Where does Lucario stand right now?

Aside from ESpeed builds being worse Zoroark, PUP builds being worse Dark Urshifu, both sharing an ult that hits about as hard as Espeon's unboosted basic, and the least unstoppable Close Combat in the game; and a quite potent earlygame; is there currently any merit to the blue fox? Is it viable in lane, or does it dearly need jungle experience in order to keep up? Are Bone Rush and Close Combat stapled to ESpeed and PUP respectively? If not, which is more potent overall, and what are the considerations for picking either? Do you use the passive to gtfo, or to keep the pressure? Are there team comps where Lucario shines (aside from having a competent pocket Comfey plus a Hoopa taxi; which every other brawler likely does better anyway)? If one were to attempt playing Lucario in ranked (not saying I intend to be that madman), what sort of advice would you give them?

(With unite guide growing increasingly outdated, I hope focused discussion threads of this sort get a pass from mods, as they call for a more in-depth discussion than the megathread typically yields.)