You can get a powerful Lucario in Pokémon Legends Z-A by raising your Riolu’s friendship. It needs some love and care, and there are easy ways to do that in this game. I explain everything you need to know here in this guide.
How to Catch Riolu
Riolu can be found early in the game in Rogue Sector 4 or near the Quiasatico Inc. building, typically on rooftops or scaffolding in the northwestern area of the map. It appears only during daytime and sunny weather, so if it’s cloudy or nighttime, you can rest at a bench to change the time.
How to Increase Friendship Quickly
Riolu grows through friendship, not just by leveling up. The fastest way to raise friendship in Legends Z-A is by visiting cafes spread all over the city. Make sure Riolu is in your active party.
Then, go to any café, like the one near the starting area. Buy coffee or food and sit with Riolu about four to five times. Doing this repeatedly will raise Riolu’s friendship enough to unlock the Evolve option in your menu automatically.
Other Ways To Increase Friendship
- Using Riolu in battle and making sure it does not faint helps increase friendship.
- Feeding Riolu Exp. Candies, vitamins, or healing berries also boost friendship levels.
These methods help Riolu build the high friendship needed to evolve faster in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
How to Evolve Riolu Into Lucario in Pokémon Legends Z-A
When Riolu’s friendship reaches a high level, you’ll see a glowing arrow next to its name on the party screen. This means it’s ready to evolve. During the daytime, open the menu, select Riolu, and choose Evolve.
After completing this, Riolu will evolve into Lucario. You don’t need to level it up through battle at this point—make sure it’s daytime for the evolution to trigger.
That concludes our guide to evolving Riolu into Lucario in Pokémon Legends Z-A. Enjoy your new Lucario!