Lucario (SSBB)

Lucario (, Lucario), stylized as LUCARIO in Europe, is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, originating from the universe. Confirmation of Lucario's inclusion in Brawl was leaked before the game's release through a promotional video on the Japanese Wii website about sticker power ups. It was officially revealed on February 28th, 2008.

Lucario is voiced by in the Japanese version, reprising his role from the Pokémon movie, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew; in English, it is voiced by, who would later also recurringly voice Lucario in the Pokémon anime. Lucario has different voices depending on the language.

Lucario is ranked 11th on the tier list, placing it at the top of the C+ tier. Lucario is most known for its Aura property that increases its power as its damage goes up and is bolstered even further when its placing falls in a match. At high percentages, Lucario possesses KO power that rivals that of and, while its attacks are much faster. Outside of aura, Lucario possesses what is considered one of the strongest aerial games, with its above average air speed and floaty falling speed giving it strong aerial movement, while its amazing and well balanced aerial attacks give it some of the best offensive and defensive aerial capabilities. Lucario additionally possesses a strong defensive game to bolster its aura property farther, possessing good movement, great reach, a strong and spammable projectile in Aura Sphere, and extremely fast and long distanced rolls. Lucario also has one of the strongest comboing abilities in Brawl, possessing several effective combo starters and attacks that flow into each other well, as well as a strong grab and throw game.
 * In English: Bill Rogers
 * In French: Jean-Marc Delhausse
 * In German: Gerhard Jilka
 * In Italian: Luigi Fantino
 * In Japanese: Daisuke Namikawa
 * In Korean: Shin Yong-woo
 * In Spanish: Carlos Lobo

However, Lucario's Aura property acts as a double-edged sword, as its attacks are extremely weak at low damage percents. Since Lucario lacks an effective gimping move and has only a few moves that aren't affected by Aura (none of which are reliable KO moves), Lucario has to be at high damage percentages to KO effectively, where it is then vulnerable to KOs itself. Lucario, despite possessing a good recovery, can be problematic; even though Lucario can cover good distance when recovering and its recovery move ExtremeSpeed is versatile with unique properties, ExtremeSpeed lacks invincibility frames and damaging hitboxes while also not being very fast. This makes ExtremeSpeed heavily vulnerable to edge-hogging and makes Lucario one of the easier characters to edge-guard. Overall, Lucario has strong matchups, with only two countered matchups against and, and it has achieved strong tournament results.

How to unlock
Complete one of the following:
 * Play 100 VS. matches.
 * Complete Target Smash!! on all difficulty levels with one character (2 player mode also counts).
 * Have Lucario join the player's party in the Subspace Emissary (The Glacial Peak).

With the exception of the third method, the player must then defeat Lucario on Spear Pillar in order to unlock it.

Attributes
Lucario is a character with relatively fast attack speed and decent maneuverability. It has a very strong air game due to the speed and knockback of its aerials; its forward and up airs are great for juggling and stringing into each other at low percents, the forward air is also useful as a defensive move and general combo-filler, and its down air has very fast start-up and strong edge-guarding ability. Lucario's aerials in general give it a good set of approaching and defensive moves, due to having floaty physics, decent air speed, and the ability to wall jump and wall cling. Lucario's recovery move ExtremeSpeed is bendable, allowing a variety of unpredictable recovery angles, and the ability to wall cling and wall jump after use. Most of Lucario's attacks have unexpectedly large hitboxes, most notably its forward smash.

Of course, Lucario's biggest advantage is its aura. A Lucario at KO percent gains enough extra damage on its attacks to reduce the opponent's survivability by a few dozen percent, in addition to increasing the already-large hitbox size of most of its moves. Aura also increases Lucario's power when it is behind in the match; both these factors combined allow it more chance to stage a comeback than some other characters. Other tools include Aura Sphere, a multi-purpose projectile that can bother approaches or KO at high percents (for both players).

While Lucario's floatiness gives it control in the air, it does leave it susceptible to juggling despite its down aerial's momentum-halting properties. Most of its ground attacks are also on the slow side, and its grounded mobility is average at best (although it does have a fast fox-trot), so it must use its aerials to keep the opponent out of close range. But the biggest problem is that aura is a two-way street; when at low damage (such as at the start of every stock) Lucario's entire moveset is weakened, and when it has a lead in stocks its power decreases even further, which makes it difficult to make headway on the opponent at the start of a match and can make it harder to hold a lead than some other characters. The reduced damage also comes with reduced power, meaning Lucario has a hard time getting KOs until its damage reaches a certain amount. It also lacks a meteor smash outside of Footstool Jumps, its recovery cannot deal damage and so is a bit easier to interrupt (plus it cannot fight off edgehoggers at all), and its counter move (Double Team) is too slow to be useful, and the counterattack can even be shielded.

