Overview
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Swords Dance
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name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Iron Tail / Ice Punch / Earthquake
move 4: Extreme Speed
ability: Justified
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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Set Details
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Usage Tips
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Team Options
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Other Options
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Checks & Counters
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- Pretty decent attack stat and access to Swords Dance makes Lucario a good physical sweeper
- Handy 4x resistance to SR
- Priority in Extreme Speed (also nifty because it's +2 for beating Mega Pinsir and Talonflame)
- Quite frail with 70/70/70 defenses, but it can be a pretty cool switch-in to Knock Off due to its resistance and Justified
- Four moveslot syndrome. It can't fit all of its coverage moves onto its set, meaning that it relies on teammates to get past certain Pokemon.
Swords Dance
########
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Iron Tail / Ice Punch / Earthquake
move 4: Extreme Speed
ability: Justified
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
- Swords Dance is used to amplify Lucario's Attack stat with the aim of a sweep. It needs the power boost from it in order to beat many defensive Pokemon.
- Close Combat is its main STAB option which has huge power.
- Iron Tail allows Lucario to get past Fairy-types which resist Close Combat (e.g. Togekiss, Clefable) and is Lucario's secondary STAB option
- Ice Punch is an alright move and allows Lucario to destroy Landorus-T and Gliscor.
- Earthquake is mainly used if you want Lucario to beat Aegislash (non-contact and super effective).
- Extreme Speed makes up for Lucario's mediocre Speed against offensive Pokemon when sweeping. It has a +2 priority and thus outspeeds the likes of Talonflame's Brave Bird as well.
- ac move: Bullet Punch
- Bullet Punch can be used in order to beat Gengar/Terrakion, but is generally not worth the moveslot with Extreme Speed and Iron Tail (with the former being stronger and faster) both existing. It should only be used if the team has great trouble against these Pokemon.
Set Details
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- EVs are quite straightforward for a physical sweeper.
- An Adamant nature is used as opposed to a Jolly nature because there are few relevant Pokemon that Lucario outspeeds using the latter and it has priority regardless.
- A Life Orb is highly recommended due to the extra power that it provides (e.g. allowing Lucario to KO Skarmory at +2 after Stealth Rock)
- Justified can be used to help Lucario set up on Pokemon using Dark-type moves as it gets a boost to its Attack stat
Usage Tips
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- Always attempt to dispose of Lucario's checks and counters before you attempt to sweep.
- Its primary role is as a sweeper/win condition rather than a wallbreaker because it can generally only set up once.
- "Use Lucario's resistances to set up. Many Pokemon are unable to efficiently damage Lucario, use that to your advantage."
- Extreme Speed can be used as a last resort to revenge kill boosted threats.
Team Options
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- Wallbreakers such as Kyurem-B, Mega Charizard Y, and Aegislash can all make good partners as they soften up opposing walls such as Hippowdon and Skarmory. This greatly assists Lucario in the late-game when it attempts to sweep.
- Lucario greatly appreciates entry hazard support to help it muscle through physical tanks (e.g. Slowbro, Hippo). As a result, hazard setters such as Deoxys-D can be very useful.
- Pokemon with a weakness to Pursuit or Knock Off are relatively good teammates as they can provide Lucario with stellar opportunities to switch in and begin a sweep. (e.g. Latios, Gengar) Latios can also check Conkeldurr, a great threat to Conkeldurr.
- Lucario has trouble with Aegislash when not using Earthquake, so Bisharp can be a relatively good offensive partner. Bisharp can also use Knock Off to help deal with defensive teams.
Other Options
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- "Agility is great for wrecking offensive teams that let their bulky members get worn down, but it can be hard to secure an Agility boost against strong attacking teams, and the power can be a letdown at times with no boosting move.
- Nasty Plot suffers from the same major downsides of Lucario, but worse- Vacuum Wave is redundant coverage and doesn't hit many checks, its STABs are weak at 80 BP, and Hidden Power can actually fail to secure KOs with its low Base Power. No real reason to use it over Swords Dance.
- Sub + 3 Attacks can be terrifying if you want to run Lucario as an early fighter. An opponent relying on offensive checks like Terrakion can easily be put on the defensive if Substitute comes into play at the right time." + However it lacks the power possessed by SD Lucario.
