How to find and evolve Alpha Riolu in Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Riolu — (Image credit: Nintendo)

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Alpha Riolu location
How to evolve Riolu

Riolu in Pokemon Legends: Z-A was always going to be popular, as was its evolution Lucario. As some of the most popular Pokemon in the franchise, finding these Fighting and Steel types in Pokemon Legends: Z-A will be a high priority for many players, so we're here to help. Not only have we got the location of an Alpha Riolu in Pokemon ZA, so you can get the biggest and most powerful version of it, but we'll also explain how to evolve Riolu into Lucario for the best possible version of it.

Alpha Riolu location in Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Map location for Alpha Riolu in Pokemon Legends: Z-A — (Image credit: Nintendo)

You can find Alpha Riolu in Pokemon Legends: Z-A during the day, on the rooftop of the Northmost building in Magenta Sector 9, in the Northwest corner of the City, next to the Quasartico Inc. headquarters. The Riolu up here will be level 28, and there shouldn't be any other Pokemon nearby, meaning you shouldn't have to worry about other dangers while battling.

How to evolve Riolu into Lucario in Pokemon Legends: Z-A

The chance to evolve Pokemon Legends: Z-A Riolu — (Image credit: Nintendo)

To evolve Riolu into Lucario you need to increase its friendship score to maximum during the day, then level it up at least once.

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We have a more detailed guide on Pokemon Legends: Z-A Friendship mechanics, but in this case the easiest way to do this that I've found is to take it to a Cafe several times over. I took Riolu to a cafe four times after catching it, which was enough to trigger Pokemon Legends: Z-A evolution, though there may be small variations depending on what items you give it and what Poke Ball you use to catch it.

Progressing through the story? Don't get stopped by your ignorance with our help with the Pokemon Legends: Z-A Canari quiz answers here! Or if you're playing the multiplayer, find out why it's worth it with our list of all the Pokemon Legends: Z-A Ranked Rewards!

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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.