Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl fans can find and hatch a Riolu, the pre-form of Lucario, when they return to Sinnoh in these generation IV remakes. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are near-identical remakes of the 2006 originals, with several quality-of-life enhancements that make them stand out from their predecessors. Small changes like the addition of Fairy-type Pokémon and access to an enhanced Grand Underground bring a new experience to a familiar adventure. Key experiences, like finding a Riolu, remain the same, allowing the remakes to retain much of their essence from the original games.
Both Riolu and its evolved form, Lucario, have made several appearances in Pokémon-related media, like movies, television, and, in Lucario's case, popular video games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Although Riolu isn't anywhere close to the strength of its evolved form, players will still find it useful to keep in their Pokémon Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl party as they work toward evolving the baby Pokémon into something stronger. Riolu is a Fighting-type Pokémon that precedes one of the most popular Pokémon in the franchise, and it happens to be one of the rarest Pokémon to find in the Sinnoh region.
Unlike how players can find and catch a Togepi in Pokémon BDSP, the process of finding a Riolu remains faithful to the original games and requires players to hatch an egg rather than catch this creature in the wild. Before receiving a Riolu egg, however, trainers will need to acquire the Surf HM to reach Canalave City. Surf is obtained as a natural progression in the story from Cynthia's grandmother in Celestic Town, but it can only be used after Fantina is defeated at the Hearthome Gym.
How To Find, Catch, & Evolve Riolu In Pokémon BDSP
After defeating Fantina in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, players should head to route 218 on the left side of Jubilife City and use Surf to continue heading west until they reach Canalave City. They will need to find the sailor located in the lower-left portion of the city. This can be done before beating Pokémon BDSP's Byron, the Canalave City Gym Leader. The sailor will bring trainers to Iron Island and its massive cave, which players need to explore until they meet the NPC Riley. Riley and the player will team up to rid Iron Island of Team Galactic's presence. Afterward, Riley will reward players with a Riolu egg, but only if the party has an open slot to hold the egg. For this reason, it's best to deposit a Pokémon before heading to Iron Island rather than having to make multiple trips back and forth.
The Riolu egg can be hatched like any other egg in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, which means players have to travel a certain number of steps in order to hatch their new baby Fighting-type Pokémon. Riolu's egg will hatch faster in Pokémon BDSP if players carry a Pokémon with either the ability Magma Armor or Flame Body in their party, along with the egg only.
After hatching, players must increase their friendship with Riolu by eating certain berries, walking around, and battling. Additionally, Riolu's friendship will increase faster if it holds the Soothe Bell. Once Riolu's friendship is high enough, players will need to level it up between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. to evolve it into Lucario.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are available on Nintendo Switch.