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Mission 15: Are You for Riolu?

Check out WarriorGallade's post on this Mission for more specific tips.

Overview

• Difficulty: 3 stars
• Recommended level: 29+
• Time limit: 6:30 min
• Goal: Capture two Riolu

Rank Rewards

Wild Pokémon

Pokémon		Quantity	Group	Friendship Gauge	AP	Slates
	Delibird	1 (Pattern 2)	Ice	4,180	60	Delibird (100%)
	Jolteon	1 (Pattern 3)	Electric	6,090	11	Jolteon (100%)
	Voltorb	3 (Patterns 3 & 4)	Electric	1,980	6	Voltorb (80%) Electrode (20%)
	Electrode	4	Electric	2,772	8	Electrode (80%) Voltorb (20%)
	Natu	8 (Patterns 1, 3 & 4) 7 (Pattern 2)	Psychic	1,804	5	Natu (95%) Xatu (5%)
	Xatu	2	Psychic	2,860	9	Xatu (80%) Natu (20%)
	Snubbull	3 (Patterns 1 & 2)	Normal	1,804	5	Snubbull (95%) Granbull (5%)
	Granbull	2 (Patterns 1 & 2)	Normal	5,280	11	Snubbull (70%) Granbull (30%)
	Electrike	11 (Patterns 1 & 2) 3 (Patterns 3 & 4)	Electric	1,804	5	Electrike (80%) Manectric (20%)
	Baltoy	7 (Pattern 3) 3 (Pattern 4)	Psychic	1,804	5	Baltoy (80%) Claydol (20%)
	Pachirisu	5 (Pattern 4)	Electric	1,804	5	Pachirisu (100%)
	Bronzong	2 (Patterns 3 & 4)	Steel	5,940	12	Bronzong (80%) Bronzor (20%)
	Riolu	2	Fighting	4,620	11	N/A

Boss

Pokémon		Group	Friendship Gauge	Agitated Gauge	AP
	Lucario	Fighting	12,600	1,500	22

Strategy and Map

Text of this section & map image are taken from WarriorGallade's post on the subject, supplemented with information from the official Prima guide book, and condensed/reorganized slightly. Used with permission.

Map

This Mission contains four different patterns of wild Pokémon that can appear. Click a thumbnail below to view that pattern's map.

Pattern 1 Pattern 2 Pattern 3 Pattern 4

Legend:

• Blue tile: The player's start point.
• Red tile: Takes the player to the boss room, once the condition has been met.
• Green tile: Teleports the player to another specific location on the map.
• Yellow tile: Standing on this tile makes a bridge appear between separate platforms. Tiles that need multiple players are marked with red dots that indicate how many players are needed.
• Orange circle (around a Pokémon): This Pokémon is angry and will chase the player on sight.
• Brown circle (around a Pokémon): This Pokémon is angry and will launch projectiles toward the player on sight.
• Icons like this (darker) give the player extra seconds, determined by the number.
• Icons like this (lighter) restore the player's Styler by the specified number of energy.

This mission has a smaller labyrinth than recent missions but still a large map, with some randomization returning. Capture two Riolu hidden under switches (11 AP each, surprisingly tough). Unlike Blaziken's mission, multiple Pokémon can hide under one switch, and they almost always chase or attack you. Styler energy matters here: taking too many hits makes the boss fight harder and risks a game over.

Regardless of the pattern, the chambers containing Riolu can be identified by the Pokémon past the tile but before the teleporter: Granbull and Bronzong. The two Riolu chambers will always be diagonally opposite to each other. Try to identify the pattern quickly and only activate switches whose hidden Pokémon you want.

In pattern 4, Delibird will be in the bottom-left chamber and give 60 AP; it may be worth the time to capture if you're in need of AP.

The location of Riolu is dependent on the pattern. One power-up is also in a slightly different location in Pattern 4.

• The first Pokémon the player sees is Electrike: Pattern 1 or 2.
• The first Pokémon the player sees is Baltoy: Pattern 3. In the large chamber with the red teleporter, take the following path: Go to the top-left chamber for a time powerup. Go down and pick up another time powerup, then go to the bottom-left chamber to capture Riolu. Get two time powerups in the bottom-middle chamber, then go to the top-right chamber to capture the second Riolu. Jolteon can be found in the top-middle path if you want to try for its Slate.
• The first Pokémon the player sees is Pachirisu: Pattern 4. In the large chamber with the red teleporter, take the following path: Go to the top-left chamber and capture the Riolu there. Go to the bottom-middle chamber for two time powerups, then go to the bottom-right chamber and capture the Riolu. Go up and pick up a time powerup, then go to the top-right chamber for another time powerup, and head to the red teleporter.
• On an Electrike pattern, the Pokémon guarding the top-left chamber is a Granbull: Pattern 1. Continue to the top-left chamber and capture the Riolu there. Go down, hugging the left wall to pick up a time powerup, and go to the bottom-middle chamber for two time powerups. Go to the bottom-right chamber and capture the Riolu. Then go to the top-middle chamber to pick up two time powerups, and head to the red teleporter.
• On an Electrike pattern, the Pokémon guarding the top-left chamber is an Electrike: Pattern 2. Continue to the top-left chamber and pick up the time powerup. Go down and pick up another time powerup, then go to the bottom-left chamber to capture Riolu. Get two time powerups in the bottom-middle chamber, then go to the top-right chamber to capture the second Riolu. Head to the red teleporter.

Boss

Lucario is the first boss to get agitated twice: once at 50% gauge and again at 99%. It is very agile, making consistent looping difficult.

• Punch (!): Launches a heavy punch in the direction it's facing. 10 damage per hit. Impossible to loop around.
• Rush (!!): Charges to or off the edge of the screen with a blue aura, returning after a few seconds. 6 damage per hit. Almost impossible to loop around.
• Aura spheres (!!!): Charges for about 0.5 seconds, then launches 4 Aura Spheres onto the stage around itself. The spheres linger for about 6 seconds. 5 damage per hit. Easy to loop around.
• Punch (!!!!): Only used after agitation. Stands still for a few seconds, then runs off the screen while throwing punches, returning after about a second (still punching). 8 damage per hit. Probably impossible to loop around.

S-Rank Tips

A struggle early on, but worth returning for an S-rank (WarriorGallade managed it with around 85 Styler power) since Lucario's Slate is valuable. Keep the map handy and repeat the mission to learn Pokémon patterns. Exploit Lucario’s Aura Spheres, which it often opens with, to chain loops, and you can return to looping almost instantly after its punch. Overwhelming it without letting up works best, unless it spams the rush attack or the punch volley.

Partner Choice

Piplup is still the pick; any slowing effect helps. Don’t expect many Assists to land due to Lucario's high agility. Your only reliable opening is when it telegraphs Aura Spheres. A fully maxed Piplup is expensive but still cheaper than many other Pokémon, and keeps its reliable slow as its damage tapers off. Psychic-types, despite their type advantage, are usually too expensive and don't have enough power to be worth it, and Froslass' Assist, despite WarriorGallade's heavy praise for it, isn't well suited for Lucario's agility.

Slate Spotlights

WarriorGallade ranks Lucario's Assist at #3 in the game. Unlike other Fighting-type Assists, Lucario's Assist involves launching a barrage of aura blasts in one direction, which do significant damage and inflict the Slow status. Fighting's strong typing and the sheer number of blasts at max level are what make this Assist worth the effort. One drawback: even at max level, the Slow status inflicted does not last long compared to Piplup and Froslass, and Lucario stays on the field a while after attacking, leaving it vulnerable to stray attacks from the enemy Pokémon.