Ash's Lucario
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 Ash's Riolu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ash's Riolu (Japanese: サトシのリオル Satoshi's Riolu) was the third Pokémon that Ash caught in Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and his fifty-fifth overall.
In the anime
Riolu's Egg was originally found in the Sinnoh region. Despite being passed from one Day Care worker to another for a long time, it seemed unwilling to hatch. Eventually, the Egg made its way to the Kanto region, coming under the care of the Nurse Joy working in Vermilion City.
While Ash battled Hayden in Caring for a Mystery!, the Egg sensed the strong Aura being emitted by the former and reacted to it. Ash also felt the Egg calling for him. While Pikachu was being treated at the Pokémon Center, Ash followed the call to the room where the Egg was being kept. When the Egg reacted to Ash's presence by rolling towards him, Nurse Joy decided to entrust its care to him.
The following night, the Egg hatched into a Riolu. As Ash wasn't exuding the same Aura as he had earlier, Riolu didn't recognize him and instantly fled from the Cerise Laboratory and started attacking various wild Pokémon, although all of them were too strong for it. Ash finally caught up to Riolu as it was getting attacked by an Onix. During the battle against the Rock Snake Pokémon, Riolu recognized Ash's Aura as the same one it had sensed earlier. With both Pikachu and Riolu attacking Onix, Ash was soon able to drive it away, and then, he took Riolu to the Pokémon Center to be healed. After Nurse Joy treated Riolu, it expressed willingness to be caught by Ash, which he agreed to.
In A Little Rocket R & R!, Ash used Riolu to battle Team Rocket Grunts trying to steal Pokémon at the Resort Area, but it was defeated by their Purugly.
In JN025, when Ash traveled to Shalour City to participate in a Battle Festival to raise his World Coronation Series rank, Riolu sensed the Aura emanating from Korrina's Lucario and led Ash and his other Pokémon to it. Korrina took a liking to Riolu and encouraged it to become stronger with Ash. Riolu instantly started admiring to Korrina's Lucario, and it came to the point that when Ash was about to start his battle with Korrina in the Battle Festival, it showed eagerness to battle, but Ash decided to go with his more experienced Pokémon. During and after the battle, even though Lucario had been defeated, Riolu still showed great admiration towards its evolved form.
In JN027, Riolu battled a Galarian Farfetch'd. With a new array of moves at its disposal, it was able to defeat the Farfetch'd, which later joined Ash's team.
In JN030, Ash used Riolu in his World Coronation Series match against Tony. Riolu succeeded in defeating Tony's Electabuzz, increasing Ash's World Coronation Series rank in the process.
In JN034, Ash took Riolu with him to the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City, where it was used to battle a Black Belt's Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee. During Ash's World Coronation Series match against Bea, Riolu volunteered to battle her Grapploct, only to be defeated, losing the match and causing Ash's World Coronation Series rank to go down.
In JN036, it's revealed that the defeat for Bea destabilizes Ash's emotional state. Ash uses Riolu against two Trainers but ends up easily defeated in both battles, thus returning to Normal Class.
Personality and characteristics
Riolu, like every other member of its species, responds to Aura. As such, it developed a subconscious connection to Ash before it even hatched. After hatching, it displayed a very headstrong personality, attacking wild Pokémon and even Ash, as if it had something to prove. Despite being a baby Pokémon, it dislikes being coddled and generally seems very independent. At the same time, it appears to respect Ash as a Trainer, and it can be seen following him and Pikachu around Cerise Laboratory. This is in contrast to the other Pokémon Ash has caught in Pokémon Journeys: The Series, who generally wander around and do their own thing.
Riolu has an eagerness to battle, as seen in JN027, when it let itself out of its Poké Ball to battle a Galarian Farfetch'd.
Moves used
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Artwork
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| Artwork for Children's Day by Shūhei Yasuda |
Artwork for Happy Sunshine Day in 2020 by Shūhei Yasuda |
In the manga
In the Pocket Monsters manga
Riolu debuted in JNM08, where it hatched from an Egg.
Trivia
- Riolu is Ash's first:
- Capture of a Generation IV Pokémon since Gible in Gotta Get a Gible!, 483 episodes earlier.
- Baby Pokémon.
- Pokémon in Pokémon Journeys: The Series to not be obtained in its fully evolved form.
- Pokémon in Pokémon Journeys: The Series that did not originate from Generation I.
- Pure Fighting type since Primeape, who was caught in Primeape Goes Bananas, 1,081 episodes earlier.
- Riolu's Egg is a reference to the 10 km Egg in Pokémon GO. At the time Caring for a Mystery! aired in Japan, Riolu could be found in these Eggs.
- Riolu, along with other baby Pokémon, was also featured in a Wild Area News event in Sword and Shield at the time.
Related articles
- For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Riolu.
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime. |
