Super Smash Bros. Brawl/Lucario

Table of Contents

Modification: Project M

Competitive Play

File:SSBB.Lucario.jpg

Lucario needs to be unlocked

Lucario has a unique moveset, almost totally different from that of Mewtwo, whom he has replaced for this game, so you will need to practice to become a master with this Pokémon.

It has a long attack range. Its Aura-based attacks effectively double its reach.
The higher its damage meter is, the more damage it can inflict on its opponent (a good way to measure is by charging its Aura Sphere).
For best results, keep your opponents very close for the highest firepower and stay in the fray.

Lucario is a solid fighter with almost all of his attacks in the exact middle of the weight classes (see Statistics for brief overview). But that's not exactly his main speciality: he has the unique ability to have his attack strength altered. His Aura, which are affected by his % and place, attacks increase in damage corresponding to his current place in the match and the % he has (max being 300% and last place; at this point, anyone over 70% can be KO'd).

But this doesn't mean that you'll be able to go into a fight when an opponent is one percent higher than you and you'll be able to KO him easy. It's the margin of distance between him and the 1st-place opponent. In other words, there's a big difference of his strength when he's, for example, 5% away than 50% away from the 1st-place opponent. Around every 8%-12% he's closer to 1st place, he loses a point of his attack power. It may not seem like much, but in the example, he could have an extra 6% in attack power, which is a lot for some of the powerful moves like Force Palm.

Although the Aura attacks are well known to be powerful, there's also another special ability he has that most of the other characters don't: the ability to latch onto walls while wall-jumping. If you let go of the control stick after jumping, he will stay on there for a long amount of time. This gives you three options: stay on the wall to wait for the time to jump in, immediately jump back in to continue fighting, or unleash an attack from where you are.

Note: since his attacks vary depending on his current percentage and what place he is in (for example, 150% and Last Place), all Aura-based attacks (such as Force Palm and Aura Sphere) will increase, making him extremely varied (as in the example, attacks are roughly twice as powerful than statistics). The statistics shown here are if he's at 0% and either tied or at 1st place.

Strategies

Use the forward+B attack for knockback then unleash the final smash. When you press the final smash button, move your control stick before hand, aim at your opponent and blast away!
It's best for Lucario to be in a Coin Match, since he can be in last place a lot more often than in a regular match. If he is anywhere above 175% and in last place in Coins collected, for example, his down+B move might be able to instantly KO anyone over 100%.
Charging Aura sphere is very good at luring opponents in. If there is a huge crowd of people in a free for all, one way to attack all of them at once is to jump right in and charge Aura sphere. This will attack all the opponents immediately behind you and you can also shoot it at any opponents in front of you.
Use Double Team against Melee fighters who have two projectiles. One thing you can do is get away from them, and as they come over to attack use Double Team. This is incredibly risky because it leaves Lucario so vulnerable afterwards.
When facing Snake, you can edge guard effectively by using Lucario's + from below Snake, just as he uses his +. To get him off of the edge, either throw or Smash him.

Basic Attacks

Wii Remote + Nunchuk	Wii Remote (sideways)	Wii Classic Controller	GameCube Controller	Standard Attack	Info
Smash +	++	(Smash +) or	(Smash +) or	Aura Thrust	He thrusts out both hands in a powerful aura smash.
Smash +	++	(Smash +) or	(Smash +) or	Aura Twister	He shoots his hand up, then spins down. This move has a ridiculous amount of active frames.
Smash +	++	(Smash +) or	(Smash +) or	Aura Duo Blast	He shoves both aura-cloaked hands around him, hitting both sides at once.

Special Attacks

Wii Remote + Nunchuk	Wii Remote (sideways)	Wii Classic Controller	GameCube Controller	Special Attack	Info
				Aura Sphere	A single blue sphere which can be controlled by how much damage it gives by holding the special-button longer. The speed and strength of the ball will be determined by the % of Lucario: higher % is better.
+	+	+	+	Force Palm	A single blast. Best used for close-combat. It changes from an Aura attack with decent range to a close combat move, which deals extra damage and has a powerful knockback ability. Lucario gets a pseudo-chaingrab from the close-combat version of this move.
+	+	+	+	Extreme Speed	Super-fast and can be controlled during the whole move by the pad or stick. Best used for recovery, as it causes no damage when colliding with an opponent.
+	+	+	+	Double Team	A reaction move, used as a counter: When struck within 3 seconds after activating the move, Lucario vanishes and then reappears with a low but powerful kick. Best used when in the fray or in the air to dodge aerial attacks, or as a combo starter/ escape move.

Taunts

Wii Remote + Nunchuk	Wii Remote (sideways)	Wii Classic Controller	GameCube Controller	Taunt
				He growls and takes a stance.
+	( or )+	or	or	He puts one paw forward and emits aura from it.
	+			He goes into a crane position and holds.

Final Smash

Aura Storm: Lucario flies into the skies and fires a large beam of aura, which can be aimed in almost any direction below him. When initialized, this attack will begin by firing straight down (however you can change this by holding the control stick to either side). It can then be angled either to the left or right by holding the control stick in the desired direction (the direction of your enemy!). You can change the angle at any time.

The problem with this attack is that Lucario turns slowly — your enemy will easily outrun the attack and hover above the beam until it dissipates. However against a non-flying opponent this is more effective (for example, against Bowser, Gannondorf, or Ike). If you know which side your enemy will be on, make sure you tilt the beam before it fires so you can lift it even higher - however this still will not guarantee a hit because the attack can be air dodged.

In team battles you can use this attack to assist your teammate — either as a defensive mechanism (hide inside or on the other side of the beam), or offensive (knock them into the beam).

Match-Ups

Lucario tends to fare very well with characters like Pit and Sonic who can easily rack up damage but have a hard time finishing their foes because this lets Lucario jack himself up on power to destroy his foes. Lucario unfortunately has some serious bogeys with characters like Snake who can kill at 50% and upwards.

Snake

Beware of Snake! He is known for his ridiculous smashes, specials, and mind games with his down-smash and C4. Lucario against Snake will be a tough fight, so be prepared.

When facing Snake, you can edge guard effectively by using Lucario's + from below Snake, just as he uses his +. To get him off of the edge, either throw or Smash him.

Wolf

Wolf is a pretty even matchup with Lucario. He can outrun you, but his air game is not very good, so you should take him on there. Also, he is easy to chaingrab with force palm because of his ridiculous falling speed.