Lucario ex – Shining Revelry
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2025
Ratings Summary:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
Lucario ex (A2b 043, 084, 110) is a Fighting-Type, Stage 1 Pokémon ex that evolves from Riolu. Lucario ex has 150 HP, (P) Weakness, (C)(C) Retreat Cost, and the attack “Aura Sphere”. For (F)(F)(F), Aura Sphere let’s Lucario ex do 100 damage to your opponent’s Active, plus 30 damage to one of the opponent’s Benched Pokémon (your choice which). Lucario ex is available as a ♦♦♦♦ rare, with two different ★★ rare versions.
The (F) Type enjoys only one piece of support, Lucario (A2 092, 170). The most you could have in play alongside a Lucario ex is just one, since they have to share Riolu. There are two anti-(F) effects in Pocket: Snover (A2 044) and Staraptor (P-A 047). Technically, these cards see competitive play, but not competitive success. I found three decks using Snover and one using a single copy of that Staraptor. As such, I’m uncertain if any of these cards will matter to Lucario ex.
Some Darkness, most Colorless, and nearly all Lightning Pokémon are (F) Weak. Though only a fraction of these cards are competitive, a few do fall into OHKO range thanks to Weakness. Even more if you can Bench a baby Lucario, or if you use a Red (A2b 071, 090) when facing a Pokémon ex. Things like Pachirisu (A2 061, 183, 198), Pikachu ex (A1 096, 259, 281, 285), Pikachu ex (A2b 022, 082, 092) are all OHKO’d with just the base attack damage plus Weakness!
Being a Stage 1 Pokémon is less demanding, deck space consuming, and time consuming than running a Stage 2, but not as user friendly and space efficient as running a Basic. It doesn’t come up much in competitive play anymore, Aerodactyl ex (A1a 046, 078, 084), can prevent an Active Riolu from evolving into Lucario ex. As a Pokémon ex, Lucario ex is worth an extra point when KO’d, and takes extra damage from Red, as well as the attacks on Meowscarada (A2b 007, 073), Sudowoodo (A2a 036, 079), and Tauros (A1a 060).
Lucario ex has 150 HP. Most Stage 1 Pokémon ex have 140 HP, and it takes a full force heavy attack to OHKO 150, so I’d say that’s still a good deal. Lucario ex’s (P) Weakness let’s Giratina ex (A2b 035, 083, 096) OHKO it. Lucario ex’s Retreat Cost of (C)(C) is low enough that Leaf (A1a 068, 082) can zero it out, and if you have to pay it in full, at least it costs less than Lucario ex’s attack.
As for that attack, Aura Sphere is “okay”. Yes, you’re doing a total of 130 damage for (F)(F)(F). Machamp ex (A1 146, 263, 278) is a Stage 2 and only managed 120 damage for that same Energy cost! Which probably says more about Machamp ex than Lucario ex. Aura Sphere is splitting that damage between two targets. This can be gold, if you’re able to OHKO something with the first shot, with the Bench hit either setting up your next KO, or finishing off a small or injured Benched Pokémon.
My concern is when that doesn’t happen. It’s a good thing many (F) Pokémon are more Energy efficient than Lucario ex, because there’s not even a semi-generic form of (F) Energy acceleration. Brock (A1 224, 271) exists, but he’s restricted to attaching to cards named “Golem” or Onix. You’d need to use Dawn (A2 154, 194) the next turn and… well… there’s a reason you don’t see that combo. And that you rarely see using X Speed (P-A 002) to retreat an Active with (F) Energy to the Bench, so it still has that Energy, and then you use Dawn to move it your new Active.
Let’s talk Riolu. There are two distinct options available. All are Basic, (F) Type Pokémon with (P) Weakness, (C) Retreat Cost, and a single attack. Riolu (A1 091) has 60 HP, and for (F), can use “Jab” to do 20 damage. Riolu (A2b 042, 104; P-A 059) has 70 HP, and for (F)(F) can use “Punch” to do 40 damage. I’m torn between +10 HP to slightly improve survival, or have an easier time using the attack. I do like that the attack names actually make sense; a jab is a faster, but usually weaker, punch. Anyway, use whichever version you prefer.
Then there’s Lucario. The non-ex version, I mean. It’s a (F) Type Stage 1 with 100 HP, (P) Weakness, (C)(C) Retreat Cost, the Ability “Fighting Coach”, and the attack “Submarine Blow”. Fighting Coach is that fantastic Ability that adds +20 to the damage done by your (F) Pokémon when they attack your opponent’s Active. It can stack, but not if you’re using one of your two Riolu to get Lucario ex into play. Submarine Blow has the same Energy cost and base damage as Punch, though thanks to Fighting Coach, it’ll actually do 60 instead of 40.
I do recommend running Lucario with Lucario ex, but remember you’re either fielding one, the other, or a single copy of each. If you get fancy, you could actually try your luck with Celestic Town Elder (A2a 073, 088), which randomly adds a Basic Pokémon from discard pile to your hand. It won’t let you get a total of three into play at the exact same time, but could get three or even four into play within a single game. Again, just not at the same time.
Rating: 2/5
Enough beating around the bush. When I first saw Lucario ex, I was awestruck. Thankfully, after some time I realized it was not guaranteed to be good. A few days later, I realized I’d dodged a big bullet, and that it was not good. People are trying to make it work at tournaments, but they’re not getting much out of it. It’s main use would probably be as a single in a deck running baby Lucario for its Ability. Maybe you only really need a single Fighting Coach, or maybe you’re just in a bad situation, and you need a Stage 1 attacking Pokémon ex more than +20 damage.
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