- High Jump Kick can be used over Close Combat. It doesn't lower Lucario's defenses, but it isn't as consistent in terms of accuracy. Crunch is also an option to get past Ghost-types.
- Maybe give a brief mention to a mixed set. (thoughts?)
Checks & Counters
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- **Status**: Lucario is particularly vulnerable to paralysis and burn, which can both prematurely end its sweep. Examples of this include Prankster status users such as Klefki, Sableye, and Thundurus. Pokemon that use Scald, such as Suicune and Keldeo, can also prove troublesome in this regard.
- **Revenge Killers**: Bulky revenge killers such as Keldeo, Garchomp, Landorus, etc can cause serious problems. Be sure to scout out common Scarf users and weaken them enough that Extremespeed can deal with them. Other examples include Mega Manectric, Terrakion, and Gengar.
- **Bulky Tanks**: Zapdos, Gyarados, Mega Venusaur, and Moltres, are all very good defensive checks to Lucario by virtue of their typing and bulk. Other examples include Quagsire, Landorus-T, and Slowbro. It is vital to weaken this Pokemon before Lucario uses Swords Dance. Conkeldurr is also one of the few priority users that can take Lucario's boosted Extreme Speed and KO back with Drain Punch.
Overview
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Even with its Mega Evolution being banished to Ubers, Lucario has many assets which make it a fine physical sweeper in the OU tier. Its reasonably high Attack stat is complemented by its access to Swords Dance and an expansive physical movepool. Lucario distinguishes itself from other physical sweepers with powerful priority in the form of Extreme Speed, a nifty ability in Justified, and a handy 4x resistance to Stealth Rock. However, Lucario has an unfortunate case of four-moveslot syndrome, meaning it will always have checks and counters depending on which move it decides to forgo. Moreover, Lucario isn't particularly fast for a physical sweeper, meaning it relies on priority to overcome many Pokemon. Finally, with its 70 / 70 / 70 defensive stats, Lucario is quite frail and will usually only find an opportunity to set up once.
Swords Dance
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name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Iron Tail / Ice Punch / Earthquake
move 4: Extreme Speed
ability: Justified
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Swords Dance is used to boost Lucario's Attack stat to levels with which it can sweep; the power boost provided is required in order to beat many offensive and defensive Pokemon. Close Combat is Lucario's main STAB option with huge power and perfect accuracy. Lucario's third moveslot is open to several moves. As a secondary STAB, Iron Tail is definitely a good option, as it gives Lucario a way to get past Fairy-types that resist Close Combat, such as Sylveon and Clefable. Ice Punch is usable to hit Pokemon that are 4x weak to Ice, such as Landorus-T and Gliscor. As a means of getting past Aegislash, Lucario could also opt to run Earthquake in this slot. Finally, Extreme Speed is a very important move which makes up for Lucario's medicore Speed stat and allows it to deal with offensive Pokemon when sweeping. With +2 priority, Extreme Speed can also be used before other powerful priority attacks such as Talonflame's Gale Wings Brave Bird. Bullet Punch is another priority option to beat Gengar and Terrakion, two offensive Pokemon that Lucario cannot use Extreme Speed to get past. However, it is generally not worth the moveslot due to its lack of power and limited utility.
Set Details
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The EV spread is quite straightforward for a physical sweeper and maximizes Lucario's Attack and Speed. An Adamant nature is used as opposed to a Jolly nature because there are very few relevant Pokemon that Lucario outspeeds when using the latter. Moreover, Lucario can use its priority attacks to overcome its lack of Speed. Life Orb is the main item of choice and is used for the extra power that it provides, allowing Lucario to secure many OHKOs. For instance, with a Life Orb boost, Lucario is very likely to OHKO Skarmory after a Swords Dance boost and Stealth Rock damage. Finally, Justified helps Lucario set up on Pokemon that use Dark-type moves, such as Tyranitar and Bisharp. Inner Focus and Steadfast are usable alternative abilities that take advantage of flinches, but are also ultimately more situational than Justified due to a decreasing number of Fake Out and paraflinch users.
