Aura Sphere
Aura Sphere is Lucario's Standard Special Move, which acts similar to Mewtwo's Shadow Ball in Super Smash Bros. Melee. The attack consist of Lucario concentrating Aura energy into a spherical shape in its paws, and then releasing it. It can be charged, and while doing so, any other fighter who touches the sphere takes a small amount of damage. Lucario can also continue to hold the sphere after it's fully charged, allowing it to take advantage of its damage dealing ability, or store it for later use (which is done by moving to the left/right). The sphere charges relatively fast, taking about half the time to fully charge as Samus's Charge Shot would.
When fully charged, Aura Sphere travels in a straight line but when fired without charging flies in an up-and-down wave motion similar to the path Mewtwo's Shadow Ball from Melee. Due to Lucario's rather floaty aerial maneuverability, it is possible to constantly fire Aura Spheres while approaching foes from the air. A fully charged Aura Sphere's damage output changes dramatically as Lucario takes damage, starting out as low as 13% damage, up to and possibly above 30% damage, all depending on the amount of damage Lucario has taken before attacking with it. In addition, Aura Sphere's size, when fully charged, is quite different at higher percentages, possibly amounting to be three times as large when Lucario has taken heavy damage as opposed to when it is at 0%.
Origin
The attack can be considered Lucario's signature attack, and is featured prominently in the movie Lucario and the Mystery of Mew as the prime example of Lucario's ability to manipulate Aura. In the Pokémon universe, Aura Sphere can be learned only by exceptional "Legendary" Pokémon (such as Mewtwo), save for Lucario and Togekiss. It is a powerful Special Fighting-Type attack that always hits, except for when the opponent is not on the field via using abilities similar to Dig or Fly. Lucario is the only Fighting-type that learns it, making it extremely powerful in its paws.
Reverse Aura Sphere
When using Aura Sphere in Brawl, if the control stick/pad is quickly hit in the opposite direction during the first few frames, Lucario will turn around very quickly (there is no animation, the character model simply appears facing the opposite direction) and Aura Sphere will be launched in the new direction. Every other character except Sonic can do the same thing with their respective Neutral B attacks.
Trivia
- If two Lucarios are close together, facing the opposite direction and use Aura Sphere to charge, enemies will get trapped between the charging Aura Spheres (and may sometimes have a "vacuum" effect). This tactic is relatively useful in 15 Minute Brawl.
- When Kirby uses Inhale on Lucario, Kirby's Aura Sphere does not change according to his damage like Lucario's does. It stays at a fixed value of what it would be at approximately 80% on Lucario.
- As Lucario's charging and firing poses are nearly identical, as well as a general resemblance, it is sometimes compared to Street Fighter's legendary Hadouken (Surge fist) technique.
- If Kirby uses his Final Smash while Lucario is charging an Aura Sphere from a safe distance, it will absorb the attack, but Lucario will continue to charge with nothing there. If one gets close to Lucario no damage will be dealt since the Aura Sphere technically does not exist. He can still shoot it but nothing will happen.
- If Lucario has a fully charged Aura Sphere and fires it at close range to a larger foe (ex. King Dedede, Bowser), while they are shielding, the Aura Sphere will have no effect, but will hover close to the ground for a few seconds before disappearing.
