Pokémon Go Mega Lucario counters, weaknesses and moveset explained

How to defeat the mega evolved Fighting and Steel-type Pokémon.

Image credit: Eurogamer/The Pokémon Company

Guide by Nic Bunce Contributor

Published on July 26, 2024

Mega Lucario is possibly one of the most highly anticipated Mega Pokémon in the world of Pokémon Go.

The Mega Evolved form of the Aura Pokémon makes history in Pokémon lore as one of the first Pokémon to Mega Evolve. It’s also pretty strong, too.

Mega Lucario also takes the crown as the best Fighting-type attacker in the game, pushing Mega Heracross into distant second. As a Steel-type, however, it just makes the top-three Mega Pokémon, since you lose Counter and Aura Sphere - two of the best attacks in the game.

Mega Lucario is definitely one of those Pokémon you’re going to want to pick up while you have the chance. Like all Mega Evolutions, Mega Lucario can’t be caught directly and isn’t always available in Pokémon Go. Instead, you need to keep defeating it in Mega Raids until you’ve collected enough Mega Energy for its temporary evolution.

Below you’ll find Mega Lucario’s counters and weaknesses to help you succeed in Pokémon Go - just remember you need to have a Lucario in your Pokémon storage to perform its Mega Evolution.

On this page:

Mega Lucario counters and weaknesses
Mega Lucario CP
Best Mega Lucario moveset
Everything we know about Lucario

Cover image for YouTube video — Watch us battle Guzzlord - one of the Ultra Beasts in Pokémon GoWatch on YouTube

Mega Lucario counters and weaknesses in Pokémon Go

The fastest way to collect Mega Lucario Energy is to defeat one in a Mega Raid. Below you’ll find the counters and weaknesses for Mega Lucario to help you achieve this:

Mega Lucario types - Fighting and Steel-type
Mega Lucario is weak against - Fighting, Fire and Ground-type attacks
Mega Lucario is resistant to - Dark, Dragon, Grass, Ice, Normal and Steel-type attacks
Mega Lucario is super resistant to - Bug, Poison and Rock-type attacks
Mega Lucario Mega counters - Primal Groudon, of course, the top pick when it comes to Ground-type weaknesses. After this, we’re looking at Mega Blaziken with Counter and Blast Burn, followed by... oh look, Mega Lucario as the top Fighting-type attacker. Go figure. Failing all else, Mega Charizard Y doing burny things is always a good option.
Mega Lucario non-Mega counters - As always, if you have them, Shadow Pokémon are a great help in Raids. Shadow Groudon, Shadow Excadrill, Shadow Blaziken and Shadow Garchomp are the ones to watch out for. Failing that, we’re looking at Terrakion, Reshiram, Keldeo, Blacephalon, Therian (Sky Cat) Landorus and, of course, Lucario...

Primal Groudon and Terrakion are your top two counters

Number of players to beat Mega Lucario - You’re looking at three Trainers with fully optimal 40 counters at the bare minimum. Aim for seven and you should be fine.
Tactics - The tactics here are pretty simple. Primal Groudon will make your life a lot easier, but if you don’t have one, just pick your strongest Ground, Fire or Fighting Pokémon!

Mega Lucario CP in Pokémon Go

Below you’ll find the CP levels for battling for Mega Lucario and, if defeated, catching an Lucario after the fight in Pokémon Go:

Mega Lucario Raid CP - 42,499 CP
CP range for catching Lucario - 2095 to 2186 CP
Weather (Cloudy/Snow) when being caught - 2619 to 2733 CP

The Dual Destiny Season is here! It brings the Holiday Part 2 event with it. You can now catch Dynamax Pokémon through Max Battles. First, however, you need to visit Power Spots to collect Max Particles and complete the To the Max! quest. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.

Best Mega Lucario moveset in Pokémon Go

Mega Lucario is pretty excellent, becoming the best Fighting-type attacker in Pokémon Go. Unfortunately, its Steel-type moves aren’t all that great, meaning that you can pretty much forget about that typing outside of weaknesses to future Raid bosses.

Mega Lucario’s best moveset in Pokémon Go is Counter (Fast) and Aura Sphere (Fighting). This is an excellent moveset, allowing you to do huge dame to Normal, Rock, Steel, Ice and Dark-type Pokémon.

Mega Lucario isn’t the strongest Steel-type attacker, but fortunately there’s only one Steel-type move you can teach it, should you decide to add a second move (you shouldn’t).

Here are all the Fast and Charged moves Mega Lucario can use in Pokémon Go:

Fast Moves:

Bullet Punch (Steel)
Counter (Fighting)

Charged Moves:

Aura Sphere (Fighting)
Blaze Kick (Fire)
Close Combat (Fighting)
Flash Cannon (Steel)
Power-Up Punch (Fighting)
Shadow Ball (Ghost)
Thunder Punch (Electric)

Everything we know about Lucario

The Aura Pokémon, Lucario, has long been a fan favourite. This canine Pokémon evolves from Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon. Despite these categories, neither are Psychic type-Pokémon.

In Pokémon Go, Riolu is only available in Eggs, which we can all agree is annoying. In the main-series games, Riolu evolves into Lucario when levelled up with high friendship during the day. In Pokémon Go, it simply evolves with 50 Riolu Candy.

If you want to learn more about the first Pokémon in the Pokédex and how it grows up to be the chokiest plant, you can read their official Pokédex entries below:

Riolu: 'They communicate with one another using their auras. They are able to run all through the night. It has the peculiar power of being able to see emotions, such as joy and rage, in the form of waves.'
Lucario: 'It’s said that no foe can remain invisible to Lucario, since it can detect auras - even those of foes it could not otherwise see. A well-trained one can use its aura to identify and take in the feelings of creatures over half a mile away.'
Mega Lucario: 'Its aura has expanded due to Mega Evolution. Governed only by its combative instincts, it strikes enemies without mercy. Bathed in explosive energy, its combative instincts have awakened. For its enemies, it has no mercy whatsoever.'

If we were handing out awards for the most psychic non-Psychic Pokémon, Lucario would definitely win.

Everything in the Riolu evolution line is a Fighting-type, with Lucario and Mega Lucario gaining Steel typing. (Image via pokemongolive.com)

It's also good to know that shiny Lucario is in the game, which means that shiny Mega Lucario is in the game too! It's a golden boi and we love it.

Shiny Riolu ‼️ (@Pokexperto on Twitter)
byu/cpgxrcia inTheSilphRoad

Wild Shiny Lucario
byu/gosi06 inTheSilphRoad

Weirdly, this yellow hue isn’t quite conserved in the Mega Evolution. Mega Lucario takes on a light green hue instead. It’s a shame, considering they could have made it actually gold, rather than vomit green.