Ash's Lucario

This **Lucario** is a **Fighting**/**Steel**-type Pokémon owned by Ash Ketchum and the third Pokémon he caught during his journey around the world with Goh.

## History

Lucario's Egg was originally found in the Sinnoh region. Despite being passed from one Day Care worker to another for a long time, it seemed unwilling to hatch. Eventually, the Egg made its way to the Kanto region, coming under the care of the Nurse Joy working in Vermilion City.

While Ash battled Hayden in *Caring for a Mystery!*, the Egg sensed the strong Aura being emitted by the former and reacted to it. Ash also felt the Egg calling for him. While Pikachu was being treated at the Pokémon Center, Ash followed the call to the room where the Egg was being kept. When the Egg reacted to Ash's presence by rolling towards him, Nurse Joy decided to entrust its care to him.

The following night, the Egg hatched into a Riolu. As Ash wasn't exuding the same Aura as he had earlier, Riolu didn't recognize him and instantly fled from the Cerise Laboratory and started attacking various wild Pokémon, although all of them were too strong for it. Ash finally caught up to Riolu as it was getting attacked by an Onix. During the battle against the Rock Snake Pokémon, Riolu recognized Ash's Aura as the same one it had sensed earlier. With both Pikachu and Riolu attacking Onix, Ash was soon able to drive it away, after which he took Riolu to the Pokémon Center to be healed. After Nurse Joy treated Riolu, it expressed willingness to be caught by Ash, which he agreed to.

In *A Little Rocket R & R!*, Ash used Riolu to battle Team Rocket Grunts trying to steal Pokémon at the Resort Area, but it was defeated by their Purugly.

In *A Festival Reunion!*, when Ash traveled to Shalour City to participate in a Battle Festival Challenge in order to raise his World Coronation Series rank, Riolu sensed the Aura emanating from Korrina's Lucario and led Ash and his other Pokémon to it. Korrina took a liking to Riolu and encouraged it to become stronger with Ash. Riolu instantly started admiring Korrina's Lucario, and it came to the point that when Ash was about to start his battle with Korrina in the Battle Festival Challenge, it showed eagerness to battle, but Ash decided to go with his more experienced Pokémon. During and after the battle, even though Lucario had been defeated, Riolu still showed great admiration towards its evolved form.

In *Toughing It Out!*, Riolu battled a Galarian Farfetch'd. With a new array of moves at its disposal, it was able to defeat the Farfetch'd, which later joined Ash's team.

In *Betrayed, Bothered, and Beleaguered!*, Ash used Riolu in his World Coronation Series match against Tony. Riolu succeeded in defeating Tony's Electabuzz, increasing Ash's World Coronation Series rank in the process.

In *Solitary and Menacing!*, Ash took Riolu with him to the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City, where it was used to battle a Black Belt's Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee. During Ash's World Coronation Series match against Bea, Riolu volunteered to battle her Grapploct, only to be defeated, losing the match and causing Ash's World Coronation Series rank to go down.

In *Making Battles in the Sand!*, Ash used Riolu in two World Coronation Series matches, with the first against an Octillery and the second against a Tentacruel. After his loss against Bea, Ash was insistent on Riolu fighting from a distance, but as they had not trained in this fighting style, Riolu lost both of these battles, resulting in Ash dropping back to the Normal Class.

In *Octo-Gridlock at the Gym!*, Riolu battled Grapploct again following Pikachu's defeat during Ash's second battle against Bea at the Cianwood Gym. Using a new strategy, Riolu managed to use its opponent's arms to its own advantage. Despite this, the battle ended in a draw.

In *Sword and Shield, Slumbering Weald!*, Riolu was used alongside Pikachu and Dragonite to battle a rampaging Gigantamax Centiskorch. Despite their best efforts, the Centiskorch was only defeated when Leon arrived.

In *Sword and Shield: "From Here to Eternatus!"*, Riolu was sent out to battle Chairman Rose's Copperajah and Ferrothorn with Pikachu at the Hammerlocke Stadium. In the next episode, it evolved into Lucario while protecting Ash and Pikachu from Copperajah and Ferrothorn's attacks. Ash commanded it to use Vacuum Wave, but Lucario instead used its Aura powers to contact him and requested to use Aura Sphere instead. Ash agreed, and they used it to defeat each of Chairman Rose's Pokémon. Lucario subsequently assisted Leon in stopping Eternatus from attacking Galar. With the assistance of Zacian and Zamazenta, Lucario, Pikachu, and Cinderace combined their powers and weakened Eternatus until it collapsed, allowing Goh to catch it and seal it away, putting an end to the Darkest Day.

