Utility
Balanced
285Low
60Moderate
CTier

As a baby Pokemon, Riolu is mostly a stepping stone. It eventually becomes Lucario, and that's where you want to end up. The Emanation Pokémon — cute, but not battle-ready. Only weak to Flying, Psychic, and Fairy.

Riolu's spread isn't flashy. Attack leads, Sp. Atk trails, 0 stats clear the bar. Moderately hard to find and worth 1 Attack EV, on a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.

Base Stats
285Below
HP40
D
Attack70
C
Defense40
D
Sp. Atk35
F
Sp. Def40
D
Speed60
C
Total285
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Riolu yields +1 Atk
HPAtk+1DefSpASpDSpe
Details
Catch75ChallengingMedium Slow1.06M XP0.7m / 2'04"20.2kg / 44.5 lbs57Base XP
Pokedex Entries

It uses the shapes of auras, which change according to emotion, to communicate with others.

Omega Ruby

The aura that emanates from its body intensifies to alert others if it is afraid or sad.

Alpha Sapphire

Riolu Weakness

Avg

Riolu's Fighting typing leaves it vulnerable to Flying, Psychic, and Fairy moves. 3 weaknesses is about average, nothing too hard to play around.

4xCriticali
None
½xResisti
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
None
3Weak
3Resist
0Immune
Scorei-3
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
SteadfastRaises Speed one stage upon flinching.
Inner FocusPrevents flinching.
PranksterHARaises non-damaging moves' priority by one stage.

Riolu is the baby form here. It evolves into Lucario by leveling up, but you can't breed it directly. Hatch one by breeding the evolved forms instead. The evolved forms gain up to 240 total stats over Riolu.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Riolu
#447Riolu
High Friendship (Day)
Lucario
#448Lucario
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Riolu
Fighting
Lucario
FightingSteel
HP
40
70+30
ATK
70
110+40
DEF
40
70+30
SP.ATK
35
115+80
SP.DEF
40
70+30
SPE
60
90+30
BST
285C-Tier
525B-Tier+240
ROLE
Balanced
Cannon
TYPE
Physical
Mixed
Breeding
Unavailable
Undiscovered egg group

Best Build

No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 6.

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

Breadth over depth defines this movepool. Riolu won't stack one type's damage ceiling, but coverage across 13 types means it always has an effective option. Focus Punch and High Jump Kick anchor the STAB core.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Endure+4
10Normal
Lv 1
Foresight
40Normal
Lv 1
Quick Attack+1
4010030Normal
Lv 6
Counter-5
10020Fighting
Lv 11
Feint+2
3010010Normal
Lv 15
Force Palm
6010010Fighting
Lv 19
Copycat
20Normal
Lv 24
Screech
8540Normal
Lv 29
Reversal
10015Fighting
Lv 47
Nasty Plot
20Dark
Lv 50
Final Gambit
1005Fighting

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
10015Normal
TM31
Brick Break
7510015Fighting
TM08
Bulk Up
20Fighting
TM78
Bulldoze
6010020Ground
TM100
Confide
20Normal
TM28
Dig
8010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
15Normal
TM26
Earthquake
10010010Ground
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM56
Fling
10010Dark
TM52
Focus Blast
120705Fighting
TM21
Frustration
10020Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM47
Low Sweep
6510020Fighting
TM66
Payback
5010010Dark
TM84
Poison Jab
8010020Poison
TM98
Power-Up Punch
4010020Fighting
TM17
Protect+4
10Normal
TM18
Rain Dance
5Water
TM44
Rest
10Psychic
TM67
Retaliate
701005Normal
TM27
Return
10020Normal
TM05
Roar-6
20Normal
TM80
Rock Slide
759010Rock
HM06
Rock Smash
4010015Fighting
TM39
Rock Tomb
609515Rock
TM48
Round
6010015Normal
TM94
Secret Power
7010020Normal
TM65
Shadow Claw
7010015Ghost
TM88
Sleep Talk
10Normal
HM04
Strength
8010015Normal
TM90
Substitute
10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
5Fire
TM87
Swagger
9015Normal
TM75
Swords Dance
20Normal
TM06
Toxic
9010Poison

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Agility
30Psychic
Egg
Bite
6010025Dark
Egg
Blaze Kick
859010Fire
Egg
Bullet Punch+1
4010030Steel
Egg
Circle Throw-6
609010Fighting
Egg
Cross Chop
100805Fighting
Egg
Crunch
8010015Dark
Egg
Detect+4
5Fighting
Egg
Follow Me+2
20Normal
Egg
High Jump Kick
1309010Fighting
Egg
Iron Defense
15Steel
Egg
Low Kick
10020Fighting
Egg
Mind Reader
5Normal
Egg
Sky Uppercut
859015Fighting
Egg
Vacuum Wave+1
4010030Fighting

Tutor Moves

Src
Tutor
Drain Punch
7510010Fighting
Tutor
Dual Chop
409015Dragon
Tutor
Focus Punch-3
15010020Fighting
Tutor
Helping Hand+5
20Normal
Tutor
Ice Punch
7510015Ice
Tutor
Iron Defense
15Steel
Tutor
Iron Tail
1007515Steel
Tutor
Low Kick
10020Fighting
Tutor
Magnet Rise
10Electric
Tutor
Role Play
10Psychic
Tutor
Snore
5010015Normal
Tutor
Thunder Punch
7510015Electric
Tutor
Zen Headbutt
809015Psychic

Transfer Moves

Src
Gen 4
Captivate
10020Normal
Gen 4
Fury Cutter
409520Bug
Gen 4
Headbutt
7010015Normal
Gen 4
Mud-Slap
2010010Ground
Gen 4
Natural Gift
10015Normal
Gen 4
Swift
6020Normal
Gen 5
Work Up
30Normal

No wild encounters for Riolu in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. It's available in Diamond, Platinum, or Scarlet and can be transferred over. The details below show where to find it.

Riolu is not available as a wild encounter in this game.

Catch in the wild in:

Then trade to Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire.

Also found in:

  • Riolu isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Lucario to unlock its full potential. At 285 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.

  • Watch for Staraptor (Flying), Alakazam (Psychic), and Togekiss (Fairy) when using Riolu. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB.

  • Riolu evolves into Lucario by leveling up. Riolu is the base form of this evolutionary line.

  • Run Prankster on Riolu. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Riolu also gets Steadfast and Inner Focus, but they don't compare.

  • Riolu fills the balanced role. It's leaning toward the physical side (base 70 Attack). At base 60 Speed, it won't be moving first often. And it's fragile — can't afford to take many hits.

  • Riolu appears in 14 games, including Platinum, HeartGold & SoulSilver, and Diamond & Pearl.

Riolu first appeared in Diamond & Pearl and has been available in 14 games across 6 generations. Obtainable through catching or hatching as a base form in most titles where it appears.