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Lucario is one of the most popular creatures in Pokemon GO. It first debuted in the third generation of the Pocket Monster franchise for the Lucario and the Mystery of Mew movie. Fans were instantly enamored by the species' strong design and its unique aura-reading trait.
However, the anime, mainline games, and Pokemon GO are all completely different entities. The battle system in Niantic's mobile spin-off takes a live-action approach. In the title, players execute attacks by tapping on the screen, so turn-based strategy has no place there.
This means those using Lucario for Pokemon GO’s Battle League may want some advice on how they can get the best out of the creature.
Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and solely reflect the opinions of the writer
Best team compositions for Lucario in Pokemon GO's Battle League
Great League
While many Fighting-type creatures like Medicham and Scrafty are meta-defining choices in Pokemon GO right now, Lucario is perfectly usable. However, there are some downsides to using it.
Lucario has bad bulking capabilities, which significantly hurts its ability to stay in long fights. However, it does have its secondary Steel typing, offering some defensive utility and making it a decent safe switch.
Gligar and Lickitung serve as the bulk and damage coverage of this team. Gligar can be a safe switch if Lucario finds itself against a Ground-type foe like Galarian Stunfisk.
Lickitung is always a great choice in the Great League and serves as the standard stamina tank. Thanks to its access to Power Whip, it has the potential to take out any Ground or bulky Water-type creatures who may threaten the team.
Ultra League
In the Ultra League, Lucario has a relatively solid niche since it is one of the few Fighting-type creatures to gain access to Shadow Ball, a great move that allows it to counter Giratina, as well as several other Ghost and Psychic-type species. However, it is still significantly harmed by its lack of bulk, and it loses match-ups against Fighting-type foes due to its secondary Steel typing.
Cresselia is always helpful in Ultra League, thanks to its pure Psychic typing and incredible bulk, but Aurorus is a much more interesting choice.
Walrein is often seen as the tier's preferred Ice-type pick. However, Aurorus has some decent offensive utility that lets it work much nicer with this team composition compared to Walrein. For example, Aurorus is a much faster attacker thanks to its access to Weather Ball, making it decent for pressuring opponents.
Master League
Lucario's poor combat power maximum makes it unusable in Master League. With so many powerful Psychic, Ground, and Dragon-type creatures in the tier, Lucario's lack of bulk and poor stats compared to the competition leave it with very little chance for success.
While Fighting-type species are not commonly used in the Master League, there is one that stands out. Rather than using Lucario, players should instead bring Buzzwole.
Buzzwole has the bulk that Lucario lacks and even comes with type coverage against the Dark and Psychic-type creatures players may encounter in their battles, thanks to its secondary Bug typing and access to Lunge.
