Lucario is a Pokémon that most fans love. Besides being a powerful and extremely viable force in the competitive scene, it has a cool design and a unique type combination: Fighting and Steel. Ever since it and its base form, Riolu, were introduced in Generation IV, they’ve consistently been well-liked Pokémon.
That doesn’t mean Lucario is easy to get, though. In Generation IV, the only way Riolu could evolve into Lucario was by leveling up during the day after attaining a high friendship level with the player. While Pokémon Legends: Arceus has the same friendship mechanic as those games, it no longer contains the real-time day/night system, meaning real-life day and night have no effect on the game. Because of this, evolving Riolu into Lucario in Arceus is a little different than it used to be.
How to evolve Riolu into Lucario in Arceus
In Arceus, Riolu still evolves into Lucario when it reaches a high friendship level. But because Arceus doesn’t include a real-time day/night system, Riolu no longer needs to be leveled up during the day to reach evolution eligibility. This technically makes it easier than ever to evolve Riolu since one of its evolution requirements has been removed entirely in Arceus.
If you’re stuck on the friendship requirement, there are a few ways you can max out Riolu’s friendship quickly. Using it in battle consistently, preventing it from fainting, and using items on it are some of the more traditional ways. You can also have it gather resources from out in the field, which will grant it a small amount of EXP. Finally, you can feed it EXP Candy, which will raise its friendship level each time you feed it.
Once Riolu has a high enough friendship level, its Poké Ball icon will blink in the Party menu screen, which means it’s eligible to evolve. Selecting the Pokémon will give you the option to evolve it. Simply choose to do so and you’ll instantly have a Lucario.
This article includes affiliate links, which may provide small compensation to Dot Esports.