In *Getting More Than You Battled For!*, Ash sent Lucario out to battle Mewtwo on Cero Island, teaming up with Goh's Cinderace after Pikachu had been defeated. However, despite putting in its best effort, Lucario stood no chance against the Genetic Pokémon and was defeated by a massive Shadow Ball.

In *Ultra Exciting from the Shocking Start!*, Lucario was the first Pokémon Ash sent out during his World Coronation Series match against Volkner, going up against his Luxray. However, it was quickly recalled after being overwhelmed by a combination of Electric Terrain and Rising Voltage. Lucario was later sent out to battle Electivire, who managed to paralyze Lucario with Thunder Punch before being recalled and replaced by Fan Rotom. After enduring a powered-up Hex and an Air Slash from Rotom, Lucario proceeded to defeat it with Reversal. Lucario subsequently fought against Luxray again and managed to tie with it, thanks to the damage previously dealt on it by Gengar.

In *An Adventure of Mega Proportions!*, Ash and Lucario visited Korrina at the Shalour Gym. Since Ash was going to be facing many strong opponents in his upcoming World Coronation Series matches, he asked Korrina to help Mega Evolve his Lucario. Korrina agreed to help and gave Ash a Mega Glove, which enhanced Lucario's Aura powers enough for it to sense the location of a Lucarionite on Mega Island off the coast of Shalour City. On Mega Island, Ash and Lucario got separated but were able to contact each other through Aura and reunite at the Lucarionite's location. Before they could obtain the Mega Stone, however, they were challenged by a man referring to himself as the Mega Evolution Sage (later revealed to be Gurkinn in disguise), who challenged Ash and Lucario with his Mega Alakazam. While Lucario was paralyzed by Alakazam's Tri Attack, it managed to get past the Psi Pokémon and grab the Lucarionite.

In *Battle Three With Bea!*, Lucario was the second Pokémon Ash used during his second rematch against Bea at the Stow-on-Side Stadium, being sent out to face Grapploct once again after Pikachu had been recalled from the battle. However, before Lucario could land a single hit on Grapploct, Bea recalled it and sent out Hawlucha in its place. Hawlucha's speed proved troublesome for Lucario, taking heavy damage from a High Jump Kick and a Sky Attack. Bea eventually recalled Hawlucha as well and sent out Machamp, whose four arms were effective in holding Lucario back. Ash tried to escape from the desperate situation by Mega Evolving Lucario, but Lucario refused to do so, managing to escape from Machamp's grasp without help. Ash apologized to Lucario for having tried to rush things, and the battle resumed.

In *A Battle of Mega Versus Max!*, after Lucario had managed to land a Reversal on Machamp with its feet, Ash chose to substitute it for Sirfetch'd. Later, once Sirfetch'd and Pikachu had been defeated, Lucario was sent back out against Grapploct as Ash's last Pokémon standing. Wanting to preserve Lucario's strength for Machamp, Ash aimed for and succeeded in defeating Grapploct with a single blow, thanks to all the damage the Jujitsu Pokémon had already taken. Lucario then faced Machamp again, now allowing itself to be Mega Evolved, while Bea Gigantamaxed Machamp. Lucario was able to deal heavy hits on Machamp while surviving its Max Moves and signature G-Max Chi Strike. Machamp soon returned to normal, and attempted to use the critical hit boost from G-Max Chi Strike to its advantage while attacking with Bullet Punch, which Lucario met with a Force Palm. In the midst of the clash, Force Palm suddenly transformed into Steel Beam, which overpowered Machamp and defeated it, making Ash the winner and increasing his rank.

In *The Gates of Warp!*, Lucario, along with Inteleon, was stolen and taken away through a portal by Alternate World Team Rocket. In *Showdown at the Gates of Warp!*, Lucario devolved back into Riolu and finally an Egg as a result of a clash between Dialga and Palkia distorting time. After Arceus stopped the fight between Dialga and Palkia, the Temporal and Spatial Pokémon repaired the distortions their fighting had caused and restored all the devolved Pokémon back to normal, with Lucario returning to Ash's team in the process.

