Evolving Riolu into Lucario in Pokémon Black 2 is a quest many trainers undertake. This guide outlines core strategies to ensure a successful evolution, maximizing your chances of adding this powerful Pokémon to your team. We'll cover everything from friendship to specific in-game mechanics.
Understanding Riolu's Evolution Requirements
Unlike many Pokémon that evolve through leveling up or using specific items, Riolu's evolution hinges on high friendship. This means you need to build a strong bond with your Riolu before it'll transform into its majestic Lucario form.
What constitutes "High Friendship"?
There's no exact numerical value for "high friendship" in Pokémon Black 2. However, several actions demonstrably boost your Riolu's happiness:
- Consistent battles: Winning battles with Riolu in your party significantly increases its friendship.
- Winning streaks: Maintaining a winning streak further amplifies the friendship boost.
- Using Vitamins: Vitamins like Carbos, Calcium, etc., offer a significant friendship increase.
- Grooming: Using the grooming option in your Pokémon's summary screen subtly raises friendship.
- Preventing status effects: Keeping Riolu from becoming poisoned, paralyzed, burned, etc. is crucial.
- Using the Happiness Check: While not a direct friendship booster, the Happiness Check (found in various places in the game) gives you an indication of Riolu's current friendship level. A high rating means you are getting closer!
Maximizing Friendship: Practical Tips
Now that we understand what boosts friendship, let's look at practical in-game strategies to accelerate the process:
1. Strategic Team Placement:
Keep Riolu in your active party at all times. This ensures it participates in battles, gains experience, and builds friendship.
2. Prioritize Battles:
Engage in frequent battles, particularly against weaker opponents. The goal is consistent wins, not challenging battles that could lead to status effects or defeats.
3. Vitamin Boost:
Use Vitamins strategically. While expensive, they provide a significant boost, especially in the late game. Focus on vitamins that directly raise stats that will improve your Riolu's performance in battle.
4. Avoid Fainting:
This is paramount. Fainting dramatically reduces Riolu's friendship. Use healing items liberally and strategically retreat from battles that pose too much risk.
5. Utilize Grooming:
While a small increase, consistently grooming your Riolu adds up over time. It's a simple yet effective technique.
6. Monitor Happiness:
Regularly check Riolu's happiness using the Happiness Check. This helps gauge progress and adapt your strategies.
Leveling Up: The Final Step
Once you've built a sufficiently strong bond with your Riolu, simply level it up. The evolution will trigger automatically at Level 30 once the friendship threshold is reached. Make sure you have a save file just prior to this level up, in case you've misjudged the friendship level.
Conclusion: Patience and Persistence
Evolving Riolu into Lucario is a journey of patience and persistence. By consistently employing these strategies, you significantly increase your chances of success and add this formidable Pokémon to your team. Remember, a high friendship level is the key, so focus on those strategies outlined above, and you'll soon be training your Lucario!
