Since appearing in Generation IV, Riolu stands out as one of the top baby Pokemon the series has seen. Riolu is a fighting-type Pokemon whose main feature is its incorporation of aura as ability and the importance of friendship as a mechanic in training Riolu.
About Riolu
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon: DP Battle Dimension |
| First appearance in game | Diamond and Pearl |
| Region | Sinnoh |
| Evolution | -->Lucario |
| 1st Evo level | Evolves when leveled up with high friendship during the day |
| 2nd Evo level | N/A |
| Pokedex Entry | The aura that emanates from its body intensifies to alert others if it is afraid or sad. Its body is little yet powerful. It can crest three mountains and cross two canyons in one night. |
Riolu Base stats
| HP | 40 |
| ATTACK | 70 |
| DEFENCE | 40 |
| SP. ATTACK | 35 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 40 |
| SPEED | 60 |
| TOTAL | 285 |
Appearance of Riolu
Riolu is a small blue humanoid Pokemon with a black torso and rounded blue legs with canine features. Riolu has a yellow collar on its neck, a tail, as well as what resembles a black mask on its face with red eyes. Riolu stands on the tips of its paws in an upright standing position and has two black appendages which hang near its eyes in order to sense aura.
Behavior of Riolu
Riolu is a playful and energetic Pokemon known for its fierce loyalty. Due to its position as a baby-type Pokemon, Riolu does not have full control over its abilities. While Riolu can sense aura it cannot fully utilize aura and can only emanate waves of aura in ripples.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Riolu has a high base attack stat, as well as a high-speed stat. However, it has a relatively low special attack stat, with the rest of Riolu’s stats being average. Due to Riolu’s position as a fighting-type Pokemon, Riolu is weak to flying, psychic, and fairy-type moves, though it is strong against the rock, bug, and dark-type Pokemon.
Shiny Riolu
Shiny Riolu is a rare yellow version of Riolu. Other than aesthetically, it is no different than a normal Riolu. The main way to get a Shiny Riolu is to continuously breed either Riolus or Lucarios until getting a Shiny Riolu.
Evolving Riolu
Riolu evolves into Lucario by leveling up with high friendship during the day. Evolving Riolu requires a friendship level of at least 220 with the base friendship level of a Riolu caught without using a luxury ball is 70. Friendship in Pokemon can be improved by battling with a Pokemon in your party, equipping a soothe bell to increase the rate of friendship gain, or by catching a Riolu with a luxury ball. After achieving the necessary friendship level for evolving Riolu, you must then level Riolu up once during the day. Overall, evolving Riolu can be fast-tracked through the use of tools such as a soothe bell and luxury balls, as well as keeping track of your Riolu’s friendship through the various Friendship Checker characters you can find in each game since Diamond and Pearl.
Ash’s Riolu
Ash’s Riolu is a member of Ash’s team in Pokemon Journeys: The Series. Ash obtains a Riolu egg in the episode Caring for a Mystery! of Pokemon Journeys: The Series, the 21st episode of the series. In this episode, Ash finds out that Professor Goh has never seen a Pokemon egg, leading Ash to go off to find one. This eventually leads Ash and his team to a Pokemon Center where Nurse Joy has a Pokemon egg that won’t hatch. Ash decides to take on the challenge of getting caring for the egg which hatches into a Riolu and joins his team by the end, becoming the third Pokemon on Ash’s team in Pokemon Journeys. Throughout the show, Ash’s Riolu spends most of his time outside of his Pokeball and eventually evolves into Lucario during a battle with Chairman Rose. Ash’s Riolu evolves into Lucario after only 24 episodes, making it the fastest evolution of any of the protagonists.
Best moveset
While Riolu is limited due to it not being fully evolved, the best moveset for Riolu focuses on its high attack stat in order to have the best chance of winning by gaining priority on recent attacks to beat faster Pokemon.
| Protect | Copycat |
| High Jump Kick | Swords Dance |
How to catch Riolu in Pokemon Go?
While there are no reported wild Riolus or Lucarios in the wild, it can still be caught by hatch eggs via an incubator. This, however, is very difficult since in 7km and 10km eggs a Riolu only has a 0.7% chance of hatching.
Video Guide
Trivia
- Riolu is counted as a baby Pokémon even though it was released in the same generation as Lucario
- Riolu is the same as Lucario without the ca and with its first and last syllables reversed
- Riolu is the only baby Pokemon that can eventually Mega Evolve
- Riolu is a starter in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
FAQs
Q. How does Riolu evolve?
Riolu evolves via leveling up with a friendship level above 220 during the day.
Q. Is Riolu rare in Pokemon Go?
Riolu is exceptionally rare, with a hatch rate of only 0.7% and no means of catching it without hatching it.
Q.Is Ash's Riolu special?
While Ash’s Riolu is not unusual for a Riolu, in the show it evolves into Lucario after only 24 episodes, making it the fastest Pokemon evolution of any of the protagonists.
Q. How do you make Riolu happy?
Friendship in Pokemon can be improved by battling with a Pokemon in your party, equipping a soothe bell to increase the rate of friendship gain, or by catching a Pokemon with a luxury ball. You can also increase Riolu’s happiness by keeping it in your party while battling.
Conclusion
Unique among baby Pokemon in both its popularity and its evolutions, it’s clear why Riolu has managed to become a staple in the Pokemon franchise through becoming one of, if not the most popular fighting-type Pokemon in the entire series.