In *Battling in the Freezing Raid!*, Lucario was Ash's second Pokémon in a Raid Battle against an Articuno. Although it managed to land some strong hits on Articuno, it was ultimately defeated by a powerful Blizzard.

In *Catching the Aura of Fate!*, Ash and Lucario arrived in Kalos to seek out Ash's Greninja for help in training for their upcoming World Coronation Series battle against Raihan. While camping out in a forest for the night, they were attacked by a group of giant roots but were quickly saved by Greninja. Wanting to see how strong Ash's former Pokémon was, Lucario immediately accepted a sparring match with Greninja. However, Lucario was easily defeated when it couldn't keep up with Greninja's speed and power. Frustrated, Lucario proceeded to run off, but was quickly followed by Greninja. Lucario listened to Greninja's advice in strengthening its aura abilities by finding the perfect balance. However, after sensing another group of giant roots attacking Ash and Goh, Lucario and Greninja rushed back to help the boys. Lucario and Greninja worked together to take the roots down through a combination of Aura Sphere and Water Shuriken, after which Ash and Greninja parted ways once again.

In *Aim For The Eight!*, Ash used Lucario as his last Pokémon against Raihan, going against his Duraludon, who was Gigantamaxed immediately after being sent out. Due to Ash having Gigantamaxed his Gengar earlier in the match, he wasn't allowed to Mega Evolve Lucario. While Lucario's initial attacks seemed to leave its opponent unfazed, it was able to utilize the teachings from Greninja to grow its Aura Sphere into massive proportions and defeat the Alloy Pokémon, allowing Ash to advance to the Master Class.

In *Friends, Rivals, Lend Me Your Spirit!*, Ash visited Pallet Town and introduced his Pokémon to his new friends that he caught during his journey around the world, including Lucario. During the visit, Lucario trained with Heracross, Buizel, and Hawlucha. Ash later used Lucario as his first Pokémon in his battle against Paul, using it against his Gyarados. During the battle, Lucario learned Bullet Punch, and was able to defeat Gyarados. Before Ash left his hometown, it posed with the rest of Ash's Pokémon in a group photo with him.

In *Valor: A Strategic Part of Battling!*, Lucario was the last Pokémon that Ash used in his Masters Eight Tournament match against Cynthia. It was sent out to face Cynthia's Togekiss, which was Dynamaxed soon into the confrontation after exchanging several blows. The battle continued in the next episode, with Ash Mega Evolving Lucario and managing to defeat Togekiss after its Dynamax state ended. Mega Lucario next clashed with Garchomp and fought with it to a near standstill. A final clash between Dragon Claw and Reversal caused both Pokémon to fall to the ground, but only Lucario was able to get back up, winning Ash the match.

In *Toying With Your Motions!*, Ash used Lucario as his fourth Pokémon in his Masters Eight Tournament battle against Leon. It instantly Mega Evolved to face Mr. Rime. Despite Mr. Rime's agility in the ice-covered battlefield, Lucario managed to score a hit and defeat it with a single Aura Sphere. Lucario next went up against Dragapult and landed a flurry of Bullet Punches, but was quickly recalled after getting hit with a super effective Flamethrower. However, Lucario was later forced back on the battlefield after Dragonite was hit by Dragapult's Dragon Tail. Despite its best efforts, Lucario was paralyzed by a Thunderbolt, which allowed Dragapult to defeat it with another Flamethrower. In *Partners in Time!*, Lucario appeared as a vision to Pikachu during his battle against Leon's Charizard. After Ash had won the battle, Lucario joined him and the rest of his team for the awards ceremony.

In *This Could be the Start of Something Big!*, Lucario joined up with Pikachu and Goh's Galar starters against Lugia in a Raid Battle. Despite firing off multiple strong attacks—including combining their moves for extra power—they were unable to defeat the Diving Pokémon.

Ash left Lucario along with the rest of his *Journeys* team at Professor Oak's Laboratory sometime prior to *The Road Most Traveled!*, as he decided he wanted to start rotating his team for his new journey.