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Lucario

Note: Shield data shown will take Aura into account. They will be shown as 0/65/190 %s respectively.

Jab1 (-16/-15/-14), Jab2 (-18/-18/-17), & Jab3 (-23/-22/-21):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)

FTilt (-12/-11/-8):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
(Can be spaced out)

UTilt (-21/-20/-17):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)

DTilt (-9/-7/-5):
NAir (Frame 7)
(Can be spaced out)

Dash Attack (-27/-24/-20):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)

FSmash (-25/-24/-19):
Unpunishable
(Pushback is too good)

USmash (-37/-34/-30):
FSmash (Frame 26)

DSmash (-28/-25/-21):
Unpunishable
(Pushback is too good)

NAir (-2/-1/0):
Unpunishable
(Safe on shield)

FAir (-6/-6/-5):
Unpunishable
(Safe on shield)

BAir (-10/-9/-7):
NAir (Frame 7)
(Can be spaced out)

UAir (-10/-9/-7):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)

DAir (-9/-9/-8):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)

Aura Sphere (-26/-25/-23):
Unpunishable
(Projectile usage, charge can be cancelled on shield too fast to react)

Force Palm (-24/-19/-10):
(Unpunishable)
(Close hit is a command grab, far hit is spaced out of reach)

Extremespeed (-23/-22/-19):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
(Challenging this move is tricky and difficult)

Double Team (-31/-27/-21):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
(The punishes are mostly just for if he countered a projectile and you were able to shield in time, it's otherwise too fast to reliably shield from an attack)

• Neutral Moves: Jab, Aura Sphere, Tilts, Aerials.

• Kill Moves: Aura Sphere, Double Team, Force Palm Grab, Smash Attacks, BAir, UAir.

• Kill Confirms: Aura Sphere charge > USmash/DSmash/BAir, Aerial Aura Sphere Charge > UAir.

• Lucario’s landing NAir, and landing aerial pressure in general, is extremely strong and safe on shield. He’ll be using his landing aerials up close and weaving in with them.

• He mainly combos with NAir, UThrow, UTilt, DTilt, and FAir.

• Aura Sphere is a core part of Lucario’s neutral. It’s used to mix up movement a lot in the air, between B-Reverses and Wavebounces. It can also combo, kill, and absorb projectiles at higher charges (Bomb trades, however).

• He doesn’t want to keep fully charged Aura Sphere for long since it limits movement options, so if he’s hovering around mid-range, expect it, since it can become unreactable.

• Lucario can anti-air with FAir quickly, or threaten a kill with BAir.

• Lucario doesn’t have a great oos game. Outside of a Frame 7 DAir which hits below him, and a FAir that hits too high, Lucario has nothing. Shield pressure is very strong in this MU.

• Don’t underestimate his counter, Double Team. It kills Young Link VERY early and EASILY off of one Fire Arrow or Boomerang. Be wary of it at kill percents.

• Boomerang is fine, but extremely punishable. Fire Arrow is good for contesting Lucario in the air at a long distance, and Bomb helps in close quarters combat vs Aura Sphere. Be careful with projectiles so that he doesn’t get a stock with Double Team.

• Lucario is a bait and punish type of character, so play safe. We’re good at that. Don’t get reckless with tools like Boomerang that require discipline.

• With more Aura, Lucario will reserve risks and tend to disengage in an attempt to safely get a kill and abuse Aura on the next stock.

Boxing

(How do I escape this situation?):

• Lucario's positional pressure is, in and of itself, strong because of Aura. His position becomes insanely threatening.

• Be wary of shield pressure situations, such as from landing NAir.

• Mix up option choices and option coverage.

• Just like tomahawk Grab, Lucario has a tomahawk Force Palm mix-up.

Platform Pressure

(What tools do they have? How can we escape this pressure?):

• Lucario doesn’t have any spammable sharking options, but he has nAir, FAir, UAir/BAir (kill moves) and Aura Sphere.

• Lucario does have one of the higher airspeeds in the game, though.

• Going high isn’t extremely viable, as it can be chased down.

• Escaping through shield pressure isn’t a consistent option, but a strong one vs Lucario who has a weak oos game.

Landing

(How do they cover it? What are my best options?):

• Lucario can use UAir/BAir for killing, as well as Aura Sphere from a distance.

• At high %s, landing aggressively is less of an option, as Lucario can kill with Double Team.

• Land away from and defensively, or retreat to ledge/forfeit stage control.

Offstage

(How Do I Escape This Position And What Do I Look Out For?):

• Double Team can become an edgeguard tool that even counters projectiles.

