>>57779751Lucario has had a varied history in competitive Pokémon, with its viability shifting depending on the generation, format, and metagame. Here's a breakdown of Lucario's role in competitive play:
Strengths:
Excellent Offensive Typing: Steel/Fighting gives Lucario key resistances and useful coverage against common types like Rock, Ice, Dark, and Fairy.
Diverse Move Pool: Access to powerful moves like:
Close Combat / Aura Sphere
Flash Cannon / Meteor Mash
Extreme Speed (priority)
Bullet Punch, Crunch, Ice Punch, etc.
Setup Potential: Lucario is very threatening with:
Swords Dance (physical sweeper)
Nasty Plot (special sweeper)
Agility (speed control)
Ability Variety:
Inner Focus (prevents flinching—decent in formats with Fake Out)
Justified (great in doubles with beat-up strategies)
Steadfast (less used)
Weaknesses:
Fragile Defensively: Despite being Steel-type, its base 70 HP and 70 Defense/Sp. Def stats make it easy to KO.
Speed is Just Okay: Base 90 Speed is decent, but not great—gets outsped and KO'd by many threats without setup or priority.
Competition: Outclassed by faster or bulkier Fighting-types (e.g., Iron Valiant, Urshifu, Iron Hands) or more reliable Steel-types (like Corviknight, Gholdengo, or Heatran).
Format Viability:
Singles (OU/UU): Usually viable in UU or below, but struggles in OU due to power creep. Still deadly if it gets a free turn.
Doubles/VGC: Niche pick. Can work in Justified + Beat Up strategies or surprise opponents with priority and setup, but fragile and often outclassed.
Common Builds:
Swords Dance Sweeper (Physical)
Item: Focus Sash / Life Orb
Moves: Swords Dance, Close Combat, Extreme Speed, Crunch / Bullet Punch
Nasty Plot Sweeper (Special)
Item: Focus Sash / Life Orb
Moves: Nasty Plot, Aura Sphere, Flash Cannon, Vacuum Wave / Shadow Ball
Mixed Attacker (less common)
Item: Expert Belt / Life Orb
