How to Evolve Riolu

To evolve Riolu, you must raise its friendship level to a high value and level it up during the daytime. Friendship increases by keeping it in your party, battling, or equipping a Soothe Bell. Nighttime level-ups will not trigger the evolution.

Evolving Riolu relies on two strict conditions: high friendship and the correct in-game time.

• Requirement 1: High Friendship (160+ in modern generations).
• Requirement 2: Level up during the day (morning or afternoon in-game).
• Key Item: Soothe Bell (boosts friendship gains).

Using a Riolu in competitive LC tiers with an Eviolite or Focus Sash requires keeping it unevolved, but for standard playthroughs, evolving it is usually the priority.

In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the time of day is tied to Lumiose City's active cycle. You must ensure the sun is actively shining in the overworld before attempting to evolve.

1. Catch a Riolu and place it in your active party.
2. Gather resources by sending it out to break rocks or shake trees.
3. Feed it EXP Candies or battle wild Pokémon to raise friendship.
4. Check the sky: ensure it is daytime.
5. Trigger a level-up through battle or an item.

Resting at a base camp until morning guarantees the correct time window. Avoid letting Riolu faint in battle, as this decreases friendship.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet streamline the friendship process through the Picnic mechanic. The Paldean day-night cycle lasts 72 real-world minutes, with daytime taking up 36 minutes.

1. Catch Riolu and equip it with a Soothe Bell (purchasable at Delibird Presents).
2. Open a Picnic and wash Riolu to gain a massive friendship boost.
3. Make a sandwich that provides a Friendship Power buff.
4. Walk with Riolu using the Let's Go feature.
5. Use a Rare Candy or EXP Candy while the in-game sun is out.

Checking the map screen reveals the current time of day via the icon at the top. If it shows a moon, wait before leveling up.

The mobile spin-off ignores friendship entirely, relying on the standard candy system instead.

1. Hatch Riolu from Eggs depending on the current event pool.
2. Accumulate 50 Riolu Candy.
3. Press the Evolve button on Riolu's summary screen at any time of day.

Using Pinap Berries when encountering Riolu in special research or raids speeds up the candy farming process.

Players often hit roadblocks when trying to trigger this specific evolution. The most common issue is a mismatch with the internal clock.

• The sun is out in real life, but not in-game: The evolution checks the in-game clock, not your console's system time. Always verify the sky or map icon in your specific game.
• Friendship is maxed, but no evolution: You likely leveled up at night. Wait for the in-game morning and level up one more time.
• Friendship keeps dropping: Letting Riolu faint in battle or feeding it bitter herbal medicine drains friendship. Stick to standard Potions and Pokémon Centers.

If you plan to use Riolu in Little Cup (LC) with a Prankster set utilizing Copycat and Sunny Day, you actually want to prevent evolution by pressing B during the animation.