Lucario - Concept and Creation

Concept and Creation

The design and art direction for Lucario was provided by Ken Sugimori, a friend of the creator of the Pokémon games, Satoshi Tajiri. The species first appeared in the Nintendo DS games, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, released in Japan in 2006. In an interview, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl director Junichi Masuda noted Lucario's name as one of the most difficult to create, due to an effort to make it appealing to both Japanese and American audiences.

Lucario is a bipedal, wolf-like Pokémon that is around four feet in height. Lucario's forepaws are black and have one white spike on each arm on the upper-side of its wrists. In addition, there is a third spike on Lucario's chest. Lucario has a large snout and ears. Lucario also has a furry yellow torso, and its thighs are in the shape of what looks like blue shorts. It has the ability to sense the aura in all living things, and the one featured in the film is capable of telepathic human speech, similar to Legendary Pokémon of past films. It can read the thoughts and movements of other beings by sensing the aura that they emit. A trained Lucario is able to sense aura and identify the feelings of creatures up to half a mile away. Because of its ability to sense auras, Lucario can see otherwise invisible foes. Lucario has a pre-evolution, Riolu, which evolves when it reaches a certain point of happiness during the day.