The best IVs for Lucario in Pokemon Sword and Shield

Lucario is one of the most versatile Pokemon in Pokemon Sword and Shield, and therefore, can make use of different sets of IVs depending on what type of Lucario is being used.

The reason why Lucario is so versatile is because of its stats. Its Attack is base 110 and its Special Attack is base 115. Given its wide movepool, Lucario can honestly run Special or Physical, and be a very good Pokemon either way. Some other factors, however, might determine whether or not a Special set or a Physical set is best.

For instance, an Adamant Lucario gets an Attack boost but has Special Attack lowered. Someone with this Lucario would definitely want IVs in Attack to run a Physical set. Roughly speaking, these are the best IVs for Lucario:

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinion of the writer.

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The best moveset for Lucario in Pokemon Sword and Shield

Image via Game Freak

The first thing a trainer with Riolu or Lucario should do is check its nature. If it’s Adamant, they should check for Attack IVs, and if it’s Modest, they should check for Special Attack IVs. If neither is the case, however, then Lucario becomes like a ball of clay; the trainer can shape it into whatever they want.

An Ideal situation for Lucario would be to have many IVs in both Attack and Special Attack. This allows Lucario to run mixed sets that can patch up weaknesses and help its team perform better.

Suppose a trainer wants to run a Special Attacking set, but they are very weak to Electric-type Pokemon. That trainer can always run Earthquake. Even if the other moves Lucario knows are all Special, Earthquake will still do enough damage to Electric-type Pokemon to eliminate them from battles.

One important thing to factor in is what other Pokemon will be on the team that Lucario is being added to. If a team has Alakazam, Gengar, and other Pokemon with high Special Attack, there really is no sense in wasting a Nasty Plot TR or Psychic TR on Lucario. Lucario should be built to serve the purpose the team needs it to.

The other stat that is important to check is Speed. Lucario only has a base 90 Speed, so it’s going to need all the help it can get. Having lots of Speed IVs will make Lucario’s offensive capabilities even stronger. No trainer wants to be outspeeded by a Mamoswine or Goodra because Lucario didn’t have a decent Speed stat.

Defensive IVs can be another stat to check. This applies more to Lucarios that will often be in Dynamax form. With Max Steelstrike, Lucario can raise its own Defense and its partner, in a doubles battle. With some decent IVs in Defense, Lucario might be able to take some serious hits on the Physical side while it attacks the opponent.

It doesn’t need a perfect 31 IVs in defense, but it would be nice if they weren’t close to zero. Lucario is a great Dynamax Pokemon, and anything to help it in Dynamax will put it in a position to decimate teams.