User blog:Plasmaster/Smash Study Hall: Lucario

Hey Smashers! Welcome to the second installment of the Smash strategy guide blog series, Smash Study Hall! Plasmaster here.

Today we will be taking a look at the master of aura, the Pokémon Lucario!

The first step to becoming a good Lucario player is to manage your aura. Lucario's aura allows him to deal more damage to opponents when he has more damage on himself. His special moves become especially powerful when Lucario gets above 100%. With some characters you might use special moves on occasion when you deem them useful, but with Lucario they are extremely important.

His Aura Sphere is his most powerful and important asset among the special moves. It gets to a great size when Lucario is above 100% and nailing an opponent with a few of these projectiles, especially when off stage, can result in a K.O. At the start of Lucario's stock, you may only want to use Aura Sphere on occasion but once he gets over 50%, you want to make sure you always have one of these charged up. If you launch an opponent off-stage and they are making their way back to the edge, take the time you have to charge up an Aura Sphere; it will be well worth your time. Another good strategy I have found with the Aura Sphere is to edge-guard with it. Go to the edge until Lucario is in his balancing animation. Turn around and begin charging Aura Sphere. One of a few things will happen.

1) While trying to grab the ledge they are hit with the Aura Sphere and take multiple hits. When this happens, shield, roll towards the stage, and launch the Aura Sphere. The opponent will have to recover after being hit with the charging projectile and when they reach the peak of their up special, they'll be hit with the Aura Sphere.

2) They'll grab the ledge and try to climb up. They'll be hit with the Aura Sphere and unable to attack or move. Simply do the same thing here as you'd do in number 1. This also works in the case of a ledge attack.

3) They'll grab the ledge and roll to get past your Aura Sphere. In this situation, they'll end up in front of Lucario. Just hit the special attack button to immediately launch the Aura Sphere and hit them.

4) They'll jump up off the ledge to go over Lucario. If they are not hit by the Aura Sphere and manage to get over Lucario, shield to cancel and store the charge and then go for a forward air or up smash. If they are hit by the charge, refer to number one.

Some combos that work with Aura Sphere are down throw, forward air, neutral special; and down throw, neutral air (fast fall) neutral special.

That's enough about Aura Sphere. His side special Force Palm has incredible range at 100+% and is useful for zoning. It can also grab if you activate the attack close enough to an enemy. The Force Palm grab is more damaging than his regular throws even at 0%, so if your opponent is shielding, try going for a Force Palm. If you aren't confident that you'll get the grab on it, go for a grab and throw instead.

His up special Extreme Speed is an astounding recovery that covers great distance and also deals some damage to your opponents as well. If Lucario gets launched off stage, use the up special and input left or right (depending on where the stage is in relation to Lucario). An edge-guarding opponent won't be able to hit Lucario due to his fast speed, and if they try to intercept him, they'll take damage from Lucario instead. The move has high landing lag but if you land on the opposite side of the stage from where they were edge-guarding it will give you enough time to recuperate from your landing lag and get back into the battle.

Double Team is very powerful when Lucario is at high percentages and the opponent's attack is a highly damaging attack. These two factors put together create a deadly move that can kill most characters pretty early in a stock. Just remember not to use it excessively.

Now that his special moves, aura, edge-guarding, and recovery have been covered, I'll move on to his standard attacks.

His jab is a very effective attack that can trap most characters for all three hits. His forward tilt is not very powerful but is great for executing combos. His down tilt is similar to the forward tilt, a little low on attack power but great for combos. Lucario's up tilt is good for juggling and getting grounded fighters into the air to unleash some aerial combos.

Speaking of aerials, Lucario has some really great aerial attacks. His forward air is great for combos and edge-guarding. His back air is good for combos and can actually kill most characters at just above 100%. His up air is great for juggling and aerial combos. His neutral air covers a wide area, is great for combos, and has pretty good launch power too.

I saved the best and worst aerial move for last. His down air is both the best and worst because it has some good defensive uses but not so much offensive. Let me explain.

His down air has pretty good attack power but I find it has very little meteor smash power. More than half the time it is hard to hit an opponent with it because Lucario actually stops in midair to use it before continuing his descent. It is the definition of a stall-and-fall down aerial. However, it has some defensive attributes to it. Using it stops Lucario almost completely in midair even when falling. If Lucario is descending onto the stage from above and an opponent is on the ground ready to use an up smash or up tilt, using Lucario's down air will stop him in the air. While stopped, quickly change direction to catch your opponent off guard. If your opponent is charging the up smash and you use the down air, quickly change direction so that the up smash won't hit you and fast fall. Once you are on the ground your opponent will suffer whatever lag comes from their up smash and that is when Lucario has the chance to go in and attack. So, the down air is good for dodging and for some mind games too.

His smash attacks have incredible power, especially his up smash. His down smash covers a wide area around him; great for edge-guarding. His forward smash has some lag on it but is quite powerful nonetheless and should be used whenever the opponent is suffering from lag, sleep, or a shield break.

Lucario's throws are great for starting combos. Down throw and forward throw are the best of the throws for starting combos.

In conclusion, Lucario is a character where it can actually be a good thing to take a little damage. Not too much, just a enough to get his aura flowing and his power growing. At 100% Lucario is in his most vulnerable state, as are all characters. Except with Lucario, being at 100% not only makes him more vulnerable, but more destructive as well. Manage his aura, edge-guard effectively, and keep those Aura Spheres at the ready, and Lucario will be a force to be reckoned with.

I hope this post helped you to improve your Lucario game!

If you have any comments or questions be sure to leave them down in the comments. While you're at it, let me know what Smash fighter you want me to do next!

Keep on smashing and leave it to Heropon!