Lucario has been a long time fan favorite of the Pokemon series, and its back in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. There are several ways for you to catch Lucario, whether its a level 75 Ice Tera-Type Lucario, a roaming Lucario out in the wild, or by catching a Riolu and evolving it in an interesting way. In this guide we will cover all of these methods so you will know exactly how you want to catch Lucario whether you are using Pokemon Scarlet or Violet.
You may encounter a Lucario randomly in a Tera Raid, but since that would be random or event-specific, we will not cover that here.
Ice Tera-Type Level 75 Lucario
If you’ve already made it close to or past level 75 with some of your Pokemon, you will be able to go straight for the Ice Tera-Type Lucario available nearby the Dalizapa Passage Pokecenter, just north of The Great Crater of Paldea. This Lucario resides in a cave closeby the Pokecenter, but it can be quite the challenge to figure out just how to make your way through the caverns to find it. For this reason, we’ve included a short video on how you can get right to Lucario from the Dalizapa Pokecenter.
You can actually face off against this Lucario with level 30-40 Pokemon if you bring a nice mix of Fire and Ground type Pokemon. Make sure you bring extra Ultra Balls and use them when you bring Lucario to as small of a health pool as possible. If you drop it to a low percentage, around 15% of less of its HP, an Ultra Ball should do the trick. If he is breaking out, keep trying. We were able to get him on the 3rd Ultra Ball.
Ice Tera-Type Lucario Abilities
The Ice Tera Type Lucario will have the following abilities:
- Ice Punch
- Close Combat
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
Catch Lucario in the Wild
Lucario can sometimes be found in the wild between level 45 and 65. These are mostly in the north-east regions of Paldea, as noted on the Pokedex Habitat:
In these areas, they can spawn often with a gang of Riolu around them. You will want to work your way into the Lucario and aim at it specifically, hit your Pokeball throw, and start the encounter. This may be the best way to catch Lucario if you don’t want the Ice-Type Tera we covered in the section above. The other alternative is catching a Riolu and evolving it, but its evolution is complicated.
Catch Riolu in the Wild and Evolve It
Other than roaming with the Lucario in the north-eastern area of Paldea, you can also find Riolu on their own in a southern region of Paldea. The Habitat page within Pokemon Scarlet or Violet will show you where they can be found, if you have already seen one at some point in your journey.
You can access this screen if you have already seen the Pokemon somewhere in the game. Simply open up your Pokedex with the “-” minus button, find the Pokemon within the Pokedex, and then click the “+” plus button.
How To Evolve Your Riolu in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
If you have a Riolu you’d like to evolve into a Lucario, you will need to interact with the Riolu to obtain enough of the friendship stat for it to evolve. Riolu will evolve one it has achieved at least 220 of the friendship stat.
Once Riolu has achieved at least 220 points of friendship, simply level it up during the daytime in-game, and it will evolve into Lucario.
How to Check the Friendship Stat
To check the friendship stat of a Pokemon, take it smack-dab in the middle of the Cascarrafa city, in the western region of Paldea. There is an NPC here that will check your friendship stat for you.
When you speak with her, she will ask you to select one of your Pokemon, then tell you how close you are! She will not give you an exact stat number, but she will give you an idea if you are on the right track.