Lucario is the epitome of risk versus reward. Its aura rewards it for falling behind and punishes it for pulling ahead, encouraging close matches and come-from-behind victories.

Anubis combo
In team play, the strength of Lucario's aura is based on the amount of stocks it has compared to all of the other players, including its teammates. The aura grows stronger when Lucario has less stocks than everyone else, and weaker when it has more. A Lucario can be at very high power if it has only one stock remaining but its teammate has three. The stock count and high damage can combine to provide maximum power to Lucario's aura. This phenomenon is known as the Anubis combo. In doubles matches where the Anubis combo is exploited, the Lucario is usually the aggressor, dealing high amounts of damage and knockback as the aura grows stronger after losing stocks, while the other player camps and avoids combat, holding onto their stocks for as long as possible. (Meta Knight) and (Lucario) were a notorious team at  that utilized this strategy, winning the doubles tournament after being knocked into losers' bracket.

Notable players

 * See also: Category:Lucario players (SSBB)


 * - While more famous for his Melee dominance, was considered one of the best Brawl players in the United States from 2008-2009, and was a major force in the development of Lucario's metagame.
 * - Although better known in Project M, was considered one of the best Lucario players in Brawl, most notably defeating at KTAR 6 and  at MLG DC 2010.
 * - Mained Lucario along with Meta Knight, and was one of the most dominant players in the United States in 2009-2010.
 * - Mained Lucario along with Meta Knight, and was considered one of the best players in the United States during the MLG era.
 * - Considered the best Lucario player during his prime, and defeated at SKTAR, placing 5th.
 * - A top Lucario main from the Tristate Area.

Tier placement and history
Lucario has always been one of the prominent high tier characters in Brawl. It was ranked 9th on the first tier list (September 2008). Though it dropped to 14th place on the third tier list (July 2009), players such as, , and gained great tournament results with Lucario, allowing it to be able to maintain a position around 11-12th since then. Lucario is currently ranked 11th place in the upper-mid tier, in the eighth and current tier list, as of April 2013.

Role in The Subspace Emissary
Lucario plays a supporting role in The Subspace Emissary near the climax. It mostly interacts with. Meta Knight is making his way up a snowy mountain with the in pursuit. Meta Knight is trying to catch the Halberd which has flown overhead. At the top, he encounters Lucario in a meditative stance on the peak of the mountain. Lucario challenges Meta Knight and the two fight, as the Ice Climbers nervously watch on. After the battle, the victor revives the other from their trophy state. The pair deem each other worthy and shake hands, making an alliance. Suddenly the Halberd slams the Great Fox into the mountain, and Lucario and Meta Knight board it whilst the Ice Climbers are knocked off the mountain into the valley below. After managing to get onto the Halberd, the two pass by, who is hidden in his box. Lucario, being the only one who notices something suspicious about the box, uses its aura to peer into it. Seeing Snake huddled inside, Lucario removes it, and Snake realizes that his cover is blown. Meta Knight draws his sword, but just as he and Snake prepare to fight, Lucario steps in, having sensed a mass of Primids approaching, and the three team up to fight through.

Not long after, the trio meets up with and  as their trophies are cloned by the Shadow Bugs. Once the clones are taken care of, Snake, Lucario and Meta Knight discover that the Halberd bridge is being piloted by a group of es. The three of them knock all of the Mr. Game & Watches out of the window, where they land near Peach, Zelda (disguised as ), and who have gathered on the deck of the ship. The Mr. Game & Watches then revert into Shadow Bugs, which fuse into Duon. Lucario and Snake leap from the bridge to the aid of the trio already there, and they are joined by, who skydives from his Arwing. They battle and defeat the monster, who collapses into wrecked metal, Shadow Bugs, and Mr. Game & Watch's trophy. Peach revives him, and he subsequently joins the player's party. Meta Knight, with the Halberd once again in his control, steers his vessel into brighter skies.

Lucario is later selectable in the Entrance to Subspace level and is present when Tabuu turns all characters back into trophies. The player must find its trophy in one of the Subspace levels, then they may choose it as part of their team for the Great Maze and for the fight against Tabuu himself.

