How to Evolve Riolu into Lucario in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Riolu and Lucario are fan favorites in the Pokemon universe and for good reason; Lucario is an incredibly strong Pokemon. But evolving Riolu in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is obscure and quite tricky, so continue reading to learn how to evolve Riolu in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

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How to Evolve Riolu in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

For those unaware, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet actually has a Friendship mechanic. Once Friendship is increased, your Pokemon will gain some amazing advantages, such as increased Critical Hit chance and increased 1-hit KO survival chances. Friendship is also necessary to evolve Riolu into Lucario in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Let’s get into it.

To evolve Riolu into Lucario, you need to raise its Friendship level to 160.

How to Increase Riolu’s Friendship Level in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Here’s how to increase your Riolu’s Friendship Level:

• Leveling up.
• Using Let’s Go Mode (Auto-Battle).
• Catching with a Luxury Ball.
• Having a Picnic and Washing your Riolu.
• Letting your Riolu hold the Soothe Bell.
• Using stat-raising Items on Riolu.

While it still may take a bit to raise the Friendship level up enough to evolve your Riolu into a Lucario, performing as many of the above tasks as possible will surely speed up the process.

Friendship is a hidden mechanic involving a point-value system that can raise or lower depending on various actions. When you first get your Riolu (or any Pokemon), its friendship value will be at a base 0. Generally speaking, your Riolu’s Friendship will increase by around +1 to +3 each time it levels up and decrease by around -1 to -10 for each time it faints, depending on the level-difference of the Pokemon it’s up against. So you’ll want to make sure you keep your Riolu happy and healthy.

The fastest way to increase your friendship and evolve Riolu is to have it hold the Soothe Bell, which will boost Friendship gains by 50%, and give it as many Vitamins and stat-boosting items as you can. This will increase Riolu’s friendship by anywhere from +1 to +4 for each item (not including the Soothe Bell’s modifier) while also making it stronger. When you run out of items, let Riolu walk around with you and send it out to auto-battle.

Once you have reached the required Friendship level, all you have to do is level up your Riolu during the daytime to evolve it into a Lucario.

While this is obviously a very unorthodox way to evolve a Pokemon, it seems to give me a greater connection to my Lucario when I battle with them. And Riolu is not the only Pokemon that evolves this way. There are 18 other Pokemon that evolve with high friendship, including most baby Pokemon.

As stated above, Lucario learns the move Aura Sphere upon evolution. This move is extremely powerful and never misses, making it a must-have for any Lucario’s move-set.

Where to Catch Riolu in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

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You’ll find Riolu in the southwestern provinces of Paldea. Specifically, you’ll be able to catch it in South Province Areas Two and Four and North Province Area One. You also have a chance of stumbling on Riolu in Three-Star Tera Raid Battles.

If you have the Teal Mask DLC, you can also find Riolu all over Kitakami, with a particular abundance in the east. You’ll want to check Wistful Fields, Kitakami Hall, and Fellhorn Gorge. Riolu likes to spend its time in rocky areas.

Can You Catch Wild Lucario in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?

If the idea of becoming friends with a Riolu sounds too time-consuming and tedious, you can skip Riolu entirely and just catch a fully-grown Lucario in the wild. Lucario can be found in northeastern Paldea: North Province Areas One and Two. You can also find a guaranteed static-encounter Lucario with an Ice Tera Type at North Province Dalizapa Passage.

If you have the Teal Mask DLC, you’ll find more Lucario on the large mountainous structures south of the Timeless Woods in east Kitakami. Lucario are pretty rare, but once you find one, it will likely come charging at you, so be prepared.

Shiny Lucario Mystery Gift Event

For a limited time, you can get a special yellow-tinted Lucario on your team by using a Mystery Gift code. This event is in celebration of the Indigo Disk DLC’s release, and will only be available until January 3, 2023.

To claim the shiny Lucario Mystery Gift:

1. Launch your copy of Pokemon Scarlet or Pokemon Violet.
2. Open the in-game menu, using the X button, and select Poke Portal.
3. Select Mystery Gift.
4. Select Get with Code/Password.
5. Enter the Password: SH1NYBUDDY
6. Shiny Lucario should now appear in one of your Pokemon boxes.

Now that you know how to evolve Riolu in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, it’s time to get out there and make a new friend!