Is Riolu Good in Platinum Playthrough?
Gift egg from Riley on Iron Island at level 1. Fighting-type with AbilitySteadfast raising Speed when flinched. Friendship during daytime evolves into Lucario. The egg timing puts Lucario on your team before Byron's Steel gym. A gift that defines Platinum teams.
Riolu has the type edge here and should clean up Roark's team.
Riolu trades roughly evenly with Gardenia's team.
Fantina's team hits Riolu's weaknesses hard.
Riolu trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Riolu trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Riolu has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Lucario resists most of Candice's coverage and hits back hard.
Lucario trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Lucario has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Lucario has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Lucario trades roughly evenly with Flint's team.
Lucario trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Lucario resists most of Jupiter's coverage and hits back hard.
Lucario resists most of Mars's coverage and hits back hard.
Lucario has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Lucario has the type edge here and should clean up Cynthia's team.
Gift
Riolu is given to you as a gift on Iron Island at Lv 1. Egg from Riley after partnering with him through the cave on Iron Island.
Recommended Moves
- LV 11FightingForce PalmPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Gardenia
- TM31FightingBrick BreakPower 113Accuracy 100%PP 15Oreburgh Gate (basement)
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Wayward Cave (secret entrance under bike path)
- After Fantina
- TM52FightingFocus BlastPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10Maniac Tunnel
- After Maylene
- TM60FightingDrain PunchPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 5Prize for defeating Maylene
- After Crasher Wake
- TM84PoisonPoison JabPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 212
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 225Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Evolve Riolu to Lucario
Riolu evolves into Lucario with high friendship. Friendship is usually high enough before you reach Candice.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 41)
- LV 41FightingAura SpherePower 135Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Gardenia
- TM31FightingBrick BreakPower 113Accuracy 100%PP 15Oreburgh Gate (basement)
- After Fantina
- TM52FightingFocus BlastPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 225Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- TM91SteelFlash CannonPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Prize for defeating Byron
- LV 42FightingClose CombatPower 180Accuracy 100%PP 5
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Riolu in Platinum
Riolu is a gift, not a catch. Riley hands you an egg on Iron Island after you help him through the cave, and it hatches into a level 1 Riolu, so there is no wild one to find anywhere.
1 location to catch Riolu
Badge 6How to Obtain Riolu in Pt
- Step 1Riolu ✓
- Step 2Evolve into LucarioBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Riolu egg.
How to Get Shiny Riolu in Platinum
Riolu hatches from an egg gifted on Iron Island, so breed one with a foreign Ditto for a shiny at 1 in 1,638. Compare Shiny Riolu odds across every game
Platinum Shiny Riolu Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Soft Reset: Save in front of a static, gift, or legendary encounter, then reset until it sparkles.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
For time estimates and charm math, open the Platinum shiny odds calculator with Riolu already selected.
Riolu Weakness
Riolu's Fighting typing leaves it vulnerable to Flying and Psychic. Its Fighting typing keeps the defensive matchups simple. Only 2 weaknesses makes it relatively easy to build around defensively.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Flying, Psychic |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Bug, Rock, Dark |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Riolu Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Riolu
 Gardevoir Psychic | B | |
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | C | |
 Drifblim Ghost | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Drifloon (Valley Windworks Interact Encounter) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Riolu View Drifblim builds →Fly 2x147-174%KO Dream Eater 2x118-139%KO | ||
 Kadabra Psychic | A | |
 Staraptor Normal | B | |
 Mr. Mime Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Riolu View Mr. Mime builds →Dream Eater 2x194-229%KO Aerial Ace 2x43-51% | ||
 Scyther Bug | C | |
 Dodrio Normal | C | |
 Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodOreburgh City Gift | ||
 Lunatone RockPsychic | C | |
 Chimecho Psychic | C | |
 Girafarig NormalPsychic | C | |
 Grumpig Psychic | C | |
 Farfetch'd Normal | C | |
Riolu Evolutions
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. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Pt Riolu Best Moveset
Baby Lucario at 70 Attack and 60 Speed. AbilityInner Focus prevents flinching. The moveset has physical Fighting attacks that preview Lucario's dual-type power. Lucario at 110 Atk and 115 Sp. Atk is the destination.
Best Build
Riolu best EVs are Attack and Sp. Def
Bulky Support Moveset
- Bullet Punch
- Crunch
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breadth over depth defines this movepool. Riolu won't stack one type's damage ceiling, but coverage across 12 types means it always has an effective option. Focus Punch and High Jump Kick anchor the STAB core.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
34 of 36 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It has the peculiar power of being able to see emotions such as joy and rage in the form of waves.
Riolu Event Distributions
In Platinum, Riolu is a one-time Mystery Gift event Pokemon rather than a repeat giveaway.
Honorable Pokemon Trainer,HeartGoldSoulSilverDiamondPearlPlatinumNot shiny
Riolu Platinum Guide
In Platinum, Riolu does the job early-game if you need a Fighting type on your team. Evolve it into Lucario before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
Game Availability
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.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DPDebut
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Riolu.
Keep playing · PlatinumPlatinum Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Platinum Tier List