Can You Breed Riolu with Ditto in Scarlet & Violet?

As an avid Pokémon breeder in Scarlet & Violet, this is one of the most common questions I see from new players curious about obtaining the awesome Riolu!

Unfortunately, the answer is no – Riolu cannot breed at all in these games. As a baby Pokémon, some special steps are required first before you can hatch precious Riolu eggs.

Let me break it down for you so you can get your hands on this powerful fighting-type Pokémon!

Why Riolu Is Unable to Breed

Unlike most Pokémon, baby Pokémon like Riolu have breeding disabled until they evolve into their first stage. This is why you cannot breed Riolu with any compatible mate, including the ubiquitous Ditto.

I know this can be confusing since Riolu does have a gender! But essentially Game Freak designed it to promote friendship evolution before unlocking breeding capabilities.

So fear not fellow Riolu fanatics! With a little effort we can absolutely breed as many Riolu eggs as our heart desires.

Evolving Riolu into Lucario

The first step is to evolve your Riolu into Lucario by maximizing friendship level and meeting the daytime evolution requirement before level up.

Here are the most efficient methods to build friendship with Riolu:

Using friendship berries like Grepa and Tamato to feed Riolu is by far the fastest approach. And participating in Superstar Contests passively raises the whole team‘s friendship simultaneously.

Once you‘ve maxed out Riolu‘s friendship gauge, simply level it up during the day in-game to trigger the long-awaited evolution into the formidable Lucario!

Breeding Lucario for Riolu Eggs

Now you have a powerful Lucario ready to breed! As a Pokemon in the Field egg group, Lucario can successfully breed with a wide variety of species that share compatibility.

The following mating combinations will enable you to hatch Riolu eggs:

• Lucario (Any Gender) + Ditto
• Male Lucario + Female Field Group Pokemon

This includes popular choices like Growlithe, Eevee, Ralts, Pikachu, and many more.

But of course, the most efficient breeding partner is still the reliable Ditto! This purple transforming blob can mate with nearly any Pokémon capable of breeding, inheriting egg moves and passing down IVs.

Optimizing Your Ditto for Riolu Egg IVs

While Ditto can breed with Lucario straight out of the wild, collecting the ideal 6 IV foreign Ditto will yield the best possible Riolu offspring!

I recommend chaining 25+ battle encounters in West Province Areas 2 & 3 where Ditto hides disguised as other Pokémon. Eventually it will break disguise and you can catch it!

Trading region Dittos from friends or with the link code 4448 4448 also nets you beneficial foreign language tags.

Finally, give your Ditto a Destiny Knot item to guarantee 5 perfect IVs inherited from the parents! This will save you tons of time hatching competetive-viable Riolus.

Is Evolving to Lucario Worth It?

I‘m here to tell you – Lucario is an incredibly strong fighter and more than pulls its weight during the Paldea journey! Graceful yet savage with superb offenses and speed.

As a fighting/steel hybrid, Lucario resists 9 common types and can Mega Evolve later on. And Riolu can be caught early in South Province Areas 2 & 4 giving you ample time to evolve it.

Check out these great combat capabilities:

So in summary:

• Riolu cannot breed in Scarlet & Violet
• Evolve to Lucario by friendship & day level up
• Breed Lucario + Ditto for Riolu eggs
• Chain for 6 IV foreign Ditto
• Lucario has awesome stats and strengths

I hope this guide brings you Riolu breeding success fellow trainers! Let me know if you have any other Pokémon breeding questions.