Playable appearances

 * The Glacial Peak
 * Battleship Halberd Interior
 * Battleship Halberd Bridge
 * Entrance to Subspace
 * The Great Maze (if rescued in Subspace (Part II))

Exclusive stickers
The following stickers can either only be used by Lucario, or can only be used by a select few, including the character itself:
 * Charizard: [Arm, Leg] Attack +10
 * Deoxys: [Slash] Attack +10
 * Entei: [Flame] Attack +20
 * Goldeen: [Leg] Attack + 4
 * Gulpin:[Electric] Attack +16
 * Jigglypuff: [Body, Spin] Attack +31
 * Jirachi: [Arm, Leg] Attack + 7
 * Meowth: [Slash] Attack + 5
 * Metagross: Launch Resistance +23
 * Mew: [Body, Spin] Attack + 4
 * Moltres: [Flame] Attack +20
 * Pokémon Trainer: [Arm, Leg] Attack +13
 * Staryu: [Specials: Direct] Attack + 3
 * Togepi: [Body, Spin] Attack +11
 * Torchic: [Flame] Attack + 8
 * Box Boxer: [Aura] Attack +26
 * Chikorita: [Aura] Attack +13
 * Chozo Statue: [Aura] Attack +25
 * Dry Bones: [Aura] Attack +17
 * Lakitu: [Aura] Attack + 6
 * Lucario: [Aura] Attack +41
 * Munchlax : [Aura] Attack +13
 * Rachel: [Aura] Attack +11
 * Rayquaza: [Aura] Attack +24
 * Starman: [Aura] Attack + 6

In Classic Mode, Lucario can appear as an opponent or ally in Stage 3 if it has been unlocked along with, , and on Pokémon Stadium 2 or Spear Pillar (with the latter available if it has been unlocked). Lucario can also appear as an opponent in Stage 11, but only if it hasn't appeared in Stage 3.

All-Star Mode
In All-Star Mode, Lucario is fought in Stage 18 alongside, , and on Pokémon Stadium 2 or Spear Pillar (with the latter available if it has been unlocked).

Solo Events

 * Event 22: Monkeys Unite: As allied with a giant, the player must defeat  and Lucario on Rumble Falls.
 * Event 25: The Aura Is With Me: As Lucario, starting at 182% damage, the player must defeat Sheik and on Spear Pillar.
 * Event 39: All-Star Battle x2: Lucario is one of the eight opponents fought in this event along with, , , , , , and.

Co-Op Events

 * Co-Op Event 10: The R.O.B.'s of Tomorrow: As Lucario and the, both players must defeat five R.O.B.s of varying sizes on Summit.
 * Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle: Both players select a character and take on the entire roster on.

Trophies
Lucario's main and Final Smash trophies can be obtained by clearing and All-Star mode respectively with Lucario.

Trivia

 * Lucario is one of only three characters in Brawl able to perform three aerials in one short hop (in Lucario's case, rising forward aerial, two down aerials), the others being (three up aerials) and  (rising forward aerial, forward aerial, then neutral aerial or up aerial).
 * Lucario and the are the only characters in Brawl that have a different dubber in every language.
 * In Spanish, Italian, and German versions of Brawl, Lucario's standard grunts from Bill Rogers are kept, while any spoken dialogue is done by different voice actors. Oddly, the French version does not follow this rule.
 * If Lucario is at above 170% and is behind by two stocks, its forward smash will become the most powerful in the game, with even more knockback than 's.
 * Lucario has the highest traction of any character in Brawl.
 * Lucario is the only playable Pokémon in Brawl that did not debut in.
 * Lucario is the first Pokémon to be speak English in a Smash game.
 * It was a common belief around the time of Brawl's release that Lucario "replaced" Mewtwo from Super Smash Bros. Melee, due to them having a similar neutral special, and those upset at Mewtwo's exclusion naturally looking for a scapegoat to blame for it (or accept as the reason why Mewtwo was cut). However, leftover data on Brawl's disc shows that both Mewtwo and Lucario were both meant to be playable in Brawl, and just basic observance of their movesets and overall designs shows them to be nothing alike aside from their similar neutral specials. A similar and equally untrue belief existed for and.
 * Not counting Melee, Lucario is the first playable Pokémon whose on-screen appearance does not involve it being released from a Poké Ball. It would be followed by.