Lucario

**Lucario** is a creature from the *Pokémon* series. It fought Blaziken in episode 14 of Mini Rumble.

## Description

Lucario, the Aura Pokémon and the 448th Pokémon in the Pokédex, is a Fighting/Steel Type Pokémon which evolves from Riolu via friendship during daytime. They are rare and usually live on mountains far away from humans to train, but are extremely loyal and prideful once caught, with a natural sense of justice. They are able to manipulate an energy named Aura, which enables them to sense enemies or prey from afar, create projectiles and even communicate with humans via telepathy.

The most popular and commonly known Lucario belonged to Sir Aaron. Lucario was Sir Aaron's student, but when he tried to stop a war, Lucario followed him and was sealed in his staff, so that Lucario may not suffer the same fate Sir Aaron would, as he sacrificed himself to save the Tree of Beginning. Years later, Ash Ketchum would accidentally free Lucario, and together they would try to save the disturbed Tree of Beginning and Mew.

## Trivia

* Because of its debut in *Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire* movie *Lucario and the Mystery of Mew*, Lucario appears in the original versions of Battle Frontier and its English dub counterpart, Unbeatable, alongside Mime Jr. and Weavile, despite not debuting until the following generation.
* Lucario's English name was revealed on February 9, 2006, with the announcement of the title of *Lucario and the Mystery of Mew*.
* In Pokémon Battle Revolution, Dusty wears a Lucario costume.
* Due to Lucario's combination of Abilities, in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky Steadfast only activates if Lucario becomes cross-eyed, or if the opponent has Mold Breaker.
* Lucario has the fewest moves of all the Pokkén Tournament fighters, with a total of four.
* In the Pokémon of the Year poll held by The Pokémon Company in 2020, Lucario was voted the most popular Generation IV Pokémon, receiving 102,259 votes. It was also the second-most popular Pokémon overall.

### Origin

Lucario appears to be based on the Egyptian god of funerals and the dead, Anubis, who has the head of an African golden wolf. Anubis's role in Egyptian mythology was to judge the hearts of deceased souls based on their actions during their life. This resembles Lucario's ability to see a life form's aura. It also seems to be based on an Egyptian boxer. Boxing is a sport that is believed to have origins in Egypt.

The markings on Lucario's face resemble a mask. The rings around its shoulders may be inspired by iron rings used in martial arts. The four appendages on Lucario's head, together with the shape drawn by its mask (a bisected ring), may suggest inspiration from a khakkhara, which in popular depictions can respond to spiritual energies similarly to how Lucario's appendages act when it senses aura. The appendages and the conical protrusions on Lucario's hands and chest may draw inspiration from the jackal's horn, which is a conical growth that can grow on the back of a golden jackal's head that is believed to have magic powers in some regions.

Lucario's golden-yellow shiny coloration may be drawn from the African golden wolf and the golden jackal.

#### Name origin

Lucario may be derived from the reverse of the Japanese transcription of *orichalcum* (a mythical metal) or *oracle* (referring to its supernatural abilities involving aura). It may also involve *Canis lupaster lupaster* (Egyptian wolf), λύκος *lúkos* (Greek for wolf), and possibly *luchar* (Spanish for *to fight*).

### XVX

* Lucario, Blaziken and Brendan are the first Pokemon characters to appear.