• Aura Sphere/Force Palm, too, can be used for edgeguards.

• Be careful with projectiles and conserve resources for dealing with Aura Sphere.

• If possible, DI up and pull a Bomb while recovering to maximize options vs Lucario and Aura Sphere.

Ledge:

• Aura Sphere (when large enough), FFilt, DTilt, and DAir can hit ledge/2-frame. FTilt kills, so it’d be a solid option, but DTilt is safer, though lower reward. DAir sends at a nasty angle, though.

• Just like regular Grab, Lucario can use Force Palm to Grab you on regular getup, or he can back off and hit you with the projectile hit on your way up from a ledge jump.

• Take into account Aura Sphere’s current charge and given information by both players to choose a mix-up accordingly.

Juggling/Boxing:

• Get Lucario into a position where frame data is abusable and Lucario has less options, such as in shield or in the corner. In these cases, you have far more options than him, and his options aren’t good.

• This can be done by spacing moves like DTilt, FAir1, ZAir, and even Jab2.

• Lucario has several tools to escape and prevent overextensions, such as his Double Team, which is intangible on Frame 4.

• Alongside his great airspeed and movement mix-ups, Lucario can dodge attacks quite easily. Refrain from overcommitting and expending too many resources. Predict where he wants to be.

Offstage:

• Extremespeed’s distance is based on Lucario’s Aura level. Every single percent counts. The time duration of the move always stays the same though.

• At the end of the controllable part of Extremespeed, Lucario does a “flip.” This flip has a huge hitbox.

Dam’s briefing on landing with Extremespeed:

There are three types of landings for Extremespeed.

• The first is the normal one where you just land, a hard landing. FAF of 36.

• The second is the slide, or parallel landing. You get this when ending the move when gliding across the ground. This is the fastest landing. FAF 30.

• Finally, we have the bounce. This is where you crash into the ground and bounce up a bit. It's unique in that it carries momentum, so you can cycle through ending lag while being a moving target, giving it some safety. It allows for some tricky plays. When the bounce completes (FAF 38), he lands with little landing lag, so be ready.

• The bounce also creates a Frame 1-2 hitbox where he crashes.

• Lucario can choose the direction in which you are sent, and it can kill at reasonable percents.

• Going offstage to edgeguard is a bad idea most of the time because of how much Lucario can mix up his recovery, which means he can go around you and now has stage control.

• He is rarely forced to ledge on a recovery. At most you could try placing a Bomb offstage for damage.

• Lucario has one of the farthest ledge rolls in the game.

• Lucario has a wall jump and wall cling, add Aura Sphere charge to that, and he has a lot of options around ledge.

• Most of the time, Lucario can skip going to ledge entirely.

• Double jump from ledge > Force Palm is a cheeky option.

• Stay onstage and track him down. Focus on general positional advantage instead of ledgetrapping alone.

Ledge Info:

XLR8’s Spreadsheet Young Link Ledge Info:

DTilt: Hits

DSmash: Hits

FTilt: Hits

Most Reliable Move: All

Animation Info: N/A

Note: Normal difficulty, FTilt reaches farthest.

• FD DTilt > ASA %s: 108. 100

• FD FThrow @ Ledge %s: 177, 151

• FD Milkshake %s: 102-140, 89-120

• Lucario Kill Throws: Force Palm

• Aura’s killpower starts kicking in around 80%.

• Battlefield:
  Terrible. Lucario LOVES platforms because they allow for many more movement options thanks to Aura Sphere, and it better protects him.

• Final Destination:
  Good. With no platforms for Lucario, it’s easier to catch his landings, and he loses platform mix-ups.

• Smashville:
  Great. This stage has just enough space to play safe vs Lucario while limiting his mix-ups. Hiding under the platform while ledgetrapping is nice in this MU.

• Town & City:
  Indifferent. Lots of space, and favorable layouts for both players. Be wary of the low side zones leading to Aura cheese.

• Lylat Cruise:
  Indifferent. This is the stage that’s closest to the triplats, but the open air on the top of the stage isn’t as bad as traditional triplats. Be wary of Aura Sphere charge/Aura Sphere at high %s in-between platforms.

• Pokémon Stadium 2:
  Indifferent. Neutral stage for both characters. Not my first pick with bans taken into account, but still fine.

• Kalos Pokémon League:
  Indifferent. This stage provides the strengths of FD, but large zones can lead to Aura cheese + Lucario living longer than wanted.

• Yoshi’s Story:
  Terrible. Same reasons as BF, additionally his wall jump/wall cling become available.