Usage Tips
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One important concept to keep in mind when using Lucario on a team is that one must attempt to dispose of its checks and counters before they try to sweep with it. If Lucario uses Swords Dance when the likes of Hippowdon are still healthy, the boost essentially goes to waste. Because of this, Lucario generally shines in the end-game when most of its checks have either been weakened or fainted. Many defensive Pokemon, such as Mandibuzz, are unable to efficiently damage Lucario. This means that one should use Lucario's resistances to create opportunities to set up. Additionally, Lucario's primary role is that of a sweeper and win condition. It should not be used as a wallbreaker due to the fact that it can only set up once and lacks the necessary stat composition. However, Extreme Speed can still be used as a last resort to revenge kill boosted threats.
Team Options
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Being a physical sweeper, Lucario appreciates wallbreaking support from the likes of Kyurem-B, Aegislash, and Mega Charizard Y. Such Pokemon make excellent partners by virtue of their ability to soften up opposing walls. This greatly assists Lucario in the late-game when it goes for a sweep. In a similar vein, support in the form of entry hazards is also quite beneficial to Lucario as this helps it muscle though physical tanks such as Hippowdon and Skarmory. As a result, Pokemon such as Deoxys-D and Landorus-T make for nice teammates.
Pokemon with a weakness to Pursuit or Knock Off, such as Gengar and Latios, are relatively good teammates for Lucario as well. They provide stellar opportunities for Lucario to switch in and begin a sweep thanks to its ability, Justified. Finally, Bisharp is a nice offensive partner for Lucario because it can use Knock Off to help deal with defensive teams and easily deals with Aegislash, one of Lucario's most bothersome opponents.
Other Options
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Outside of the listed sets, Lucario has a few other moves it can potentially make use of. Agility seems good on paper as a way of annihilating offensive teams, but the difficulty in securing the Speed boost and lack of power greatly restrict this set's viability. Nasty Plot suffers similar difficulties to an Agility set, and the weak power of Lucario's special moves means that there is almost no real reason to use it over Swords Dance. Additionally, an offensive Substitute set could potentially work. Lucario could make use of Substitute to put pressure on teams that rely on offensive checks such as Terrakion. However, this set lacks the sweeping potential possessed by Swords Dance Lucario and relies a lot on prediction.
In terms of other moves on its Sword Dance set, Lucario could run High Jump Kick because it has higher power than Close Combat and doesn't lower Lucario's defenses. Running this move comes at the expense of accuracy, and High Jump Kick's recoil can be easily exploited through mind games by Ghost-types or Pokemon with Protect. Finally, Crunch is also an option that can be used to hit Pokemon such as Slowbro super effectively.
Checks & Counters
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**Status**: Being a physical sweeper, Lucario is particularly vulnerable to paralysis and burn, which can prematurely end its sweep attempts and put it out of action for the remainder of the game. Examples include Prankster status users, such as Klefki and Sableye. Scald users such as Slowbro, Slowking, Suicune, and Keldeo can also prove to be troublesome in this regard.
**Revenge Killers**: Bulky offensive threats that aren't felled by Lucario's +2 Extreme Speed can be good checks to it. Some examples of this include Terrakion, Garchomp, and Mega Manectric, which can all take Lucario's boosted priority attacks and proceed to KO it.
**Bulky Tanks**: Lucario also has a number of good defensive checks and counters. Zapdos, Mega Venusaur, and Slowbro can all take Lucario's attacks by virtue of their excellent bulk and typing. Additional examples of this include Quagsire, which has access to Unaware; Gyarados and Landorus-T, which have Intimidate; and Conkeldurr.
Overview
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Swords Dance
########
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Iron Tail / Ice Punch / Earthquake
move 4: ExtremeSpeed
ability: Justified
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Set Details
========
Usage Tips
========
Team Options
========
Other Options
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Checks & Counters
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- Mega Lucario ban hurts viability seriously
- Still has important tools
- Steel a more useful attacking type, but less good defensively- can't switch into dark attacks as easily, no ghost resistance
- Extremespeed out-priorities Gale Wings, so Lucario is a Fighting-type that isn't easily checked by Talonflame
Swords Dance
########
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Iron Tail / Ice Punch / Earthquake
move 4: ExtremeSpeed
ability: Justified
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
- Swords Dance, then punch stuff.
- Close Combat is your strongest attack and your main STAB, but sometimes should be conserved due to low PP (8) and the -Def/SDef debuff.
- Iron Tail is strong secondary STAB, does solid damage to all serious checks. Defense drops can help break especially tough opponents. Be wary of 75% accuracy.
- Ice Punch hits Latis, Gliscor, Landorus, etc. Deals the same damage as Iron Tail against SE opponents, but has 100% accuracy.
