Help with Lucario & Staraptor move set

[Mr. Brightside]

So yeah i still don't have quite the hang of choosing the right moves for each Pokemon and i would really like some help.

My Lucario now has: Extremespeed Dragon Pulse Force Palm and Close Combat

I'm not very sure about Dragon Pulse and Close combat and i'm not sure with what moves i could replace them. I was thinking of Swords Dance to replace Dragon Pulse since Lucario has good ATk stats. Close Combat is good but it reduces defense and Lucario is not very good on that.

Now Staraptor has Close Combat Brave Bird Wing Attack & Aerial Ace
I just think that having Brave Bird and Close Combat is a bit too much so i was thinking of replacing either Brave Bird or Close Combat with Roost. Hmmm or just an idea, Agility?

[Austrian ViceMaster Alex]

I'll move this to the D/P forum, I think it's best suited there.

As for help, my own Lucario and Staraptor have the following movesets:

Lucario @Focus Sash
- Close Combat
- Extremespeed
- Dragon Pulse
- Swords Dance

Mine was trained for ATK and Speed again, used as a swiper just like Staraptor really. As you can see your moveset matches mine a lot.


Staraptor @Choice Band
- Brave Bird
- U-Turn
- Close Combat
- Aero Ace

Since Staraptor often faints after a single attack I wouldn't give it Roost. Train it for ATK and Speed and make it deal massive damage.

[DarkestLight]

I'm going to have to agree with Alex on Lucario. The thing is, are you training it to be a Phys or Spec sweeper, cause Lucario can do both pretty well. Isin't Lucario's Special Atk Stat higher than its Phys stat? If you wanted Luc to remain Phys, then drop Dragon Pulse and add Ice Punch for stupid grounds like....Gliscor.

A more Special Moveset would include Aura Sphere, Dragon Pulse, Shadow Ball and Close Combat (I know CC is not Special, I just hate Blissey -.-...). Yeah yeah I know the whole two moves of a type, and you could swap AS for CC and put something else like...I don't even know.

Staraptor.... Brightside...you could drop Wing Attack for Return, still gets Stab off of it and its much more powerful (considering you've been using Staraptor for a while). Yeah Close Combat, Brave Bird, Return and U-turn/AA

[Blademaster]

Lucario:
-Close Combat
-Earthquake
-Psychic
-Ice Punch/Dragon Pulse

I ALWAYS go mixed sweeper with Lucario because of just how powerful its offensive stats are and because it's so damn versatile and can surprise people. My moveset offers the obscenely powerful STAB Close Combat as well as Psychic to counter other Fighters, Earthquake to counter Fire, and Ice Punch to pummel Ground types AND give Dragons a bad day, which can also be accomplished with Dragon Pulse.

As for Staraptor, I have to agree with Darkly. Close Combat, Return, Brave Bird, and U-Turn = raw power, STAB, STAB, and a quick-change move... Yes, Staraptor is quite a versatile bird. Take advantage of that.

[Telume]

Lucario (Special):
Vacuum Wave/Aura Sphere
Dragon Pulse
Flash Cannon
Water Pulse

Lucario (physical):
Extremespeed/Bullet Punch
Drain Punch/Brick Break/Low Kick/Force Palm
Swords Dance/Bulk Up
Earthquake/Stone Edge/Rock Slide

Staraptor:
Close Combat/Steel Wing
Aerial Ace/Pluck
Take Down/U-Turn
Protect/Roost

I put more than 1 move in certain places because there's always certain options in battles and it makes the pokemon more flexible, it's up to you what you use and the only opinion I can really say is:

There's more than 1 use for a pokemon, use it to your tastes.

As for items for the special Lucario I usually say take the Life Orb, for Physical well... there's Choiceband but I'm not really a Choice band kind of guy I actually prefer something like Metronome and honestly, I don't like being limited to just 1 attack. But like I said, to each their own.

[Mr. Brightside]

Staraptor @Choice Band
- Brave Bird
- U-Turn
- Close Combat
- Aero Ace

Since Staraptor often faints after a single attack I wouldn't give it Roost. Train it for ATK and Speed and make it deal massive damage.

I was actually thinking of Steel Wing but U-Turn seems better since as you said it faints pretty easy. Especially against electric types... -_-


I'm going to have to agree with Alex on Lucario. The thing is, are you training it to be a Phys or Spec sweeper, cause Lucario can do both pretty well. Isin't Lucario's Special Atk Stat higher than its Phys stat? If you wanted Luc to remain Phys, then drop Dragon Pulse and add Ice Punch for stupid grounds like....Gliscor.

Well i was thinking of keeping it balanced since ATK and SP.ATK have only a five points difference and use two physical and two special attacks.



Lucario:
-Close Combat
-Earthquake
-Psychic
-Ice Punch/Dragon Pulse

I ALWAYS go mixed sweeper with Lucario because of just how powerful its offensive stats are and because it's so damn versatile and can surprise people. My moveset offers the obscenely powerful STAB Close Combat as well as Psychic to counter other Fighters, Earthquake to counter Fire, and Ice Punch to pummel Ground types AND give Dragons a bad day, which can also be accomplished with Dragon Pulse.


I deleted Dragon Pulse for Ice punch. Not sure if i'm going to delete Extremespeed since it helps against Aqua Jet. I'll keep it Ice Punch, Extremespeed, Aura Sphere and Close Combat for a while. Two questions though. Isn't Force palm a good move considering it pretty often paralyzes the opponent? Also isn't Zen Headbutt a good alternative for Psychic?


Lucario (Special):
Vacuum Wave/Aura Sphere
Dragon Pulse
Flash Cannon
Water Pulse

Lucario (physical):
Extremespeed/Bullet Punch
Drain Punch/Brick Break/Low Kick/Force Palm
Swords Dance/Bulk Up
Earthquake/Stone Edge/Rock Slide

Staraptor:
Close Combat/Steel Wing
Aerial Ace/Pluck
Take Down/U-Turn
Protect/Roost

I put more than 1 move in certain places because there's always certain options in battles and it makes the pokemon more flexible, it's up to you what you use and the only opinion I can really say is:

There's more than 1 use for a pokemon, use it to your tastes.

As for items for the special Lucario I usually say take the Life Orb, for Physical well... there's Choiceband but I'm not really a Choice band kind of guy I actually prefer something like Metronome and honestly, I don't like being limited to just 1 attack. But like I said, to each their own.

Didn't think of either Brick Break or Flash Cannon actually.
Thanks for this. I might actually give a try to those combination (God bless the scale dude XDD)

Oh, another question that just occurred to me. Since Lucario has bad defensive stats wouldn't CC put it in a more dangerous place?

Thank you all for the help ^^