attacks to start out incredibly weak, perhaps the worst damage in the game, but over time, until he hits 190%, his attacks get stronger, and at 190%, his attacks do three times the normal damage! That means Lucario has the strongest attack in the entire game, his forward-smash, which can deal 43 damage on a lucky day. To put that in perspective, Falcon Punch does 26, and PK Flash does 34! Lucario is a beast at high percents, but unfortunately, he ain't no King Dedede, which makes it hard for him to get there. Also, this can be a double-edged sword against certain characters, as Aura Sphere, devastating as it is, reflected by Fox at full charge over 100% is pretty much an insta-kill. Yikes. But, Lucario is still a great character, against what people say. Now, next lets get into what you all have put up with my crap for: Moves and combos! Hurrah!
Lucario's Moves and Combos
Lucario has a number of tools at his disposal, all of which are fun to use in combat, but I'll just be covering his specials today. Here we go:
Standard special: Aura Sphere: Lucario's bread and butter, right here. Aura Sphere is a charge up BALL OF DOOM, pretty much, not to mention being a rip of Samus's Charge Shot as well.
Side special: Force Palm: Lucario shoots out a blast of energy from his palm that damages opponents and can grab them at the start for additional damage.
Up special: Extremespeed: One of the game's best recovery moves, Extremespeed sees Lucario shooting through the air controlled by directional inputs.
Down special: Double Team: A counter that's not one of the best, but is much better in team battles as it covers a larger area than most other counters.
Now for basic combos:
Grab + Pummel(2-5) + Up-throw + Up-air -- A good, versatile combo that can't be used too early.
Grab + Pummel(2-5) + Down-throw + Forward-air + Jump + Forward-air -- A fun-to-use combo that can rack up damage easily. Similar in execution to one of Back Throw Ebola's combos(If you don't get that, it's Ness. We're talking about Ness.).
Well, that just about sums up my guide for Lucario. I will be updating it regularly, and feel free to leave and suggestions/comments in the reviews or discussion section! Salty insults aren't welcome, though.
Thanks for reading,
TriforceOfAura
Lucario is a dual-type Fighting-and-Steel-type Pokemon hailing from the DS Generation, Generation IV, Sinnoh, or, as most of you non Pokemon fanatics know them, Diamond and Pearl. Lucario was first introduced into the Smash series in Brawl as a playable fighter, albeit an unlockable one, and has been returned to Smash 4 as a beginning fighter. Lucario was put in Brawl for many reasons, but most notably two. The first was the critical acclaim and widespread popularity of his movie, Lucario And The Mystery Of Mew. The second was that every Pokemon up to this point had been very popular and well-known outside of one appearance(In case you don't know, the previous Pokemon before Lucario had been Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu, and Mewtwo.) Lucario has been the only Generation IV Pokemon representative, and he has fulfilled the role well.
In Brawl, Lucario was generally considered a high-tier character, but, sadly, out of all the Brawl newcomers(Ike, Snake, Sonic, Lucas, King Dedede, Meta Knight, Pokemon Trainer, Wolf, Olimar, Toon LInk, Wario, and ROB), Lucario got the least publicity. He is an often-overlooked character, and I have never quite been able to figure out exactly why that is. He's easy to play, quite fun to play, especially at high percents(If you don't know why I said that, you'll find out in a minute), and is a powerful character that is rewarding to win with. Now, here's the reason I have been able to come up with: Nobody likes Lucario. He's unpopular becuase there are so many other more notable fighters that newcomers don't feel attracted to him, and veterans overlook him because they already have their set-in-stone mains.
This fate has befallen many other characters, but none more so than our Aura-imbued friend. Lucario is attractive as a fighter to those at an intermediate level of play(like me upon first getting Smash 4), looking to get new mains. Lucario is a great character, with loads of potential, but unfortunately, he has little tournament representation and is a much-overlooked character. That's where we come in, as Lucario mains. To help bolster a little more playing of Lucario, and hopefully find someone who can compete in tournaments and not utterly fail(Junebug, I'm talking to you.). Perhaps you're that person? Okay, maybe not, but still, keep reading, becuase I took the time out of my oh-so-busy life(#SarcasticOpeningCommentIsSarcastic) to write this guide for you, so grab your applesauce and 3DS, because here we go!