- Earthquake mainly for Aegislash, which resists all other moves. Bonus points for being non-contact, which prevents King's Shield from undoing a Swords Dance.
- ExtremeSpeed is strong priority. Extra added bonus of being faster than opposing priority, especially Talonflame's Brave Bird.
- Bullet Punch is especially useful for Gengar and Terrakion, but has few other benefits compared to Extremespeed, and is usually weaker. Only use if the team has significant trouble against these Pokemon.
Set Details
========
- Basic EVs for a sweeper- maxed Atk/Spe, leftovers in Defense.
- Life Orb for more power, because MORE POWER
- Adamant nature because difference between base 90 and base 90+ is not especially relevant, and ExtremeSpeed patches up many speed issues.
Usage Tips
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- Lucario is a much more pure sweeper than it is a wallbreaker. Since it can be difficult to secure boosts, make sure you are in a position to capitalize when you do. Having to switch out an already set up Lucario is bad times.
- Focus on eliminating opposing checks to Lucario first.
- Use Lucario's resistances to set up. Many Pokemon are unable to efficiently damage Lucario, use that to your advantage.
- Don't be afraid to predict and slam a greedy switch with Close Combat or Iron Tail when it was expecting Swords Dance.
- ExtremeSpeed can be used for revenge killing in a pinch. Don't forget that you have it in your toolbox.
Team Options
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- Issues with faster Pokemon resistant to its priority. Terrakion, Gengar especially troublesome without Bullet Punch. <insert some pokemon here>
- Issues with Pokemon resistant to coverage move. Aegislash for any set without Earthquake, Clefable for sets without Iron Tail, Gliscor for sets without Ice Punch, etc. <insert some pokemon here>
- Hazard setters useful but not mandatory. Lucario has plenty of power but can suffer against some especially bulky opponents. Hazards can help secure ExtremeSpeed kills on faster foes, Close Combat / coverage move kills on bulky opponents. <insert some pokemon here>
- Pursuit bait can be useful, as common Pursuit users like Tyranitar and Bisharp cannot effectively shut down Lucario, so free setup is nearly unstoppable in such a situation. <insert some pokemon here>
- Special mention to Conkeldurr, which KOes with Mach Punch and only takes 70% tops from +2 ExtremeSpeed. Find a way to weaken it, or have a strong counter for when it comes in. <insert some Pokemon here>
Other Options
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- Agility is great for wrecking offensive teams that let their bulky members get worn down, but it can be hard to secure an Agility boost against strong attacking teams, and the power can be a letdown at times with no boosting move.
- Nasty Plot suffers from the same major downsides of Lucario, but worse- Vacuum Wave is redundant coverage and doesn't hit many checks, its STABs are weak at 80 BP, and Hidden Power can actually fail to secure KOs with its low Base Power. No real reason to use it over Swords Dance.
- Sub + 3 Attacks can be terrifying if you want to run Lucario as an early fighter. An opponent relying on offensive checks like Terrakion can easily be put on the defensive if Substitute comes into play at the right time.
Checks & Counters
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- **Status**: Paralysis and Burn are utterly crippling to Lucario, so prankster status users like Klefki, Thundurus-I, and Sableye can ruin Lucario's day. Klefki and Sableye are especially notable for resisting Extremespeed. Scald users can also be an issue, as setting up on them is a gamble and an untimely burn can end a sweep before it begins.
- **Choice Scarf**: Bulky Choice Scarf users such as Keldeo, Garchomp, Landorus, etc can cause serious problems. Be sure to scout out common Scarf users and weaken them enough that Extremespeed can deal with them.
- **Conkeldurr**: One of the few priority users that can actually take a +2 Extremespeed and deal serious damage with its own priority. Deals enough damage for Life Orb to finish the job within 1-2 turns, effectively ending a sweep. Weaken to ~60% to guarantee a kill, or try to lure it out and kill it elsewhere.
- **Bulky Tanks**: The big winners here are Zapdos, Gyarados, Mega Venusaur, and Moltres, as they can shake off both of Lucario's STABs, as well as the most common coverage moves. Again, wearing these Pokemon down is important, as their bulk only goes so far, but if any of these Pokemon is at 100% when Lucario attempts to sweep, it won't get far. Bonus points for Gyarados for having Intimidate.
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