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Lucario wasn't so much shoved down people's throats, so much as it is that was offered to them, and they happily accepted it.
Once Gen 5 came along, they tried to replicate Lucario's success with Zoroark, but Zoroark failed to become as popular as Lucario, so they abandoned it, and put Lucario back into the spotlight. When BW2 were first announced to have older Pokemon available during the main game, Riolu/Lucario was one of the promoted Pokemon.