Lucario's Playstyle, and Pros and Cons
How does Lucario play? Is probably the first question you people have for me, and that's a... well... okay, that's not as easy to answer as I first thought it would be. Lucario is a zoning character, and for those of you not educated in Smash lore, here's what that means. Lucario functions well keeping enemies in a certain "zone" away from him(Hence the word "zoning".) This is done through Lucario's main offensive tactics, Force Palm and Aura Sphere, his two versatile specials, as well as his tilts, smashes, and grabs. Lucario isn't a combo character, I mean, he has a few, but he ain't no Luigi or Pit. He has a few stale combos he can use, but they get predictable in a real hurry unless you can mix them in with your jabs and tilts, which isn't that hard to do. It's also worth mentioning that while his Force Palm grabs, it's only when the opponent is at very close range, but does increase the kill power appreciatively.
Lucario is a mid-heavyweight character, weighing in 16th out of all the characters, which isn't too bad, until you look at his physics. Lucario was handed an awful set of physics to enter the battlefield with. He is oddly floaty, for such a heavy character, he's slow on the ground, has disproportionately weird hitboxes(Okay, not physics), and has horrid startup/ending lag on his moves. Then there's his Aura mechanic, which makes Lucario the greatest risk-taker or risk-and-reward character in the history of Smash. More on that below. But anyways, his pros and cons up right now:
Pros
Aura Mechanic
Fairly heavy
Fast air moves
Easy combos
Great zoning/poking/harassing tools
Has a(somewhat unreliable) counter
Godlike recovery
Floaty jumps
No one knows how to fight a good Lucario!
Cons
Aura Mechanic
Utterly falters against certain characters
Slow walking/running speed
Floaty air physics
Weid playstyle
The Aura Mechanic-What is it?
To make a long story short, Aura is a glorified Rage mechanic on steroids. Aura causes Lucario's attacks to start out incredibly weak, perhaps the worst damage in the game, but over time, until he hits 190%, his attacks get stronger, and at 190%, his attacks do three times the normal damage! That means Lucario has the strongest attack in the entire game, his forward-smash, which can deal 43 damage on a lucky day. To put that in perspective, Falcon Punch does 26, and PK Flash does 34! Lucario is a beast at high percents, but unfortunately, he ain't no King Dedede, which makes it hard for him to get there. Also, this can be a double-edged sword against certain characters, as Aura Sphere, devastating as it is, reflected by Fox at full charge over 100% is pretty much an insta-kill. Yikes. But, Lucario is still a great character, against what people say. Now, next lets get into what you all have put up with my crap for: Moves and combos! Hurrah!
Lucario's Moves and Combos
Lucario has a number of tools at his disposal, all of which are fun to use in combat, but I'll just be covering his specials today. Here we go:
Standard special: Aura Sphere: Lucario's bread and butter, right here. Aura Sphere is a charge up BALL OF DOOM, pretty much, not to mention being a rip of Samus's Charge Shot as well.
Side special: Force Palm: Lucario shoots out a blast of energy from his palm that damages opponents and can grab them at the start for additional damage.
Up special: Extremespeed: One of the game's best recovery moves, Extremespeed sees Lucario shooting through the air controlled by directional inputs.
Down special: Double Team: A counter that's not one of the best, but is much better in team battles as it covers a larger area than most other counters.
Now for basic combos:
Grab + Pummel(2-5) + Up-throw + Up-air -- A good, versatile combo that can't be used too early.
Grab + Pummel(2-5) + Down-throw + Forward-air + Jump + Forward-air -- A fun-to-use combo that can rack up damage easily. Similar in execution to one of Back Throw Ebola's combos(If you don't get that, it's Ness. We're talking about Ness.).
Well, that just about sums up my guide for Lucario. I will be updating it regularly, and feel free to leave and suggestions/comments in the reviews or discussion section! Salty insults aren't welcome, though.
Thanks for reading,
TriforceOfAura
