Lucario
FightingSteel
Best attacking moveset: Force Palm and Aura Sphere, worth 17.3 damage per second against a neutral target.
Best moveset
Lucario can learn 24 combinations. Force Palm with Aura Sphere does the most damage per second of them, at level 40 with a perfect attack stat. Same-type moves get the 1.2× bonus, and the cycle assumes the charged attack fires the moment it has the energy.
That set is legacy. Force Palm is only obtainable with an Elite TM or from the event that gave it out, so the Lucario you catch today cannot learn it. The best set it can learn now is Counter and Aura Sphere, worth 15.5 damage per second.
Stats and moves come straight from the game's own data files. Every number on this page is a raid and gym number, not a PvP one.
Type matchups
| Fast attack | Type | Power | Duration | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullet Punch | Steel | 10 | 1.0s | +11 |
| Counter | Fighting | 13 | 1.0s | +9 |
| Force Palm Legacy | Fighting | 10 | 1.0s | +16 |
| Charged attack | Type | Power | Duration | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aura Sphere | Fighting | 100 | 2.0s | -50 |
| Blaze Kick | Fire | 40 | 1.0s | -33 |
| Close Combat | Fighting | 105 | 2.5s | -100 |
| Flash Cannon | Steel | 100 | 2.5s | -100 |
| Meteor Mash | Steel | 100 | 2.5s | -50 |
| Power Up Punch | Fighting | 50 | 2.0s | -33 |
| Shadow Ball | Ghost | 100 | 3.0s | -50 |
| Thunder Punch | Electric | 50 | 2.0s | -33 |
Shiny
Yes. Shiny Lucario has been released. Players have found it from: wild, research, evolution, photobomb.
Other forms
Evolution family
Numbers
| Max CP | 3,056 at level 50, 2,703 at level 40 |
|---|---|
| Raid catch | 1,544 CP at level 20, or 1,930 if weather boosted (perfect IVs) |
| Lowest possible raid catch | 1,469 CP. Raid encounters can't roll below 10/10/10 |
| Base stats | 236 attack · 144 defense · 172 stamina |
What it costs
| Candy to evolve | 25 Candy |
|---|---|
| Second charged move | 75,000 Stardust and 75 Candy |
| Buddy distance | 5 km per Candy |
| Size | 1.2 m and 54 kg |
Best moveset against each type
Lucario does not have one best moveset, it has 5. Which one wins depends on what you are attacking, because a move only gets its bonus against something weak to it. Best against Normal, Rock, Steel.
| Against | Best moveset | DPS |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | Force Palm + Aura Sphere | 27.4 |
| Rock | Force Palm + Aura Sphere | 27.4 |
| Steel | Force Palm + Aura Sphere | 27.4 |
| Ice | Force Palm + Aura Sphere | 27.4 |
| Dark | Force Palm + Aura Sphere | 27.4 |
| Fairy | Bullet Punch + Meteor Mash | 22.1 |
| Fighting | Force Palm + Aura Sphere | 17.3 |
| Ground | Force Palm + Aura Sphere | 17.3 |
| Fire | Force Palm + Aura Sphere | 17.3 |
| Water | Force Palm + Aura Sphere | 17.3 |
| Grass | Force Palm + Aura Sphere | 17.3 |
| Electric | Force Palm + Aura Sphere | 17.3 |
| Dragon | Force Palm + Aura Sphere | 17.3 |
| Psychic | Force Palm + Shadow Ball | 17.1 |
| Ghost | Force Palm + Shadow Ball | 16.1 |
| Bug | Force Palm + Blaze Kick | 15.1 |
| Force Palm + Meteor Mash | 14.7 | |
| Poison | Force Palm + Meteor Mash | 14.7 |
Same maths as the headline number, run once per defending type: level 40, perfect attack IV, and the target's own type taken into account. Sorted by damage, so the top of this table is what Lucario is actually for.
Counters: what beats Lucario
| Attacker | Type | Moveset | DPS |
|---|---|---|---|
 Blacephalon | FireGhost | Incinerate + Mind Blown Legacy | 45.8 |
 Lucario | FightingSteel | Force Palm + Aura Sphere Legacy | 38.8 |
 Reshiram | DragonFire | Fire Fang + Fusion Flare Legacy | 38.0 |
 Pheromosa | BugFighting | Low Kick + Focus Blast | 35.5 |
 Terrakion | RockFighting | Double Kick + Sacred Sword Legacy | 35.4 |
 Blaziken | FireFighting | Counter + Aura Sphere | 35.1 |
 Chandelure | GhostFire | Fire Spin + Overheat | 34.8 |
 Cinderace | Fire | Fire Spin + Pyroball | 34.3 |
 Volcarona | BugFire | Fire Spin + Overheat | 33.9 |
 Darmanitan | Fire | Fire Fang + Overheat | 33.8 |
Ranked by damage per second against Lucario's own defense, at level 40 with a 15 attack IV, one per evolution family.